On my way to work, the news pointed out that it was Friday the 13th. I hadn't noticed, but then again, I am oblivious a lot. I just don't see it as any worse than any other day. In fact, my third son was born on the 13th and I classify that as a pretty darn good day. Have I had bad Friday the 13ths? Of course, but I have also had bad Monday the 1sts, Tuesday the 10ths, etc. So why does Friday the 13th get such a bad rap? I'll let you look up the history because I really don't want to spend the next few days summarizing it, besides, I am sure the History Channel will have something on it today. What about you, do you consider Friday the 13th a bad day, or just another Friday?
Yesterday, I sent a homage out to my dad. It was what I felt at the time and it hasn't changed. I feel the need to include my mother though. You see, she was a role model to me in a different way. My mom was a registered nurse before she had her first child. When she became a mother she decided to become a housewife. For those of you who think that a woman debases herself by becoming a housewife, I wish you could have met her. By devoting herself to raising her kids and supporting her husband, she taught me that making money is not the only or necessarily best way to support a family. Being there is even more important. By shaping your child's life on a day to day basis, you have a hand in making sure that they become a productive and respected part of society. The idea that men make women slaves by keeping them in the home is ludicrous. Women who stay at home and raise their kids are showing love of the highest degree. Think about it. Love, by definition, is self sacrifice. This means you put those you love above yourself. By choosing to place you kids over your own desires, you have shown them what love truly is and I can't think of anything better to teach your kids.
I say this, not to deride those that chose a career over staying at home, but to point out that the choice to give up a career to raise children is not debasing, but elevating. My mother continually proved that. I can't think of a single person mother interacted with that didn't respect her. The neat thing is, she treated everyone with an equal respect.
You don't realize just how much of an influence someone has until they are gone. You see, my mother died when I was 13. It was hard on all of us. But I want to tell you of something that happened 3 years or so before that. My mom died of abdominal cancer. She fought it for about three years. Before that, she had a very active role in our church. She taught the Shepperd's class, the class for the handicapped, and they loved her. You could walk by the classroom during Sunday school and hear the joy in their voices. If you looked in from the back during the lesson, they would listen attentively to her every word, just as she listened to theirs. She knew each of their names, what made them special, and so much more about each of them. She was more than a teacher to them, she was their friend. When she got sick, she had to give up teaching since she was usually weak from the Chemo. Every week at church, we had her students come up and ask about her and when she would return. This went on for the entire time she was sick. A lot of those special students lived in a community for them ten miles from the church and the church sent a van to pick them up every Sunday. When mom died, we asked if they wanted to come and instead of the usual single 15 passenger van, we had to send 2 on 2 trips. It seems, that there were quite a few who had come intermittently while mom was teaching and didn't return when she was unable to continue. They filled three full pews and cried almost as hard as we did.
Mom's funeral is one of the few times I ever remember our church being filled to overflowing. You never realize how many people someone touches until they are gone. The most amazing thing to me happened while I was home on leave a couple of years ago. I was having a conversation with my brother in law and we were having a frank discussion about our wives. He told me, "your mom must have been a remarkable woman to have raised such a great wife as my wife. I can see her strength in your sister and really wish I could have met her." This blew me away. Nearly twenty years after her passing, and she is still influencing people and making them want to meet her. I can only hope that I have half the influence and respect that she did. Who do I want to see most when I get to heaven? My mom is at the top of that list. I hope that the line to meet Jesus is really long so I have that much more time to spend with my mom and introduce her to everyone she has touched.
Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.
Showing posts with label mother. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mother. Show all posts
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
An answer for a post.
I have been agonizing over what to write on today and have had no luck in coming up with a subject. The fact is that I am a slightly out of it today. The sad thing is, I really don't know why. I slept decently last night and am fairly alert, but I just can't seem to concentrate. I guess that is why I am not doing to well today on this. That being said, I will simply paste in an excerpt from the answers to my sons.
