the divine miss m

So the other day my four-year-old niece, M, visited a new church with her family. M. is...not shy. :) She's a ray of sunshine, although sometimes you feel the heat more than you see the light. This past Sunday she was her bright and cheerful self, and when the pastor called the children in the congregation to the front of the sanctuary for a special lesson, M. cheerfully went up. A new church? Full of strangers? How fun! The lesson continued from the previous week and had to do with the parable of the man that built his house on sand and the man that built his house on a...

"Rock!" M. said, finishing the pastor's sentence.  When he asked how things turned out for the man on the sand, M. answered, "Not so good!"  The pastor laughed and said she should do the preaching.  At the end of the lesson, the pastor led the children in prayer.  When he finished, M. piped up,

"Well that was short!"

"They tell me that's how they like it," the pastor replied.  He gave the kids a ring pop and told them not to eat it now, but to wait and ask their parents if they could have it after lunch.

"Hey Mom!  Can I have this after lunch?!" M. called from the front.  She was assured she could, and M. cheerfully walked back to her seat and reclaimed her family.  They happily claimed her back.

straight out of the camera

This weekend I'm helping dogsit Sadie (on the left) and Diesel for my cousins.  I stayed overnight with them and fed them, petted them, gave them treats - I enjoyed it as much as they did.  Later, after I'd returned home to my aunt & uncle's house, my uncle brought them over to play in the back yard, and they found me.  Does my heart good!

 

This week I began tutoring a cousin in pre-K skills (which were pre-1st-grade skills in my day!).  I haven't tutored someone at this level for a while, and I love it!  And this girl has the best focusing abilities I've ever seen in someone her age.

 

six-word saturday

Brother's graduating.  Just me and Grandpa!

Grandpa and I are getting some quality time this weekend as my parents attend SLBWAD's graduation.  And there's no Andy Griffith on the weekends!  Thank goodness we have DVDs.  :)  I just figured out how to add this button as a link versus a picture!  I'm a rock star!

an extraordinary life

Have you ever been in a movie?  Built B-24 bombers during WWII?  Owned your own business?  Traveled the world?  How about tracked down a niece and nephew in foster care, fought and worked through the red tape and bureaucracy to gain custody, threatened to get your lawyer involved, then got awarded the children because you're scary enough without the lawyer?  My great-aunt Leota did all of those things, and more.  She died last week at the age of 86, having lived life on her own terms.  She never married, never had children, kicked...butt on her bowling team, and spoke her mind.  She said to me one day years ago, "Looks like you're going to be a lot like me," and I consider it the best compliment I've ever received.  Leota, I'd be proud to be a little like you.  Thank you for all you did for so many people, just by being brave enough to be yourself.  You were remarkable.

evidence

Today (Thursday) is my stupid-little-brother-with-a-doctorate's birthday, so I think this would be the perfect time to whip out my evidence of his destruction of my birthday cake when I turned 8.  (OMG, my nephew is turning 8 this summer!  Where does the time go?)  Wait, I've counted, checked, and double-checked, and there seem to be only 7 candles on that cake - I could've sworn this was when I was in 2nd grade...oh, brother must have stolen one.  Do you see the huge hole he dug out of the cake?  It's right there, the highest corner of the cake in the picture!  Come on!  Well, Stephanie feels my pain.

Happy Birthday, SLBWAD.  I hope it's great!

This is brother and I (and his snot mustache - or maybe it's Silly Putty) with Old Papa, our great-grandfather.  Brother gave him that name, and it stuck.  Now my 2nd cousins call my grandpa Old Papa.  Old Papa called my brother "Peanut."

Peanut's wife does, too.

the longest ride and the 2nd-best summer: 80's radio at its best

I went to high school in the mid-1980's.  In my freshman year, we lived about an hour away from the private school I attended and where Dad taught Spanish.  Since Dad was a faculty member, he needed to be at the school about an hour before and after regular school hours.  So we would head out at 6:00 every morning and make the long, slow drive to school, uphill and only 55 m.p.h. - both ways!*   It was fantastic.  I used the time to work on my beauty sleep (just let it go...). 

Dad would have loved to do likewise.  Instead, he kept himself awake with the easy-listening radio station.  (Yes, you read that right.  Easy listening was the closest Dad ever got to rocking out.)  Personally, I wasn't a big fan of easy listening, especially the Musak-style versions of rock and pop songs.  But I was all for Dad staying awake while I slept, so I kept my opinions to myself.

