Seth at the beach, tar balls, holding Blake

We made it to the beach yesterday. I made sure we got there early in our visit because Seth, my nephew, has never been to the beach. It is hard to imagine that he has never seen the ocean, heard the waves or smelled the salty air, but he had his first adventure in the salty water yesterday evening. It was beautiful. The sand was warm, the water was warm and the air was blistering hot, but it was the beach.
There was some degree of disappointment, thought. As we got out of the car and headed to the beach we got blasted by the smell of the rancid oil that has been released into the Gulf of Mexico waters. I have worked for many years at a refinery so it was a familiar smell to me – one I did not expect to get at the beach in Navarre, Florida.
We went ahead and got in the water in spite of the smell and the seaweed that was thick in the water from the storm that had just passed through. But it was not as much fun as it has been in the past so I was a little worried that it would be a bad experience for Seth but he made the best of it.
It was only when we were looking for shells that I got to see how contaminated the water might be. There were almost as many tar balls as there were good shells. It was not so bad that there was a tar ball in every scoop but they were very obvious. If they were handled they left a slight scum of oil on your fingers and I found several places on my legs that had oil tar smears because I had been kneeling in the sand to search for shells.
My daughter and her husband will not allow their kids to go the beach because of the contamination and I have to agree that that is the wiser position to take right now; at least until we have been given the full story about the possibility of the range of effects of exposure to the decomposed oil. If those who are cleaning the tar balls off the beaches must wear protective clothing, how much sense does it make for each of us to expose all of our skin surface to the potential dangers?
On the good side, I have gotten to hold my tiny grandson many times in the past couple days and that is a real pleasure. Mama and I never had one that small. But he will grow up too quickly and our memories of his little bitty frame will be just that, only a memory. But it will be a good one.
We will take pictures tomorrow so it will prove our memories in the years to come and prove an embarrassment to little Blake as he slowly grows into a man. (Hopefully, we will be able to see that happen.)

Containment problems, going to Mama

Mama has stayed in good practice with keeping little ones but Grant, our grandson, challenged her abilities the other day. Mykenzie, the slightly older granddaughter is now out of diapers and happily going potty all by herself; with the understandable accident now and them. Grant, at only eighteen months, is still in diapers. The problem is that lately his diapers have not exactly been up to the challenge. His bowels have been a little loose lately and since at that age they exercise no restraint, everything comes out at full force.
Yesterday, Mama was alone with the two older grandkids when Grant had a serious containment problem. Now you have to understand how easy it is to make Mama gag. To put it mildly, it is very easy. And with the blowout going up the back and down both legs she had to make some quick decisions.
Should she put him in the sink to do the decontamination? Gracious! No! Cori would have a fit. Should she put him in the tub and give him a bath? No again. Too many chinks to squash down the drain; and again, his mommy would not approve – to put it kindly. The only acceptable solution for safely water washing the child was to strip him and hose him down.
Now all this time imagine Grant in Mama’s hands, not exactly being cuddled, looking over his shoulder (as he dangled a good distance from Mama’s body) trying to imagine what all the fuss was and where Grammy was taking him next. All the time Mama is trying not to throw up and add to his untidiness.
So outside they go to strip him down and hose him off. It was only when the unpleasant task was accomplished that Mama realized she had sprayed mud all over the back of the house. Well, it wasn’t “all over” but you get the picture.
After a proper bath she put the two grandchildren down for a nap and cleaned the back of the house, the high chair and the kitchen floor. She bagged everything in the trash which was immediately taken to the can outside the house. She still loves being “Grammy”.
Of course, I would have helped if only I had been there, but unfortunately I was stuck here.
I get to go get her tomorrow. I have been away from Mama for ten days and that’s at least eight too many. Seth, our nephew, and I will leave in the early morning and drive pretty much straight through. I am hoping to get there in time for the tropical storm they are expecting, but I fear I will be too late. I have heard there is phenomenal shell collecting after such a storm – I have always wanted to test that theory; minus the oil-coated ones.
At the very least I will start catching up on my kisses.

