by jphilo | Feb 4, 2020 | Reflections on the Past
Ugly sweater cookie contests and EA/TEF memories. What could they possible have in common? The answer is plenty, thanks to a recent Facebook post by a dear friend named Barb. She posted a picture about the ugly sweater cookie contest she hosted during her family’s 2019 Christmas gathering and asked Facebook friends to vote for the ugliest.*
Of course, I thought, Barb held an ugly sweater cookie contest at Christmas. That sounds just like her.
We met Barb and her young family way back when, when we lived in a remote town of 92 people in the northwest corner of South Dakota. Her 2 oldest daughters were in my country school classroom, and Barb created beautiful birthday cakes for them each year. Word got out, and since our town was at least 60 miles from the nearest bakery, she was soon creating cakes for all sorts of occasions.
She even created a cake for our EA/TEF baby’s first birthday in 1983. The cake featured a baby-with-a-feeding-tube-and-a-string-coming-out-of-his-mouth. Those who are used to 2020 EA/TEF technology may not be familiar with the 1982 version. Our baby’s feeding tube was a honking, huge Foley balloon catheter. The string went into his mouth, down his esophagus (placed there during a very dicey surgery), into his stomach, and out the feeding tube hole. The two ends were tied in a knot that was untied so dilation tubes could be attached to it when his repair scar needed to be stretched. Our baby endured this process, without anesthesia, about 2 dozen times. Thankfully, modern day dilations are less frequent, more effective, and much more humane.
Back to the cake.
My husband and I tucked the cake in the back seat of our car and strapped our baby into his car seat. Then we drove 120 miles to Rapid City Regional Hospital to celebrate our boy’s birthday in the GI lab with his GI doctor and his nurse.
The long trip was not kind to the cake, which looked like it had been in an earthquake by the time we arrived. Even so, our fellow party goers oohed and aahed over it. “Who made that? How did she do it?” they wanted to know.
Barb was amazing then, and she still is.
For me, posts about ugly sweater cookie contests and EA/TEF memories go hand in hand. Both of them show that things we’d rather not have in our lives (ugly sweaters and EA/TEF) can be redeemed in relationships and celebration.
Families decorating ugly sweater cookies at Christmas and asking Facebook friends far and wide to vote.
A friend turning the hard bits of an EA/TEF baby’s first year into cake decoration.
A doctor and nurse taking time from their day to eat cake with the young parents of a baby whose life they saved.
A cozy mystery book series (if, God willing, a publisher offers a contract) to celebrate the long ago place and time where our EA/TEF baby was born.
Thanks to my friend Barb, ugly sweater cookie contests and EA/TEF memories will always belong together. If you have an EA/TEF baby, and even if you don’t, hope you have a friend like Barb in your life, too.
*I forgot to vote, but the cookie I deemed ugliest won, which can only mean that my thoughts are able to influence elections.
by jphilo | Nov 19, 2015 | Uncategorized
- Thankful for the Safety Check for Paris Facebook feature that showed a friend who lives in Paris is alive and well. Heartsick and praying for those who didn’t receive such good news.
- Mom’s answer to my “I love you, Mom” at the end of our last visit? “Thank you. Good to know.” Gotta love her!
- Coffee and lunch in my home town with a friend from high school. Lovely!
What’s been lovely about your week? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Oct 14, 2014 | Reflections on the Past, Top Ten Tuesday
On last week’s road trip, I spent an evening with one of my best friends from high school. Every time we–or any of our high school crowd–get together, we remember why we were (and still are) good friends. And we remember and miss what was best about those fleeting and powerful years.
10. Throwing good luck pennies on the Pizza Hut roof.
9. Sitting in the stands and talking with friends during basketball and football games…and even watching the games now and then.
8. English and history classes.
7. Being part of a group that made sure everyone had a date for Homecoming, Twirp, and Prom.
6. The speech and drama teacher, Mr. Hallum, who demanded the best from his students and gave so much of his time to help them grow.
5. Looooong weekend band and speech trips on very uncomfortable school buses.
4. Marching and concert band during the school year and city band in the summer.
3. Church youth group and our leaders, Ron and Barb Ritchie.
2. Play rehearsals.
1. The best friends a person could ever have (in alphabetical order): Cheri, Jacki, Jane, Katie, Mary Anne, and Roxanne.
Okay, so what’s missing about what you miss about high school? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Oct 14, 2013 | Out and About
Today, I can’t wait to spend the day with a high school bestie. How do I know she’s a bestie?
Because we, and two other girls, met on the first day of ninth grade.
When I looked like the girl in the picture above.
Even so, the four of us remained friends.
Not just that year, but throughout high school.
To this very day
I’m not someone who wishes to go back to high school and relive it because those were the best years of my life. Because, even though my high school years were very good, now is the best time of my life.
My husband and I are happy.
Our kids are raised.
Our grandson is perfect.
Camp Dorothy is a hoot.
I love my job.
But if I could have one thing back from high school, I would choose time with my besties. Because we went from ugly ducklings–besties, rest assured I would never post your 9th grade school pictures here–to swans together.
We studied together,
auditioned en masse for plays and speech,
joined the same clubs,
attended cast parties,
pined over the same boys,
hung out at one another’s houses,
threw pennies on the roof of Pizza Hut,
went to youth group,
and had more slumber parties than you can shake a stick at.
If I could choose one day to relive, it would be when we went all the way to Sioux City–just us 4 girls, no parents–to have our senior pictures (see below) taken and then out to a Chinese restaurant afterwards.
The memory of that day is precious.
The memory of this day will be precious, too.
One day with a high school bestie.
When we’re both old enough
to recognize the value of one day,
the value of health to enjoy it,
the value of friendships that span decades,
the value of what we had then,
the value of what we have now,
and the wisdom to be grateful.
by jphilo | Aug 1, 2013 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- Two researchers used grant from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) to prove it’s possible to hack into smart car computers and mess with the brakes, steering wheel, and other stuff. Suddenly, dumb cars look stunningly attractive to me.
- Tuesday an old friend and I talked on the phone. Even though we hadn’t chatted in a long time, the years fell away and our conversation flowed without missing a beat. Friends like that are a blessing.
- I kinda hope some hackers listened in on our smart phone conversation. The stories, laughing, and cowboy talk might have made their day. It sure made mine.
What made your day? Leave a comment.
Photo Credit: www.freedigitalphotos.net