Sometimes Dad whistled along with the songs - potentially mortifying for the young teenager, but tolerable. 

But when his favorite song came on, Dad couldn't help himself.  He had to sing along:  "There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, Fernando.  They were shining there for you and me, for liberty, Fernando...."  Yes, I think my dad was a closet ABBA fan.  He was, at least, a Fernando fan.  I assumed because the guy sounded Spanish, but who knows.

I was unable to sleep through that gem.  All I could do was pray that my classmates hadn't hidden a video camera in the car somewhere and that "Fernando" would end before we got to school.

The summer after my sophomore year, however, I made up for the Musak trauma.  I took an algebra class in the mornings.  It was the glory days of my critical thinking skills, and my nerdy self enjoyed the math so much it was more like solving puzzles than doing homework.  But even better than the math was the drive to and from school - ALONE.  We had moved closer to the school by then, but I still had time to blast whatever station I wanted to hear and to sing along before changing the station back when I got home.  I was SO cool.

The icing on the cake that summer was the afternoons, when I floated in our above-ground pool and worked on my tan.  Oh to be 16 and super-cool again!  :)

*Thanks, little brother!

Play Way Back When-esday with us!

V: Venturing down the aisle...or not

When I was almost three years old, my aunt and uncle got married (not the ones I live with).  I was a flower girl for the first (I think) time.  (I don't mean aunt & uncle had multiple marriages, I mean I was in other weddings.  With other people.)  Anyway, I don't remember the ring-bearer's name, so we'll call him Bobby.  Bobby was thrilled to get all gussied up and participate in a wedding by carring a satin pillow.

Bobby made it through the rehearsal okay, but when the Big Day came and he found out that not only would he have to walk with a girl down the aisle again, but he would also have to do it in a tux, he decided he'd had enough.  Our moment came.  The music swelled, and we started to walk.  The room was filled with big people smiling down at us and whispering how cute we were.  This was the last straw for Bobby.  He saw his parents in the crowd, turned toward them, and ran.  I watched him, stunned for a moment, then I shrugged my shoulders, turned back toward the front of the sanctuary, and finished my job.  Boys.

I didn't know it at the time, but that episode would represent all of my future romantic or just-friends-but-I-wish-we-were-romantic endeavors.  While I enjoy the single life and understand how well it fits me now, in my 20's and early 30's I very much wanted to be married.  But I couldn't hook anyone.  I was just too cute.  And competent.  It's a cross I must bear.

stuff I never Understood as a kid

In addition to the mystery of why I wasn't allowed to run with Barbie coatracks, I didn't understand a few other things people told me when I was young:

"If you keep pouting and sticking your lip out like that, a little bird's going to come sit on it."  Huh?  Why on earth would a bird do that?  And actually, that would be really cool, unless the bird pooped on me.

"Stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about."  Again, huh?  I HAVE something to cry about, that's why I'm crying!  And if you want me to stop, why would you make me cry more?

But why can't I spray my bedroom's wood floor with perfume and mop it up with my stick horse?  Don't you want me to have any domestic skills?  (This is why I have no domestic skills.)

"Because I said so!"  Does the President know you're claiming this much authority?

After a particular "Three's Company" episode, I went to Mom and asked, "What's a hooker?"  And that was the end of "Three's Company."  I learned to keep my mouth shut after that.

Mom and Dad were showing their wedding pictures to friends one evening and pointing out who was in the pics, and I said, "And that's me in Mommy's tummy."  It took me several years to figure out why Dad so adamantly said, "Oh no you're not!!!"

dear Benjamin

Hey Buddy!  I've been thinking about you lately.  The other day I told your mom that most of the communication you and I share is nonverbal.  I love that.  We get each other, and we don't have to explain what we mean.  I love racing with you in the pool, although I hope you'll let me win a race someday soon while I'm still taller than you.  I love hearing about your Lego cities and complicated, wonderful drawings of cities and ships in space.  You still owe me a picture, by the way.  I love the times we've looked at each other and laughed, just between ourselves, at something that just happened.  And I'm so glad you're goofy, too.