Little lies, the flip side

A coworker told me a story about a recent visit to Disney in Orlando, Florida. They were there on his son’s birthday in early December and at the theme parks, the birthday child is given a “birthday badge” with their name on it to be worn throughout the visit. As it turns out, the park personnel are very well trained to look for and recognize these badges. His son (nine years old) was eating up the attention. His younger daughter (6 years old) was not so impressed by the attention her older brother was getting, and everyone was noticing.
Late in the day the family went to dinner with the princesses and it was decided that they would fudge the dates and say that it was the daughter’s birthday so she could get a birthday badge and the attention that goes with it for a change. It was only for the one meal so his son reluctantly agreed. When presented with the idea, his daughter simply asked, “But won’t that be lying?” “Well a little bit, but your brother is not interested in attention from the princesses, and it’s only for this one meal time.” Her parents assured her. The son’s badge was pocketed and the daughter’s badge attached.
Needless to say the evening was all the daughter had expected. She was given special attention by everyone. Pictures were taken, special desserts set out, a small parade was conducted and a special booklet was given to collect the signatures of all the princesses. What could possibly been better?
She was on cloud nine…until one of Cinderella’s evil step sisters came by to see if she could sign the book for her birthday celebration. In a whiney, conceited voice the evil step sister asked. “So, is it really your birthday or are you lying?” Mortified, the child froze wide-eyed and stared at the character. Quickly her mother offered, “It’s not actually her birthday today, but it is coming soon.”
To which the step sister responded, “Well. I guess that’s okay.”, slowly signed the book and moved on.
My friend said his daughter held her breath through the entire exchange and almost passed out.
Mama was coming out of Wal-mart yesterday with the two older grandkids when a lady stopped her and said, “What a picture. Those two are just beautiful. It really makes me miss my grandkids.” Mama laughed and told the grandmother that she was usually the one making that statement. It was fun being on the flip side of that sentiment.
It made her day. When the new baby comes home with my daughter tomorrow she will be truly in her element.

Flying insects and labor pains, Blake Robert arrives

My wife has always been fun to scare. Not the heart attack kind of scare, just the reaction to a sudden startling move or noise has always been amply rewarding. She has always reacted with the actions and noises that those of us who scare or startle for fun find very gratifying.
So this afternoon when my daughter asked her husband, our son-in-law to remove a mud dauber nest from above her patio access door, she assumed it would just be knocked down. My son-in-law had very different ideas. He grabbed the hose and set the nozzle for maximum force on the straight stream and blasted the nest into the adjacent yard.
My wife and daughter, unaware of his plans, were just sitting down to eat breakfast at the table which sits very close to the door that was going to be water blasted. Mama said they both jumped and screamed as the door to the patio seemed to explode right beside them. My daughter, none too happy about it talked to her husband in the way that wives talk to their husbands when that sort of thing happens.
My guess is that Mama’s reaction scared our daughter far more than she herself would have been unnerved by the incident on her own. Anyway, they both were soon laughing about it and began to tease that the scare could have put my daughter in labor. Mama called me to relate the incident and we both had a good laugh.
Several hours later the contractions began. By noon they were calmly talking about going to the hospital. By 2 p.m. they were at the hospital and at 4:10 p.m. our third grandchild, our second grandson was born, about a week ahead of schedule. Blake Robert, 6 pounds 10 ounces and 19 inches tall. (Women say 19 inches long, but that seems odd to me.)
All because of a wasp nest? Who knows? But I will make a mental note not to scare any of my daughters or daughter’s-in-law in their last two weeks of a full-term pregnancy.
Congrats Mommy and Daddy.

Doing what you know

A one-time Christian comedian from years gone by said that if he took time to do all the “do’s” in the Bible he would be so busy that there would not be enough time to worry over the “don’ts” people get hung up on. There is a lot of truth in that. Just doing what I know I must be doing is often overwhelming, let alone add to that what I should be doing also and life can get complicated and crowded. Another way to voice the thought is that concentrating on the do’s brings peaceful busyness to life while concentrating on avoiding the don’ts brings confusion and oftentimes, bondage.
Right now I feel fairly certain of what I must do. It is the tiny bit of uncertainty that is making the decision awkward and troubling. I like to feel at least moderately certain of the outcome of my decisions, but this is one of those times when there is literally no way to know what God is willing to do if I will simply obey and leave the rest up to Him.
I realize that my life has a broad reach. Every decision I make affects the lives of many others.
There will be some lives affected of which I will never be aware; however it is the affect on the obvious ones that has me moving steadily, cautiously forward. My days of reckless abandon in heeding the call of God are long past. At times I miss them. I miss watching God pick up the pieces of my mistaken attempts to follow His leading and miraculously arrange them to His Glory - and for my good.
Even if it were only my children watching me, it would be reason enough to get it right: to prayerfully, carefully consider my decision and its affects on the lives of others. But there is a point at which all human reasoning must be set aside and the walk of faith begun. Honestly, I am not at that point yet, but I can see it clearly, close ahead of me.
Chase will be waking up in Costa Rica in the morning. Mama will be waking up close to our granddaughter. It is mornings like that that make memories for a lifetime. Maybe soon it will be my turn to have mornings like those.

