by jphilo | Jul 24, 2012 | Top Ten Tuesday, Uncategorized
Since Friday’s news of the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, the media’s been replete with horrific images and accountings of the terrible events of that day. The constant rehashing of such incomprehensible evil can quickly lead to despair and hopelessness. To combat those feelings, I wrote a list of the top ten kind and gentle things that happened in my life this past week. While they’re not sensational or newsworthy, they remind me that our good and gracious God is constantly at work, whether or not his actions make the headlines or 6:00 news:
10. A little boy who goes to our church gave me a smile and a big, wet hug at the swimming pool.
9. During our daughter and son-in-law’s visit, our new son insisted on doing the heavy lifting while he and Hiram hauled boxes from the basement to the second floor, fixed my clothesline pole, and cleaned the gutters.
8. After fire destroyed the local event venue where my friend planned to host her son’s wedding reception this weekend, the owners of a local car dealership offered to clear their showroom so the reception could be held there.
7. Arranging food for the family breakfast my friend’s hosting the morning after the reception took less than an hour because everyone I called was home and immediately volunteered to help.
6. When we suggested bringing our daughter’s birthday celebration to Mom, my brother and sister-in-law made it happen by graciously allowing us to invade their home and kitchen Saturday afternoon.
5. When my brother got home from purchasing a dozen ears of sweet corn at a roadside stand, he discovered the woman had given him 15 ears.
4. Ever since Hiram went back to work, his co-workers have been making sure he doesn’t strain his back.
3. During my daughter and son-in-law’s “vacation” at our house, she helped me wash windows. She also cleaned the house, and weeded the flower beds without complaint.
2. When the gas line on the daughter and new son’s car sprang a leak, the car repair shop fixed it in an hour and charged only $100.
1. A reader at my website emailed to thank me for writing a book about parenting kids with special needs. She then mentioned she’s Jake’s mom and the executive director of Caregiver’s Ladder, an organization with worldwide reach, which supports parents of kids with special needs.
That’s my list of the top ten kind and gentle things that made my little world rock this week. What’s been rocking yours and bringing you hope? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Apr 20, 2012 | Out and About, Uncategorized
Hmmm…maybe flying Southwest Airlines to the Accessibility Summit (to take advantage of their 2 free bags policy to haul books & book table stuff) wasn’t such a good idea. Our plane is sitting on the runway, we’re packed in here like sardines, and the pilot announced a problem with the electrical system. The first attempt to solve the problem was unsuccessful.
A technician is on his way.
Call me crazy, but I’m developing a Southwest Airline/Accessibility Summit phobia. Last year while at the Summit, again arriving there via Southwest, the airline announced one of their planes developed a crack in the fuselage. My return flight was one of the few not grounded, so I returned home without a problem.
Though I was on fuselage crack watch the entire time.
But, back to the present problem. We’ve now been deplaned which means I won’t make my Chicago connection. The customer service representative says there’s a “good likelihood” I’ll get to Dulles tonight.
But when tonight remains a mystery.
All this trouble to take advantage of SW’s 2 free bags policy. Which I probably will need since I won’t be in the Accessibility Exhibit Hall to sell books tonight and may have a bunch to cart home on Sunday. If SW planes fly on Sunday.
I’m not holding my breath.
by jphilo | Feb 21, 2012 | Uncategorized
A couple weekends ago, we visited our grown up son and his grown up wife at their grown up house in Wisconsin. They showed us the sights in the area, including a visit to his new workplace.
More than once during the weekend he said, “I have a grown up job,” with wonder in his voice and a shake of his head. “I’m a grown up.”
Allen’s sense of wonder pervaded the entire visit as he and our new daughter showed us around his office, drove us through the grounds of a nearby historical site, showed us the sites in the closest city.
The wonder invaded my soul and Hiram’s too, as we sat in the kitchen and watched this lovely, grown up couple prepare meals for us.
Omelets for breakfast the first morning,
Roast chicken and scrumptious new potatoes ala Julia Child for supper,
crepes for brunch before departure the next day.
I watched them cook and saw
our baby boy on the kitchen floor banging on pots and pans with a wooden spoon,
our preschooler sitting on the counter to peer at what was in the mixing bowl,
our kindergartener standing on a char, “helping” crack eggs (and eggshells) into a bowl,
our 7-year-old learning to make Kraft Macaroni and Cheese all by himself,
our middle schooler baking cookies,
our high schooler sliding frozen pizza into the oven,
our monk baking bread in the monastery kitchen,
our farm hand showing me how to stir fry kale,
our son and new daughter cooking for us three lovely meals.
The wonder hovered round us all that weekend. It was in the car as we drove away. It’s been in my smile and Hiram’s each day since we’ve been home. It wells up inside me and flows down my cheeks as I write. It lulls me to sleep each evening and greets me when the alarm clock rings each morning.
Our son is grown up.
He’s married to a grown up wife.
He lives in a grown up house.
He has a grown up job.
He cooks grown up meals.
In wonder, we bow and give thanks for what God has done.
by jphilo | Jan 3, 2012 | Daily Life, Uncategorized
Sigh.
The kids left Monday morning, and ever since the house has been quiet. Too quiet in my opinion, even with the washer, the dryer, the dishwasher and the radio going. Nobody wanted the celebration to end, and the good-byes were hard. To keep the good times in mind a little longer, I’m rolling out the top ten events from our holiday weekend.
10. My blow dryer died. You may consider this a wacky top ten entry unless you’re privy
to this important fact. The blow dryer was over 30 years old. Used almost every day.
If word of its longevity gets out, the blow dryer industry could pay big bucks for the
relic. They’ll want to study it to learn how not to construct future blow dryers since
they prefer small appliances to wear out the day after the one year warranty expires.
9. The Google Analytics program installed as part of this website’s facelift is working.
No big deal to computer geeks, but this aging non-techie goes to sleep dreaming of
conquering the internet one successfully installed program at a time.
8. I won 2 (or possibly 3) of the half-dozen Carcassonne games I played. Granted, the
wins were due more to lucky draws than well-thought out strategy. But it’s nice to
know a strategy game can be won by someone more at home in Candyland than in
medieval France.
7. The most hotly contested item in our extended family’s white elephant gift exchange
was the Romance Novel Magnetic Poetry Kit. The copy on the package described it
as “a box full of bodice-ripping word magnets.” And as their final winner, all I can say
is boy howdy, are they ever! Should the fact that they were my son and new
daughter’s contribution to the game disturb me?
6. Integrating word magnets from the Romance Novel Magnet Poetry Kit into its
owner’s turns while playing Carcassonne makes for a very interesting game. Don’t
ask me how I know this.
5. The winner of the New Year’s drawing at www.DifferentDream.com (for a copy of
Different Dream Parenting) was a mom who stumbled onto the site looking for a
devotional book for parents of kids with special needs. How cool is that?
4. We met my brother’s new vizsla pup, Maisie, during our extended family Christmas
on Saturday. His beloved dog Maggie was recently diagnosed with cancer, and he
will be saying good-bye to her in the next few months.
3. The digital picture frame was a hit with Mom. She spent all afternoon on Saturday
watching the pictures go by.
2. Sunday was a blast: cooking with the kids, watching the pilot of Parenthood
together, playing games, opening presents, walking, and talking. (Watch for
recipes from our holiday week in future posts!)
1. Our Christmas Eve service was a time to reflect upon how deeply God loves his
children. These good times with family are just a foretaste of the eternity made
possible through the gift of God’s Son, Jesus.
What were your top family events this holiday season? Leave a comment to share a few!
by jphilo | Dec 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
Today’s post looks back one year, when our worst winter in a long time was just starting to strut it’s stuff. Reading through it, my good side is grateful for this year’s gentle, white Christmas in the midwest. And my bad side chuckles with evil satisfaction every time the news media reports on the east coast storms.
No matter where you live or what weather you’re experiencing, this post still raises a valid question. Why does the weather service code “a wintery mix” with the color pink?
Wintery Mix – Recycled
Last week was a wild and wooly weather adventure for Midwesterners. Two storms came together, one from Canada and one from the southwest, resulting in six days of rain, freezing rain, drizzle, freezing drizzle, sleet, and snow.
The storm started three days before Christmas and ended two days after the holiday so we watched the weather reports religiously for days. The “wintery mix,” as the weather gurus called it, lit up our weather maps like Christmas trees. The longer I watched (and I watched plenty with a daughter and her fiancee heading straight into the mess), the more the precipitation color scheme mystified me.
My little brain understood why they used green to signify moderate rainfall. Rain makes the grass grow, and grass is green. The logic behind using blue to represent snowfall made sense, too, since it’s the color associated with the cold spigot, ice cubes and other chilly stuff.
But for the life of me, I can’t figure out why they use pink to represent a “wintery mix” which leads to the winter’s most hazardous drivIng condition. It’s kind of like using a Barbie Dream House as the symbol for a military fortress or the Barbie convertible to represent enemy tanks. It’s like dressing up GI Joe in Barbie’s pink feather boa and a pink sequined leotard.
Pink sends exactly the wrong message to everybody.
Women see it and think, “Oh good, it’s time for a party.” Then they put on halter tops,, capris and strappy sandals instead of snowsuits and boots before going to meet their BFFs for lunch.
Men see it and think, “A sissy, little pink storm won’t keep me home.” And they hop in the car and drive over to a buddy’s place to watch professional wrestling.
If the forecasters want people to take their “wintery mix” predictions seriously, they’d better pop the lid on the box of 96 colors with the sharpener and choose a color with some weight behind it. Maybe gray. Or brown. Or my personal favorite – burnt sienna.
Anything but pink.
If you have a new color suggestion for “wintery mix,” please leave a comment. I’ll compile all the suggestions and mail them to the National Weather Service for consideration. Who knows, if we choose the right color, maybe we can stop global warming!
by jphilo | Nov 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
You know how jet setters dismiss the land between the east and west coasts as fly-over country? They scoff at what they consider a wasteland of cornfields, a vast expanse where nothing worthwhile happens, nothing of consequence is produced, no one of importance lives. Well, I love living in fly-over country, no matter what the jet setters think of it. But, the past week exposed an unexpected truth.
We live a fly-over life.
A midweek visit to my son and new daughter was void of the hoopla that characterized much of the last two years: no illness, thus no dramatic health cures; no happy announcements, thus no need to plan big celebrations; no crises, thus no anxiety-racked discussions. Instead, in our time together we talked about jobs, exchanged recipes, played with the dog, and went to bed by 9:00 PM.
Pleasant, but boring.
A perusal of our weekend activities confirms life’s fly-over status. I made cookies for upcoming church events and cleaned some drawers in the kitchen – without burning a single cookie or pinching myself with kitchen utensils. Hiram reinstalled the sink in the upstairs bathroom without cracking the porcelain or ruining the newly laid tile. We comparison shopped for a new refrigerator, washer, and dryer – and found what we needed for less than expected.
Appreciated, but boring.
A phone call to our daughter and new son was uneventful. She’s keeping up in school and making progress with her online, custom sewing business; no need for me to swoop in and chair a planning pow wow. He likes his job; no need for encouraging words to buck him up. They’re looking ahead to next year, hunting online for an apartment near the campus they’ve move to next August; no need for parental reminders to think about the future.
Reassuring, but boring.
I live a beyond-the-excitement, happily-ever-after, fly-over existence made possible by the exciting lives of others:
Pilgrims
American revolutionaries
hardy pioneers
abolitionists and Civil War soldiers
WWI doughboys
survivors of the Great Depression
Tom Brokaw’s greatest generation
war veterans
my Alaskan homesteader in-laws years
my courageous and determined parents
Because of them, Hiram I will spend a quiet, fly-over Thanksgiving with our daughter and new son in their tiny, college apartment. We’ll talk about work, exchange recipes, do a few odd jobs, and be in bed by 9:00 PM.
I am exceeding grateful for those who made possible this boring, fly-over life.