These answers are in response to the book "Questions for My Father" by Vincent Staniforth. My boys have been choosing questions they want answers to and I have been writing those answers. The questions vary widely so I have chosen to share the answer to What happened on your favorite holiday? Please read below
Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day
These answers are in response to the book "Questions for My Father" by Vincent Staniforth. My boys have been choosing questions they want answers to and I have been writing those answers. The questions vary widely so I have chosen to share the answer to What happened on your favorite holiday? Please read below
I guess the first thing I have to answer here is, what is my favorite holiday? The answer to that would be thanksgiving. This leads us to ask, why? This is what I think this question is really asking. What happened on your favorite holiday to make it your favorite holiday? I can’t name a single event, more like a series of events.
In order for you to fully understand my answer, I am going to have to give you a bit of background. The first thing you need to know is that, while I grew up in Iowa, my mother was from Wyoming. Add to that, the fact that my mother’s side was from all over, but mainly Nebraska. The first meant that my mom didn’t get to see her mom all that often and the second meant that she got to see her cousins even less. My dad, on the other hand, had nearly all of his relatives within a radius of about 75 miles. This meant that we saw my dad’s side of the family quite often and spent every Sunday at my Grandma’s house.
Sure, my mom’s family had a reunion every other year and so we got to see our relatives then, but what did we do in between? This is where Thanksgiving comes in. In the years that we didn’t have a family reunion, we spent Thanksgiving week with my mom’s mom. We got to see our aunts and uncles and spend a holiday with grandma. Grandma Skinner was a very good cook and we always ate well. But it was the fact that we got to see her and our cousins that made it worth it.
That is really only part of the answer. What about the years we didn’t go and see Grandma Skinner? We went to see Grandma Ibbotson. We would get together with dad’s sister and our cousin and have a Thanksgiving meal that I envy to this day. My cousin and I would end up fighting over the last piece of lemon meringue pie. We would decorate Grandma’s house for Christmas. Then I would watch football with grandpa and we would nibble on pies and snacks and turkey and nearly everything the rest of the day. My dad and Uncle Larry would end up snoring in the living room driving everyone to the dining room or kitchen. Sometimes I would go out and play football with the neighbors. In all, I have really fond memories of it all.
While Christmas is always fun with the gifts and of course getting together with my cousins at Grandma’s house, Thanksgiving was the holiday I most looked forward to. I knew I was going to get to spend it with at least one of my grandmothers. But if I had to choose a single Thanksgiving to remember it would be the Thanksgiving the year after my mom died. I was only 14 at the time and my Grandpa had died that spring. In all it had been a rough year. To make it worse, it was also the year for us to go and see Grandma Skinner. Normally I looked forward to that trip. Between losing mom and Grandpa Ibbotson, I really wasn’t in much of a celebrating mood. I was also old enough to realize that Grandma really didn’t need to have her son somewhere else for Thanksgiving that year. I was prepared for the worst as I expected dad to tell us that we weren’t going to Wyoming that year. Instead, dad invited Grandma Ibbotson to join us. So we all went to Wyoming for Thanksgiving. Instead of having one grandma cooking Thanksgiving dinner, we had two. They got along so well, that we ended up doing it again 2 years later and Grandma Ibbotson got adopted by my mom’s family and was permanently invited to their family reunion. And the best part of that Thanksgiving? I got a lemon meringue pie all to myself.
So, when I think of Thanksgiving, I think of family coming together in good times and in bad and making things better. I think of good food and better friendships. I think of laughter and joy in dark times and sighs of stuffed contentment in lean times. It is said that Christmas brings out the best in everyone, but Thanksgiving brings out the strongest desire for family and, to me, family is one of the most important things in the world.
What event led to Thanksgiving being my favorite holiday? The gathering of my family. Thanksgiving wasn’t about the turkey and the food, but about a sharing of time and cares with family. That is what Thanksgiving is. That is what is supposed to happen on thanksgiving. Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Halloween: Scaring Others Hurts.
So yesterday was Halloween. Took the boys trick or treating and they had a blast. My oldest decided that nothing was going to keep him from going to any house and getting what they were giving. A few of the houses had some scary stuff going on and he went up. He may have had his head on a swivel, but up he went. It was our 6 year old that would stare wide eyed at a house and in no uncertain term inform us that he was not going to that house. Surprisingly, our 3 year old went to a few scary houses as well. In all, it was a good night.
I remember as a kid what trick or treating involved. Usually, it meant going to my Grandma's house and going around her neighborhood. Mainly because I grew up in the country and didn't have any neighbors close enough. Our costumes were less elaborate and usually homemade. The great thing was, what my mom lacked in ability she made up for with creativity. I remember the year we went as pirates. Mom took some pieces of cloth we had lying around and sewed a jar lid ring to the side and placed it on our heads as a bandanna. thus the jar ring acted as an earring and coupled with our winter boots, torn jeans, and some of her old blouses over our regular clothes, we were quite the pirates.
After my Mom passed, things got weird. Our costume were left up to us to design and make. this meant our costumes became simpler and less inventive. Mostly because we waited until we got home from school on Halloween to come up with our costumes.
Then there were the years I refer to as my hooligan years. Those were the years that my friends and I became that group that parents warned their kids about. The ones that scared the kids hoping they would drop their loot and run so we could get the candy. Most people frowned on teenagers who trick or treated, we just wanted our share. I really regret those days. It is one of those things that I am not particularly proud of. The most ironic part of it all is, not one kid ever dropped their Candy. They may have let out a satisfying scream and ran in mid air while spinning in a circle (which, by the way, is even funnier than it sounds), but they never once let go of their candy. That brings up another pointer for those of you who think that this may be fun to do, never scare a kid that is carrying anything that can be used as a weapon. This includes, plastic swords, baseball bats, wands, brooms, sticks, or anything that can be swung. Even though they may break when they hit you, it still stings and the smaller it is the nastier the bruise. The one thing they won't swing is their candy. Even if it is in one of those solid plastic pumpkins, they won't use it for defense. Apparently, the mere thought of losing a single piece of candy is more frightening than that apparition that just jumped out in front of them. They'll break that sword they just got on your shin, but they won't lose a single piece of candy.
I guess the moral of all this is to just have fun. If you want to scare kids, be blatant about it. Make sure the parents are aware it is going on and be prepared to have a ton of bruises the next day. Kids can be vicious.
Until next time, have a great day and don't be afraid to be yourself.
I remember as a kid what trick or treating involved. Usually, it meant going to my Grandma's house and going around her neighborhood. Mainly because I grew up in the country and didn't have any neighbors close enough. Our costumes were less elaborate and usually homemade. The great thing was, what my mom lacked in ability she made up for with creativity. I remember the year we went as pirates. Mom took some pieces of cloth we had lying around and sewed a jar lid ring to the side and placed it on our heads as a bandanna. thus the jar ring acted as an earring and coupled with our winter boots, torn jeans, and some of her old blouses over our regular clothes, we were quite the pirates.
After my Mom passed, things got weird. Our costume were left up to us to design and make. this meant our costumes became simpler and less inventive. Mostly because we waited until we got home from school on Halloween to come up with our costumes.
Then there were the years I refer to as my hooligan years. Those were the years that my friends and I became that group that parents warned their kids about. The ones that scared the kids hoping they would drop their loot and run so we could get the candy. Most people frowned on teenagers who trick or treated, we just wanted our share. I really regret those days. It is one of those things that I am not particularly proud of. The most ironic part of it all is, not one kid ever dropped their Candy. They may have let out a satisfying scream and ran in mid air while spinning in a circle (which, by the way, is even funnier than it sounds), but they never once let go of their candy. That brings up another pointer for those of you who think that this may be fun to do, never scare a kid that is carrying anything that can be used as a weapon. This includes, plastic swords, baseball bats, wands, brooms, sticks, or anything that can be swung. Even though they may break when they hit you, it still stings and the smaller it is the nastier the bruise. The one thing they won't swing is their candy. Even if it is in one of those solid plastic pumpkins, they won't use it for defense. Apparently, the mere thought of losing a single piece of candy is more frightening than that apparition that just jumped out in front of them. They'll break that sword they just got on your shin, but they won't lose a single piece of candy.
I guess the moral of all this is to just have fun. If you want to scare kids, be blatant about it. Make sure the parents are aware it is going on and be prepared to have a ton of bruises the next day. Kids can be vicious.
Until next time, have a great day and don't be afraid to be yourself.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Happy Hump Day: The Joys of Parenthood?
Let me begin by letting everyone know that I passed the PFA. If you want more details, you have to comment. Now on to the meat of today's post.
Happy Hump Day! Today we are talking about the joys of parenthood. OK, who am I kidding. No matter how much we love our kids, or enjoy raising them, there is no such thing as "the joys of parenthood." Think about it. Make a list of all the activities you loved to do before you had kids. Now, start crossing off any items that you can't afford to do because of kids. Your list should be cut in half at this point. If it isn't, then either you were a really lame couple, or you were a really cheap date. Now cross off anything that you can't do with your kids either because it's illegal for them to do, or you would be a bad parent if you let them (skydiving comes to mind, but that probably went away in the first round). You should now be down to just a few activities. Now, scratch off anything that takes more than 2 hours. This is about the time you end up with after you figure out how long it will take you to get to your date location and back to the baby sitters so you don't go over that 3 hour time limit. If you are taking the kids on this event you are also limited to two hours because anything over that and you are no longer at the event, you are the event as you chase your kid in what ever direction(s) (s)he decides to go.
OK, so what you did as singles, is no longer possible with kids. That doesn't mean there is no joy, does it? I mean, you just change what activities you do. You go to age appropriate things now. All this means is that where ever you go, you end up watching the kids have fun in a sterile environment, talking to other adults without looking at them (this is mainly because you are all trying to pick out your child from the crowd to make sure they don't kill another kid), while being bored out of your mind. Oh, and the conversations all go something like the following:
"So, yeah, we found that...Bobby, you put that down!...anyway, we found that things are a bit cheaper at Walmart, but....No Bobby, you leave her alone....we prefer Target."
"I so understand....Suzy, you let go of her hair! I don't care who had it first.."
"Bobby, stop that, get over here and sit down. Go on, you were saying,"
"Yes, I really don't like Walmart either."
Not really what I would call quality conversation. It doesn't matter what you start talking about, you always end up discussing where things are cheaper, what place gives better deals, or which museum is more kid appropriate. When you do manage to have an adult discussion, you inevitably get the kid pulling on your leg and repeating, "daddy," in an ever louder voice until you scream, "WHAT?" at the poor kid. To which the inevitable reply is a "can I have, (you fill in the item)." And by the way, when you scream that at your poor kid, (s)he inevitably cries and that single lady that is "cares so much" for kids and has never had any starts giving you the look that says you are a bad parent.
The only "joy of parenthood" that I can see is when the rug rats are sleeping. Yeah, they're cute when they do that. Or, when they discover a new ability, like walking, I suppose that is pretty neat. Or how about, when they discover they can't do something by trying, like blowing on their own belly. I guess that's pretty funny. Or maybe when they snuggle up to you and tell you they love you. I suppose I might call that a joy.
Maybe it is a bit of a trade off. Sure, I can't go out with my friends every weekend. Maybe the wife and I don't get to go on long dates to fun and interesting new places. We just appreciate the quiet times together all the more. Maybe we don't go to the science museum and get to read all the exhibits and spend hours watching educational films, but watching the kids eyes light up when they get to figure out how a windmill works by blowing on it, is maybe just a little bit better. Yes, you have to find new ways to stretch the dollar, but now that every dollar counts, you find that you have a bit more to spend on what matters. Maybe you don't eat out every night, but you learned how to make awesome homemade mac & cheese.
Yup, parenting changes things. From the non-parent's point of view, it is a bad deal. From a parent's point of view, let's just say, I feel for those who don't ever want to have kids. They are a powerful influence. They are also a lot of fun to play with. If a single guy goes into a toy store and buys Nerf guns, he's a little weird. If a Dad does the same thing, he's fun. Yup, I love being a dad. I stand corrected, there are joys of parenthood, they are just different from (and I think better than) the joys of not having kids.
Hope you enjoyed today's post. Stay tuned next week for a new one. Have a great day.
Happy Hump Day! Today we are talking about the joys of parenthood. OK, who am I kidding. No matter how much we love our kids, or enjoy raising them, there is no such thing as "the joys of parenthood." Think about it. Make a list of all the activities you loved to do before you had kids. Now, start crossing off any items that you can't afford to do because of kids. Your list should be cut in half at this point. If it isn't, then either you were a really lame couple, or you were a really cheap date. Now cross off anything that you can't do with your kids either because it's illegal for them to do, or you would be a bad parent if you let them (skydiving comes to mind, but that probably went away in the first round). You should now be down to just a few activities. Now, scratch off anything that takes more than 2 hours. This is about the time you end up with after you figure out how long it will take you to get to your date location and back to the baby sitters so you don't go over that 3 hour time limit. If you are taking the kids on this event you are also limited to two hours because anything over that and you are no longer at the event, you are the event as you chase your kid in what ever direction(s) (s)he decides to go.
OK, so what you did as singles, is no longer possible with kids. That doesn't mean there is no joy, does it? I mean, you just change what activities you do. You go to age appropriate things now. All this means is that where ever you go, you end up watching the kids have fun in a sterile environment, talking to other adults without looking at them (this is mainly because you are all trying to pick out your child from the crowd to make sure they don't kill another kid), while being bored out of your mind. Oh, and the conversations all go something like the following:
"So, yeah, we found that...Bobby, you put that down!...anyway, we found that things are a bit cheaper at Walmart, but....No Bobby, you leave her alone....we prefer Target."
"I so understand....Suzy, you let go of her hair! I don't care who had it first.."
"Bobby, stop that, get over here and sit down. Go on, you were saying,"
"Yes, I really don't like Walmart either."
Not really what I would call quality conversation. It doesn't matter what you start talking about, you always end up discussing where things are cheaper, what place gives better deals, or which museum is more kid appropriate. When you do manage to have an adult discussion, you inevitably get the kid pulling on your leg and repeating, "daddy," in an ever louder voice until you scream, "WHAT?" at the poor kid. To which the inevitable reply is a "can I have, (you fill in the item)." And by the way, when you scream that at your poor kid, (s)he inevitably cries and that single lady that is "cares so much" for kids and has never had any starts giving you the look that says you are a bad parent.
The only "joy of parenthood" that I can see is when the rug rats are sleeping. Yeah, they're cute when they do that. Or, when they discover a new ability, like walking, I suppose that is pretty neat. Or how about, when they discover they can't do something by trying, like blowing on their own belly. I guess that's pretty funny. Or maybe when they snuggle up to you and tell you they love you. I suppose I might call that a joy.
Maybe it is a bit of a trade off. Sure, I can't go out with my friends every weekend. Maybe the wife and I don't get to go on long dates to fun and interesting new places. We just appreciate the quiet times together all the more. Maybe we don't go to the science museum and get to read all the exhibits and spend hours watching educational films, but watching the kids eyes light up when they get to figure out how a windmill works by blowing on it, is maybe just a little bit better. Yes, you have to find new ways to stretch the dollar, but now that every dollar counts, you find that you have a bit more to spend on what matters. Maybe you don't eat out every night, but you learned how to make awesome homemade mac & cheese.
Yup, parenting changes things. From the non-parent's point of view, it is a bad deal. From a parent's point of view, let's just say, I feel for those who don't ever want to have kids. They are a powerful influence. They are also a lot of fun to play with. If a single guy goes into a toy store and buys Nerf guns, he's a little weird. If a Dad does the same thing, he's fun. Yup, I love being a dad. I stand corrected, there are joys of parenthood, they are just different from (and I think better than) the joys of not having kids.
