• Kindred spirits…

    February 27, 2013 / 4 Comments

    The past few months have been a challenge.  I’ve been through enough changes in my life that I scored quite high on the “stress level” meter.  I have fought to remain positive but, as you already know, that is sometimes beyond our reach.  When I first arrived in the Midwest six months ago, I spent two months living with my daughter and her precious family (my grandchildren thought they’d hit the jackpot!).  My belongings were stored floor to ceiling in her garage.  Not one word of complaint from her or my son-in-love, an amazing young man.

    When the worst of the depression hit months ago, I spent four days in an out-patient “depression class” which lasted all day long.  (Remember I was a Psych nurse for ten years and believe in getting help when needed!) When my grandchildren asked where I went early each morning, my daughter simply said “she’s going to a depression class”.  Each night at dinner, I had tales about who had joined the class that day (no names or details of course).  One day, a beautiful young Sandra Bullock-look-alike joined the class.  The next day it was Al Pacino’s double!  On my last day, Dennis Hopper showed up (nevermind he had died by then).  There was laughter at the dinner table and my grandchildren were so happy that Grandmom “graduated first in her class from depression school”!  Their words – not mine!  Mainly, they were glad I was home again during the day.

    When the time came for me to move into my own apartment/condo, my grandchildren weren’t so sure they wanted to part with me.  Thankfully, I’m only 14 minutes from them if I hit all the green lights just so.  They love coming over here.  They are my little kindred spirits.  They can read me like a book.  Especially my eight year old granddaughter.  She searches my face for signs that I am fine.  I may think that I am hiding tears or sadness from them, but they are not to be fooled.  Thankfully, there are very few tears now and even though they don’t realize it – they remind me, once again, that I am strong.  I am thankful for my daughter who is the biggest kindred spirit of all.  I am thankful for the closeness and the memories we are making.

    Spending time playing with grandchildren is the very best therapy in the world.  Anytime I am at my daughter’s or they are here, there is an abundance of laughter.  Laughter releases endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller, and makes anyone feel good…

    candle

  • A promise of Spring…

    February 25, 2013 / 4 Comments

    There may be snow on the ground – and evidently more in the forecast – but there is a promise of Spring on my table, a sweet gift from my precious daughter.   These are Long Life tulips from Bloomaker.  They will be a gorgeous shade of pink and I am looking forward to seeing them bloom!

    My daughter purchased one for me and one for herself as she, too, looks forward to Spring and planting all 32 varieties of vegetables and herbs that she has ordered!  Her plans are to rent two large gardening plots in a local gardening co-op.  My beautiful, artistic, athletic daughter has turned into a homesteading, cooking-everything-from-scratch goumet cook!  She would love a farm on ten acres or more!  Maybe that will be in the not too distant future.

    In the meantime, we’ll watch our tulips grow and wait for Spring in the midst of an Iowa Winter…

  • Over the river and through the woods…

    November 26, 2012 / 6 Comments

    Over the river and through the woods, to Aunt Penny’s house we go…

    Actually, it was eleven hours by interstate and the prairie farm backroads of Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas…but the end result was definitely worth it!  It had been two long years since we’d all been together in one place…my children, my grandchildren and myself. Not since the summer of 2010 when we all met in Chicago.  At that time, my oldest and his family were returning home from almost 7 years on the medical mission field in Peru.

    Thanksgiving 2012…and all my precious grandchildren

    We all drove from three different directions to meet in Memphis…where I had grown up…where my children were born and, sadly, where their father is buried.  My children’s paternal Aunt Penny and Uncle Mike graciously hosted our family in Memphis…along with their three sons, wives and four grandchildren.  Thank you, Aunt Penny and Uncle Mike!  We love you!  My oldest and his wife are host parents to a fourteen year old South Korean foreign exchange student this school year so this was her first Thanksgiving. Altogether, there were 27 of us there for the Thanksgiving feast!  It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and I found myself wishing more than once that their Dad could have been their with us…no doubt he was in spirit.

    On Friday night, my niece Sharon and her husband joined us for a fun Corky’s Barbecue dinner.  Delicious food and fun fellowship!  Sharon and Tommy’s son and his wife and their two children stopped by to see us.  They were headed to the Christmas tree lighting at their church so they couldn’t stay for Corky’s.  It was so good to see them!

    I loved watching all my grandchildren playing together and sometimes pairing off by age and interests.  It thrilled me to see the love (and talent for) art in all my grandchildren as well as the love of music.  Four grandchildren are superb on the piano and one plays the violin beautifully.  (I know I sound just like a grandmother – what can I say?!  It’s true all the same.)  The love of books and reading was evident as well.

