June 2021

I was born in love, surrounded and held in the earliest weeks of my life by my Mom, maternal grandparents, and aunts and uncles.

I was raised in love, surrounded by my parents, and my brother, among the happiest years of my life.

I have known and still know, the love of God, growing up in a church surrounded by other children and adults who supported and mentored and encouraged me and still do.

I grew up in the love of extended family, the oldest of 34 grandchildren on one side, and 4th from the last on the other.  

I remember being loved through high school, even though I did not love myself.

I learned about my love for justice and my hatred of injustice in my first college experience and which I have tried to live throughout my life.

I was saved by the love of grace and forgiveness through recovery.

I experienced the love and sadness for my own lost children, only to be given a chance to serve and help other children, and to be blessed with my adopted daughter, stepdaughters and grandchildren.

I have had the incredible opportunity to experience the love of compassion, and receiving more back than I gave in careers of social work, nursing, chaplaincy, and bereavement.

I have all my life experienced and been blessed with the love, support, and joy of lifelong friends.  

I have had, and still do, the unconditional love and joy of animals in my life.

I have not only survived but learned over and over from my own struggles in life.

I have experienced the JOY of humor in life in spite of life’s pain and difficulties!  

I have experienced and still do the lifelong love of my husband through thick and thin.

Through it all,
I REMEMBER LOVE,
I HAVE BEEN LOVED,
I GIVE LOVE,
AND I WILL ALWAYS, ALWAYS,  
CHOOSE LOVE!

  Mom, Dad, and Carolyn.

Carolyn & Don.

My grandbabies.

Blessings,
Carolyn Q.

Today on Father’s Day I honor and remember my Dad, Jacob William “J.W.” “Walt” Walters.  

Dad was born on a farm, the last of 7 children, on March 13, 1923.  The year before he died, on one of our Memorial Day trips to honor his ancestors (all buried in the same Catholic Cemetery), Dad found the house where he was born and showed Mom and me.  It was as if he was on a reminiscence journey.

I think Dad learned to be a Dad on the job by parenting my brother Richard and me! What must it have been like to become parents to two babies in less than a year, often have to be gone on the road 5 days a week and leave us alone with Mom who could not drive then, and be the sole breadwinner till we were teens?!

Dad finally got a permanent position and we as a family helped finish our family home, planted and tended enormous gardens, went to the drive-in, and so much more!  

In addition to his 39-year career with Southwestern Bell, Dad worked a second job painting houses.  Eventually, he taught himself plumbing, electricity, and whatever else it took to flip old houses, renovate them, and then sell them. 

And yet he never missed one of my brother’s baseball games or any of our school functions.  He often quietly supported us when we had life problems, even though it hurt him and he did not like some of what happened.  He could also firmly give us his life wisdom and advice too if he thought we needed it!  He was there for us!  In short, he loved being a Dad!  

He even built a Hi-Lo camping trailer for us to go camping in when we were young, till he graduated to an RV and later a 5th wheel in retirement to spend winters with Mom in Arizona, which he loved!  We had so much fun in our biweekly get-togethers, sightseeing trips around Arizona, and morning walks.  Dad was happy in retirement and got the most out of life! 

Probably the most life-changing and meaningful event for my Dad was when our entire family was baptized together by immersion in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  Dad almost did not make it as the 5′ 6″ minister dropped his 6′ frame and the Baptistry curtain had to be closed quickly!  Fortunately, they both survived!   

The last 10 months of Dad’s life were filled with illness after illness, and finally, he had 2 totally different kinds of cancer, including two surgeries for thyroid cancer.  His last cancer had spread from an unknown source so surgery was not possible.  He did have chemo which greatly weakened his body.  I made it home to the hospital in time to see him for only 30 minutes the night before he died. 

But in that short time, the Holy Spirit was present and directed me as I simply asked, while he shook from a 105-degree temperature,

“Dad are you afraid?” 

Dad, shaking, “No!”

Me:  Dad, are you praying?” 

Dad:  “Yes!”

Me:  “Dad, is Jesus with you?” 

Dad, who loved Jesus as his main man, with tears in his eyes, and with what strength he had left, declared, “YES!”

That exchange, which was our last, has sustained me throughout the years since he died and made the pain of his dying and death a little easier to bear😪

You were loved by many Dad,  with your quietness, your sharp observations, your sense of humor, those sky blue eyes, and that wide grin and joyous laugh which I often see flash across the Arizona skies!!  

WE LOVE YOU DAD NOW AND ALWAYS!  

STAY TUNED ON JULY 4TH FOR THE STORIES OF MY OTHER DAD FIGURES WHO WERE MY UNCLES AND SERVED THEIR COUNTRY!  

Blessings!

Carolyn

MORE MEMORIES

MORE SERVICE

As I prepared for today’s blog, I was struck by the number of holidays/dates of remembrance tied to honoring our loved ones who served in the war and are now gone. Also, I did not realize till doing last week’s blog on Terry, he died in Nam on 6/23/1969!  

So today, D Day, I honor members of my own family serving from World War I through VietNam in war and who are no longer with us. 

World War I and Armistice Day

Our maternal grandfather George H. Stevenson served in WW I in France.  He kept a personal journal of this harrowing conflict, of which several of us still have a copy.  He and my Mom, his oldest, always called it Armistice Day, now Veteran’s Day. (More on his story on Veteran’s Day).

World War II and D Day

Today we honor D Day when the American, British, Canadian, French Free Forces stormed the beaches of Normandie under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower from my home state of Kansas on June 6, 1944.

My own Dad J.W. “Walt” Walters, was at the same time embroiled as a Marine in taking back Iwo Jima in the South Pacific.  (His story will be shared in August).

The Korean Conflict

My godfather and uncle John “Jack” Stevenson served in The Korean Conflict.  It was never officially to this day declared war but not so for the brave men and women who served there!  This “war” has never been officially tied to any day of remembrance of which I am aware.  If so, PLEASE let me know!          

SHOUT OUT ON TERRY

I NEVER DREAMED the response to Terry Householter would be so TREMENDOUS!  SO A SHOUT OUT to the 16200 PERSONS who were reached with last week’s blog!  And TO TERRY who I truly believe was not only overseeing this from Heaven but had a hand in getting the word out! Please continue to share his story!  

If may seem a conflict to those who know me as a person of nonviolence,  that I would also be so supportive of our military!  But like all things in life, nothing is simply black or white!  It is not about only fighting for our freedom, and that of others around the world, but for good over evil, light over darkness.   I wish humankind could find ANOTHER WAY to resolve our conflicts, but we haven’t done so up till now. And we STILL need to Honor those who gave their lives for us!  

Next week is Flag Day and I want to honor the six generations of my family who have served in the military and those I was not able to include here because there are SO MANY in my family and among friends!

BLESSINGS ON D DAY!

Carolyn