Merry Christmas Day!!!

Both boys got a knife this Christmas

Matthew went to play with a new train

Nathan had to find the first-aid kit.

Both had a wonderful morning opening gifts and clearing away the wrapping.

Merry Christmas to all!

A Prayer...

May Your Christmas be Merry and  Bright. 
Peace On Earth, Goodwill, Amen!

Fallen Heroes



Pensacola Journal Editorial Page, June 23, 2011

  It has been a solemn week, since the news headlined that two men, fighting wildfire in Hamilton County lost their lives.  They went to school in the area and I have discovered just how small our community is.  Two people I have never met died and their deaths touched lives around me.  The two firefighters were part and parcel of the life of our town.  Someone Elder Daughter knows went to school with Josh Burch and attended his funeral today.  She also learned that her mother attended school with Brett Fulton.  His funeral will be held on Saturday. 

Elder Daughter called me about 5:00PM today, asking if I could watch the grandsons while she and her husband took this  friend out to dinner.  When I learned that she had just come from attending the funeral today - and was in need of some quiet fellowship,  I said of course I would watch the boys.  Elder daughter described some of the funeral to me from her friend's remembrances - there was a flag folded and presented to a mother with smaller flags given to the surviving sons.  There was a fly-over of the Ranger helicopters at the cemetery.  The dispatcher called the Final Roll Call - asking for the firefighter to respond to the radio.  After the last request to respond, the dispatcher announced that the fallen hero had not answered the call and was Out of Service for the last time.  Oh, my!   Elder daughter and I had tears in our eyes and quavering voices at the end of the conversation.  

This loss is felt deeply in a such a small community.  Keep the families and friends of the two men in your prayers.  They stood between the community and the danger of wildfire and lost their lives doing something they loved.  When I think that the one man got out of the area, realized that his friend wasn't there and went back in - the words come to mind, "no greater love..."


 

Happy Day, Mothers!

May you have the kind of memories today that make you smile - recalling your children being raised by their loving mother and recalling your loving mother raising you.

I'm remembering the child who offered a snack to siblings from the birdseed can..... when Mom wasn't around.  The  spankee who shoved a spelling book down the back of his jeans when told he was getting a spanking.  What was he thinking would happen when the spanker made that distinctive discovery!

I recall sisters playing outside and being called to come in for dinner.  When only one child appeared and was asked about her little sister, she explained with a straight face that Lil' Sis was tied up and couldn't come right then.  Literally tied up, as we found out years later! 

And the Lil' Sis who mentioned a visit by her Big Sis and they were in an establishment.  Apparently  Big Sis didn't make such a favorable impression on a store clerk.  Said clerk made a comment about Big Sis - and Lil' Sis had one foot over the counter when a friend grabbed her and pulled her back from wreaking vengeance on said store clerk.  That's the kind of loyalty a mother hopes to instill in her children.  The kind of closeness that makes a parent proud to know her children would go to the ends of the earth to protect each other.  Or, at least over a service counter - if that's what was required! 

Our mother instilled it in us.  The greatest gift we can give our children is the memories and feelings and love they have for each other. 

Pass it along.

Easter Wishes

Happy Easter Sunday 2011

Comin' At'cha!

One came from the west.....



One came from the East......




We met in the middle on a bright Saturday in March.....

 Actually, we all met at the local Cracker Barrel and had a leisurely breakfast and a family reunion type visit over the meal.  The mini reunion was brother's idea and it worked out really well.  He said it was a shame we couldn't get together with our sister (Ranger) and see each other while we were all at the same end of the state at the same time.  Ranger and her husband, J - are staying to the east of us while they are helping J's mom to recover from a stroke.  Brother lives to the west of us in the state capital, along with his lovely wife - whom we missed seeing this trip.  Each drove about an hour and a half to meet in the middle and we had a nice meal and then adjourned to my home where we continued to re-une (is that even a word?  No matter, I'm going to use it.) 

We had a lovely long visit and sat around the dining table talking our heads off and catching up on our lives until time to head back to the east and the west where spouses and houses waited their return.

I hated to see them leave.  Ranger and I did give each other a bag of reading material so I have a reminder of the visit.  I'm half way  through the first one.  Heh.

These are the times.

