The Girls are Back

Squeals of delight.  Arms outstretched wide as legs propel forward.  Eyes shining with anticipation.  And my granddaughters look that way too as we find each other at the airport!  Is there anything more wonderful than being greeted by the cutest toddler in the world who smiles as she lifts her arms to be picked up and says “Ga-ma”?!

Emily, Molly and their beautiful mother are here for the week.  The best Christmas gift ever, after Jesus Christ.  What will we do while they are here?  Well, we have to make a Target run of course – at least one – that’s a given.  And a visit to the Austin Children’s Museum is a must.  And have a visit from Aunt Lena, and Uncle Walter, and Aunt Tracy. 

But we won’t spend the entire time driving in the car or in busy-ness.  We’ll play a lot in the grandkids room – with Bambi, blocks, Noah and his animals, and lots and lots of books.  We’ll chase up and down the stairs a million times and laugh every time we get to the top.  We’ll make a gingerbread house, eat Grandma’s famous Christmas cookies, make some more cookies, play the piano, consider the presents under the tree, gaze at the lovely ornaments and lights, and walk by the inside Christmas dog Duke to hear him sing “Up on the housetop ho ho ho”.  We’ll splash in the bath.  Have wonderful dinners prepared by Grandpa and eat off matching Christmas dishes with special napkins.  We’ll take some cookies to a few of Grandma’s friends and some neighbors.  Their mother and I will watch a movie if we get the girls to bed in time, and spend every chance we get talking and sharing.  We’ll hug and smooch and tickle a lot.  We’ll have an occasional time out when little ones get cranky, but it won’t be needed often.  We’ll read the Christmas story, and go to church together as a family on Christmas Eve.  We’ll rearrange the figures on the nativity scenes set about in the living room, and talk about the wonder of the shepherds, the angels, and the wise men.  We’ll pray, and thank God for our many, many blessings.

And if we are truly fortunate, we’ll nap  :)

Turns out I DO have the camping gene

I confess I wasn’t really looking forward to The RV Trip.  It’s not that I didn’t want to spend time with family – I love that.  But for me, prone to motion sickness and a complete lack of the ‘camping gene’, the idea of 6 hours in a large moving bus to go to a campground was not enticing.  Even knowing how much my husband was looking forward to it, and how much fun he and his son would have jacking with every knob, lever, switch and handle on the unfamiliar rented vehicle the size of Delaware, and the lure of hiking in good weather (which I do enjoy) was not enough to overcome my reluctance. 

My last RV experience was nearly 30 years ago.  It too was across state lines, and the only significant memory I have of that trip was how nauseated I was and how sick I was for the entire trip.  And there was the teeny tiny detail that neither Paul nor his son Chris had ever driven anything approaching 40’ long.  Like I said, I’m not camper – my idea of camping is “which hotel are we staying in”.  The only saving grace was that I’d be with kids and grandkids, so I decided to try not to worry about motion sickness.

We arrived in Plano Thursday night to the sight of a large RV in Chris’ cul-de-sac.  An ear-splitting horn sounded as soon as we parked, and even in the rain Paul couldn’t wait to go check this thing out.  I was happy with just taking our things to the room and getting ready for bed.

The next morning the RV looked bigger – much bigger than it had in the dark and in the rain.  I began to feel hopeful about not being sick on this trip as we loaded up the food, gear and baggage.  Tyler kept running in every few minutes saying, “We’re leaving in 15 minutes!”  “We’re leaving in only 1 hour!”  “We are leaving in 30 minutes!”   Eventually we were all aboard and the leaving horn sounded.  Dawn and the kids and I found places in the back while Captain Chris was in the driver’s seat with Grandpa riding shotgun.

Grandpa was in “jack with it” heaven.  Seriously.  He had a checklist and busied himself with checking all the latches, jacking with the window blinds, and scoping out the instrument panel.  Took him a while to get into the navigator role, as we took our first wrong turn after only 30 minutes.  But we got righted, and Grandpa continued with his checklist:  “Generator - On!   Inverter - On!  Battery – oops!!”  Those sounds along with other noises that can’t be described in this blog serenaded us in the back.