Years ago, a man named P.G. Wodehouse wrote several stories and books about a goofy guy named Bertie Wooster, his valet Jeeves, his Aunt Dahlia, and many other funny characters.  I have his book Right Ho, Jeeves on tape, and I've listened to it so many times that I'm wearing out the tape because it makes me laugh so much.  It makes me happy, and I think of you, and I hope our relationship will be somewhat similar to Bertie's and his aunt's.  They are very close, which makes one of my favorite passages even funnier, in my opinion.  Your brain works a lot better than Bertie's, but I love their interaction with one another.  I hope you'll understand and enjoy this, now or sometime later, and send me an email or whatever we'll have in the future, and I'll send you a goofy one back.

In Right Ho, Jeeves, Bertie, who is a rich young man living in London, has just returned to his home after spending two months with his aunt and cousin in France.  A couple of days after he gets home, he receives a telegram from his Aunt Dahlia, whose last name is Travers.  The telegram said:

"Come at once.  Travers."

Bertie is confused; he wonders why his aunt wants to see him again so desperately so soon.  Bertie says, '...yet here she was, with my farewell kiss still lingering on her cheek, so to speak, pleading for another reunion.   Bertram Wooster is not accustomed to this gluttonous appetite for his society.  Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you that after two months of my company, what the normal person feels is that that will about do for the present.'

Bertie sends a telegram back to his aunt:

"Perplexed.  Explain.  Bertie."

Aunt replies, using a word that your mom and dad won't let me say in front of you, so I replaced it:

"What on earth is there to be perplexed about, (silly goose)?  Come at once.  Travers."

Bertie puzzles over this for a while, then responds:

"How do you mean 'come at once'?  Regards, Bertie."

"I mean come at once, you maddening half-wit.  What did you think I meant?  Come at once, or expect an aunt's curse first post tomorrow.  Love, Travers."

"When you say 'come,' do you mean come to Brinkley Court?  (His aunt's house.)  And when you say 'at once,' do you mean at once?  Fogged.  At a loss. All the best, Bertie."

"Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  It doesn't matter whether you understand or not, you just come at once as I tell you, and for heaven's sake stop this backchat.  Do you think I am made of money that I can afford to send you telegrams every 10 minutes?  Stop being a fathead and come immediately.  Love, Travers."

Bertie decides to ask his valet (helper) Jeeves, who is very smart, what he thinks the telegrams mean:

'Jeeves,' I said, '...read these....What do you make of it, Jeeves?'
'I think Mrs. Travers wishes you to come at once, Sir.'
'You gather that too, do you?'
'Yes, Sir.'
'I put the same construction on the thing.  But why, Jeeves?  Dash it all, she's just had nearly two months of me.'
'Yes, Sir.'
'And many people consider the medium dose for an adult two days.'
'Yes, Sir, I appreciate the point you raise; nevertheless, Mrs. Travers appears very insistent, and I think it would be well to acquiesce in her wishes.'
'Pop down, you mean?'
'Yes, Sir.'
'Well I can't go at once....I'll wire her that I'll be with her sometime next week or the week after.  Dash it all, she ought to be able to hold out without me for a few days.  It only requires will power.'
'Yes, Sir.'

Bertie tells his aunt he'll see her later.  Aunt Dahlia doesn't appreciate his lack of urgency and respect, so early the next morning she drives from her country house to Bertie's house in London, marches into his room, and yells at him, waking him from a sound sleep.  Their conversation gets around to why she wanted Bertie to come to her in the first place.

Aunt Dahlia:  'Have you ever heard of Market Snodsbury Grammar School?'
Bertie:  'Never.'
'It's the grammar school at Market Snodsbury.'
I (Bertie) told her, a little frigidly, that I had divined as much.
'Well how was I to know that a man with a mind like yours would grasp it so quickly?...I'm one of the governours (of the school).'
'You mean, one of the governesses.' (teachers)
'I don't mean one of the governesses.  Listen, (silly goose).  There was a Board of Governours at Eton, wasn't there?  Very well, so there is at Market Snodsbury Grammar School, and I'm a member of it.'

Aunt Dahlia wants Bertie to make a speech at the school, but Bertie really doesn't want to.  He ends up sending a friend of his to his aunt's house, but doesn't tell his friend that he hopes the friend will get roped into making the speech for him.  After the frustration of the last two days, Aunt Dahlia doesn't respond well to a stranger just showing up at her house with a note from Bertie.  She wires (telegrams) Bertie:

"Am taking legal advice to ascertain whether strangling an idiot nephew counts as murder.  If it doesn't, look out for yourself....'