Cell Phone use, Nervous travelers

Mama and I have never been good at communicating via phone. We do not use e-mail or any of the other electronic communication media. I am willing to try, her…not so much. The bottom line is that we do not do well without each other nearby. Any separation is difficult so we try to limit the duration and make the best of it. I am busy with work and she is busy with the grandkids. I’m sure she will muddle through somehow.
She loves waking up before our granddaughter and watching her sleep in the bed across the bedroom. Mama tells me that as Mykenzie stirs and begins to waken it is as if she suddenly remembers there is a guest in her bedroom. “Grammy is here!” seems to process in her waking mind and she opens her eyes and finds Grammy staring at her. I can imagine her smile. They spend the rest of the morning snuggling and talking as the day begins.
Mama called me today as the process was going on and tried to explain to me how Grant was joining in on the fun. She then handed the phone to Mykenzie who began giving me a three-year-old play-by-play of the activities. She began explaining to me that Grant was trying to get up in the bed and needed help but Grammy was too busy laughing to help him. “NO! Grant, not that way. Come over here.” Grammy look at silly Grant.” “Papi look!”
Grammy had to explain, through her laughter, that at this point in the fun my granddaughter had held out the phone so I could see better. It worked for her and Grammy, not so much for me.
Chase leaves for Costa Rica very early in the morning tomorrow. He was as nervous as a cat through the day today. He kept fighting the nagging sensation that he was forgetting something important. Anyone who has traveled knows the feeling. I’m just thinking it will be funny when he gets there and discovers what it is that he actually did forget.
I just hope it’s not too important an item.
We’ll only laugh because we are all jealous.

It’s not what you say, Going to Costa Rica

In a classic example of “it’s not what you say, it’s what they hear” i overheard a mother of a fairly young boy ask the teacher of his Sunday School class what the lesson was on this morning. He was a little flustered by the question and his mind went blank, so she filled it in for him from what her son had told her.
When they had gotten home the parents asked, “What was the Bible story about this morning?” Without a second’s hesitation he answered, “It was about a blond man.” “A blonde man?” “Yeah, Jesus healed him of his blonde-ness.” I told them I will have to find that story. After all I have three children that need that healing.
Chase leaves for Costa Rica on Tuesday. Tomorrow he will spend the night at the house of the family whose two sons are the reason Chase is going also. They are grandsons to the family they will be spending the month with in San Ramon. I have very fond memories on my short time there and I am anxious to get Mama down there to see the beauty of the area. I am a little jealous, but my turn will have to come later.
My schedule is very full this week and next week we will travel to and from Florida in the seven days ending the month of July. August is liable to be a complete blur. The pace is picking up and everything is quickly falling into place for the move we are anticipating.
Now, even Mama is getting nervous.

Missing Mama, Sharing Mama

I took Mama to the airport in Philadelphia at 3a.m. today. Her flight put her in Washington, DC at the same time I was getting back to the apartment. I still marvel at that. She was with the grandkids about the same time I was at soul winning at the church. I will make the drive to the same destination next week. It will take over twenty hours of actual driving time rather than about four hours of flight time. The depressing thing is that the driving trip will cost over double what it cost me to fly Mama down to Pensacola, FL.
Some things cannot be helped; like missing Mama. We will celebrate our twenty-eighth anniversary in August. At this point Mama and I can each say that we have been married for over half of our lives – and that to the same person. I cannot imagine being without her and it is a strain on each of us to be apart from each other. I was told that there is a point that two lives become inseparable for all practical purposes.
Though we are uniquely individual, we are also uniquely one. Infatuation, puppy love, schoolyard romance does not produce that kind of weaving of two loves together emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. It comes from constant, trusting surrender, unfailing commitment and tested and proven faithfulness to God and to each other. There is no substitute for her love in my life, for her place in my heart, for my need for her closeness. I would have it no other way.
Her report from the first day is that our grandson has fully adopted her as his Grammy. That’s actually big news because it has always been one of her constant fears that he would not love her as she hoped he might. Our granddaughter is no problem there. She really loves Grammy and on the way home from the airport she discovered yet another reason for that love.
Mama had not taken her daily herbs while in flight so she was taking them as they traveled home to Milton from Pensacola. She almost always has to eat something as soon as the capsules are swallowed so she broke out the veggie straws she had packaged for the trip. But that was not the best part. In her digging Mama pulled out the candy purse she keeps tucked in her “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” purse.
This was something new to Mykenzie and after tasting a mint and one other piece of candy she asked, “What else you got in there, Grammy.” There really is no end to the wonderful things her Grammy can do.
So for now I will share – and whine just a little.

