by jphilo | May 20, 2014 | Church Newsletter Columns, Top Ten Tuesday
10. Since childhood, my sympathies have been with the tortoise and not the hare. And who won that race?
9. Running hurts.
8. Being naturally sensitive to the emotions of others, I wouldn’t want to start running and be so exceptionally fast that I left everyone else eating my dust. I just don’t want to be that kind of person.
7. Running hurts.
6. If I ran instead of walking, I wouldn’t have enough time to think through the day and then listen to audio books. What good is life without story time every day?
5. Running hurts.
4. Running makes a person sweat. Sweating is gross. If A equals B and B equals C, that means running is gross.
3. Running hurts.
2. I’m committed to water conservation practices. Sweaty runners take extra showers, and I just can’t go there.
1. Running hurts, and life is way too short for self-inflicted pain.
Those of you who prefer walking to running, now it your chance to be heard. Leave a comment about why you walk instead of run.
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by jphilo | May 13, 2014 | Family, Top Ten Tuesday, Uncategorized
Mother’s Day was a very special time in my childhood home. Every year we celebrated Mom’s extraordinary efforts to provide for our family. But when Mother’s Day fell on May 11, as it did on the day of his birth in 1929, we celebrated Dad’s birthday, too. Since his birthday again fell on Mother’s Day this year–and because I’m madly editing page proofs for The Caregiver’s Notebook and don’t have time to blog much–today’s top 10 list gleans from two posts from the past: What My Mamma Taught Me and Top Ten Things About My Dad.
10. Never allowed discussions about politics to become cut throat. Dad’s most barbed political statement referred to his right arm, severely weakened by multiple sclerosis: It’s my Republican arm. Not good for much of anything.
9. The library is an excellent place to hang out. Mom checked out a lot of books and taught her kids to love to read. And go to the library where books can be checked out for FREE!
8. Birthday and Christmas presents matter. Dad picked Mom’s birthday and Christmas gifts carefully. He looked through the newspaper ads and phoned the store to quiz the clerk for a long time about whatever gift he wanted to buy. Once he made his decision, he arranged to have the gift delivered when Mom was at work.
7. Every woman should get an education so she can support herself and her family. Mom went back to school to finish her 4 year degree after Dad was diagnosed with MS in the late 1950s. She went on for her Master’s Degree in the mid 1960s. Our lives would have been very different had she not pursued those degrees.
6. People matter more than winning does. Dad loved to play cards with friends, but he didn’t play to win. He played to talk.
5. A strong family will be a constant support throughout life. As a teenager, Mom babysat many of her nieces and nephews. Those nieces and nephews open their homes to her whenever we travel back for funerals or reunions. Their love and respect for her is a touching tribute to her influence on their lives.
4. Proximity matters. Having Dad close by in his wheelchair always made me feel safe.
3. Teaching Is more than a job. Mom’s passion for her work demonstrated that teaching is not just a way to support your family. It’s a way to inspire a new generation and help them realize their own potential.
2. No matter what happens, find a reason to laugh. Dad’s constant sense of humor and thousand watt smile taught that lesson time and time again.
1. True love never fails. Mom cared for Dad at home from 1959 when he was diagnosed with MS until 1983 when he required nursing home care. Once he moved to the nursing home, Mom visited him daily, unless she was visiting her kids and grandkids, from 1983 until his death in 1997. Every time she walked through the door, his face brightened and his eyes shone.
Every now and then someone asks why I drive 45 miles to visit Mom Tuesday after Tuesday. The answer is simple. It’s what my parents taught me.
Love bears all things, hopes all things, believes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:7–8
What lessons did your parents teach you? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | May 6, 2014 | Top Ten Tuesday
Mother’s Day is almost here, so I’m being pro-active on behalf of my family. Instead of letting them fret and stew about what to get Mommy Dearest on the big day, they can check this wish list for a suitable gift. I know, my thoughtfulness is a marvel to endure behold.
10. A swimming pool. But only if it comes with a pool guy to do the upkeep. Because the man of steel says a pool is perfectly fine, but he won’t take care of it.
9. An orchard of fruit trees. Starting with cherry, then plum, pear, apricot, and peach. (I actually am getting a cherry tree, or this would be in the number 1 spot. But in case anyone needs my preferred orchard progression in future years, here it is.)
8. A fancy espresso maker. With a barista to operate and maintain it. Because when I make fancy coffee drinks, they never taste quite right. And because I’m death to small appliances.
7. A gift card to Burgie’s Coffee House is a more than acceptable substitute for #8.
6. A day in which my help is not required to make any decisions, solve any problems, or schedule anything for anyone.
5. A month-long vacation to visit Civil War battlefields.
4. Our kids, their spouses, and the man of steel watching Support Your Local Sheriff together and laughing ourselves silly.
