Food for thought

Today it is all about the food! The turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and of course pumpkin pie. Or is it? This morning many will participate in a local Turkey Trot for charity, some will trot around the few open stores promising deals as good as Black Friday. Others will gather around the TV at 11:30 to watch some football, some have a job to do, nurses, doctors, the Starbucks workers, police and control center employees. Many will continue the traditions they have followed set by generations before them.
As a child I loved those traditions, the smells from Mom’s kitchen, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on TV and the excitement of knowing we would soon head to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Years later, as a young adult it was fun to get everyone ready to go to my Mom and Dad’s house, gathering around the table with my parents, siblings and their families, the laughter, the noise and the fantastic meals. Now we live far from that farm house in eastern South Dakota, today the members of my family that can, will be there enjoying Mom’s great feast. We will be there in spirit. We will celebrate Thanksgiving in a different way this year. Mark went to work at 5:00 this morning, I will do the Turkey Trot with friends from work and we will have a small gathering of a few family members and a few college students from China this evening. We are in a very different place now than years ago, life has changed and evolved into today. We will think of our kids, grandkids and family that can’t be with us. As I prepare the meal for this evening using the recipes I have gathered over the years, thinking of our family and friends and having a heart filled with gratitude that we have shared a meal or two, a laugh and a tear. Though the food will be good, the gifts we receive today and everyday is really what it is all about!

Friends

Today Kathy, Jane and Julie will celebrate their birthdays. These are people I call friends, some of the friends I have had the longest. This got me to thinking about the different friendships I have had in my life and how they came to be? How did they waltz in and out of our life? Are people put here because we need them at a particular point in our life? And how does it happen that the friendship sort of fade away with some people, yet with others we feel like we are always connected? Do our friends all have different characteristics? Or do we have different friends for different occasions? I am pretty sure my connection with them will always be there, we have been friends for over 30 years and will more than likely maintain that friendship through what is left of our lives. My friendships with my high school buddies may not be as strong, but the connection of our past will always be a common thread. Thanks to modern modes of communication, Facebook, Twitter and texting we can feel a sense of past even though we are miles apart. There is nothing like a good friend, I am grateful for those people that have been placed in my life over the years. Take a moment today to connect with a good friend, old or new. They really are an important part of the sunshine of our lives!

Hello August!

August 1^st, the beginning of the end of the hot season. This is the month summer really gets over itself. The intense heat is usually gone this month; the kids prepare or return to school. The vacations wind down and people prepare for the season change coming soon. I love the fall and all of its beauty, but I do not like winter, I hang on to August like it is the last rung on the ladder. I want to enjoy each warm humid morning and savor the evening heat, storing it in my mind until it returns next June or July. I am sure those that do not enjoy the hot weather are glad when August rolls around; I am not one of those people.

Camp Grandma 2011

Camp Grandma 2011 is marked by purple shirts, a bit of sunburn, a few bug bites and a lot of smiles. We are almost done with our Camp this year. It has been a fun week filled with laughs and adventures. We have had a Magical Mystery Tour, explored Crystal Cave, hiked at Beaver Creek Reserve and visited the Butterfly house. We had a trip to Olson’s Ice Cream Shop and of course stopped by to see the bears at Irving Zoo. Our night at Phoenix Park was cut short by a rain shower; we tried to tough it out, the rain won.

Of course grandma camp can also have its challenging moments. There is the point where they test us to see if we are really going to make them do the dishes or if they can get by with ignoring us. They can’t. We don’t worry too much about how neat the house is kept; we just make certain each little camper keeps their things together so “stuff” doesn’t get left behind.

We spend hours each day in the pool, play games and watch movies. As we wrap up our week we will put the memories of the week in our journals and look forward to what the next year might bring.

Preparing for a Fatherless Fathers Day

The title is a bit clumsy, there really is no prep work for Fathers Day when you are Fatherless, and you really aren’t Fatherless, everyone at one time had a Father. It is the title that keeps kicking back into my mind; therefore it is meant to be.

So what does that mean? It means you spend your weeks and days before Fathers day being reminded you don’t need to buy a Father’s Day card this year. The radio, TV and newspaper ads remind you time is running out to buy that perfect fishing rod or even tie. You are reminded as you walk down the aisle of almost any store that they have a shirt, gadget or tool Dad will love. You don't plan a picnic or family gathering. You don't call your siblings to see what they are doing for dad. You don't prepare. Ironic, because in the years my Father was alive, it always seemed it was a last minute deal, picking up a gift or sending a card, where were the reminders then?

This year, like the past few we will not be celebrating Fathers day like we once did. Four years ago on the morning of Father’s Day, my father-in- law Dave took his last breath. Three months before that we had lost my dad. Just like that we would no longer celebrate Fathers Day with our Dads.

