The Very Best Christmas

Shelby and I had a few last minute things to pick up from the store, and while we were driving we noticed several near-miss accidents. Everybody was in a horrible rush. One lady laid angrily on her horn behind me, wanting me to turn in front of another car, I guess. When she zipped around me, I resisted the impulse to flip the bird, and instead waved and said, “Merry Christmas” to her.

I commented that so many people get stressed out trying to recreate the best Christmas they ever had, but this is an impossibility because you can’t buy the Very Best Christmas. Then, reminiscing:

The Very Best Christmas, I received a dog tag engraved “Mom”.

The Very Best Christmas, I opened a package with a macaroni necklace.

The Very Best Christmas was any when my Grandma was still alive. Or, my Dad. Or, Andy.

This year will also be the Very Best Christmas.

I have my health.
I have my Mom.
I have my friends.
I have my children.
I have my grandchildren.
I have my Arthur.

And of course we always celebrate the FIRST Very Best Christmas; when a special Baby was born to teach us how to love and care for one another.

If we can just remember that lesson, every year will always be the Very Best Christmas.

... only one Dad

"There are billions of people in the world, but only one Dad."

Thank you, miserable razor company, for reminding us of this inescapable fact over and over again at Christmas time. :(

Final thoughts about ornaments

These are just a few of many decorations that were given to me as gifts. The Starbucks one from Shelby needs no explanation to those who know me! :) The bell is one of the remaining few Twelve Days of Christmas" ornaments that my brother Doug gave me the year Shelby was born. The nurse jingle bell is a little sweetie from my mom, but the sweetest memory among these is the Energizer Bunny. That was a special gift from Andy. He knew I wanted it, and he went to several stores before he found one.



Here are some more ornaments that remind me of Grandma. She was always quite clever at arts and crafts, so she helped me make ornaments out of wooden sewing spools and pieces of broken up costume jewelry. They will probably be with us for many generations because they are indestructable.


The white deer was a trinket she bought me at the old JL Hudsons in downtown Detroit. It originally held bright colored lollipops tied with curly ribbons. And the trumpet is actually a baby rattle of mine!

As time passes and things seem to blur and fade, I'm so happy to have all of these multi-colored memories that I can hold in my hand.

Holiday Decorating Continues

I have stated several times in the past that when Art and I married and blended our past lives together, that there is something very intimate about mixing two sets of Christmas ornaments together.

If that's true, this must be an Ornament Orgy.


So many ornaments, so many stories!


These are a few of my kids' favorite decorations. John loves that old styrofoam snowman that I colored with a magic marker! He doesn't even know why except that we've had it as long as he can remember.


These are some of Art's favorites. Several of them were hand made by Sue.


These were from my jobs over the years. I especially love the hand made ones from school kids.


It wouldn't be Christmas without Sue's Elvis. :)


Wonderful old memories, but we have some of our own memories, too...!

Including:
Mr. and Mrs. were a gift from my mom the Christmas before Art and I were married.

I have a few more to share, but that will be for another day. Have a Merry Thursday, everybody!

P.S.

This is a P.S. to my previous entry...

We took out all of our ornaments today to prepare to trim the real tree in the next couple of days. Look what I still have! This is the only one of Grandma's birds still in existence and, as you can see, he is in desperate need of some TLC, if not CPR!



Now that I think of it, I'll bet I can fix him right up. A couple of new googly eyes, and some jaunty new tail and wing feathers might be all it takes. Sounds like a fun little holiday project! :)

A new tree for Grandma's table

This is not the first time I have posted this photo of a three-year-old me with my Grandma, but this photo holds such special memories. The little pink tree was absolute childhood magic with it's glitter and feather birds swaying in the twilight shadows, beneath tiny clear twinkle lights. Grandma and her wonderful tree were treasures that seemingly would be part of my life forever.


Then one year, to my sorrow, Grandma's little tree was gone. Evidently it had become quite shabby, although I never noticed. I begged her to get another pink tree, but she was unable to find one. Styles change, and aluminum trees were the newest "in" thing. That didn't suit either one of us, so the glittery birds took up residence among the other ornaments in the full sized tree.

(They looked just like these, but they had feathers on them.)

Years passed and one by one the bird ornaments broke or fell apart. I grew up, married. Jimmy came into the world, then Grandma died and took some more of the magic with her. When Grandpa moved in with my parents, I was given several pieces of their furniture that I still treasure today. Several pieces... including the little drop-leaf table that the little tree used to sit on every year.