Bertie takes the next step in his plan to have his friend give the speech instead of him and wires back to his aunt:

'On consulting engagement book, find it impossible come Brinkley Court.  Deeply regret.  Toodleoo, Bertie.'

Aunt Dahlia's reply 'struck a sinister note': "Oh.  So it's like that, is it?  You and your engagement book indeed.  'Deeply regret,' my foot.  Let me tell you my lad, that you will regret it a jolly sight more deeply if you don't come down....Deeply regret Brinkley Court 100 miles from London as unable hit you with a brick.  Love, Travers."

In the end, Bertie goes to his aunt's but gets out of making the speech.  He causes a lot of funny problems at his aunt's house and drives her nuts and they live happily ever after.

Just like us, I hope.

Love,
Auntie Kerri

how to: get revenge on your housemates

When a housemate throws away the cereal you just bought and claims she thought it was old, try giving her food away to the local food bank or something similar.  "Oh, were you going to eat that?  Gee, I'm sorry..."

I made these guys up in high school during some class - good to see that private education didn't go to waste.  I've been wanting to develop whatever artistic tendencies I have, so I thought I'd try this.  Many thanks to http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/ for the idea to use illustrations in my posts.  Also, many apologies to http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/ for even remotely connecting our blogs in any way.  You have a tremendous gift!

fun with Benjamin and Maddie

My niece and nephew (and their mom and dad) visited for Christmas.  We all had a great visit, which included:

How to properly eat a birthday cake (don't tell my "stupid little brother" that he was right all along...).

One of my favorite things about being an auntie is getting the kids started on something then leaning back and watching what happens next.  (And looking like I had nothing to do with the whole thing.)

Delicious!

Hanging out next to Grandpa/Old Papa (and getting a much-needed nap).

(I didn't want to wake Maddie up, so I kept myself entertained with "here is the church, here is the steeple...."  Not really.)

Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie never fail to delight us. I like how Maddie's holding onto my hair in this one.

Twister's still fun!  Maddie and I are arguing about dibs on a particular blue dot.

And that's what happens when you argue with me about blue Twister dots.

Who knew there were so many ways to interpret left hand blue, left foot blue, right foot yellow?  I think Benjamin's showing some Saturday Night Fever potential here - you're just waiting for him to spin around, cock a hip, throw up an arm, and point.

And the biggest hit of the holiday?

Yep, bubble wrap.

living with people versus living alone

1.  You have to wear pants.
2.  You don't have to wear a bra if you walk slow enough.
3.  You have to shower more often - or at least think about it.
4.  They come up behind you and whistle and scare your pants right back off.
5.  You get to pay them back.
6.  If you move in with family, you get to see your relatives more often.
7.  You get to see your relatives more often.
8.  People eat your food.
9.  You get to eat their food.
10.  They throw your food away; the food that you just bought 4 days ago!!!
11.  They feel bad and you get to play mind games with them.
12.  You need to consult with someone before you buy milk, or you need to be prepared to drink a lot of milk.
13.  You can't eat/drink shared food items straight out of the carton - you have to actually dirty a dish.
14.  They block your car in the driveway.
15.  You get to practice precision driving skills at 7:00 a.m., or you get to wake them up.
16.  They share or do all of the yard work - hallelujah!
17.  On Sundays they bring in your paper and bake cinnamon rolls - and share!
18.  They change the oil in your car, then give it a thorough cleaning-out. 

(I highly recommend moving in with at least one retired person.  It also helps if they love you and you love them back.)

little rockers

Mom and Dad bought me this little rocking chair for my first birthday.  I loved to sit in it and read like the grownups.  I've kept it ever since, not using it except as a sentimental keepsake for the past 35+ years.  When I moved in with my aunt and uncle, I didn't have enough room for it so I put it in storage.  A few weeks later I decided that was dumb - the rocker's store-bought, not made by some long-dead relative, now it's gathering dust and doing no one any good, and I have a picture of myself in it and that's sentimental enough.  So I brought the rocker to aunt & uncle's and put it in the rec room for my second cousins, A and B, to use and enjoy.  I'm liking this way of cherishing this "possession" much better than the old way.