The concept of lack, the empty nest

In anticipation of taking a huge reduction in pay we, me and Mama, are trying to reconfigure our view of money. In the past year we went to a cash only life and it quickly revealed some major problems in how were handling our finances. In light of that revelation we are now trying to condition ourselves to the idea of real lack of money. Not the inability to provide for our necessities, but rather the inability to help meet the needs of others as we have in the past.
That is true lack for us. I am also concerned that my giving will be seriously hampered, but I am not held responsible for r what I do not have. There is some consolation in the fact that my life will be given more to the causes that I have been involved in from the sidelines on a permanent and fulltime basis. I am not sure I am ready. I am also not sure if there is any way to prepare other than to go and trust that all the preparations are made already.
We took my nephew Seth t o a burger place called, 25 Burgers. The check came to almost forty dollars for the four of us. Chase looked at Mama and said; “We just used up two hundred dollars worth of spending power in one meal.” Mama almost couldn’t eat her half of our burger. He gets it, but he is used to having very little spending power. Maybe he can teach us how this is done.
I have always understood that God is the provider in our lives but the focus has always been on me when it came to meeting the family and church financial needs. That will no longer be the case and in ways that in and of itself is a humbling change for me and our family. I am anxious to see what God is willing to do when the focus is no longer on the paycheck I receive, but on the needs we have in our lack.
On the brighter side, we will delay having an empty nest by several years. I did not realize how much we missed having our children around until this month when two of our daughters were here for a visit. Mama really expressed how excited she was to have them home for a time. Her interactions with me and a sixteen-year-old son leave her short changed in female camaraderie. There is little I can do to help that.
I often tell people that when I want to get in touch with my feminine side, I hug my wife.

Living life, Contentment, Measures

Someone once said that life is what happens to you while you are waiting for something more important to happen. I think that’s what I love about my wife – she doesn’t wait for life to happen to her, she infuses life into our otherwise mundane moments. It keeps me constantly on my toes. I suppose that’s one of the main reasons we keep little ones around us all the time; they live life – especially little Victoria.
I am on nights so Mama has to keep her from getting to me to wake me up too early. So today, I happened to be getting out of bed to use the potty as she and Mama were in a mad dash to do the same thing. Bursting through the bedroom door, running to keep up with Mama Kim she saw me rising off the bed and simply said, “Papa Tim, you wake up!”
“Look Mama Kim, Papa Tim’s wake up!” It was 10 a.m. and I had gotten in bed at 6 a.m.
The more Mama tried to quiet her the more questions she asked. I could hear her fire off one question after another as she did her business; all the while my wife was trying to make her speak more softly. I had to laugh as she was hurried out the door (I was laying down again waiting my turn) she merrily called over her shoulder, “Bye, Papa Tim! See you later.”
Children seem to be so content around my wife and me, maybe because as life happens around them we participate with them in it. It is the small things, no pun intended, that make life worth living, like the spontaneous laughter over silly things said, or competing for time in the bathroom with someone who cannot hold it as long as I can, or letting them win in a contest that they clearly were outmatched in; a race, a wrestling match, or hide-and-seek.
Life for these little ones is only what is happening right at that moment. If it is not happening to them, it is not real. If it is not within their line of sight, it does not exist. If the game is not overly obvious, they cannot enjoy playing it.
When she was very little, one of Victoria’s most common expressions was, “I wake up!” She would say it to us every morning as she came into our house. She would say it after every nap time was over. I realize it was because she was asked each and every time she was awakened, “Are you awake?” or “Did you wake up?” to her it meant, life started over again.
Pleasures are not that simple for me so I enjoy sharing them with those for whom they are really that simple.