    I was in grandmother heaven until it came time to say goodbye to each one…then I was a crybaby.  Now, it will mean flights to see my sons and their families…and waiting until we are all together again.  Thankfully, for my daughter and four of my grandchildren, I can just get in the car and drive 14 minutes.  😉

    To see more of the Thanksgiving crazy fun, enjoy the slideshow below!  Just click the arrows to forward or reverse pics.

     

     

    P.S. For those of you who asked for them, the cookie recipes are now at the bottom of the previous post! 😉

    Note:  The Thanksgiving song above is here.

  • One week from today…

    November 14, 2012 / 5 Comments

    One week from today, I will be in a mini-van with my daughter and her family (seven of us) traveling (11 hours!) home to Memphis for Thanksgiving.  Memphis is where I grew up, fell in love and got married (39 years) and had three wonderful children.  My three sisters (two now in Heaven) and I spent so much time together in Memphis and Mississippi.  My nieces and nephews are so much a part of my life there.  The closer I get to Memphis, the more the memories come flooding in…whether I’m flying into the airport there or on a rare drive.

    The last time all of my children and grandchildren were in ONE location (always my dream), was in June 2010 in Chicago.  What a wonderful time we had!  My precious little Peruvian granddaughter – never shy – walked in first to the hotel room where we all were and proceeded to introduce her big sisters and then herself.  A perfect introduction.  Of course, she didn’t realize that she was the one everyone  was meeting for the first time!  (Except for me of course – I had been to Peru in 2008 where my son was a missionary doctor.)  Special memories.

    I’m looking forward to making more special memories as we are all together in Memphis with my late husband’s sister Penny and her family.  This time, my younger son’s fourteen month old  baby girl will be there too!  I can’t wait to hold her!  Although now she is so “busy” I probably won’t be able to hold her for long, but we can definitely play.  She will be so excited to be with all of her cousins!  My precious niece Sharon and her husband will come over for a fun barbecue dinner.  I can’t wait to see them!  I miss everyone and wish that we ALL lived closer to one another!  My youngest says “but, Mom, you gave us roots and wings”!  Let that be a lesson to me – about the “wings” that is!  😉

    Chicago 2010

     

    Featured photo at top:  Sweet baby girl!  She will have so much fun with her cousins in Memphis!

    I would be tempted to stay in Memphis and visit a while longer then fly back home to Iowa; however, I do not want to miss the first birthday that my baby girl and I have been able to spend together in a very long time.  My birthday (and her late Dad’s birthday also) is December 1.  Her birthday is December 4th!  She was almost born on OUR birthday.  She took the photo below at arm’s length under flourescent lights the night of the Great Pumpkin Party at our church!  Please remember:  flourescent lights are not kind to anyone!  😉

     

  • Saturday morning work party…

    November 3, 2012 / 13 Comments

    The alarm went off at 7:30 this morning.  I was in a deep sleep, snuggled under the warm covers…definitely not in any hurry to get out of bed.  However, I knew my daughter would be here at 9:00 a.m. and ready to work.  The two of us were tackling my storage room on the lowest level of this condo building.  There are actually condos on that level too, although I definitely would not want to live down there.  The hallway on the lower level appears long and not very brightly lit to me.  My daughter says it reminds her of the hallway in the movie “The Shining”!   I’m glad my condo is on the second floor, but I am happy to have the storage room down there which is about 10′ x 12′ and close to full.

    I had enjoyed my previous “studio” but there certainly isn’t room for one here.  Instead, we are setting it up in my daughter’s large basement and I will spend a few days each week at her house – with the two of us sewing and creating whatever our hearts desire.

    I had warned her that I had a “boatload” of fabrics and sewing supplies.  The two of us hauled large box after box of fabrics and supplies to her vehicle (thankfully, her husband and older son will be there to carry them in at home for her).  There was a lot of laughter and comedy as we opened each box to discover the contents.  Needless to say, she is very exited about OUR new studio!  😉

    Next, comes the process of organizing it all at her house…and then the fun begins!

  • The stories…

    August 31, 2012 / 1 Comment

    I had not been in the Midwest – or in my daughter’s busy home – for very long at all when “the stories” began.  They would start with a simple word the children would say and, then, that word would evolve into a children’s story in my head.  I began to think of them as “gifts”.

    My computer had not yet arrived – neither had anything else.  And, so, I would disappear into their study/classroom and enter the stories into their computer.  I did remember to bring my “jump” drive and would save them there.  Sometimes, one of the children would be in the classroom studying and I would tell the story to them.  They loved them.  The youngest especially would like it when the story would be about him. Perhaps there would be hope at the end of this “living on a retirement pension” tunnel…

    My daughter is an amazing artist and I began to realize that she could illustrate these – what I was beginning to think were pretty doggone good stories – and I could actually have them published.  That would, of course, involve my stepping into HER shoes to free her up so that she could paint and illustrate!