Meanwhile, behind the driver area we were having our own adventures.  Dawn in particular had exceptional timing each time she went to the kitchen area to make a snack for the kids.  Almost as if timed, as soon as she was at the counter opening or spreading or slicing she would get slung around from a sharp turn by the RV.  I’d glance over to see her clinging to the counter for dear life, jelly caps and apple parts flying.   But she was a great sport about it, and it was the source of some good laughs for us.   We had a great sandwich lunch on the road and as we got close to the campsite Tyler and I played I Spy.

A gas stop was needed before we arrived so we picked a place with diesel and lumbered in.  It took so long to fill up I was beginning to get worried we’d make it before nightfall.  Later I realized a good chunk of that time was spent figuring out how to open the gas cap….

At the campsite we spotted our reserved site – a beautiful spot on the water with a great view.  Captain and Navigator had quite the discussion about heading in v. backing in and finally decided to head in so that when we were inside we’d still have the great view.  Carefully the RV was maneuvered into place, the jacks were lowered, and there we were with our gorgeous view.  We had noticed that every other RV had backed into their spot, and soon it became clear why:  the water and sewer hookups were on the other side.   Fortunately one of our neighbors noticed our predicament and came to the rescue with an extra, long-enough hose.  Now we were set. 

It turns out DO have a camping gene!  All it takes to activate it is the right amount of motion sickness pills and the most luxurious RV known to civilized man.  In our case, the 35’ Discovery Fleetwood – 10 tons of fully automatic, fully equipped living space designed for comfort and ease.   Once I realized I was not getting sick to my stomach, I could turn my attention to notice all the amenities.   Plenty of seating for those of us not driving or navigating; fully stocked refrigerator and snack cabinets; 4 burner gas stove and microwave; coffee maker; working bathroom (including shower) while you were rolling down the road; built-in inverter so you can stay plugged in to charge and power cell phones, laptops, I pads, and whatever else needs power; ample storage space; and if you really want to relax you can go take a nap in the bedroom on the sleep number bed.  Now this was camping even I could do!!

While we were camped in Lake Ouachita State Park we had many adventures.  We took several hikes, some in the day time where we saw the beauty of God’s handiwork, and one at night guided by Laura the Park Ranger where we learned why owls aren’t afraid of skunks (they can’t smell them) and got to see and touch lots of animal pelts.  One afternoon we had a boat excursion where we delighted in following two eagles trying to get duck for dinner – what a majestic sight that was!  Our meals were fabulous – bacon, sausage, eggs and fruit in the morning with good coffee; barbecued chicken or burgers with all the fixings at night.   Dinner was always followed by roasted marshmallows over the open campfire enjoying the cool night air and even the kids went to sleep easily after the day’s activities.  For all our fishing we did catch one catfish, although it was too small to keep.

Sunday morning we had time for one last hike on the Dogwood Trail, then it was pack up and get ready to hit the road.  We hadn’t been out on the street very long when we had to stop for something called a “dump stop”, which apparently involved disposing of our wastewater.  I tried not to look or know what they were doing as I was already battling some motion sickness.  I hadn’t considered the fact that leaving for the trip we started out on flat straight roads, for the most part, but coming home we started on winding, curving, hilly roads.  But it was manageable, and fortunately I was able to read so a good book made the trip go by fast. 

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to our kids and grandkids, and finish the trip with our last 4 hours on the road.  Hugs and kisses all around, and as we drove off I was still marveling – I DO have the camping gene!!

Owl Visits

They are in the trees by 8:15 p.m.  It’s best if fresh water is in the birdbath before 8.  But I’ve been late before, and as I walk out to the birdbath in the middle of the yard where with a full watering can of fresh water, the little gray screech owls watch me.  Silently, but in an approving, patiently waiting way.  I speak softly in sweet tones to them as they watch me dump out the dirty-bird water, rinse the bath and fill it with fresh, cool water, just waiting for them to enjoy

Almost always they come down for the first drink at 8:20 – you can set your clock by it. 