So what do you think these pics say about our personalities?  Here I am, reading an ad for men's shoes.  (?)

Here's A rocking a baby doll:

And here's B watching Dora!

You know the Brave Little Toaster?  This is the Happy Little Rocking Chair.  Awww.

choosing - and loving - life 08/07/10

Hallelujah!  The clouds are gone for now and the sun is shining and I am happy and hopeful again.  What a tremendous gift it is to be able to enjoy life.

When I finished my 2008 retreat (which I'm slowly recording here) I didn't leave with many answers, but I was sure that God loved me and that he was calling me to become involved in some kind of community, in some way.  I also knew that while on retreat I actually enjoyed living with the sisters - I haven't enjoyed living with people since...well, never mind.  :)  So I figured that a move into some type of community, whether a convent or something more informal, would happen someday.  God knows I need a lot of heads up when it comes to big changes, so he let me sit with the idea for a couple of years, until I sensed the prompting last Sunday night that it was time to live with others.  As an intermediate step (I think) to living in some kind of community, I will be moving in with my aunt and uncle soon.  This will help me financially as well as help me get used to a different lifestyle.  And I enjoyed following the open doors and discovering the path God had prepared for me in this situation.

I thought and prayed about living with aunt & uncle for several days and I discussed it with my spiritual director.  After talking and praying with her, this move seemed to be the thing to explore.  So I called a & u out of the blue and asked to come over.  I asked them to think and pray about me moving in, and they smiled and said we already have, we were just talking about it, we don't need time to think, come on over!  I love it when that happens.  The other neat thing that worked out is that I'll be closer to my friend K's house, and she needs help getting her son to school one morning a week.  Thanks to my aunt's kindness and flexibility, she traded days of caring for Grandpa with me and I can help K!  One of the things I knew I needed and would gain from the move is a greater participation in the daily routines of life (stewardship), interacting with people more, and building new and deeper relationships with people.  So K's need complements my own, and we can mutually help each other.  It will be another type of family, and I'm looking forward to it.

While I suspect adjusting to this change will be hard at times, overall I am so thankful for a new, positive step to further growth and being in Christ.

funny family

My sister-in-law bought me a t-shirt.  She thinks she's so funny.  I do too, sometimes....  =P

The other night Dad was getting ready to put Grandpa's lotion med. on him, and Dad said, "Put your arms up."  Grandpa replied, "Is this a robbery?"

pics from mom's family

I've been collecting pictures from Mom's side of the family as well as Dad's (on posts about Grandpa).  Here are a few:

This is one of my favorites.  Back in the day, you had to go downtown to do your shopping.  Milling among the shoppers on the sidewalk were photographers who would offer to take your picture for a fee.  This is Mom and her oldest younger brother (she's the oldest of six).  Aren't they cute?!  The pose of Mom's feet looks like she's standing on the red carpet.  And I love her brother's big pants cuffs, suspenders, and belt.

Going back in time a few years, this is Mom with her mother, grandfather, and great-grandmother:

This is Mom with her Grandma and Grandpa Wadlow (her mom's parents).  Grandparents Wadlow played a big role in Mom's life, and she was very close to them.  They also meant a great deal to Dad as well, particularly for their role in Mom's life; I didn't realize how much they meant to him until the day of Grandma Wadlow's funeral.  Dad and I were home, Brad and Mom were at the donut shop (I'll talk about the shop some other time).  Dad was going to perform the eulogy, and with that and his grief he was a bit preoccupied, and when it was time to go pick up Mom and Brad and go to the funeral, he left without me.  I called Mom at the shop:  "Uh, was I supposed to go with Dad?"  I don't know if Dad figured out for himself that he'd left me at home, but I did eventually get picked up.  At the funeral, as Dad sat down after speaking, he began to weep.  It made a big impression on me, because I'd never seen him do that before (or since).  His love for Mom and her grandparents, and Mom's love for them, took on a new meaning for me.

This is Mom with her parents, 1946-47-ish:

And here's an extended family picture from the same day:

Mom in grade school:

                                                  

Mom and her sibs standing in order by age, 1970 (go polyester, plaid, and beehive hairdos!):

And another 4-generation picture, with Mom holding me: