A Thousand Splendid Suns

I just finished reading a good book and don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve been living the story of two women living in the tumult and violence of Afghanistan for the past thirty years. The book “ A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini described the personal story of people trying to raise families and go about the business of life in a world full of political upheaval and war. It is a powerful story that helps me understand the overwhelming problems in Afghanistan. In spite of all the pain and tragedy this a story of hope, courage and victory. I highly recommend it.

The book lists some of the rules imposed by the Taliban on these people.

· All citizens must pray five times a day. If it is prayer time and you are caught doing something else you will be beaten.

· All men will grow their beard. The correct length is at least one clenched fist beneath your chin. If you do not abide by this you will be beaten.

· Singing is forbidden.

· Dancing is forbidden.

· Playing cards, playing chess, gambling and kite flying are forbidden.

· Writing books, watching films, and painting pictures are forbidden.

· Special rules for women.

· You will stay inside your homes at all times. It is not proper for a woman to wander aimlessly around the streets. If you go outside, you must be accompanied by a male relative. If you are caught alone on the street you will be beaten and sent home.

· You will not under any circumstances show your face. You will cover with a burqa when outside. If you do not you will be severely beaten.

· Cosmetics are forbidden.

· Jewelry is forbidden.

· You will not wear charming clothes.

· You will not speak unless spoken to.

· You will not laugh in public. If you do you will be beaten.

· You will not paint your nails. If you do you will lose a finger.

· Girls are forbidden from attending school.

· Women are forbidden from working.

· If you are found guilty of adultery you will be stoned to death.

The faithful of the Taliban thought they were imposing the will of God. I find that frightening.

Free Cell

I’ve just won another game of free cell on my computer. I think I have become addicted to this game. I play whenever I have a spare moment and look forward to finding a chance to play again. I am getting much better and win more often than I did when started playing a week ago. I excuse myself by saying that the logical thinking involved is good for my brain and will help to postpone on onset of Alzheimers. But the truth is that it is just fun.

Do you play computer games? What games do you play?

Compliment

This morning I received the nicest compliment. I was at my water aerobics class just getting started when one of my classmates came over to me. “I’m so glad you are here this morning’, she said, “I was feeling a little down, but when I saw your bright, friendly smile I felt better. I always feel better when you are here with me.” I thought,”Wow, I don’t even know this woman’s name. She is just a classmate I chat with while we swim.”

I am amazed at how unaware I was that I had any influence on this woman’s emotions. I am grateful that I caused good feelings and not bad.

Has anyone ever completely unknowingly made your day better? Worse?

Warm Nights

Our church building is being used as a shelter this week. The county runs a program called Warm Nights during the cold months to give homeless people a warm place to sleep. Different churches house the shelter for one week each winter. It is very cold here and shelters are all full. Tonight I worked in the church kitchen helping with dinner for the people staying there. It was interesting visiting with them because they are all just like me. Most of these folks have just hit a hard place in life and are stuck with a bad situation. They were very grateful for a warm, safe place to sleep and dinner to fill their bellies. We talked together about families, schools and football. It was easy to visit and laugh with the people staying there.

I came home to my warm, safe and quiet house more grateful than usual for my many blessings.

Have any of you ever spent time in a shelter? What was your experience there like?

50

We’ve been invited to a party tonight to celebrate a friend’s fiftieth birthday. Fifty seems like one of those milestone years when you should celebrate the fact that you have lived half a century.

This event, of course, has caused me to remember my own fiftieth birthday. It was a wonderful celebration. My life was near perfect and I assumed it would always be as it was that day. There was ice cream and cake after church on Wednesday night. My church family was a loving and supportive group. I could never imagine then that this group would not always be loving and supportive and I would one day feel compelled to leave them. My mother came from California. She met her great-grandchildren and seemed so happy. I did not realize that dementia would soon overtake her and she would never be able to come again. We had lobster for dinner at my daughter’s home. Mom got so excited because she had never eaten lobster. She had to be shown how to get to the meat. When she understood she exclaimed. “Why, it’s just like shelling pecans!” It was a happy moment. My gift from the children was group portrait of all my children and grandchildren. I loved that picture. In the picture there are three grandchildren. We now have a total of eight grandchildren. They are each a blessing. My daughter and her husband (standing in the back row) had three beautiful children before he decided that marriage was no longer fun and moved on to other places. I had not expected that loss. Our foster son (standing in back on the left) was a high school senior and doing well. He has disappeared from our lives and remains only in our memory. I miss him. The other picture is of me with my mother and my husband that day.

That birthday was sixteen years ago. Today life is good. My sweet husband continues to love me. Children and grandchildren bless me. I have a loving and supportive church family.

I guess the moral of my fiftieth birthday is to live in the moment and enjoy the blessings each day brings. Life will change.