So now all we have are the memories of these two guys that guided us through our formidable years, who steered us as we became parents and led us into mid-life. Recently, we were talking about how young our dads were when we lost them, they were in their 70’s, but we wanted 80’s. It wasn’t our choice, we had to do with what they gave us, and it was a lot.

Some of their advice was not heeded when given, but none the less so many times we remember what they taught us and use it today. Little bits of advice they gave us years ago will pop up and be used today. Mark jokes about his Dad telling him to turn the lights off, I can hear Dave barking, “Do you think I work for the power company?” He did. That is one of my favorites since now we both work for the “Power” company. Stories my Dad told me while milking cows will pop into my head at times, mostly I remember what a gentle kind man he was, he loved being a Farmer, even though he would often tell us he didn’t know about many things because he was quote “Just a dumb farmer”. Then he would give us that crooked smile, we all knew he was a very intelligent man who loved the land and spent his years taking care of it. They gave us sage advice, listened to our stories and hugged us when we shed tears. Now we honor their memory and what they meant to us, not just on Father’s day but most days as we are reminded of them in everyday life.

In preparing for this Father’s Day we will just gather our memories, wishing we could share the stories of our children and grandchildren with them and we thank the good Lord for giving us Dave and Marwell. If you still have your Dad on this earth, let him know you love him, give him an extra hug. If you are a Father know that whatever you are doing, your children are watching.Make good choices that will stay with your children a life time. Be a good example and give your children something special to remember, even when you are gone! Happy Father’s Day!

Grandma Time!

I have been taking care of my grandson Maddox this week. The deal was sealed this week; this little man of just 3 ½ months has captured my heart. Each morning he greets me with a smile, daily he challenges me by making me figure out just what position he wants to sit in and when he wants to eat and sleep. He prefers sitting up and has a low growl when he gets very tired. He loves to watch the dog and his sister Mariah, especially when she plays basketball. Most days have been spent cuddling and rocking; flipping channels on the unbelievably mind numbing daytime TV, which do prove to provide interesting conversation with a baby.

It has also given me time to think about where I am in life. We get so busy in life and all of a sudden we are grandparents. I know that sounds silly, but it does seem to happen very quickly. I was just getting used to being the mom and suddenly I am grandma. I am not complaining, I agree with those who have gone before me, this truly is the best job ever.

Now I need to figure out how to connect with all of these little ones in the years to come. I know it will involve putting several miles on the car; getting vacation time from my “other” job and coordinating schedules. We will make it work. And every year we will hold Camp Grandma; that is until the Grandkids don’t think it is fun anymore. When Naomi and Mariah grow out of wanting to come to camp, I am looking forward to Peytan and Tavian becoming the next campers, they will pass the tradition onto Kierra, Kianna, Madysen, Tate and of course Maddox.

Oh, he calls, time to cuddle!

April Fools

I love April Fools day! Time for the annual pillow fight in Eau Claire. This is the event that started as an April Fools joke when it was announced there would be a pillow fight downtown. The joke was that people actually showed up with pillows, now it is a yearly 5 minute pillow fight on April 1st. People dress up in crazy costumes and let the feathers fly with their favorite pillow. It is one of those must see events.

I also love April Fools day because it reminds me of how my Dad would try to trick us when we were kids. We lived a mile and a half from our grade school, the little "bus" or some might call it a van (I think it held 12 little people) would pick us up every morning, usually we were standing at the end of our 25' driveway well ahead of it's scheduled arrival. On April Fools Day, well before it's arrival, he would yell up the stairs, "The bus is here!". We scrambled like crazy to get out the door. My memory is that this only worked once, but he enjoyed trying every year.

Which brings me to...what if we would really have missed the bus, school was only a mile and a half away? Would mom have given us a ride in the only family car? Would we have walked that mile and a half? I will tell you, I never wanted to find out.

Which brings me to...are you missing the bus in your life? Will someone give you a ride to the next bus stop? Probably not, your life your deal! Don't be a fool, take a minute to enjoy the fun of April Fools day and don't miss the bus, because it's here!

Saturday morning

After a particularly busy week Saturday morning unfolds with a huge list of should do's and must do's. This list starts as a thought as I open my eyes before 5:00 AM. It grows as a few tasks are knocked off before 6:00 AM. The Costa Rican coffee seems to feed the intensity and length of the list. By 7:00 AM the brain is full and it's time to step back and say, "I don't need to do it all today!"

Which gets me to the thought of why do I always say, "yes, or sure, I'd help you with that", or "I will do that". Only to have that pit in my stomach a few minutes later when I realize that my yes will have to be added to the list. The infamous Judy list, the ever growing list of to do's.