Going places, New languages, Mr. Rogers

My granddaughter decided the other day that she and her daddy were going to travel. She invited him to sit in the passenger seat of the couch and soon they were on their way.
“Where are we going?” asked Daddy
“To Arkansock” was the immediate answer.
“Who are we going to see there?”
“Grammy and Papi.”
They don’t love in Arkansock.”
“Yes they do, we just went there to see them.”
[Technically, she was correct. They had just a few months prior driven over to Arkansas to meet us and the rest of the family. Grandma and Grandpa (Mama’s mom and dad) had not seen our grandson since his birth and he was almost eighteen months old at the time.]
But as is often the case with three-year-olds, that trip did not last very long and soon they were off to another destination.
Her daddy was not sure of the destination since it seemed to him to be gibberish, but when she repeated it, she said it exactly the same way. So Mommy asked where she was taking Daddy; again, the same word was used even though it meant nothing to the two of them.
Later that evening her Daddy suddenly understood the confusion. Since he speaks Hungarian, he had begun teaching his daughter some words in that language. The word she used for their pretend destination must have meant as much to her as any of the other words he was trying to teach her.
Many years earlier, when her Mommy (my daughter) was only about three years old we went to Mexico with her Grandma and Grandpa Kline (my mom and dad). We had driven down to the border town of Brownsville from Houston and had walked across the bridge into Mexico. Since the “mercado” was only a few blocks from the border we walked across rather that driving in Matamoros, or worse yet, finding a safe place to park.
While we were over there I had translated for my wife and my Dad as we made small purchases in the market. My mom was trying out her Spanish throughout the entire adventure. Of course, I had translated so for my two kids also. Later that evening when we were supposed to be settling down for bed, my son and daughter started talking all kinds of made up words to each other. After twenty or thirty minutes I had had my fill and fussed at the two of them;
“I did not take the time to teach you two to talk properly for you to go around making up words and talking like babies, what’s the problem?”
My three-year-old looked up at me, totally perplexed, “But Daddy, you did all day today.”
Many times it is not what we say to our children, but rather, what they hear that has the greatest impact on our ability to communicate with them. It was about that time that I watched as my children sat in rapt attention listening to the irritating drone of Mister Rogers.
Suddenly I understood that what irritated me attracted them. His slow, meticulously spoken sentences were being fully processed by the developing language centers of my very young children. They understood him because as he spoke, pronouncing each word fully and slowly, they had time to process the information and keep up with the thoughts. It was a revelation that changed my way of talking – especially to young children.
Now I have become Mister Rogers – of sorts. But it works for me.

To WVa again, postponing vacations, worth of a man

Monday we will be traveling to West Virginia again. This should be the next to last time we make the trip for Chase’s braces. After he gets back from Costa Rica, he will get them off. I can’t tell if he is more excited about going to Costa Rica or about getting the braces off. Wait. I can’t ever tell if he is excited about anything. (Not!) He has a rough summer ahead of him. But on the bright side, my nephew will be coming back from West Virginia with us and as an additional bonus, Jake will be making the round trip so he can visit with Mama Kim’s family there. Everyone is looking forward to that visit. (I’m bringing earplugs.)
We are postponing vacations again to conserve money for other more important plans. Mama will be flying down to see our next grandchild be born and I will follow later – during our shortened vacation time. Our daughter is worried about the timing of our planned vacation so she wants to get Mama down there a little early so she can relax if she goes into labor before our “due date” arrives. I will end up making the round trip in one week, but maybe my nephew will come along for the ride.
At the corporate level, a mans worth is generally measured by his compensation package and though I have typically been well compensated, it has very often been a disappointing way to gauge my progress among my peers. I am not heartbroken that those days are almost over. But I am a man without a house, only one modest car, and an embarrassingly negative net worth, walking away from a six figure income.
So how will I gauge my real worth from this point on? I can guarantee such a measure will not rest heavily on my credit score – I am aiming for zero. It cannot be fairly leveraged against my earnings – they will be minimal.
I will have to re-adopt the trusted standards I once used. On our first semi-permanent move to West Virginia, many years ago in 1988, I had only my wife and our children…literally! No job, no income and no promise of either. No home of our own. No place to even store our boxes other than a barn loft. We had credit card debt, a loan on the car, diapers, formula and groceries to be bought and no money to do it. We made it through, got a job, bought a farm, set up a home, and watched our children and our love for each other grow.
And as I recall, those were the richest days of my life. No wonder I miss them.