One night while we were in Orlando we went to a Blue Man Group concert. I knew very little about the group and was just out for evening of entertainment. I did get a bit nervous when I found a poncho provided for everyone in our second row seats, and everyone unhesitatingly putting them on. It was a wonderful show. I laughed until I hurt and was amazed at the tremendous talent. I have been trying to find words to describe the performance, but it is hard. The show involved blue-faced men and pounding percussion, playful pantomime, precision marshmallow throwing, paint pots, pipes and paper, piles and piles of paper. My poncho stayed clean but I did get a big splat of Twinkie goop in the face.

If you ever have opportunity, go see a Blue Man Group concert. Then you can try to describe it for me.

Goofy

This weekend my son-in-law proved that he is indeed goofy. He completed Disney’s Goofy challenge by running the half marathon on Saturday and then the full marathon on Sunday. That is 13.1 miles Saturday plus 26.2 miles on Sunday for a total of 39.3 miles of running. The reward for this effort was a Donald Duck medal for the half, a Mickey Mouse medal for the full and a Goofy medal for doing a marathon and a half. This marathon was more about fun than time and we all had a wonderful weekend.

Race days began at 3am. The early wake up call got us to Epcot for the 6am start. Runners had to be in place no later than 5am.With 18,000 runners and their many fans there was a bit of a traffic jam getting everyone in place. It was a lot earlier than this retired lady normally gets up, but the energy and excitement were contagious and it was a wonderful adventure. Many of the runners dressed in costume. We saw many of Disney’s cartoon characters running by us. One sweaty, well built young man ran in only a white speedo. All the women admired him. One group of happy runners was dressed like pink flamingos. Most runners stopped along the way and had their pictures made with the Disney characters that were all along the route cheering for them. The spectators were all a wonderful cheering section. I really enjoyed watching the finish. Runners who could hardly move suddenly had a great burst of energy when they saw the finish line and ran with renewed strength. Others joined hands and ran across together with upraised, joined hands. A few could hardly move and fellow runners would slow down and run beside them encouraging them to find energy for those last few yards. I was really quite moved by the camaraderie of all the participants. The happy, sweaty finishers wore their medals with well deserved pride.

The top picture shows the runners going up main street in the Magic Kingdom

The middle picture is high fiving Pluto at the finish line.

The last one show our happy finisher and his number one fan.

The sky is blue. The palm trees are swaying in the gentle breeze, The temperature is in the eighties. It is a beautiful day in Orlando. We are here to cheer for the world's best son-in-law as he runs the Disney Marathon this week-end. I don't understand why he thinks running 26 mules is fun, but he is quite excited about it. It will be fun to watch as he runs through all the Disney Parks.

Polls

You just can’t trust the polls. They all said that Obama would win in New Hampshire. He did come in second, but Hillary won. This whole election process is such a long, drawn out process. I get tired of the speeches that all begin to sound alike. I wonder how much I can believe of anything anybody says. It is frustrating and confusing. But it sure is better than a bloody coup as a way of getting new leaders. I am grateful for the privilege of voting. I live in Maryland where the primary election will occur on February 12. More than twenty states will have held their primaries before I get to vote. I wonder if my vote will matter by then. Will the candidate already be chosen by February 12?

I took a couple of on-line quizzes to see which candidate most closely reflected my views. They both said Obama was my closest match. John Edwards was second and Hillary was third. None of the Republicans were anywhere near my point of view.

I guess we will just have to wait and see. The only thing I know for sure is that W will no longer be president.

Children's Church

I teach a group of preschoolers during church on Sundays. We do a lot of singing. One of the favorite songs is “Father Abraham.” It is a happy song about the biblical character Abraham with lots of motions. We look like we’re doing Hokey Pokey when we are singing it. So I knew what three-year-old Ben meant when he asked if we could sing the song about Abraham Lincoln, but I found it hard not to laugh. He must live with a family who talks a lot about American history. His next request was that famous church song, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

I love teaching children.

Traffic

“Traffic is just a fact of life, Gramma. You have to get used to it when you’re here in New Martinsville. There is always traffic.”

We are sitting at a signal at the two lane state highway that serves as the main drag of New Martinsville, a small West Virginia town that stretches along the Ohio River. My nine-year old granddaughter has recently moved here from the very small town of Sistersville, where the downtown consists of a Dairy Queen and a drug store and where traffic is non-existent. New Martinsville has several restaurants, a movie theater and a Wal-Mart. My granddaughter thinks it is a big city.

Everything is relative to what we know. This little girl will have a very different view of what is normal than my other grandchildren who are growing up in the heavily populated Washington DC-Baltimore megalopolis. Traffic in this part of the country travels on 12 lane highways that aren’t able to handle the rush hour crawl.

What is heavy traffic where you live? Do you usually travel on small country roads or multi-lane freeways? How does traffic affect your life?

The picture shows my little country girl and me after a trip to Wal-Mart.

Rose Parade

Today, as we traditionally do, we took down all our Christmas decorations while watching the Rose Parade on TV. As usual the floats were beautiful. I am always amazed at the intricate designs they make with all those millions of flowers.