During a recent shopping trip I was stunned to see nothing less than a little pink Christmas tree nestled among the taller green trees in the store. It was a bit different than the original, but it was little and pink! I didn't have enough cash with me then, but Art brought it home today and we set it up on Grandma's table.



The memories make it beautiful. I wonder... I wonder if glittery feather birds could bring back some of the magic...

A Few Turkey Day Photos

All tucked in, nice and cozy.

It's the end of another season. My garden has gone from this:




...to this:




I always feel a bit wistful at the end of each season, particularly as fall moves into winter. It does help, though, to look ahead to another spring.



It's the time of year to plant more of those "Hope Flowers" I mentioned awhile back.



Springtime in the form of a sleeping bulb is tucked snug in it's bed, along with several dozen brothers and sisters.

The thought of that helps warm my soul throughout the winter.

A couple of little happy tidbits

Tidbit #1: Bloglines is BACK!!! A new company has agreed to take over the operations of the Bloglines Reader from Ask.com. It was supposed to be closed forever, and I was frantically moving my subscriptions elsewhere. To me, Bloglines is the most user friendly RSS reader, so I am very happy with the news!!!

Tidbit #2: (If you are my friend on facebook you can skip this one since this proud mom has already trumpeted the news.) My son Jimmy has been obsessively programming an app for iphone, working in collaboration with a college friend. The app is known as Pocket Percussion teacher. Three days ago it was accepted by Apple and released on the Apple Store. It has been selling extremely well, and the ratings are starting to come in. They are wonderfully positive!!! So, naturally I am thrilled, and proud and happy for Robbie and Jim.



Well, I guess there is a Tidbit #3, but is not on my happy list. The same day that the iphone app came out, we learned we have a major plumbing leak under the house that is going to cost us beaucoup bucks. It is in the hot water line, and the entire line needs to be replaced. The plumber is supposed to be here as soon as he finishes another job, so in the mean time, we have no hot water. Sigh. But, I won't complain too much. At least we have running water and a warm place to live. :)

When only the soul can hear

I had to pay a difficult visit today, and I'm writing this to work through some of my feelings. If this is a bit disjointed I apologize, so please bear with me...

One of my good friends is in grave condition in the ICU, and is not expected to live more than another couple of days. This friend and I worked together for seven years at an elementary school on the South side of town.

Not only were we coworkers, but we had a little bit of a cosmic connection. She and I lost our husbands within a few months of each other. She sat with me at the hospital as Andy fought for life, and in turn I sat with her. She attended Andy's services, and a short time later I was sitting at the Shrine Temple at her husband's memorial.

She kindly took me and my kids to the Shrine Circus during the early days of our loss. We cried together, laughed together at things that others probably would not find humorous... then, about the same time as I dipped my toe in the world of a new relationship, she also decided she was ready. She is warm, kind, artistic and funny, and it was no surprise to me that a new gentleman found the specialness in her. They married the weekend Art and I returned from our honeymoon.

I went to a different school assignment about 4 years ago, but we continued to call each other, always ending the conversation with "we need to get together and do something fun," but as so often happens, we got busy...and the "something fun" never happened.

When I visited today, I was able to relay something pleasant. I guess there really are no coincidences, because earlier that day while I was thinking about my upcoming visit, a 10th grader came into the clinic. It was a girl that I knew from when she was in elementary school... and my friend had been her kindergarten teacher! I have a lot of my former students, but not many from that elementary. The high school I'm at is a North side school, and the elementary is a South side school. But there she was, and she knew me! I asked if she remembered her former teacher, and her eyes lit up.

"Oh, Nurse Stephanie! She was my favorite teacher! She was always so nice!"

I shared that message to my friend in ICU, then reminisced for quite awhile and, even though she is in a coma, I swear she heard me. As a nurse, I know all about involuntary movements, but there was positively a brief change of expression and a tear in the corner of her eye. Medical science knows a lot about how the human body works, but not much about the soul.

As I prepared to leave, I did not say goodbye. I said, "I will see you again one of these days."

Then, because as long as there is life there is hope, I was thinking on one hand about her dear husband and our wonderful friends from the school. But on the other hand I thought about our loved ones on the other side. I told her, "Tell everybody I say 'Hi'."

We said "NO!" :)

Once Upon a Time there were two people who were so busy, it never seemed they had time to spend together just relaxing...

~~~~~~

This past weekend was Fall Break, but even so there were activities in which Art and I could have been participating. Perhaps even "SHOULD" have been participating.

But the sun, stars, and moon aligned to give us a few days to ourselves. It was Homecoming Weekend at Oklahoma State University, and what could be more fun for John than to go for a college weekend with his sister and her friends? So off he went, and we were free. FREE!!!! Free...

... except for a couple loose ends of little obligations.

But you know what? We decided we deserved our own weekend to spend together. So we said "NO" to every other activity, and "YES" to US!

Break is now over, and it's back to work tomorrow. However, we had a great time simply spending our time together, and are so glad for once we said "NO"!

~~~~~~

The End. :)

Goodbye Big Bertha....

Big Bertha has been a very important member of our family, and will be sorely missed. Don't worry too much... she is not a person, but our 1998 Windstar minivan. Shelby named her, because Bertha was the first vehicle she ever drove and therefore needed a cute nickname.



Bertha accompanied us on many adventures, many of them pivotal events of our lives. She moved Arthur here from Michigan back in 2003, and made herself at home here in Oklahoma City.



She carried a bunch of Northern goodies for us when we returned from Niagara Falls and Northern Michigan where we spent our honeymoon in 2004.



She faithfully took us on many excursions and summer vacations, until the year she decided to blow her transmission in Springfield, Missouri on the way to Arthur's parent's 60th anniversary celebration. After that, we decided the old lady was too old for cross-country road trips.



Even though she was no longer a strong work horse, she was like a family pet. We would drive her short distances whenever we needed to carry lots of people and lots of stuff. She would faithfully start up in rain and snow, and although she was beginning to make lots of funny noises, we could still count on her to get us safely to where we wanted to go.



Big Bertha's last major assignment was to spend time with Shelby as her transportation at college. The funny noises had increased to where Shelby did not drive her back and forth from Stillwater to the City .... Bertha just lived there on campus. At the end of the school year, Bertha's days were numbered. We knew it was becoming time to send her to that great highway in the sky.

Today we took her to a nice man that worked at a place that had lots of old and new cars who promised to send her off to her next home, and even gave us her plates as a souvenier. He felt sorry for our loss, so he let us take home a younger truck to try to console us.



The truck is nice and all, but Big Bertha, I will miss you!

Our 2010 State Fair Button

Here is this year's Great State Fair photo button...



...the tradition of our family mentioned in John's essay. And, look! The Shriners have gone totally techie! Although the buttons have been digital for the past 4 years or so, this year even the outside banner is computerized. I am sure it is a lot more cost effective than the old Polaroid photos!

The photo button was not this year's biggest highlight of the fair. Our gang decided to surprise John with a 16th birthday celebration.... which was easier than it sounds. He knew we were going to the fair, he just didn't know we made plans for the family to meet up with a cake and presents. Shelby took him off to the midway, and his guests arrived to set up a picnic table with goodies! Pretty sneaky, eh?

Here is a quick little video of our crazy bunch, if you have not already seen it on Facebook. The Fair is a wonderful way of keeping our memories of the past connected with the joys of the present. :)

John's Reflections of his Dad and the State Fair

Once again, State Fair time has come and gone and as always we made sure that we purchased our annual Shriner's photo button. I will scan and post this year's image very soon, but today I am going to share a personal narrative family essay that John wrote about our annual tradition, specifically how much it meant to him the year Andy died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every fall since 1987, it has been a family tradition in my family to go to the State Fair of Oklahoma and get our picture taken at the Indian Shrine Clown photo booth. That tradition was on the line in 2002 and I was full of concerns. Would the tradition be condemned because Dad had passed away at the beginning of that year? Would I be ready to take the picture without him by my side?

It was a beautiful warm and breezy September day. It was the day to spend at the fair. I was so ready to get through that gate into the sea of excitement and good spirit that the fair brings the state year after year.

“The whole gang is coming; we can’t go just because you’re ready.” Mom reminded me as I mercilessly nagged to leave. Before we left she decided that everyone would wear one of Dads hats in memory of him. She assigned me the job of passing them out. As I handed them to Shelby, Bear, Kelly, Mom, Uncle Terry, Lesley, Kendy, Chris, and Logan; each hat brought back memories of better times. When I stepped back and looked at everyone smiling I knew everything would be alright.

On the way I buried myself in thoughts. My mind was overflowing with questions and worries.

“It’s not going be the same without him” I repeatedly told myself. I knew how much this meant to him so I was overwhelmed, as well as terrified that it wouldn’t go like he would have wanted it.

I knew we were almost there as soon as I could see the space needle towering in the distance. I was running short on time to collect my thoughts. “What am I going to do?”

We pulled into the gate 23 parking lot and parked in the paid section. I knew that meant it wouldn’t be long until we were in. As I handed my ticket to the taker I decided it was time to suck it up and snap to reality. When I got through the gate I looked left and right but I couldn’t decide which way to go. Instead of wasting time contemplating, I just went with my first instinct and went right. Reflecting back on that now I regret that decision because the booth was right around the corner to left. That being the case, it wasn’t until we walked completely around the grounds that I saw a clown blowing up a balloon animal. My eyes lit up and without even thinking about it I dashed as fast as I could to the booth. I was so excited that I didn’t even stop to think that my whole family wasn’t running as well. I had to wait as they lollygagged their way over to the booth. Mom and I gathered everyone together on the side of the booth because there were too many of us to take the photo inside.

Limbo the clown came out with the camera and asked “Is everyone ready?” “Say Limbo!” I had to squint as he snapped the picture because I the sun was blaring down on the side of the booth. I knew that wherever Dad was he had a grin on his face because it went exactly how he would have wanted it.

The rest of the night was fun, but nothing could compare to the perfect picture and a tradition perfectly kept alive by love and devotion by my family and our love for Dad. Even still the tradition is kept alive for him, and every year we take something to represent him in the picture. Our newest picture was taken on 9-26-2010. Dad will never be forgotten and he will always be my hero. A tradition should never die because someone is no longer with us.

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Follow me?...

A little note to my online community:

Recently, much to my dismay, Ask.com released a statement that they are closing down the Bloglines site. This created a dilemma in my life; how in the world am I going to be able to keep up with my blog subscriptions??? How will I know when one cyber friend gives birth? How can I see the wedding pictures of another, or try to give comfort to a blogger who keeps a grief journal, if I no longer have that wonderful tool that organizes all my reading material into one simple place?

Not only that, how would my two or three regular readers be able to find me? They would forever wonder whether Shelby graduated from college and married her high school beau, or did she decide to enter a convent instead? Did John succeed in getting his driver's licence, how many grey hairs did he give his mother in doing so, and did he become a major league ball player? I CAN'T desert my faithful friends!

I pondered and searched, but the only rss readers I could find were complicated and had to be downloaded, unlike my beautiful, simple Bloglines! But, Eureka!!! Tonight, with the October 1st deadline looming on the horizon, I have found one! So now, my two or three regular readers, you can subscribe HERE!:)

Or if you are on Facebook, you can subscribe via Networked Blogs: Click here.

Goodbye Bloglines. I'm sad to see you go. :(

This has been a public service announcement. You may now return to your regular internet surfing!!!

Just a little wish....

~~~

Happy birthday AB, wherever your spirit rests today.

~~~

Remembering the emotion after 9/11

It is often difficult to go back and capture feelings from the past. Even the happiest occasions or the most tragic events in our lives have their poignant edges sanded and softened by time, and the feelings become a shadow of the original.

But then there is music. Music always has a way of putting me back in the moment, and this video is a perfect example. This is the original performance of "Where were You," performed by Alan Jackson at the CMA Awards, three weeks after 9/11. He later recorded it in a studio, but the studio recording lacks much of the emotion of this one. When I watch it today, I am transported back to that night when a grieving country sat mesmerized as the simple, but powerful, words he sang helped unify us in spirit.

"Faith Hope and Love are some good things He gave us...and the greatest is Love."

Old School Pirate Band

Last night was the debut of the Pirate Band's 2010 marching show. It made me realize that I have been a band parent for a long, LONG time!!! :) Let's see... Jimmy graduated in 1997, so 4 years of high school and 2 years of middle school band... WOW It's been since fall of 1991! Almost 20 years of non-stop percussion. And you all wonder why I am crazy??? :-)

I am very proud of all my band kids, but today I'm putting the spotlight on Jimmy. This is a video from when he was in Jr. High in 1993... specifically what is now Capps Middle School. (Cooper had not been built yet.) He is the slightly nervous musician playing keyboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXIX-GTDvTo



And this is the Pirate Marching Band 1996-97 Jim is the tall guy on the snare line.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S25v-H_Acwo



Long live Band.... and Band Parents!!!