Changing Roles, Honest sight

In a complete role reversal I had to ask my son if I could buy an application for my iPhone. I have always kept the iTunes account in my name and have attached my credit card to the account for purchases. Chase asked several weeks ago if he could swap the account to his debit card so he could make a purchase. It seemed easier than charging my card and him making the reimbursement to me later.
Well, it was my turn to buy an app so I asked if he wanted to swap the account back. He didn’t. So I asked if I could buy a $1.99 app. He went straight to the computer to see if he could find a free one equal to the one I wanted to buy. I didn’t like any of the free ones. Then he tried to find a cheaper app than the one I wanted. I didn’t like any of those either, so he let me but the one I wanted. But it took some work on my part to get it out of him.
Sometimes we loose sight of how our role in any given situation plays into the overall scheme of things. Like with my son, we can become so focused on what we see that we forget that those around us may see things very differently. Chase, for example, though he is totally dependent on Mama and me for his needs often sees us as infringing on his life when we ask what to us seems to be the simplest of requests – especially when Mama asks.
Picking up the folded cloths from the back of the chair and moving them 20 inches to the dresser is viewed as overbearing, let alone asking that the clothing be put away in the dresser drawers. Taking out the trash is an infringement on his free time, then to add the duty of replacing the full bag with an empty one. It almost begs legal intervention.
My perspective is somewhat different. From my perspective, in about ten days he will leave for a month in Costa Rica – funded by Mom and Dad. I rarely get him up before 10 a.m., nor do I ask that he be available for chores – because I am not doing any projects. So he is free to move from the computer to the x-box to the TV and back again to shuffle his boredom around our apartment. He’s having such a hard time enjoying his summer. Still, it is hard to see myself as the bad guy.
I told Chase that when all his siblings left for college he would be a little overexposed to his mother’s need for help at different times. It is well within her rights to ask for and receive this help. I also said that if he was willing to watch me he could learn how to interact with his mother in a way that would teach him how to properly treat the woman he will eventually marry.
So far we are not doing well on either one of those issues, but there is still time.

Pool time, My favorite age to teach, Owning Information

Lately we have been hotter in the Northeast than my parents in South Texas. To compensate we have been spending time at the pool. It is funny to watch the kids run from the water to the shade of the table to get a drink out of our cooler. What makes it really funny is that they do not immediately realize how hot the pavement is until it dries their feet. It can almost be counted in steps; One, two, three, Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Pavement temperatures were over 104F.
They complex here is only beginning to water the dormant grass. Where it has been watered the grass is lush and deep green. Each green patch is completely surrounded by a sea of crunchy brown, dormant grass. It is inspiring to see just how quickly the dead looking grass responds to the slightest amount of life-infusing water. I only wish I could revive that quickly.
I was asked the other day what area, or what age group was my favorite age to teach. That’s an easy one – three, four and five-year-olds. It is so much fun to tell stories to that group because their imagination is so easy to stir. They can quickly feel the tone and direction of the story and allow themselves to be drawn along for the pure fun of listening and watching me tell it. Mama and I have been doing it for years and for both of us, it has never lost its magic. In their enthusiasm they give back to me a joy that cannot be found in any other thing.
With these little ones it is always best if you speak honestly and explain in the simplest terms so the message, as it is absorbed and processed, is accurate since the Lord sternly warned against misleading a little one. With that in mind it is necessary to completely own the information you are sharing with this age group. Speak what you know and know about that which you speak.
We sometimes think we can fake our way through, “They’re too little to know anyway.” But bear in mind they have a greater watch care afforded them that do you or me. That’s why I love the challenge. Children at this age are masters at asking some of the most piercing question ever asked of those they trust.

