Love and Marriage

Frank & Lydia Belle King, May 29, 1938

Tomorrow my grandparents will have been married for 70 years! Still my grandfather holds and strokes my grandmother's hand, guiding her through each day. It seems almost unimaginable to spend at least 70 years living with the same person! But here is proof that it is possible. DH (Dear Husband) and I will celebrate our 17th anniversary this summer. It won't be too many more years until we have been together longer than we haven't! (To quote the Sicilian in "The Princess Bride": "Inconceivable!")

I thought by now I would feel mature, self confident and knowledgeable about life. Instead I feel like a heavier and grayer version of myself at age 15! If one indeed gains wisdom with age, I hope that some of that wisdom gets dropped in my lap someday soon...I sure could use it. I have to keep reminding myself when I come up against a task that I don't feel confident of doing that I am the adult here. I have to figure it out myself!

Now throw a couple of kids into the mix. What you have now is the ideal situation for years of therapy in the future! I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I'M DOING (or, indeed, why I do some of the really asinine things I do)! I sort of assumed that child-rearing would come naturally, but mostly I feel pretty much like a failure at it. I go to bed every night hoping I haven't irreparably damaged my children. But I love them like crazy, and I'm counting on that to patch a lot of the thin areas in my parenting.

Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Grandma! I wish you many more! And to all of you Super Elaines...happy & loving homes to you all!

T

Gone Fishin'

Well, actually to Ohio. Have a great week. We have journeyed to K's parents' house for a visit. We have abandoned the weeding, yard work, etc. to frolic in Columbus, Ohio. We will miss the potluck on Tuesday, but will toast in your honor and send positive vibes eastward. See you soon. S.

What a Great Bunch of Folks!

Once again we greatly enjoyed the company of the Elaines et al!

Good food, good company...what more could one ask for?

Even the little ones found plenty to do!

We all passed around Baby B.

Just wish I got some pictures of the men playing!

Until next time,

T

Help! (I Need Somebody)

I finally got around to scheduling my Board Exams. Wouldn't you know it...there are NO Saturday test times available through Nov. 5th (the last day to take Boards and keep my certification)!! So...I scheduled for Wednesday, June 11th with the hopes that somebody could either recommend a babysitter, or be available to help me with childcare. The exam is scheduled for 5 hours, but likely won't take me that long as I usually don't take all the scheduled breaks. John typically leaves for work around 11:00 on Wednesday, so I would need help from 10:45 until 1-ish that day. I could offer either the going sitter rate, or a childcare swap, or even dinner as recompense. Any takers?

T

Mysterious Spot Appears on Bathroom Ceiling

The title of this post may be a bit misleading. It is no mystery how this spot appeared on my bathroom ceiling. I pulled off the huge flakes of paint, and it left this ugly pattern. I could have left the peeling paint, which we called "bats", but for 2 issues. 1) L seemed a bit frightened of them...wouldn't look at the ceiling while bathing for fear they would "fall down my head". 2) I'm a picker...scabs, broken fingernails, pimples, loose threads, etc, etc, the list goes on. I thought I was doing quite well leaving it be for the past several months.


The bigger question, which I have been pondering while showering, is this: is there some spiritual message of great significance that I am missing in the pattern of this spot? People make the news by having scars in the image of the Virgin Mary, or sell cheese sandwiches with the burnt image of Jesus on ebay. Is some greater power trying to contact me in the shower to no avail? No matter in which direction I view this spot, it just resembles...a blob! So tell me, is there a divine image hidden in my bathroom?

T

Ideas Welcome

I took the plunge. After somehow managing to avoid providing snack for E's preschool this year, I signed up for a week that was available on the hallway calendar, only to learn that school is finished the week before. OOPS. Yet, now I am commited to delivering "birthday snack" since E has a summer birthday. Any ideas other than the sugar-laden frosted cupcake?

S.

Summer Happynings

Yes, I just wrote Happynings and now I am deeply in shame.

I've got so much to do before Martoon's parents arrive and here I am on the computer instead. Ah, procrastination. Maybe after this I'll take a nap! HA. So they won't have a bed to sleep upon. . . .oh, well. Many things I used to disallow myself happen on a regular basis. Dishes not done, diapers wrapped up and sitting in corners, dust bunnies galore. Really I'm doing okay on the relaxed front.

So: Tuesday evening. Potluck. Let's make it truly potLUCK, shall we? No planning allowed, (except N and I will both bring vegetarian dishes.) Just cook as much as you would for your own family and then we can all sample.

Let's have the first one here and go from there. I'm hoping the firepit will be ready to go for some marshmallows afterward, and maybe even the swings will be up. . .

Yahoo.

Umbrella Bat Strikes Again

For the past 4 summers, a misguided bat (or perhaps friends or relatives of said bat - how long do bats live anyway?) has taken up daytime residence in our deck umbrella. Perhaps it seems quite cave like and cozy when folded, but can't be pleasant to these nocturnal creatures when opened to shield our deck from the bright sun of the summer days! I have pensively opened the umbrella each morning for the past week...unwilling to stick my head under until I find it clear of all beasties. This morning the Umbrella Bat strikes again!

T

A Respite from the Chaos

This dove built her nest on my grandparents' wall hanging...you can see one chick's head!

We have returned from Central PA...rolled up our hill at about 1 AM this morning and carried the sleeping children to their waiting beds. It was a crazy visit. I stayed behind in houses that were not L-proofed, trying to control 2 wild children while Daddy slipped away to doze in mindless conferences most of each day. L broke a different nick-knack in each home we stayed.

I actually did not have as much time alone as I had anticipated. My sister-in-law took half a day off to visit on Thursday. She took us to see the idyllic Camphill Village where she works. We watched the free range chickens and one big turkey, laughed at the antics of the piglets, and admired the woven goods made of recycled jeans and homespun wool from the village's sheep.



One of my dear college friends drove the girls and I to the Hands on House in Lancaster, where my girls and her boys loaded coal on trucks, picked corn to feed the pigs, ran a grocery store, sang on stage and built "thing-a-ma-giggles" in a factory.



My parents and we took dinner to my Grandparents, both in their 90's. J entertained us with a violin concert. My Grandma recited some of the many poems and stories she memorized many years ago. My Grandfather showed us his latest carvings.



We enjoyed singing along to the musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in Reading, and played in the crabapple petals afterward.



We drove home in the dark to piles of laundry and a marathon 3 hour violin recital this afternoon. At last, in a church pew, I was able to relax while the children played incredible music and L napped in the van with Daddy.

So now I feel deflated. Thankfully husband has a couple more days off from work, perhaps I can get caught up with life again. An Elaines meeting would benefit...(here, some night this week?)

T