3. To hold our babies again and watch their faces light up when their Grandma Elsie and Grandma Dorothy come through the door.
2. Years of hugs from our grandson and a lifetime to read stories together.
1. To live near our children’s families and be involved in their lives.
What’s on your Mother’s Day Wish List? Leave a comment in the box.
by jphilo | Apr 29, 2014 | Top Ten Tuesday
While I love to cook and to eat, there are a few foods that, in my opinion, aren’t fit for human consumption. This list is limited to foods that are part of the food culture where I live. Which means some foods that are worthy of inclusion here-Scottish haggis comes to mind–haven’t been included. If a food you know and hate deserves mention, give it shout out in the comment box.
10. Oatmeal raisin cookies. They are nasty imposters cursed by chocolate chip lovers everywhere.
9. Any baked good with fruit that turns the bread part soggy. Think apple cake, rhubarb bars, and oatmeal raisin cookies. It’s a texture thing.
8. Rice pudding with raisins. See #9 for further clarification.
7. Salmon patties. I’m referring to the kind my mother used to make with canned salmon, bread crumbs, eggs, and who knows what else. They were a mushy mess, except for the bones that could lodge in the throat. No food should be both disgusting and dangerous!
6. Calamari. Like salmon patties, this food is a mix of disgusting and dangerous. The tentacles and suction cups are disgusting. And think about those suction cups attaching themselves to the inside of a person’s esophagus (it could happen). Dangerous!
5. Oysters. Slimy on the outside. Sandy on the inside. Add this one to the disgusting list.
4. Milk toast and poached eggs. Combine the soggy toast (see #9 for clarification) with the runny yolks of poached eggs, and you’ve got a food worthy of involuntary shudders. Why did my grandpa make this for us when we were already sick?
3. Canned vegetables with the life boiled out of them. Spinach and brussel sprouts are prime examples. Canned hominy is another.
2. Any animal organ or strange body part: tongue, heart, liver, gizzard, brain, or testicles. These foods are particularly objectionable to those with a keen visualization skills or active imaginations.
1. Asparagus in any form. Them’s fighting words for asparagus lovers, I know, but this is my list and asparagus tops it.
Add your objections to #1 and your additions to the list in the comment box below.
by jphilo | Apr 22, 2014 | Top Ten Tuesday
Lately, the man of steel and I have become more and more aware that age is creeping up on us. Here are some signs of aging we’ve noticed since the beginning of 2014.
10. Hanging out with friends at the Accessibility Summit earlier this year was as fun as ever. But it was a tad disconcerting to discover I was the elder stateswoman in the crowd. Not only could I have been an older cousin to several, I also could have been mother to a great many.
9. During the terrible winter of 2014, we shared “old-timer” memories of the winters of 1966-67 (or was it the Winter of 67-68…my memory isn’t what it used to be), 1978-79, and 1981-82.
8. Neither of us have any desire to ever sleep on a floor, on the ground, or in a tent ever again.
7. No one cards us when we order off the senior citizen’s menu…even if we’re younger than the restaurant’s age cut off.
6. When I announced I had no desire to squeeze into yoga pants, my children breathed audible sighs of relief.
5. On a recent road trip, the man of steel accidentally took a hotel pillow and didn’t notice he placed it right on top of our pillow in the back seat of the car. We were horrified by our thievery and went back to return it, of course.
4. About the same time we discovered we were pillow burglars, we realized we’d forgotten our camera. We retraced our steps and reclaimed it, of course.
3. The list of foods we collectively have to avoid means eating at a restaurants with us is not for the faint of heart.
2. My sister will turn 60 this year and her husband turns 70. Contrary to what we would have said 20 years ago about those ages, the man of steel and I agree our rellies are not old. At. All.
1. We believe the auto industry should consider lumbar support and heated seats should be standard features in new vehicles.
Do any of those sound like you? What would you add to the list? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Apr 17, 2014 | Three Thoughts for Thursday, Top Ten Tuesday
- After a week that included school stabbings in Pennsylvania and shootings at Fort Hood, my resolve to educate the public about PTSD in children is stronger than ever.
- A study shows that as birth rates in our country have decreased, female ownership of small dogs has increased. I am so thankful for two children whose potty training escapades eradicated any lingering desire to spend my empty nester years cleaning up after small animals.
- Three questions I want to ask the women who approached the empty tomb and saw the risen Lord: How long until you could believed what you saw? What was it like to go from abject despair to indescribable joy? Could you sleep that night or did you stay up talking to one another?
What questions do you want to ask? Leave a comment.
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