Thanksgiving and Beyond

What day is it? No, really. Last week was a blur with all the Thanksgiving preparations and the enjoyment of said preparations and time with family. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have to admit to being somewhat stressed because this year I was pressed for time and a little less organized than normal. I decided early in the week to get done what I could and that any thing I didn't get done really wouldn't matter once everyone was here. That was one of my best decisions ever.

We had a house full. Tim's parents, Jeff and Gail were here. Uncle Vern and Aunt Brenda came from Buffalo. My cousin Pam and her husband Hans came from Baltimore. My Great Aunt Hazel and her friend Terry joined us as did our friends from church and co-op, the Farr's. If you are keeping track, that makes 20, including my family and my parents. The house was packed.

The food was abundant. Mom and I split the cooking duties, and everyone brought something to share too. We had all the fixings, but the desserts stole the show. We must have had close to ten pies and date pudding and cheesecake. I love it!

Friday, many of us went to Blenko and then to Hillbilly Hotdog for lunch. While eating lunch Uncle Vern preceded to tell a few stories about Hans. One of which was a story of how Hans had lost his keys on the ski slope and Aunt Brenda had to drive several hours in a snow storm in the middle of the night to help Pam and Hans out. We all got quite a laugh out of that story. We should have kept our mouths shut.

A few hours later, back here, Uncle Vern was doing something in his car and accidentally locked the keys in the car. Luckily, they have Triple A. After a few phone calls, a tow truck showed up and had the car unlocked in a matter of minutes.

Yesterday, I worked until about 9:30. I needed gas, and stopped at the station right by work. After pumping the gas, I went to get back in the car and the doors were locked. The doors were locked and the keys were in it. The doors were locked and my phone was in the car. The phone which holds the phone numbers for everyone I know, including the phone numbers for my family which are not in the phone book because they are all cell phones. Panic.

Yes, I am that dependent on technology. The only phone number I actually know in my head is Tim's. Tim's phone is a work phone and a different service than the rest of ours. His service is very limited at our house. I borrowed the phone from the gas station to give it a try. I got his voice mail. A little more panic.

Finally, I asked to borrow a phone book. I looked up the neighbors phone number. They have a land line. Their son Josh answered. "Josh, could you ask your dad what my dad's phone number is?" I said, feeling like a complete idiot.

I got the phone number, and after a couple tries got my dad. Twenty minutes later Tim was there with a spare set of keys, and we were both on our way home.

Thanksgiving was good. The food was good and the company was great. But next time I think we better think twice about telling stories on people. It may just come back to bite us.

Today's Writing Prompt

I've mentioned before that Kellen gets a daily writing prompt from Writing Fix as part of his school day. This was the prompt today, "Write about a monument you wish you could build to honor someone you know or knew. What would it be made out of?"

Kellen's response:

A person that deserves a monument is Mom. She puts up with four kids, a farm, and a part time job. It should look like her, though slightly skinnier. It would be made of titanium, and be solid, mounted on cast iron. It would stand at least 500 years.

It was all good until "slightly skinnier." Thanks Kellen, I think......

Broccoli Peek-a-boo

Wordless Wednesday

Nolan the Wise (?)

Yesterday the boys and I were out running an couple errands. We stopped at Kroger, and Kellen ran in to get the one thing we needed, while Nolan and I stayed in the car. The Salvation Army bell guy was set up and working. Nolan asked me what that was for. I explained to him that they collected money to help poor people.

Nolan: You mean people who don't have money to buy food to eat.

Me: Yes

Nolan: They should give them some fruit and seeds.

Me: Fruit and seeds to eat?

Nolan: No. Fruit to eat. Seeds to plant a garden and grow their own food.

Quite a bit of wisdom in that statement made by my five year old, I think.

Lydia Appleton future RN?

Lydia will soon be eight. Before our eyes she is starting to change from a little girl into a young lady. It is a bit scary, especially for her daddy. Beyond our fears though, it is so interesting to watch the kids grow and mature, and see their natural gifts and talents play out.

Lydia has always been a nurturer. We could almost see it from the beginning in the way she played with her dolls. Later it could be seen in the kind way she interacted with her siblings, especially the younger ones. Now we see it at many levels from her play with toys to her desire to take drinks and snacks out to Papaw and Tim while they are working. Most recently, though, we've seen it in her care for those who are hurt.

This summer Lydia started taking over the nursing duties here in the house. If someone is sick, she is ready to take them a drink, or sit with them. If one of the younger kids gets a scrape or boo boo, Lydia often beats me to the crying child, comforting soothing, and even cleaning and bandaging.

This week Papaw had an accident right after I left work. He was working on the dozer and had to bring it to a sudden stop, which sent him flying into one of the roll bars, head first. The result was a large gash to his head. I was not hear to witness this first person, but if you've ever seen someone with a cut on their head, you know the amount of blood that is involved. This was a cut that required 16 stitches and 9 staples. By all reports Papaw was a bloody gory mess when he first came up to the kids after the accident. Nolan later told Papaw that he looked like he was dead (because of all the blood.)

You might think that the sight of all that blood would make the kids panic. None of them did, but some did turn away at the sight. Lydia began tending. That is who she is.

We've been blessed with wonderful children. All with differing styles and personalities. I think, as their parents, it is important to acknowledge their strengths (and weakness) to help guide them on this path to adulthood. Perhaps Lydia will use that nurturing personality to be an nurse, maybe a teacher, maybe she will choose to be a stay at home mom, or maybe she will choose something entirely different. No matter, we will enjoy the process and watching our sweet, kind, nurturing girl become a lady.