They spend at least a minute looking on all sides before daring to dip their beak down into the water.  They drink dipping their face straight down into the water, then curving their heads in an upward motion.  So graceful and magnificent.

Completely quiet in flight, you won’t hear them coming.  You have to be watching for them or you’ll miss them.   However I have learned to discern the sound of their “screech”, a misnomer I think.  It sounds more like a high pitched but soft and distant cat purr that dips into low notes before it ends.   Almost imperceptible but once you know what to listen for you can catch it.

Most summers we are lucky to see one owl once or twice during the summer.  But with the severe drought this year they have become regulars.  Most nights there are two of them, but once we had three at a time and one evening we saw four of them perched on the edge of the birdbath.  Amazing.

I think the two regulars are father and son.  The big one loves to take a bath.  After spending 4 or 5 minutes alternately drinking and watching, he’ll dip a foot farther into the bath.  Then he glides into the center and before he’s done he will have completely immersed his head several times, his tail, his full wings and is delightful dripping when he flies up to the branch to dry and groom.  At that point the little one lands or resumes drinking in earnest, but so far I’ve not seen him take a bath.

These silent, pretty, graceful creatures are fascinating to me.  They captivate me with they way they watch their surroundings and are so quick to turn or react to sounds I can’t hear.   The year I feel as if they are listening to me when I speak to them; I even saw one cock his head as I spoke while filling the bowl.  I know they’ll be gone soon but in the meantime you can find me out on my back porch each evening by 8:15.  Watching, and enjoying.

The Dress

Lena found The Dress today!   What fun it was to be there as she tried on various styles, culling down to what would become The Dress.  I wouldn’t have traded that experience for anything. 

I was so honored to be there with this “second daughter” of mine.  I am not her biological mother, but in many ways our closeness couldn’t be more Mother & Daughter.  She is also best friend to my daughter and the sister neither of them had.   As a mom I have plenty of extra advice, comments, suggestions and in this case lots of ooohs and aaaahs, and Lena wanted to hear it all. 

Lena is beautiful, very smart and knows what she wants, often to the point of stubbornness.  But she is usually right.  And when it comes to trying on wedding dresses, it is critical to know what you want or you’ll spend hours and hours just trying to decide on a style.  She had decided on the simple but elegant approach – no poofy, no lace, no excessive beads or jewels, and good heavens don’t even think of putting a flower or fish netting anywhere near her!  It had to be fitted not full, not traditional A-line, not too exposing of the bosom, the perfect white, and the perfect alignment of the bodice with that tiny, tiny waist. 

On to the fitting room, where I fastened each dress and then retrieved it for the assistant to hang up.  One hook for “possibles”, one for “no way will I wear that.”  Several of the styles suited her, and there were two very nice ones that she was beginning to think she would have a hard time choosing between.  And then she donned The Dress.

The Dress was gorgeous, elegantly flattering, the perfect cut and flow.  The gathering beneath the bodice was worked to perfection, creating an illusion of an even smaller waist, gracing the hips perfectly letting the romantic chiffon panels flow down softly to the floor.  As she stepped and turned, the panels slightly parted to reveal smooth satin underneath the outer material.  She traded the single, flowered strap for two simple spaghetti straps and voila – the perfect dress for her destination beach wedding.   You know it’s The Dress when you simply don’t want to take it off.  Ever.

Lena is going to be a beautiful bride.  And I will be there to see her say “I Do” in that gorgeous gown.   Probably with a tissue to catch happy-tears.

Elevators, Parking Garages and Towers – oh my!

I’m a city girl but not a Big City girl.  I am intimidated by skyscrapers, tall towers, and elevators with more than 7 numbered buttons to push and parking garages.  Actually, I detest parking garages – they are often illogical, not well-marked, can be dark and scary, and typically the only places I can park are at the extreme areas with the worst access and least climate control.  Those nice, well-lit, close-in spaces are for the lofty folks who can park in “Reserved” or “Contract” without fear of the towing company.

Recently I visited our corporate office in another city.  A city bigger than mine.  Their  offices are in a beautiful new space on the 11^th floor of one building of a four tower complex.  Once you are inside their suite it is lovely, with beautiful views and all the amenities.  But to get there you have to negotiate, tall towers, elevators with more than 7 buttons and parking garages.

When I arrived that morning I parked in a 2 hour visitor parking space.  I knew I’d be there all day but at their former location the parking was ample and visitor spaces weren’t closely monitored.  I exited my car and noticed what a looked like a grown-up hall monitor walking among the rows of parked cars, writing on a clipboard.   I found my way to the elevators – thank goodness all the elevators in this building stop on floor 11.

During the morning I heard my co-workers discussing the new space, the move, and the parking and learned it might be wise to move my car.  At a stopping point in training, I grabbed my keys and headed out to find long-term visitor parking.

Down the hall to the elevators, press 1.  Exit that elevator into the building lobby, round the corner and exit into the parking garage area.  Walk to my car.  It’s easy when you are in 2 hour visitor parking.

I backed out, shifted into D and began reading the signs.  “Exit”, “Retail Parking”, “Stop”, “Contract Parking” … ah, there it was “Long Term Parking on the Roof ↑”.  On the roof?  Geez, in this 108º weather surely it would not be exposed to direct sun.  Round and round I drove, stopping, reading signs, wondering how there could be parking on the roof of a 30 story building.  After a few minutes I was up on a level where I could see tops of trees and look down on buildings, and it seemed that the ceiling of this level of the garage had to be the roof.  I found a space close to a stairwell and got out of the car, proud that I had found long term visitor parking.  Spotting another ‘hall monitor’ I decided to confirm that, and I politely asked if this was indeed long term visitor parking.  With a long-suffering look and no smile she replied, “Long term parking is on the roof.  Just follow the signs.”  Good grief.

Backing out the car again, I made sure not to run over the hall monitor and begin circling the levels again.  A few minutes later I rounded a corner and saw the bright sunlight on two uncovered cement flats of parking spaces.  Just outside the covered “Contract” parking was “Long Term Parking on the Roof ↑”.   The cement slanted upward, walking distance to the closest stairwell was hard to calculate, and not a lick of shade in sight.  Welcome to “Long Term Parking on the Roof ↑”. 

Now that I was here, how the heck was I going to find my way back to the right building, much less the right elevator?   I ended up back at the office by taking this route:

Stair 1 Level 4 stairs to Stair 1 Level 2 stairs

Walk all the way across parking garage to

Elevator 2 Bank D

Elevator 2 Bank D to Elevator 1 Bank D

Exit Elevator 1 Bank D in parking garage, find doors to enter building

Enter Elevator, Press 11

End up on 30^th Floor

When the doors opened onto the premier 30^th floor, a nice gentleman entered the elevator.  Seeing that I was not getting off, he asked which floor I need.  “I’m going to the 11^th floor,” I said confidently.  He just smiled and asked if I was a visitor.

Needless to say I was not looking forward to the end of the day when I’d have to find my way back to car.  The crazy thing was I could see my car from our breakroom on the 11^th floor.  How could that be?  I drove up and up and up, only to find later that I parked on the roof next to the 3^rd floor of the building??

At the end of the day I filled my water cup and headed bravely for the elevators.  Enter elevator on floor 11, Press 1.  The elevator immediately raced to the 28^th floor, where a nice lady got on with me.  I confessed I was new to the building and not having the best experience with the elevators and parking.  Immediately we were best friends – turns out she was a new employee to the building and was having the same frustration.  I felt a little better.

Exit Elevator on Floor 1

Turn the corner, exit the building to parking garage

Take Elevator 1 Bank D to Elevator 2 Bank D

Exit Elevator 2 Bank D, walk across parking garage to

Stair 1 Level 2

Stair 1 Level 2 to Stair 1 Level 4

Exit on the highest level of “Long Term Parking on the Roof ↑”. 

Walk down to car, open all doors and windows, remove sunshield, sweat profusely

To complete my parking experience, as I exited the roof level I couldn’t quite make the tight turn bounded by medians into the exit lane and so of course ran up onto the median.  Put it in Reverse, back up, inch forward, back up, inch forward and barely make it through the space and merge into the flow of traffic exiting through the garage.  Down all the levels, with only one wrong turn that required going into Reverse, and a few minutes later I was out onto the street.  Freedom!   Blue sky, marked pavement and regular street traffic never looked so good.

After the Grandkids Visit

Ramona sits on her shelf slumped sideways, one shoe half off, exhausted.  The Peter Rabbit family rests quietly on their shelf, looking strangely expectant.   Bambi, having been much loved as Emily's constant companion during her stay, is posed contentedly on the jungle shelf next to Baloo the Bear and Lion.   The ring of alphabet blocks remains positioned on floor of the grandkids room as the center ring of Emily's circus.  Mr. and Mrs. Noah and their animals are once again nestled in their wooden ark, marveling at their recent stint as circus performers. 

The wooden wagon with its picture blocks that make a puzzle, Molly’s favorite toy while she was here, are right where she left them.  All the books, replaced by Mommy and Uncle Walter on the last night, are tucked away neatly on their assigned shelves, looking quite pleased at how much they were read.  A bright metallic sticker is stuck at child height on the wall at the top of the stairs; another is in the carpet just outside the grandkids room.  Tubes of finger paint and some poster board lie unnoticed on the upstairs porch.  Bubble wands tossed idly on the porch swing.

All the sippee cups and plastic plates are cleaned and put away; the booster chair is back in its storage spot.  No more cheerios or goldfish to dodge on the floor, no more "haz-mat" diapers by "polecat", as Grandpa affectionately referred to Molly when she produced one of those.   No more shape pancakes, no more icing birthday cakes together, no more baking cookies with lots of sprinkles.    No more tea parties, no more train rides in the grandkids room for all the animals in baskets, chairs and boxes.  No more block towers for Molly to knock over. 

The house is quiet without that sweet toddler voice piping "tank u", without that little girl voice inquiring, "Grandma, have you seen Bambi?" or "Can you please pass me the scissors and glue?"  The arts and crafts carefully made by Emily are stored in her crafts basket downstairs at the children's table.  How many times was that table used by her mother for tea parties and crafts when she was that age? 

Only Pete the Cat seems pleased that everyone is gone, and even he seems to look for them as he wanders the upstairs.  There is a sweet sadness in the air, permeated by lingering joy and love and laughter.  Oh how blessed are we to have such family love, to experience the full range of emotions God created in us, and to have faith that God willing we shall be together again soon. 

Until then, I think I'll go downstairs and eat that last cookie with the blue sprinkles on it....

Reflections on Independence Day

Three days ago we celebrated our nation’s 235^th Independence Day.  July 4^th, a day of fireworks and picnics, a day or rest from our paid labor, and a day to recognize and remember the sacrifices of real people over 200 years ago that we might be free.

We are all blessed and very privileged to have been born in this great nation.  We must never forget that our freedom and the liberty we enjoy were hard-won; they are not guaranteed and not to be taken for granted.  The Founding Fathers (an amazing group of men, check them out if you never have) made it clear in their documents that our independence can remain secure only as long as We the People have a firm conviction that our liberties are a gift of God.

Did you know:

• The Declaration of Independence is a one-time, one of a kind document?
• The idea of a government getting its power from the consent of the governed, who are individuals with God-given not government-given rights, was new?
• The Declaration states 4 clear references to our Creator God
• The signers ranged in age from 27 to 70 years.  They were businessmen, farmers, doctors, lawyers and preachers.  Most were Protestant Christians, some with college degrees, some with military service.
• Many of the signers had their homes and property destroyed because they declared their freedom.

Next time you are tempted to complain about that bad day at work or whine about how everything is going wrong lately, consider what it would feel like to come home to nothing – all burned to the ground viciously simply because you said you wanted to be free.   I’m going to try to live a little more sacrificially in light of those great patriarchs.  Not financially or water rationing for the yard – we are all doing that these days.  But in time, giving more thought to how we got here and what I can do to stop the erosion of our freedoms by those who would make us dependent on government rather than its head.  Putting my money where my mouth is.  Writing articles as a citizen journalist.  It’s not even a sacrifice compared to what those guys did.  But it’s what I can do.