I have several lists, like the dump list, that list is for the flood of have to get done's in my mind. Some times the list is lengthy. That of course goes along with my every day list. Are you seeing a pattern, I am a bit of a list person. My daughter tells others the last thing on my list is to make a new list. Another daughter thinks I have too many notebooks, I would only reply, where would you put your lists if you don't have notebooks??? I will be satisfied when they lay me to rest after my days are done and my tombstone states, "She crossed everything off her list!"

But today I vow to be different, today at 7:00 AM I will just do the "want to do's" these are the things that should be on a Saturday list, all of the pressure from Monday through Friday should go away on Saturday.

What I am getting at is just do what YOU want to do today. Today the list is not going to Own me!

A big day in Wisconsin

No matter what your feelings are about the Green Bay Packers, one can't help but get excited about the Super Bowl today. This is not my team, but the energy created by the Green and gold seen everywhere in Wisconsin is a bit infectious. Even the hamburger buns at Festival Foods are green and gold. I heard a woman in line at the store complain yesterday that this was too much. Other things were going on in the world besides the Super Bowl, she scoffed. This was just after I had dried the tears in the frozen food aisle. We had just put our beloved dog Carley down. Yes, there are other things going on in the world today. But just for one day lets enjoy the fun and excitement that a good football game can bring. Is there anything wrong with putting our troubles aside for gathering of friends and foes over a well planned Super Bowl Party. I think not!

So no matter your allegiance, settle in for an afternoon of carefree fun, with friends, family and food or with a good book if that is your desire, but for one day, let's put all of our cares aside. If you are not a fan of either of these teams, let's cheer that the NFL officials make good calls and that the commercials are especially entertaining!

I wish you all this carefree day!

The Dog!

How can such a little thing steal your heart and make it break when they come to the end their short little lives? Our little West Highland White Terrier has been sick, she spent last night in the Doggie Hospital. Today we will learn of her fate. It is difficult to explain the relationship built over nine years of having a dog get excited when you get your running shoes on thinking she was going to get to go for a walk. Nine years of barking at nothing, and nine years of having her snuggle with you when you fall asleep at night. Nine years of having to carry her at the end of the walk because she just didn't want to go anymore. It is a bitter pill to swallow when you learn you may lose them.

The only explanation I have is that they give us such joy when they greet us at the door with their wagging tails, unconditionally...they become more than an animal, they become our confidant, our source of heat and comfort when we are cold, they are our friends and it is difficult when we have to tell them goodbye. Today more than likely we will learn of the fate of our little Carley girl, whatever that is, she is will always be more than THE DOG.

My morning routine includes the reading of a few newspapers online. I perusing some regional and some national papers for items of interest. It is amazing the anger you find in people’s replies to stories. They are virtual shouting matches filled with hate. The attacks they instigate would be private discussions in their heads if not for the anonymous shroud of the internet. I am not talking about the healthy debates and differences of opinion, I am talking about raw anger and attacks. Today, I wish those very angry people peace! Serenity now! Serenity now!

Is this where we want to be?

As we approach the end of January, it seems we are stuck in a somewhat cold reality. Is this what life is all about? Getting quickly from one building to the next, waiting for a "warm" up of 20 degrees? Lately I have been thinking about how quickly life seems to be flying by, but then the long cold month of January gets a person to thinking about being stuck in time. Now I mean that in the best of terms. To clarify, think about what you want to do in your life and if you are stuck here in January, would you be happy where you are at? Would you want to do more? Less? Maybe you have something on the list that you have been meaning to do.

On this day in January, do one thing, take one step towards the life you want to have! If you look at your life and all is right in the world, have another sip of coffee, put up your feet and enjoy your day!

Fridays!

Don't things just seem to look better on Fridays, the world is a bit brighter when you know you are going to have a couple of days of free time. I don't even mind the cold so much when it is on a Friday! What's your favorite thing about the weekend? I think mine might be Saturday morning coffee! Have a great Friday.

Into 2011

The new year comes with much hoopla, then we settle into January, soon we find ourselves into the winter routine, most of us forgetting the promises we made to ourselves in the new year. Now is a good time to reflect on what is a real resolution and what are empty wishes that we really aren't willing to work towards. Maybe this is the best time for goal setting, when the holiday haze has cleared your head.

Today, do one thing that will move you a step closer to what it is you are really looking for. Just a baby step if that is what you need to do.

I wish you all a day of mid January calm, free of worry and anxiety.

A New Year and a New Day

No resolutions this year, just gratitude. This will be the simple mantra of the year. Just gratitude. My goal for the year is to have a heart and mindset of gratitude no matter what 2011 brings.

As with most people, I look at the new year as a chance for some new beginnings, some new goals a fresh start on some old ideas. So let the year begin. May it bring you much happiness and pure joy in your life!

Happy 2011!