Hope you enjoyed today's post. Stay tuned next week for a new one. Have a great day.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
It's been a few weeks since my last post. A quick run down of what has occurred since I last wrote. The wife and I spent 12 wonderful days in Italy (Sans Kids), The mother in law is in town and we have been forcibly pampering her to the best of our abilities despite her protests. The boys have been little hellions as usual, the grass has grown tremendously (I still haven't mowed and keep finding reasons not to), and we pulled the camper out to get it ready for the camping season. All in all, we have been busy.
The trip to Italy was awesome as previously noted. We probably averaged 5 to 6 miles of walking a day. The country was beautiful and even in the areas where English wasn't spoken, the people were friendly and tried to understand what we wanted. The food was out of this world. even the sandwiches at gas stations blew our minds. It was really a mostly trouble free trip. All of the problems occurred either on the way to, or coming from Italy. On the way there, we got to the airport in Seattle and realized we didn't have our international driving permits (turns out we didn't need them), then in Paris for our change of planes, we found out that we had to go through customs and then go through security again. We got to our gate and found out the plane was delayed by 45 minutes. When we finally boarded, we sat at the gate for 45 minutes before we were informed that someone failed to get on the plane but his luggage made it and they were looking for it. 1.5 hours and 3 times through the luggage and they still hadn't found his luggage, so they lined up all the luggage on the tarmac next to the plane and had us exit through the front door, identify our luggage, then re board the plane through the rear door. All this after Laura and I had been up about 24 hours. We finally got to Rome (3 hours late) and headed to the Hotel. We ended up getting separated on the subway. Laura (rather than take a return train to the appropriate station) walked to the Hotel and checked us in. We managed to meet up outside the proper station 45 minutes later. That was the last trouble we had until we went to leave. Turns out, our plane leaving was so early, that there was no train to the airport so we had to sleep in the airport or drop 50 euros on a cab. We slept at the airport. Then the plane was delayed by 30 minutes since the flight crew was late. Once again we had to go through customs and another security screening in Paris which meant we barely made our flight to Seattle. Since those were the only bad spots of the trip to Italy, it was a great trip. I will post a detailed blog on the trip once I am done typing it up (it's a work in progress since I am transposing the journal I kept with my wife). All in all, it has been a fun couple of weeks.
The mother in law has been a joy. We keep telling her that treating her as we do is the least we can do since she babysat our 4 boys (did I mention that they were boys and that there were4 of them) for us while we were in Italy. She constantly tries to slip us money and pay for meals, etc. We have thoroughly enjoyed having her here. The boys have loved having her here and we are all going to miss her. I loved having someone else to cook for.
As for the camper, we have a lot to do with it prior to camping. We have to get it in to get a new battery, a cable replaced, and the vent repaired (it got blown open during a snow storm and damaged as a result). We also have to do some major cleaning in it as the snowstorm that managed to damage the vent, also got some water inside and created a little mildew, not to mention that the outside managed to grow its own protective algae layer.
Well, that about covers it for today. Come back tomorrow for Happy Hump Day. See then.
The trip to Italy was awesome as previously noted. We probably averaged 5 to 6 miles of walking a day. The country was beautiful and even in the areas where English wasn't spoken, the people were friendly and tried to understand what we wanted. The food was out of this world. even the sandwiches at gas stations blew our minds. It was really a mostly trouble free trip. All of the problems occurred either on the way to, or coming from Italy. On the way there, we got to the airport in Seattle and realized we didn't have our international driving permits (turns out we didn't need them), then in Paris for our change of planes, we found out that we had to go through customs and then go through security again. We got to our gate and found out the plane was delayed by 45 minutes. When we finally boarded, we sat at the gate for 45 minutes before we were informed that someone failed to get on the plane but his luggage made it and they were looking for it. 1.5 hours and 3 times through the luggage and they still hadn't found his luggage, so they lined up all the luggage on the tarmac next to the plane and had us exit through the front door, identify our luggage, then re board the plane through the rear door. All this after Laura and I had been up about 24 hours. We finally got to Rome (3 hours late) and headed to the Hotel. We ended up getting separated on the subway. Laura (rather than take a return train to the appropriate station) walked to the Hotel and checked us in. We managed to meet up outside the proper station 45 minutes later. That was the last trouble we had until we went to leave. Turns out, our plane leaving was so early, that there was no train to the airport so we had to sleep in the airport or drop 50 euros on a cab. We slept at the airport. Then the plane was delayed by 30 minutes since the flight crew was late. Once again we had to go through customs and another security screening in Paris which meant we barely made our flight to Seattle. Since those were the only bad spots of the trip to Italy, it was a great trip. I will post a detailed blog on the trip once I am done typing it up (it's a work in progress since I am transposing the journal I kept with my wife). All in all, it has been a fun couple of weeks.
The mother in law has been a joy. We keep telling her that treating her as we do is the least we can do since she babysat our 4 boys (did I mention that they were boys and that there were4 of them) for us while we were in Italy. She constantly tries to slip us money and pay for meals, etc. We have thoroughly enjoyed having her here. The boys have loved having her here and we are all going to miss her. I loved having someone else to cook for.
As for the camper, we have a lot to do with it prior to camping. We have to get it in to get a new battery, a cable replaced, and the vent repaired (it got blown open during a snow storm and damaged as a result). We also have to do some major cleaning in it as the snowstorm that managed to damage the vent, also got some water inside and created a little mildew, not to mention that the outside managed to grow its own protective algae layer.
Well, that about covers it for today. Come back tomorrow for Happy Hump Day. See then.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Mother's Day and other thoughts
So it's Friday. This weekend should be interesting. With my mother in law in town, we will be celebrating mothers day and enjoying a night out. I am looking forward to it. We still have no clue what we are going to do tomorrow, but I suppose we will figure it out. The good news is, I am done with my friends bathroom project. We finished the plumbing and major part of the walls. All that is left for him to do is the finishing (trim, drywall, etc.). I am so relieved. This afternoon, I may end up helping a friend move depending on when I get off of work. But enough about my day and weekend.
With the death of Osama Bin Laden, I am having mixed feelings. As a Christian, I know I should not take delight in someones death. I feel I should have some sadness at the death of another human being. I have delved into the Bible and found that, while the old testament advocates the death penalty in many cases (stoning is a death penalty), the new testament is ominously quiet on it. As I read more deeply I find that the overarching theme of the new testament is forgiveness and redemption and this is contrary to the death penalty.
On the other side, as an American, I am supposed to be happy that justice is served. I am supposed to celebrate that the architect of so much death and destruction is dead. I am happy that it is over, but am I happy he is dead? I just don't know. I don't know if I can truly keep from being happy about this or if I can truly feel remorse over his death. I am so confused on it. I think I need to talk to someone. Maybe I'll talk to pastor Paul about it Sunday.
So my wife asked me what I was getting her for Mother's Day. My response was simple. I am taking her to Italy for 11 days and I flew her mother out here for Mother's day, what more does she want? I may still get her flowers and a card, but maybe not. Since she reads this, I won't say if or what I am doing if anything, she will just have to guess. Ha ha, deal with it dear! On that note, I will give my pondering on my mother.
My mother was a wonderful woman. Her life was cut short by cancer when I was just 13 and it meant my life was forever changed. But this isn't about my life after her death, but before it. It's about her and what she meant to me. My mother was always calm. With four boys of my own, I have no idea how she did it. She was always smiling and courteous, even to those annoying door to door salesmen. I believe she would have been an awesome diplomat. She could get a Jehovah's witness to leave within minutes and make them feel good about leaving and happy to have met her. She was also a hard worker. The garden was hers. She weeded it, watered it, and harvested it and it was a huge garden. We always were able to can enough to last us until the following years crops came in. She also cared for the animals. She milked goats, fed chickens and hogs, and made sure we had what we needed. She also taught us how to do all of that. She wasn't the greatest cook in the world. I have mentioned to many of you how she burned hard boiled eggs, the other side of that is, she was always trying to learn. She actually was a pretty decent cook. When she had the opportunity she did a decent job and was always trying to improve. She also kept a relatively clean house. I say relatively simply because, how clean can you keep a house with 4 kids and a husband that uses every level surface as a storage area. Never mind that the house was 100 years old and had issues of its own.
Simply put, my mother was a wonderful woman. She cared so much for us kids, that as much as God wanted her with him, he gave us a 2 year transition period to figure out how to survive with her out of the house before he took her home. I used to look at the 2 years she fought cancer as horrible years. As the years go by, I look back and realize that while she was struggling with the sickness and was bedridden, we were learning how to do everything she did for us. She directed us and was able to give us a smile, even as she was sick from the chemo. When she passed, we were able to go on and keep up what she had done without much of an interruption. Even though we all missed her terribly, we were able to continue on with life in no small part to her teaching us. I never really thought about it, but even after she died, she continued to influence us. The lessons she taught us and morals she instilled in us continued on to this day. I am a better person because of her. I see many of the same strengths in my wife now and am glad that I have her as my partner and better half (and I do mean better). Thank you. have a happy Mother's Day.
With the death of Osama Bin Laden, I am having mixed feelings. As a Christian, I know I should not take delight in someones death. I feel I should have some sadness at the death of another human being. I have delved into the Bible and found that, while the old testament advocates the death penalty in many cases (stoning is a death penalty), the new testament is ominously quiet on it. As I read more deeply I find that the overarching theme of the new testament is forgiveness and redemption and this is contrary to the death penalty.
On the other side, as an American, I am supposed to be happy that justice is served. I am supposed to celebrate that the architect of so much death and destruction is dead. I am happy that it is over, but am I happy he is dead? I just don't know. I don't know if I can truly keep from being happy about this or if I can truly feel remorse over his death. I am so confused on it. I think I need to talk to someone. Maybe I'll talk to pastor Paul about it Sunday.
So my wife asked me what I was getting her for Mother's Day. My response was simple. I am taking her to Italy for 11 days and I flew her mother out here for Mother's day, what more does she want? I may still get her flowers and a card, but maybe not. Since she reads this, I won't say if or what I am doing if anything, she will just have to guess. Ha ha, deal with it dear! On that note, I will give my pondering on my mother.
My mother was a wonderful woman. Her life was cut short by cancer when I was just 13 and it meant my life was forever changed. But this isn't about my life after her death, but before it. It's about her and what she meant to me. My mother was always calm. With four boys of my own, I have no idea how she did it. She was always smiling and courteous, even to those annoying door to door salesmen. I believe she would have been an awesome diplomat. She could get a Jehovah's witness to leave within minutes and make them feel good about leaving and happy to have met her. She was also a hard worker. The garden was hers. She weeded it, watered it, and harvested it and it was a huge garden. We always were able to can enough to last us until the following years crops came in. She also cared for the animals. She milked goats, fed chickens and hogs, and made sure we had what we needed. She also taught us how to do all of that. She wasn't the greatest cook in the world. I have mentioned to many of you how she burned hard boiled eggs, the other side of that is, she was always trying to learn. She actually was a pretty decent cook. When she had the opportunity she did a decent job and was always trying to improve. She also kept a relatively clean house. I say relatively simply because, how clean can you keep a house with 4 kids and a husband that uses every level surface as a storage area. Never mind that the house was 100 years old and had issues of its own.
Simply put, my mother was a wonderful woman. She cared so much for us kids, that as much as God wanted her with him, he gave us a 2 year transition period to figure out how to survive with her out of the house before he took her home. I used to look at the 2 years she fought cancer as horrible years. As the years go by, I look back and realize that while she was struggling with the sickness and was bedridden, we were learning how to do everything she did for us. She directed us and was able to give us a smile, even as she was sick from the chemo. When she passed, we were able to go on and keep up what she had done without much of an interruption. Even though we all missed her terribly, we were able to continue on with life in no small part to her teaching us. I never really thought about it, but even after she died, she continued to influence us. The lessons she taught us and morals she instilled in us continued on to this day. I am a better person because of her. I see many of the same strengths in my wife now and am glad that I have her as my partner and better half (and I do mean better). Thank you. have a happy Mother's Day.
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