Sweet reminders

On a daily basis just before we come in at sundown or shortly after sundown, either Marge will ask me or I'll ask her if Dutchess has done her necessary duties. Some days we can honestly say, "Yep, I saw her." Or then there are days when we say, "I don't know," so we run her around for a while longer. When our boys were little, we'd ask them at bedtime if they had pottied just like Mom and Dad asked me way back when. I remember being asked, "Did you brush your teeth?" or "Did you put clean underwear on?" Mom was almost fanatical about making sure our underwear was clean just in case we got into an accident.

All of us have heard "Did you remember to do such and such." Being reminded of tasks is pretty common. I had a couple doctors' appointments last month and both of their offices called and reminded me of the appointments. I expect the reminders from them. I have Marge's birthday in my cell phone and have a reminder tagged to it. So the day before her birthday, I get a reminder about her birthday. Most guys would be wise to add their wives' birthdays to their calendars and tie it to a reminder. I have a doctor's appointment in a couple weeks. My heart doctor will do the routine EKG, and I'm betting like normal he'll remind me I need to lose weight. This is something I'm aware of, but it's easier said than done.

Once a month, a church in Scott City has a breakfast on Saturday morning. One of my friends asked me to remind him when the breakfast is so they don't miss it. I have it in my cell phone so my cell phone reminds me. But at the same time I send a reminder to a couple more of my friends. They might have forgotten so I'm just reminding them. I try to do the same thing as spring approaches when it concerns our gardens. I'll probably begin next week reminding those who start their transplants from seed when to begin their tomato or pepper plants. Both of these take eight to 10 weeks to mature enough to plant in the garden. Later on in the spring, I'll mention squash and cucumbers. These only take about a month or so, which means I'll bring it up the middle of March or so. Just friendly reminders.

I don't have a clue as to how many weddings I've performed down through the years. It has been a bunch. I can't remember a single wedding where the couple didn't give each other a ring. And I always say: "Let this ring be a constant reminder of the glad promises you are making here today. Made in a circle their design says that love must be continuous and never ending." The ring is an ever-present reminder of their promises and vows.

Another reminder that everyone has glimpsed is the rainbow. Way back when, mankind had gotten sinful and vile so a flood occurred which covered the entire surface of the earth. But God promised that never again would He bring a flood upon the earth, and the rainbow is a reminder of that promise. So every time we glimpse a rainbow it is a reminder that there will never be an earth-wide flood.

Some reminders are painful. About a month or so ago we received a letter from the collector of Scott County in regards to our taxes which we owed Scott County and Scott City. We know it's coming and is due by December 31, and we even have an idea as to how much, but it's still a surprise. Beginning this month most everyone will be calculating their income taxes and hoping for a refund. Since I'm diabetic, I check my fasting blood sugar every morning when I get up. The test results are a reminder of what I ate the day before and a challenge to be careful in regards to my intake this coming day.

Every week we get a whole mess of ads from furniture stores and grocery stores and hardware stores and just plain stores. And as we go through the ads they kind of remind us we need this or that. I was going through some ads a couple weeks ago and saw an ad where AA batteries were on sale. It reminded me we needed some. A sale ad a week ago had gas cans for sale which reminded me we sure need a two-gallon gas can. So we went shopping and bought the two-gallon can, but also a five-gallon one as well. Pleasant, helpful reminders.

I have one site on Facebook that is for crappie fishers. So one can check out those who are catching crappie from way down South to way up North. Good reminder I need to go fishing.

Reminders given with a poor or bad attitude won't accomplish much. Reminders given in love and gentleness will accomplish much. But we honestly need to be able to give reminders, but also to take them as well. How we handle reminders is a gut check on our attitude. Most preachers preach on sin and living a righteous life. Their words are a reminder that how we live has consequences and rewards, and it's a reminder to strive to love more, condemn less, praise more and criticize less.