T and I went grocery shopping as we do on weekends.  We shop at Walmart and meet near the registers, after filling our baskets - to check out.  I watch the register total mount higher while he packs the bags into our empty basket.  Once the groceries are rung up, I will hand the cashier my Walmart card and have enough put on it to pay for a tank of gas at the station on the corner of the lot.  We like to use that station because they give you 3 cents off, when using a Walmart card.  It kind of feels like taking advantage of the system -  to get that cents off the price of a tank.  Groceries in the back seat, I drive around to the pumps with T. and he gets out to start the pump and fill the tank.  Usually things go well.

Yesterday, not so much.

He got out and had a slight problem locating the gas tank door and I got out to show him where it was.  I got back in the driver's seat,  thinking things would go as usual.  Put in the card, choose the grade, begin fueling.  It's a routine he is familiar with.  He has done it lots of times.

T. called me to come back out, slightly frantic.  He had shoved the gas card up inside the receipt slot, instead of the card reader.  He couldn't get it back.  I got out.  We couldn't even see the card.  He pushed the pump button to generate a receipt.  It seemed a logical step to him.  Nothing  happened. 

The guy on the other side of the pump was kind of peering around the corner toward us.  If he had offered to help we might have accepted but I believe he was laughing too hard to speak. 

I would just have left the card stuck inside the pump and driven off, except that it did have $30.00 on it. 

I told T. to go tell the person  inside the little office what had happened and ask her if she could retrieve our gas card.  He went.  She came.  She unlocked the little door and opened it to reveal the receipt roll and our card.  She handed it to T.  We thanked her profusely and she returned to the office.

T. went ahead and successfully pumped the tank of gas, and from that point onward things ran like clockwork.  He mentioned that this was the first time he had ever tried to put the card in the wrong place.  Now I know, I can watch him to be sure he isn't repeating the error.

I keep seeing that guy on the other side of the pump laughing without understanding. But you have to keep your sense of humor and it was kind of funny as it unravelled.   

Shared Christmas

 Nathan  and Matthew were up  early but so were their Mom and Dad; a neighbor's stallion got out on Christmas Eve and was in front of our property when Rich came home.  He called local law enforcement and they sent a car to try and locate the owner.  At the end of the event, there were three police cars running up and down the road and another neighbor finally identified the horse  owners and led the deputies to call on the owners.  The owners came down and finally tied the stallion to  the bumper of their car and slowly walked him back home. 

Because Sarah and Rich were up so  late with the horse visitation, they slept in this morning.  The boys were up at about 4:00AM but went back to their room when Mom and  Dad  seemed reluctant to open presents with  only  an hour of sleep.









Nathan got his bass guitar.

Matthew found a new bike on the front porch.

The faces tell the story.

Tommy and I enjoyed the morning spent with family

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus.

Time to peek?

Tonight Elder Daughter came over and wrapped a few gifts to the boys from us.  She sent them into our bedroom to watch television while she worked and took the wrapping materials from the closet.  Sounding like a surgeon (Tape?  Scissors?  Labels?, Bows? Yes Doctor, here they are!), she  set up her work station (dining room table) and started with the first box.  She was able to complete the project and I wrote out labels and stole the tape back to attach them.  Slap a bow on top and add the box to the growing  pile. 

She called the boys to come and carry the pile of presents out to the van.  The gifts will wind up under her tree to be opened on Christmas morning.  She says the boys will not shake, pick at tape or rummage among the pile - they know what will happen should they be found trying to see what any box contains.  The threat dominates the conversation; if they are found trying to peek - that present will immediately be returned to the seller and will not be given. 

I'm not sure my DNA is present in these people.  I can recall carefully peeling scotch tape when it used to be only  the shiny variety.  If you went slowly enough, you could get enough tape off to be able to open the paper and maybe read the box.  I almost never tore the gift wrap when opening a present.  My younger brother could just pick up a present and shake it - then announce that it was clothes or toy soldiers.  He was almost  always correct and could remove a box from within the wrapping so deftly that no one could tell which gift he had been into.  Except for the year we wrapped up rocks and chains in a heavily taped box and put them under the tree.  He couldn't figure out that heavy present that clanked.  He was intrigued, though. When he finally got to open it on Christmas day his face was a mix of surprise and shock.  Huh?  What is this!  We brought out the real gift that had lain quietly hidden away.  I don't think he quite ever forgave us for that gift.  I don't know what he imagined it could have been - we just knew he would be all over it trying to outsmart us and find out what was inside. 

Still, we look forward to the joyful morning when family gathers and each gift is undone and the thanks are given and the older folks believe the younger ones had no idea what was in the box and under the paper and ribbon - at least until the moment of the opening and the squeal of, "Thank you, Grandma or Grampa!"

We had a great visit.....

We live about an hour and a half away from Brother and his family but hardly ever see them, except for weddings.  We will go to one of his children's weddings at the drop of a hat.  Or a wedding veil.  We try to celebrate the milestones like birthdays and anniversaries with a card or a call or a belated wish.  Most often, mine fall into the latter category. 

Ron has been saying that he wanted to try and meet us for lunch one of these days and on the 18th of the month, we all made it to Cracker Barrel.  Well, all but Tom.  I got out of work to see Ron and Alicia for lunch and a stroll around the gift shop. 

Afterwards, I thought to myself - why not all go to the house and visit with T.  All it took was a phone call to my boss to ask if I could take the rest of the day off and to my amusement, the Lieutenant didn't say to go ahead and take the time.  He asked me WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MRS. VINING!  Then, he said yes, of course - take the rest of the day.  See ya tomorrow. 

We had a nice long visit and I thoroughly enjoyed being with Ron and Alicia.  Rain clouds gathered and Ron said they had to get home to allow their dog out into the yard.  She was in the house and I guess older kidneys can't take the strain as well as a younger pup's can.  Isn't that true of us all?  As we gathered on the porch for group shots of the family (Rich, Nathan, Matthew, Tommy, Ron, Alicia and me - available on Alicia's Facebook page in the Lake City visit album) I snapped off a shot of Brother.  You will notice the eyes are shut and a slight grin lights the lips.  Other than that little flaw, it's a good picture for an image taken with a cell phone.  There is a fix, though.  Take a brown marker and make two dots on the eyelids and imagine how nice a picture this could have been, save for the one slight glitch.  Why does he DO that!

'Cause he can.

Alicia was a much easier subject as she stood in the yard checking her camera images - I sort of snuck around behind Ron and Rich and took a quick picture.  And she didn't close her eyes.  Perhaps that's the way to take Ron's photograph next time.  Sneak it in!

In Memory....

I don't recall WWII; the war I was born into.  I do remember the fighting in Viet Nam, Korea and Iraq.  The Bible says there shall be wars and rumors of wars in the last days.  We commemorate the fallen in all the wars, back to the Civil War, The Revolutionary and beyond.  We have family members who were soldiers in all those wars.  Yesterday as we sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic, in church - I thought about the age of that song and the fact that our great grandfather probably heard it and may even have sung it.  It is a link to the past in so many ways.  We must remember the history of the country and of our friends and family.  In Viet Nam, the first time that war became a personal thing to me was when Mom told me that a childhood friend named Danny had a brother who died in 'Nam.  Here is a link to the Viet Nam Wall Memorial in Washington, DC.  You can find Wayne Hutchinson listed here from Miami.  Say a prayer for him and for all the brave men and women who put their lives on the line for us each day. 

And baby makes three

I work with a young woman who has been in waiting these nine long months.  T. and I attended her wedding.  It was a very special occasion where the whole audience laughed when the preacher told her brand new husband, "You may now kiss the bride." and he reared back and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and both hands. 

They had a honeymoon, came back to work and after a while nature took its course and they had a baby girl.  They had thought to only have the one child and so the husband, we'll call him Clint (since that might even be his middle name.) had a little outpatient procedure done that the doctor said would guarantee no more children.  After a time, they had an opportunity to adopt an older child.  It was a boy.  His circumstances were such that he might have been in foster care for some time except for the two adults taking a decision to expand their family.  Now there were the four of them.  A perfect number for a family nowadays.  The children grew and the parents overcame the normal things a family deals with.  And then, the young woman had a startling revelation.  She showed signs and symptoms, and when she took a test, lo and behold - she was with child.  Clint went roaring back to his doctor who did some testing and discovered the previous out patient procedure had, uh for sure - come un-undone.

The young woman and her husband may have gulped a little.  After all, having three children when you only planned for two would take some adjustment.  Insurance will be more expensive, to say nothing of food and laundry bills.  The pregnancy went well, despite some problems.  When she went home on Monday, she said, "See you tomorrow, unless ... "

Today this young couple gave birth to a girl child who weighed a little over 8 pounds.  She is lovely on her Facebook picture.  Her daddy looks so proud holding her for her first daughter and father photograph.   Their Facebook friends' messages of congratulations were at 24 and growing the last time I checked.

It strikes me that this is the same size family as our Mom and Dad had.  And in the same ratio, 2 girls and a boy.  Now, when they go to a restaurant and the hostess says, reservations for a party of five... the party of five is all their own sweet family.  May their joys multiply! 

And may that un-named doctor be right this time around!

The Stars at Night are Big and Bright -

Aunt Ranger called them the Astronomers.

The telescope was a big hit with the grandsons here and we just sent the other one to the Alabama contingent this morning. I wish I could be there to see the reaction! It was most satisfying to see the boys faces when they opened the box and then hovered as their mother assembled the lenses and finder scope. I'm telling you, sometimes WOOT outdoes itself on the offerings presented.

Retold by permission.

Elder Daughter and her 2 sons had to go down and have Matthew fitted for a tux. He was ring-bearer in a wedding; his mother was Matron of Honor. I went along for the ride after I got off work on Friday. Matt had gone with his school to a zoo in another city and had purchased a cute little stuffed animal; a monkey with a red body, arms and legs - a grey tail and a flesh toned wise little monkey face. The thing was posed so that it would balance on Matt's shoulder as easily as it would sit on a table. He took the monkey along in the car. We went to the shop where the tux was fitted and once finished there, we went to McAllister's for dinner. Matt took his monkey inside and it sat on the table during our meal. Afterward we all piled back in the car to make the return trip home. I was feeling mellow from dinner.

The boys sat on the bench seats while their mother and I chatted quietly. We were on the interstate heading north and things outside were getting that lovely sunset glow when it happened. Matt began to whack on the little stuffed monkey, pretending it had done something to displease him. He continued to thwack the thing repeatedly - until his mother, tiring of hearing the noise told him sharply, " Stop spanking your monkey, Matthew!"

That's all it took. I snorted, then giggled, then guffawed and couldn't stop laughing. Realizing what she'd said, my daughter joined me and then the boys started laughing along as people do while Matt kept asking, "Why is everybody laughing" and Nathan finally managed to wheeze out, "I....don't....know!"

We probably covered five miles, laughing crazily, before I was able to control the helpless gales and wipe the tears from my eyes. I did think to ask Elder Daughter if she minded if I blogged the incident.

Enexpected

You plan your life and live it and then one day you reach the age where you can see retirement over the hill. You think how nice it would be to rent an RV and travel a bit. Or take a cruise to nowhere. And then something happens to change your plans.

T. has been complaining of his memory getting bad and had mentioned it to his doctor at the VA. Doctor sloughed it off as normal ageing. Every body's memory gets worse and they get older, he said. Still, after complaining and getting nowhere - I went along on one of T.'s doctor visits. I expressed how much the memory problem worried us both and the doctor gave a sort of standard test right in the office. He told T. Draw a clock. Put the numbers where they belong. Draw the hands at 10 to 5. T. couldn't follow the directions. The doctor referred us to a psychologist at the local VA. She was very pleasant and after her battery of tests, she talked to both of us in her office. She had found some areas that concerned her. T. was losing some of the skills in areas of the brain that enable a person to put things together in a limited amount of time. Or figure out how to combine simple irregular shapes to resemble a square or a triangle. She referred us to the VA in Gainesville but cautioned us that it could take some while to get an appointment because there had been personnel turnover and they were backed up.

We went home to wait it out. Time passed and Christmas and New Years came and went. Still no Gainesville notice of appointment. T. had to go to the eye clinic - which he did by himself. He lost the car after the visit ended and had to have the guard drive him around until he spotted the Saturn in the lot. He drove home with his eyes blurred. A couple of days after that he complained that his eye was burning. I looked and the left lid was swollen up. He said he hadn't rubbed it - all the while he stood there rubbing the lid. It hurt and swelled nearly closed. My son in law drove T. to the VA to see his primary doctor for his regularly scheduled visit and I think that's when the doctor realized that something was indeed wrong with his memory. As it was described to me, T. stood in the waiting room, explaining that he was there to see his Dr - Dr Ngo, and all the while he was speaking to the gentleman but didn't recognize him. Because my son-in-law pastors at a local church and the doctor's nurse-receptionist attends that church, she was able to tell the doctor that he could rely on Richard's veracity and that what the family was experiencing wasn't just in their imagination. There really was a problem. Dr. Ngo gave T. some antibiotic salve for his eye and said he wanted to see him back if the swelling continued. The salve worked.

A week later, I received a phone call from the social worker at the Gainesville VA. She said they had been contacted by our VA and had scheduled an appointment. She explained how the visit would go and told me that the neuro-psychologist would speak with T. and me and then after that, she and I would go to another office and T. would go through testing with the doctor. They had scheduled out a block of 3 hours for the whole visit. The appointment was set for 2 days before T.'s birthday.

Came the day of the VA visit, I drove to Gainesville. T. said he didn't know the way; didn't think he could find the VA - it had been so long since he had driven there. We met one of our daughters at the hospital and while T. was testing, she and I sat in the social worker's office and spoke of how things might change and of what steps we needed to start taking to prepare. She gave us a lot of good resources for caregivers and set up a medical power of attorney for T. to sign once she found out that he hadn't signed anything detailing how he might want to be treated in the event of a major illness. She said she believed he could sign it and understand it but if we waited too long, he might not be able to make his wishes known and without a power of attorney, nobody else could act in his stead.

When T. and the doctor finally came down from testing, they sat in the social worker's office and the doctor got right to the diagnosis. She didn't pull any punches telling us that she found T. to have mild to moderate Dementia/Alzheimer's. She was straight-forward and matter-of-fact in her diagnosis and for that, I was strangely grateful. She and the social worker gave us business cards and she recommended another medication that may be of help in holding the memory loss at a stable point - she said to see about getting Dr. Ngo to prescribe it. He hasn't yet. I will be calling him back to see if he has done anything about setting things up so that T. can start on this medication along with the one he is currently taking. The social worker explained things to T. and he initialed then signed off on the power of attorney.

We had lunch after the doctor visit. Sarah paid for Olive Garden and we had a lovely meal there. After we were done in Gainesville, I drove back home marvelling at how pretty the countryside was. I have always liked to drive through scenic landscapes.

I went to work the next day and thought I'd be fine but cried every time I talked with anyone about the diagnosis. I was just an overflowing bucket of tears - talking to Sarah. Talking to Susan. Talking to my boss. Talking to some of the secretaries. I don't know how I made it through that day. Susan called my brother and sister for me. I told her I just couldn't do it right then, that I knew I'd break down. She offered to make the calls and has been a real rock of support.

Sarah and Rich and their two boys helped us celebrate T.'s 74th birthday on the Friday. I took everyone to Applebees and in the course of the meal I may have compared the lunch in Gainesville and T. said he didn't recall going to lunch at Olive Garden. I was a little upset but Sarah took it in stride - she said it had been a long day for him and he was tired in the afternoon, so that may be part of the reason he didn't recall the event.

My brother and sister are major support givers - I know I can call on them for a sympathetic ear and a virtual hug in time of stress.

For right now, things are going pretty well. I'm still working and T. isn't driving by himself. We just celebrated our 36th anniversary and there's a quarter sheetcake on the dining table waiting for grandchildren to take another slice.

We still laugh together at the same things. I showed T. the bruised spots on my left arm where my purse slid down - I asked him did he get marks like that from banging into stuff. He said he did and proceeded to point to brown spot after brown spot - in a kind of "I dare you to disagree" manner.

I told him, "Those aren't bruises - they're age spots." He said, "They're what?" I said, "They're age spots. You know, they're those marks that - when you connect them -they say you're just so dad-blamed old!"

He ducked his head, but I saw the grin before he hid his face.

Seventh Inning Stretch

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

In the 2009 timeline, we're at the word "and" that's nestled after Christmas but before the New Year. This is the week when we positively regret some of the holiday dining choices we've made while looking forward to the traditional New Years dinner of black-eye peas cooked with ham hocks. Maybe with cornbread and some greens to go with it. This meal is supposed to bring luck in the coming year and I suppose it is possible. We certainly never had any luck so bad as to cause us to blame the black-eyes. Knock wood.

One year a well loved Aunt persuaded us to finish a non-cornbread with black-eyes meal by eating twelve grapes, one by one. Each grape ingested, she said was going to bring us good luck for 1 month of the coming year. We downed all 12 little green grapes and commenced to have one of the worst years in memory. I mean, if it could go wrong, it did. Mother vowed never to allow this Aunt to use the grape tradition again. We'd go back to downing black-eye peas and cornbread. Never mess with a family tradition. Or a Southern one!

Year end is also a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. One of the photographs from the past is of the grandchildren gathered to celebrate December 25th. I will include a copy for your reflection upon the importance of family and while that's happening, I will lie down on the couch and close my eyes for a short planning nap.

Swine Whine

Riddle me this! After hearing that Eldest Daughter's oldest son tested positive for H1N1 this afternoon, why does my throat suddenly seem a little bit - uh, sore-ish? Not really sore but it could be if I think about it. Sooo - I just won't think about it.

I called my doctor and asked the protocol for families and was told to keep hands clean, sterilize surfaces and they wouldn't prescribe unless there were symptoms. So, I called the VA for T. and got pretty much the same advice. No preventive meds. are needed for the family, keep things clean, disinfect surfaces. Call back if symptoms develop. Eldest Daughter will follow up with the pediatrician's office in the morning to see if her youngest son should start on a preventative course of medication. The person they saw today didn't seem so inclined.

On the way home tonight, I am stopping at Walgreens to pick up NT's meds (Tamiflu), something prescribed for his cough and some children's Motrin.

Also 3 cans of Lysol,

And maybe a couple of masks.

The Wheels on the Bus go...

This morning I had an appointment to have a routine blood draw for my doctor's office. I got up early and planned to be at the lab by 7:30AM when they opened so I could be on time at work. Elder Daughter's husband is on an out-of-state trip and she called to ask us if we could put the boys on the bus for her. She will be home to pick them up this afternoon. I told T. I'd take my car and run them out to the road and wait until the big yellow bus arrived. When they came over, I was still getting dressed so they rested their eyes in the living room while I got ready and when it came time, we called them to get in the car. They came gangling out of the dark living room like night creatures blinking to get used to the light, shrugging on their book bags. We went out into the dark and piled into the the car. The outside air was cool but because T. had started the car and let it run, it was nicely warm inside. Matthew commented on how good it felt. I punched on the headlights, waved at T. and idled down the driveway to the edge of the road. We stopped between the two Pecan trees that flank the drive and I parked.

I left the headlights on and they shone across the road but we couldn't see anything in the field because it was so dark. There are two brown and white horses across the road and we couldn't even see them. We waited in the car - surrounded by dark and cold while we talked of this and that - how Grampa worries when they get off the bus in the afternoons and hurry across the road to meet their mom in the field. (Matt told me in a matter of fact voice that he always tells the driver if they are going to cross in front of the bus. ) How they're doing in school. (Fine.)

I had my Blackberry and Nathan asked me to play the Star Wars ring tone - and I did while both boys did the "lead the orchestra" thing. We listened to Jingle Bells and Matt told me I couldn't play it yet because Christmas was still a ways off and it was too early. We agreed that December would be a good time.

I played The Empire Strikes Back ring tone and put up my index finger while saying, "Zuhm" Nathan put up his light saber in return and we finger dueled there in the dark. It was warm in the car, lit by just the dash lights and the beam of headlights. While we talked the sky got a bit more gray, so you could see the shapes of trees in the dark. I could see the white on both horses now, as they stood by the hay to eat. There was an ever increasing amount of light in the sky. And a lot of light from the south end of the road as the school bus chugged up and stopped with lights blinking and the stop-arm out. The boys pushed open the car doors and got out of our warm and cozy haven and stepped up into the bus. "Good-bye, have a good....!"

The yellow monster took off, bearing the two away to start their school day. I did enjoy the time spent with my grandsons, before the sun was up or the day warmed. I will see if I can't do it again tomorrow.

We're Family AND an Update

I got an email addressed to a huge bunch of folks from a cousin I haven't seen in years and years. Her mother was a favorite aunt and they lived in our hometown. We visited them as children, playing in their yard at dusk and catching fireflies in the twilight. They lived on an acre and that was such an enormous yard when we'd visit. We often went fishing with them along the canal which runs beside The Trail out into the Everglades. I have a memory picture of her older brother fishing with a cane pole. He pulled in a fish from the dark canal waters and it flipped right over his head and landed on the roadway. His father called to him to get the fish off the road. He didn't have the chance to act because a car went by and ran over the poor fish as it lay stunned on the asphalt. Do you know a fish makes a popping sound when it's run over? Neither did I.

Her dad hunted every chance he got and I recall platters of quail cooked and served by our aunt after a successful hunting weekend. When her brother got his first deer, they brought it to our house to dress it out. I guess we had more room at the time. I can see their warm and welcoming house and feel the love we shared, growing up in a simpler time - before rockets to the moon and rap music videos.

The cousin married, had a family of her own and and eventually moved to Virginia. She's now a grandmother and she has a seven and a half month old grandson who has to have minor surgery. He has a pulmonary stenosis issue, as his grandmother put it and so, she asked for prayer on his behalf. Of course we will pray for little Fletch and ask others to do the same. He's a cousin I've never seen, but part of our scattered family and I know his "Namaw" would do the same for any of us in all our generations.

UPDATE TO POST: Just got an email from a friend to let everyone know the baby is out of surgery and doing great. He is expected to go home at 6PM. Praise The Lord!

Another Date In History

Our first born child was sound asleep in her room and we were sleeping just down the hall. The date was September 14th and we were expecting a second child. The birth could come at any time but I didn't expect something to happen when I went to bed on the 13th. I wasn't feeling labor pains when I went to sleep and had been feeling well the past few days. The hospital where we were pre-checked in offered a nice couples dinner that would be available some time after our child was born. The food was reputed to be quite good and we were actually looking forward to enjoying what was described as a night of fine dining, before we checked out to return home with our new daughter.

I woke from a sound sleep. It may have taken a moment or so to decide what woke me up but not any longer than that. Labor! Full labor! Ready-to-push type labor pains woke me. I woke T. and told him we urgently needed call the doctor, get my sister to come down to the house to take care of our toddler - and then we needed to get to the hospital. This child was coming and if we didn't hurry, we might greet her before anyone expected.

T. rushed to the phone and made the call to sis. I called the doctor's office and got his answering service and left a fast message. Our daughter woke up with all the commotion and I know she was frightened to see Mommy and Daddy packing up in the middle of the night and getting ready to leave her. I tried to explain that we had to go to the hospital and get her new sister and that her Aunt would be coming down to take care of her. I'm not sure how much of that sunk in.

I recalled the nurse who taught childbirth classes telling the mothers to start panting when they needed to delay delivery and I began panting - and what do you know, it worked! My sister came in and went to take care of Sarah. T. and I rushed out to our car and I got into the back seat to lie down. We started the wildest and quickest ride of our lives. I recall pressing my toes into the arm rest on the car door and panting each time a pain would come. I so wanted to begin pushing but knew I couldn't. Every now and again, T. would turn his head and ask me how I was doing as we sped the streets toward the hospital. He was trying not to panic but I could feel the surge of the car as his foot pressed the accelerator. We had to cross a railroad track and he never hit the brake, just called to me to hold on as he took the grade crossing at maximum speed. I actually got a little airborn as we went over the tracks. Not far, now. We slid up to the emergency entrance to the hospital and he ran inside to get someone to help. I was bundled into a wheelchair and taken inside. I remember him telling the night shift his wife was in full labor and to get the doctor. There was someone standing at the desk and he introduced himself as The Doctor. Sure enough it was! We went upstairs to the Delivery Room - no time for the Labor Room... things were sort of a blur. But - at one point during the course of events, the doctor told me to push and then suddenly he told me not to push. I panted some more. Gosh, that nurse who gave the classes sure did know what she was talking about. When I was allowed to resume pushing, there was a little delay and then Susan came into the world - what a lovely cry she had.

The doctor later told us the baby had the cord around her neck and he had to remove it. That's why he so abruptly stopped delivery. Wow, thank you to so many people that night. To T. who drove like a maniac, to my sister who came to care for our older daughter while we rushed off into the night and to the nurse whose classes had impressed me with proper breathing techniques during labor, to the doctor who safely delivered our healthy girl. From the time I woke up until the moment Susan was born took just 60 minutes. That was one intense little hour.

Now it has been thirty-0ne years - and 1 hour, since our second daughter made her memorable entrance into our lives bring us joy and love and surprises and completing the family we started with Sarah. T. and I got to have our dinner at the hospital as promised and we probably enjoyed the gourmet meal but I couldn't tell you to this day what we ate. I doubt he could either.

We talk about the wild ride to the hospital and how quickly the baby came. We talk about the important things; the family we made and how much we love our girls and their families. And every year when each of our daughters' birthday dates roll around, I think about the start of it all.

Have a Happy Birthday, Suse.