While watching today’s parade on TV my mind floated back to another Rose Parade. It was January 1, 1961. I was a student nurse at Pasadena City College. My fiancé was a student at Cal Tech. We decided we wanted to see the parade so we, along with several thousand other young adventures, dressed in our warmest clothes and headed to Colorado Boulevard about 10 PM on New Year’s Eve. We secured prime space right next to the restraining rope, pitched our blanket and prepared to wait for morning. It was cold and it got colder. Our warmest southern California clothes were nowhere near warm enough. Our thermos of hot chocolate did nothing to alleviate the cold. I believe it was the coldest night of my entire life. The morning sun was one of most welcome sights I had ever seen. By parade time the sun had thawed out our frozen bodies and we were able to oooh and awe at the floats. We waved to the equestrian units and sang along with the marching bands. The parade was spectacularly wonderful. I have always been glad we saw the Rose Parade. We experienced it all. It is wonderful memory.

I will never do it again.

Recap

Several blogs I read have done this as a recap of the year. It seemed like a good way to remember 2007. So, here are a few lines from each month of my blog entries for the year.

January

In order to follow through with my resolutions, today I joined the local health club.

February

We have snow, ice, and no electricity. The house is too cold and too dark for habitation, so we have come to camp out with other friends and relatives at daughter #2's house. She is one of the few in town with power.

March

Today I officially became a disabled person. My knee has become increasingly painful and walking any distance is difficult. The doctor says it is arthritis and there really isn’t much that can be done

April

We have just returned from three days in Ocean City, MD, with our fourteen-year-old grandson, DQ.

May

Today is my 66^th birthday. I enjoyed a lovely day spending time with people I love.

June

I do not own an IPod. I do not have a play list. When I listen to my kids and grandkids talk about music I frequently feel old and completely out of touch. I think I’m a 331/3 in an IPod world.

July

For me the best part of our trip to California was time we were able to spend with my brothers and their families.

August

We have had a lovely four days in Cape May, New Jersey. Cape May is the oldest seashore resort in the nation, and it is just adorable.

September

“Mom.” My daughter’s voice on the phone tells me something is wrong before she says anything else. “What’s wrong?” I ask. “ I’m in the hospital. I broke my leg. It hurts a lot,” is her answer.

October

When I arrived at AM’s house this morning she was dressed and eager for the day. She was bouncing and said it felt like Christmas was almost here. This was finally the day. After forty-five days the cast was coming off.

November

Today I was part of a program at the senior citizen’s center to honor our veterans. It was a very moving and touching event. The people being honored are mostly in their seventies and eighties. They fought in World War II and in the Korean War.

December

I love Christmas music. Fortunately I have many opportunities to enjoy it.

A Christmas to Remember

It is the day after Christmas. We enjoyed our Christmas Eve service and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but for me the main focus of Christmas has always been the joy of a wonderful family. Yesterday all my children and grandchildren were here. The house rang with laughter and good conversations..

Today my house is full of the detritus of yesterday’s celebration. This morning I woke to sound of my son the bachelor snoring in the next room. It was good to have him home. The floor is covered with scraps of wrapping paper, a testimony left to remind me of the pile of presents we exchanged. The table is covered with crumbs left from a feast of far too much food. There are pieces of toys and games left behind after the gifts were packed up to go home. I look at it all and smile. Cleaning up after such a happy day is an easy chore. This has been a Christmas to remember.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
God bless us, everyone.

Five Christmas Concerts

Here is a sample of five Christmas concerts. The elementary school, starring my beautiful ten year old granddaughter, sang about about a partridge in a pear tree. The middle school and my handsome young tenor sang a mix of carols and gospel songs. The beautiful alto in the high school choir was impressive. My favorite daughter-in-law on the French horn and my granddaughter on the violin played beautifully in the orchestra of a church concert. I had fun singing in the senior chorale. It is beginning to sound a lot like Christmas.

Tis the Season

Forgive me readers, for I have not posted Real life has interfered with my time in blogland. Since my last post I have:

1. Attended three Christmas concerts starring some of my grandchildren.

2. Addressed and mailed all my Christmas cards.

3. Drove an older friend to the doctor and listened to her fears.

4. Baked a gumdrop cake. It would not be Christmas at our house without a gumdrop cake.

5. Baked Christmas cookies with one grandson.

6. Took same grandson shopping to pick out gifts for his mom and dad.

7. Sorted food for delivery to needy families.

8. Wrapped toys to be given to children of the needy families receiving food.

9. Gone to the pool for my water aerobics class twice.

10. Went out to lunch with my daughter and granddaughter who is home from college for the holidays.

11. Prepared and hosted a holiday lunch for fourteen of my older friends. Most of my guests are in their eighties. I like hanging out with them because they make me feel so young.

12. Went to the movies with my beloved and my grandson. We saw I Am Legend. Good but very scary. I spent much of the show jumping into the lap of whoever was sitting next to me.

13. Paid the bills. Did the laundry. Vacuumed the house. Cooked. Washed dishes.

14. Listened to all of my Christmas music while doing all of the above.

I am so glad I am retired and can enjoy these days of rest and relaxation.

Yellow Roses

Yesterday I returned home to find that the florist had delivered a bouquet containing two perfect yellow roses. When I saw it I knew immediately that my first-born had sent them. I smiled at her sweetness and began crying because of all the memories they represented. Seventeen years ago this week my father died. Eighteen years ago this week my father-in-law died. This is the anniversary of the week my children lost both of their grandfathers. My kids were lucky to have two such wonderful men to be their Grampas. My dad loved yellow roses and yellow roses will always be the flower that reminds us these good men.

Christmas Music

I love Christmas music. Fortunately I have many opportunities to enjoy it. Tonight I am attending the high school holiday concert. Tomorrow I will attend the middle school holiday concert. Next week I plan to enjoy the elementary school holiday concert. All this music is one of the blessings of having grandchildren living near by. In addition to the children’s programs I am singing in two performances with the senior chorale and playing in the hand bell choir for two performances at church. My holidays will be filled with music.

My new Christmas favorite song is this one performed by the Celtic Woman.

What are you’re your favorite Christmas songs?

Nostalgia

Yesterday we put up all our Christmas decorations. There is my new Advent wreath, our nativity set that is about ten years old, and our tree topped by our angel, Harold, who has watched over us for the past forty-six Christmases. I was filled with nostalgia and a little melancholy as I hung the ornaments. Our children and friends made them long ago. I remembered the years when our children were young and filled the house with noise and excitement. Putting up the tree with children is a very different event than putting up a tree with two sentimental old folks. I am blessed. My memories are sweet. I love the people my children have become, but I do miss the days when they were little.

The picture was made for our Christmas card in 1975.

Peace

Yesterday I went to my water aerobics class and then sat in the hot tub for a while afterwards. The water was warm, steamy and relaxing. Outside I could see big, puffy snowflakes falling. The trees in the woods were all wearing soft, snowy blankets. The world looked clean and beautiful. It was such a lovely, relaxing moment.

When was the last time you just soaked up a moment of pure loveliness and felt totally at peace with the world?

Christmas 1954

All of my memories of Christmas as a child are happy memories. One of the major tasks of the season was the choosing of a Christmas tree. Dad took this job very seriously. All of us would join him in his search for the perfect tree. We usually drove to at least six different lots to inspect all of the trees. It was fortunate that I grew up in southern California so cold weather did not cause a problem in our quest. Our tree had to be perfect. Dad would pick one out and we would all walk around it to check for bare spots or dry needles. It was so hard to find one that we would all agree was the perfect tree for us. Frequently we would go back to the first lot after we had checked them all and buy one of first trees we had seen. It was always an exciting day. In this picture we are gathered around our perfect tree in 1954. My brothers were in high school. I was in junior high. The dress is one I made in home ec class. I was quite proud of it.

This year we will climb into the attic and bring down our genuine artificial pine tree. There are no bare spots and needles don’t fall off. Putting it’s artificial branches together just doesn’t seem as exciting as my childhood quest for the perfect tree.

How about you? Real tree or artificial tree?

Wicked

My granddaughter was wicked this weekend. She was very, very wicked. She frightened small children and caused much terror. She finally paid for her wickedness when Dorothy threw a bucket of water on her and she melted. She played the role of the Wicked Witch of the West in a children’s theater production of The Wizard of Oz. Wickedness is such a fun role.

My younger granddaughter was a dancing munchkin. Her role was adorable and sweet.

It was a fun play for all the young actors and for all their adoring fans.

Advent

Advent begins this Sunday. I love Advent and message of hope, peace and love that it represents. I love the symbolism of lighting of the Advent candles during church. This year I decided I wanted to have an Advent wreath and candles of my very own. Yesterday I bought a pretty brass candle holder for the purple and pink candles. I set it up on my dining room table happy with how pretty it looked. In the evening my friend J came over and admired it. I told her that I was planning to get some greenery tomorrow and make a wreath for the candles. She looked excited and ran out to her car and came back with a lovely green wreath, which fitted around the base of my candles perfectly. It looked lovely. She gave me a hug and said the wreath was my Christmas gift. I was thrilled to have just what I wanted.

How many of you have a friend who carries extra wreaths around in the car just in case someone might need one? J is a special friend. Everyone should have a friend like her.

Tattoo

Tattoos are unusual in the women of my generation, so I have been intrigued by the tattoo on the arm of a seventy-six year old lady who is one of my water-aerobics classmates. Today I asked her when she got the tattoo and why. She smiled and said it was a long story. This is her story.

Five years ago her daughter was diagnosed with cancer. The news was devastating to the entire family. Her daughter would have to undergo a regime of very difficult treatments to fight the disease. She was afraid. My classmate, her sick daughter, her other daughter and her two granddaughters decided to do something that would show the world that this family was in this fight together. They would stand united and wage war against the cancer. The symbol they chose was a beautiful little hummingbird, which they each had tattooed on their arm. It was a powerful moment for the family that made them all fell a little braver.

Her daughter died two years ago. The tattoo is a symbol of love, family, and her very brave daughter.

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. The time was full of family, friends, fun and food. We enjoyed a walk after dinner through AM’s neighborhood. I was thankful to see her walking so well. In the evening the entire clan went to see the move Enchanted. It was a great family movie that made us all laugh. Our son and daughter-in-law spent the night and we had time for lots of talking. Saturday our eighteen-year-old grandson went skydiving. The jump was a graduation gift from his aunt. I was pretty nervous about it, but he had a marvelous time and would like to do it again. Today was the last Sunday of ordinary time before Advent. I always love church and today was better than usual. I looked across the building from my place in the bell choir and saw my children and grandchildren filling an entire pew. There is something wonderful about worshiping together with my family. I feel blessed. I hope all of you found reasons to be thankful.

Thanksgiving #4

Today is a big cooking day. I got up early to bake a cake and make red jello. Red jello is made with strawberries, bananas and pineapple and is a tradition at any family dinner in our house. My daughter is busy making pies and getting the table set for a big dinner tomorrow. My other daughter is entertaining her in-laws so we will not have her cheese ball or mango salsa.

I am thankful for food to eat. Tomorrow will be a feast with more food than we can possibly consume. I am thankful for that bounty, but mostly I am thankful for my daily bread. I have never really been hungry. I have always had enough food to feed my children. This is not true for everyone. We see the news with those poignant pictures of hungry children. I have helped in our local food pantry and know that there are people in my own neighborhood who are hungry. Food to eat is not a something everyone can take for granted.

Have you ever been hungry?

How can we help to feed those who are hungry?

Thanksgiving #3

I am thankful for the telephone. It has enabled me to reach out and share some of life’s great moments when I couldn’t be there in person. I remember many calls that were important in my life story.

“Mom.” It is 5 am and my first-born is calling from Tennessee. She is about to give birth to her first-born. “My water just broke and we’re getting ready to go to the hospital.” I sit up, wide awake, and ask her if she is OK. “Oh, Mom, I’m so scared.” We both start crying. I feel a thousand miles away. I am a thousand miles away. Later that day there is another call. My son-in-law says, “Something is wrong. Start praying. We’re going to do a C- section”. I pray. An hour later the call comes again. “It’s a girl. Everyone is fine. Oh, Sue, she is beautiful.”

The phone rings at 3am and I hear my brother’s voice, “It’s over, Sue. Mom died about ten minutes ago.” She was 97 and had been sick for years. She was my mom and she was my brothers’ mom. We need to hear each other’s voices.

“Gramma!” I hear my granddaughter on the phone. “I got accepted. I’m going to college. Isn’t that wonderful!” I laugh and share her moment of joy. It is so good that she could call and I could hear her excitement.

There have been so many calls. We share joy. We share sorrow. We talk about hard decisions and listen to each other’s ideas. We share life.

The telephone has been a lifeline for which I am very grateful.

What phone calls have been important in your life?

Thanksgiving #2

Among my greatest treasures are many books. I love books. They take me to other worlds and show me new ideas that make me think thoughts that I might have missed. Books contain stories that make me laugh out loud, cause to sob, enrage me and fill me with anger, or comfort me like my mother’s lap used to do.

As a child I read all of the Nancy Drew books and all of the Oz books. I loved The Secret Garden. As I became a teenager I started reading biographies and sweeping historical novels. Stories about real people intrigued me. One of the books I loved was called. “David the King,” by Gladys Schmitt. It was a novel about Israel’s King David. I absolutely fell in love with David. It was because of this book that I named my first-born son David. Today I am reading, “World Without End,” by Ken Follett. It is a sequel to Pillars of the Earth.

I am thankful that I am able to read and I am thankful for the many books that have entertained me and educated me over the years.

Here is a very incomplete list of some of my all-time favorite books.

1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum and all the other books in the Oz series. These books were magical

2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This was such a sweet story of childhood and triumph.

3. Lust for Life by Irving Stone. This was a great story about the troubled life of Vincent Van Gogh.

4. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. One of the sweetest love stories I’ve ever read.

5. Traveling Mercies by Ann Lamott. This book helped me understand what faith is all about.

6. The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg. This book has been valuable on my journey of faith.

7. The entire Mitford series of books by Jan Karon. These books are a sweet escape into the life and faith of a small town in North Carolina.

8. The DiVinci Code by Dan Brown. A great thriller. I stayed up all night to finish it.

9. The entire Stephanie Plum mystery series by Janet Evanovich. Just lots of fun.

10. The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. What a poignant and moving story this is.

What books are on your all time favorite list?

Little Houses

This is the song Maureen commented on in my last post

Thanksgiving

One week from today is Thanksgiving Day. I am way too blessed to be able to write about all the things for which I am grateful on one day, so I will start my thanksgiving list today.

I am thankful for my house. It is cold and rainy today, but I am warm and dry inside this house. The warmth is more than the fact that the roof isn’t leaking and the new windows provide good insulation, the warmth is the glow of memories that fill every room and every corner.

We moved here in 1964. Since then this old house has rung with laughter and has been filled with tears. We raised four children here. The office in which I now sit was our girls’ room. Over the years it has been painted yellow, pink, purple and green. The walls have been covered with crayons and markers, then posters of teen idols. Later it was home to our foster son and housed his weight bench and his karate belts and hid his Playboy magazines and chewing tobacco. Our clean, quiet guest room was the boys’ room. It was crowded with bunk beds, books, toys and various sports equipment. The kids grew up and grandchildren came to play. This little house felt like it would burst when we all got together.

The memories are everywhere I look. I love this house.

Changing Directions

Changing directions is hard.

I thought about this in my deep-water aerobics class. We all paddle along in a circle. As we move together we create a small current that helps us go faster. Then the teacher says we need to change directions. Suddenly the small current is going against us and forward movement is harder. It takes several strokes of trying not to go backward to get the forward momentum going again. This observation started me thinking about the times in my life when I needed to change directions.

Friday my beloved took the day off work and we were going to run away for a short holiday. Our bags were packed and we were in a holiday mood as we started to back out of the driveway. Then came a phone call from AM. The doctor had just called saying that blood test on her ten year had just come back. The sugar was extremely high and it looked like she was diabetic. If the repeat test was still high she would have to go to the hospital that evening. The holiday mood went away and we had to change the direction of how we felt and what we would do. After a day of apprehensive waiting the test came back completely normal. No hospital. She would be checked again next week, but all was well now. Our mood changed directions again. We were grateful. As we started to breathe again we found it impossible to regain the holiday mood and had to again change the directions of how we felt and what we would do.

When have you suddenly had to change directions in your life? Was it a permanent change or just a temporary turn around?

Patriotism

Today I was part of a program at the senior citizen’s center to honor our veterans. It was a very moving and touching event. The people being honored are mostly in their seventies and eighties. They fought in World War II and in the Korean War. While waiting for our chorale to sing I sat a table of old men who were reminiscing about times that had changed their lives. Some were career military and some were draftees who had served for a few years. I heard stories from a medic about the devastating injuries he saw and the horrid decisions he had to make about who he would try to save and who he would leave to die. He still remembers the faces of those injured young soldiers. Another man had taught young men how to handle ammunition and how to load the big guns on a ship. He remembered a young man who froze with fright and was unable to move. The young man was holding a live shell that could kill them all if it dropped. The instructor got down on his knees and looked the frightened young sailor in the eye and talked softly to him and very gently removed the shell from his hands. All of the others stood quietly and just waited as the young man was led away to sickbay. There were lots of stories, all told with pride, some told with tears. Later we sang a medley of songs to honor each branch of the service. The veterans each stood tall and proud as we sang to honor them. I was filled with a sense of thanksgiving for all that these men and women had given to all us. I felt proud to part of a country that was made of people like these good and brave people.

I pray for the day when there will be peace on earth. I pray for a future where old men no longer remember the painful stories of war.

Insomnia

I was awake all night. I was tired and wanted to sleep, but I just couldn’t get comfortable and go off to dream land. I read for a while and got sleepy, but when I put down the book and turned off the light I started tossing and turning. I was plagued by random thoughts that just wouldn’t turn off, like patterns to make with my pen to create different textures for my pen and ink class or what to get my grandson for his birthday in three weeks. I finally got up and read blogs and sipped on a glass of wine until I got sleepy. I then lay in bed tossing and turning another hour wishing for sleep, unable to doze off. I got up and sat in my big recliner and waited for the dawn. I finally fell asleep about 6AM.

I do this fairly often and it is an annoyance.

What do you do when you find it hard to sleep?

Legacy

There were three obituaries in this week’s Washington Post that I found interesting. I never met any of these men and did not even recognize their names. After reading about their accomplishments though, I wanted to take time to honor them. They did not know each other and led very different lives. Their different accomplishments each changed this world and the way we think. Their names are Paul Tibbets Jr., Owen Davis, and John Woodruff. They were all ninety-two years old when they died.

Paul Tibbets Jr. was a pilot during World War II. He flew a plane that he named after his mother, Enola Gay. It was Tibbets who on August 6, 1945 piloted the plane that dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima, destroying the entire city. Tibbets believed that he saved far more lives than he destroyed and that his action was the key factor in ending the war. He told reporters that it would have been morally wrong to possess that weapon and not use it and let a million more people die. He did what he thought needed to be done to end a terrible war. Whatever you think about the decision to use the atomic bomb, it was definitely a decision that changed the way people look at war.

Owen Davis was a policeman in the District of Columbia. He was the first black deputy chief in the District. In 1951 Owen took a promotional exam and broke the color barrier. His personality and ability helped him to rise through the ranks to become an officer honored and respected by everyone who knew him. “Naturally, I made a contribution,” Davis said in 1976, “My career was a demonstration to other blacks that this can be done, a demonstration to whites that this is no cause for fear.” I am grateful for the change this man brought to my town.

John Woodruff was an Olympic athlete. Many have heard of his better-known teammate, Jesse Owens, but it was John Woodruff who, with a dramatic come from behind victory in the 800-meter race, was the first black athlete to ascend the podium in Germany’s 1936 Olympic games. Woodruff was the first to refute Adolf Hitler’s theories of Aryan racial supremacy. Overcoming racism in any way is a significant thing.

These men left a legacy for all of us of by their deeds. What kind of legacy are we leaving for those who come after us?

Happy Halloween

This year I am going to be a screaming Brillo Pad for Halloween.

At Last

When I arrived at AM’s house this morning she was dressed and eager for the day. She was bouncing and said it felt like Christmas was almost here. This was finally the day. After forty-five days the cast was coming off. In just a few moments the cast cutter did its job and the leg was finally free. It does look a bit disgusting with its dry, flaky skin, withered muscles and still swollen ankle, but the doctor was pleased and said it looked great. A few weeks of physical therapy and she will be ready to take on the world again. After soaking the leg in a tub of warm water and getting rid of most of the dry skin and moisturizing it with lotion I thought it looked pretty good. Her kids thought it looked disgusting but were very happy to see their mom with shoes on both feet.

Today was a good day.

Busy

Life has just been too busy lately. I stay tired.

Friday my granddaughter went to the homecoming dance, her first high school dance. She went with a bunch of girlfriends. It was great fun to share in her getting ready excitement and take pictures of her and her girlfriends all prettied up for the dance. She had a great time.

Saturday I worked all day in the church kitchen helping to prepare lunch for about 150 people to share after the memorial service. I feel good about this work. Sharing such moments is sacred time. Still, It was a long day.

Saturday evening I went to an Octoberfest with a bunch of church friends. We enjoyed homemade German food and lots of beer and German drinking songs. The laughter was wonderful.

I love Sunday and going to church. I love worshipping in the community of family and friends. I teach Sunday school and always come out smiling at the wonderful innocence and joy of little children. Today they were very excited about the big Halloween party that was held this evening. The youth group had decorated a haunted house. We had lots of games for the little ones. The children loved being in their costumes. Some of the adults were pretty funny too. My broken legged daughter wore a George W. mask (very scary!) She was a lame duck.

The highlight of the party was Trunk or Treating through the church parking lot. The church member had decorated the trunks of their cars and filled them with goodies. The kids were adorable as they went from car to car trunk or treating.

It has been a full weekend. I am tired

Heaven

I have given a lot of thought recently to mortality and the fact that life here of earth is a fleeting thing. Death is inevitable for each of us. We all know that, but we don’t often stop to think about it. I am going to die. I know without doubt that there is a heaven where God has made all things new and there is no more death. I’m not sure about the details of what eternity with God means, but I do know that heaven is real and that heaven is good.

Tuesday afternoon I spent time with my neighbor of over forty years. His wife died this week. We talked about a lifetime of shared memories. Our children played together in one another’s homes. Our lives are connected by many stories. Now she is gone and he is left with memories and uncertainties about what life alone will be like. He looks forward to heaven.

Yesterday I took a friend to visit her husband. He is in a hospice house in downtown Washington. She is too frail to be able to drive herself to see him. She sat by his bed and watched as he labored for each breath. He would call out for her and she would reply, “I’m here. I’m right here.” He held her hand and said that everything was foggy. He said he was ready to go home. We understood that he did not mean the house they had shared for so many years. He was ready for heaven.

Last night a good friend came over with a stack of pictures of her father. He died this week and the memorial service will be Saturday. The pictures were images to capture the highlights of a long and happy life. My husband will put them into a power point show to be viewed at the service on Saturday. How can fifty pictures tell the story of a man’s life? My friend knows she will see her father again in heaven.

What do you think it will be like in heaven? Does the thought of heaven bring you comfort?

Motherhood

October 22, 1963, was a day that changed my life forever. I became a mother and my world turned upside down. I have learned that a topsy-turvy world is normal for parents.

I thought I was well prepared for motherhood. I had babysat and been around children all my life. I wanted to be mother. I was a labor & delivery room nurse. I knew what to expect. I was experienced with newborn babies. None of that prepared me for what being a mother really means. I was unprepared for the emotions. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this fierce, protective overwhelming love that has guided my every thought and decision since that day. I never knew what fatigue really was before I had children who were so very present. They never stopped needing me. I was unprepared for the anger a usually adorable two-year- old in the midst of a “terrible twos” episode generated in me. There was this enormous feeling of uncertainty. I always thought my parents just knew what to do because they were parents. The truth was that there were so many times that I had no idea what was the right thing to do. Then my children turned into teenagers. They were good kids, but I lived in a perpetual state of fear. They were so confident and felt so sure of themselves. They took risks that made me tremble. They made friends that made me uncomfortable. Then they did something that I was totally unprepared for. They grew up. It just surprised me. One day they were babies, who needed me for everything, and then I turned around and they had all become adults. I am stilled a bit stunned that these wonderful people who are my best friends are in fact my babies. Letting them go and become the good people they have become was the hardest and the best part of being their mom. I am intensely proud of each of them. I still love them with a fierce, protective, overwhelming love. They amaze me.

Happy birthday, Laurel! Thank you for being you. Thank you for putting up with being our practice child. I love you!

Applemania

AM’s older kids went camping with friends this past weekend. On the way home they made the required stop at the Apple House bringing home a big bag of apples and two dozen fresh apple donuts. A fresh donut from the Apple House is like a taste of heaven. It just melts in your mouth and makes you feel better all over. The taste is a spiritual feast. So yummy.

Last night Grampa and our 12-year-old grandson were home alone for a while. The boy decided to try to improve on the basic apple donut and created a new dessert. The ingredients were apple donut, marshmallow fluff, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. They both said it was delicious and there was none left, but I’m not sure my stomach could handle much of that creation.

Tonight’s event was the making of apple pies. Grampa and young friend Emmy got AM’s apple corer, peeler, slicer gadget out and prepared the apples, Gramma Ev mixed the apples with the sugar and spices, AM used her crutch to point to where things were in her kitchen and I put the pies in the oven. In the midst of the slicing and stirring, Emmy laughed and said, “This is applemania!” There was a lot of laughter baked into those pies. They tasted wonderful.

Got any good apple recipes?

Time

There are moments when you realize that time is just flying by at a speed you can’t comprehend. There are other moments when time just drags and you can’t believe that life is taking so long.

AM is counting the days until her cast comes off and she will be free again. The moments drag. She can’t wait until that moment comes. It is taking soooo long. The older kids are going camping with friends this weekend. They can’t wait until tonight. It seems like the moment will never come. I’ve been doing some work on the computer this morning. It is so slow today. It feels like forever before the screen I want finally appears. The time drags.

Last week I took my fourteen-year-old granddaughter to buy a dress to wear to the homecoming dance. She found a dress that makes her look absolutely beautiful. She loves it. I hate the dress because it makes her look so grown up. Where did the time go? How did she grow up so fast?

I looked in the mirror this morning and some old lady was looking back at me. When did I get this old? How did the time go so fast?

Is time dragging or flying by for you today?

Ordinary Time

We changed churches a few years ago and learned about the liturgical year. This was a new thing for us and we found it an interesting learning tool that we liked it. When you ask most folks what part of the church year they like best they will say either Christmas or Easter. Personally my favorite is that long period knows as Ordinary Time. Holidays are fun, but we spend most of our life doing the daily ordinary things. Long ago one of my children asked me what my hobby was and I told him it was doing laundry. “Oh,” he said, “is that why you do it all the time?” I find joy in doing the daily things in life and remembering to be thankful for the ability to do that chore. The other night we pulled out a deck of Zen Tarot cards that my daughter owns and we each pulled a card that was supposed to give us insight into our situation and use it as a meditation for the day. It seemed appropriate that the card I pulled was Ordinariness. The explanation for the card said, “Beauty can found in the simple, ordinary things of life…Cleaning the house, cooking the meals take on a sacred quality when performed with love…. Take things simply, one step at a time.” The card did seem right for this time when I have taken over the ordinary chores of running the house for my daughter.

Here are some of my favorite ordinary things:

1. The smell of freshly laundered clothes as I fold them and put them into my grandchildren’s rooms. I am glad they have good clothes to wear.

2. The sounds of birds coming in the window as I read.

3. Sharing my first cup of morning coffee with my daughter.

4. Delicious dinners prepared by people who love us.

5. Sleeping in my own bed.

6. Sitting by my grandchildren in church and hearing them sing.

7. A big hug from a friend who understands why am I so tired.

8. Walking

9. Singing

10. My sweet husband who loves me in good times and in bad.

What are some of the ordinary things in your life that bring you joy?

Life Goes On

AM is feeling better. She now is the proud owner of a wheelchair with a leg support. With her new wheels she can get around the ground floor of her house and we were even able to get her to church on Sunday. She is only taking the good drugs at bedtime now. Ibuprofen gets her through the day so she is not feeling so groggy. She has a post-op visit this afternoon to remove the stitches and hopefully get a lighter weight, more comfortable cast.

I have finally looked around beyond my busyness and noticed the world has just continued right on. Babies have been born, other people are sick, or have far bigger problems than ours. The summer trees have started to turn yellow and red with colorful leaves swirling in the air. Life just continues on with or without my participation.

Yesterday was AM’s youngest child’s tenth birthday. My how the time has flown! She celebrated the day by eating Cold Stone ice cream for breakfast. On your birthday you get to break a few rules.

I find that almost everyone has a broken bone story. Whenever I tell about my daughter's broken leg I hear about someone else who had a worse break. What’s your broken bone story? What happened? What was it like when it you were recovering?