Readers teaching reading, Egg sandwich fight, more scared today

As I heard Jake (6 years old) reading to little Victoria (our 3 year old usual charge) at her naptime, it reminded me of the hundreds of times I have heard Mama reading to little ones as she calmed them down for sleep; beginning with our own so many years ago. I really miss hearing her voice infusing the characters and dialogue with such expression that the little ones would smile themselves to sleep after hearing the same book read to them for the hundredth time. Each time my wife would read it as though it was the first time, as though there was nothing that could possibly make her happier; and every child who heard it sensed that joy.
Several years ago she taught Jake to read and her constant reading to him woke within him a love of reading. As I listened I could clearly hear my wife’s inflections, pauses and intonations of the very familiar story he was now presenting to the littlest nap-taker in the home.
Later as Jake’s mom was there to pick him up he was not thrilled at the prospect of leaving and since Mama Kim was eating the egg sandwich I had made for her, Jake realized he was hungry and nothing in the usual offerings was appealing to him so Mama Kim made him a Nutella sandwich. While she was doing so, he took a bite of her egg sandwich. I had made it with a fried egg, Black Forest shaved Ham and Pepper Jack cheese. It tasted pretty good to him.
He began to take as big a bite as his little mouth would handle and since Mama had had no lunch and saw hers disappearing into Jake’s mouth, she tried to get the sandwich away from him. The fight was on – in a playful way with the two of them wrestling over a slimy hot sandwich the contents of which were oozing out from between two mushy pieces of wheat bread. It was bound not to last too long – can you imagine what it might have looked like? We all know how it ended. Jake got the rest of the sandwich and smiled all the way out the door. I made Mama another one and left for work. (Extra kisses for that one!)
I am waiting for feedback today and based on that information I will be able to make the decisions I need to make. I really am more scared today than I was yesterday. But the song keeps running through my head,
Little is much when God is in it,
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown and you can win it,
If you’ll go in Jesus name!

Fireworks, A day off for Mama, Bends in the Road

My daughter tells us that she, her husband and our grandchildren went with friends to see the local fireworks on Sunday night. Like our church, the evening services started and finished early to accommodate those who were planning to attend the festivities. The usual entourage included several families with children of similar age to our grandchildren.
In Milton this year, the fireworks display was staged on the Blackwater River so there would be plenty of area of unobstructed view. All was set, darkness was coming and the children knew that something exciting was going to happen. My granddaughter was with her usual crowd of four or five boys her age (four to six years old) when the first streak of sparks shot into the darkening sky.
The excited parents were coaching the little ones to “Watch!” “Look” and “Get ready!” The problem was that the brilliant flash of color that captured everyone’s attention was quickly followed by an explosion that shook the air and sent all of the little boys screaming and running for cover. Turns out that the unobstructed view did nothing the block the percussion of the sound waves of the fireworks as they detonated above the crowd.
I am pleased to report that my grandchildren were unaffected by the horror that gripped their friends – at least this time.
Today was as day off for Mama since there were no children to care for. So we went shopping for the church and as I napped (since I am working the night shift), she went shopping with our daughter. Happily I only lost about $50 for the day and that’s only because the church will reimburse us for supplies we bought for them.
Fortunately, I have the only vehicle with me at work so her shopping was limited to what happened in the afternoon. She did manage a late afternoon visit to the pool. I can’t complain; the temperature was over 100ºF. Good for Mama’s tan, not so much for the grass. She will be busier tomorrow, so the spending should go down.
We are at another bend in the road. I have seen this intersection in the distance and was a little worried about what decisions it would bring. Like most times when God is working out things for our good and His Glory, we are rarely totally prepared. As things unfold I can be surer of what to say. Right now I am not even too sure what to pray. But I can say this, with God it is rarely about the monetary compensation but rather about obedience to the assignment given.
It has always been God who supplied my needs. I have just gotten comfortable with him using big corporations to do so.

Wasting a day, Saying Goodbye, New Neighbors

Yesterday was truly a wasted day for me. I got up about 3a.m. with severe diarrhea which lasted all day. It left me pretty weak and dehydrated. I did not eat or drink anything through the entire day. It was kind of a blessing in that Mama and I were fasting yesterday specifically for direction in the move we are seeking. It made it easy for me to accomplish the fast. Some residual side effects remain today so the Fourth of July picnic at the church will not be as much fun for me as it might otherwise have been. Oh well, I’ll enjoy the fellowship.
My daughter had to say goodbye to her boyfriend yesterday. There were plenty of tears and sad faces in the parting moments. I wanted to sing “Leaving on a jet plane” but I just did not have the energy. I did not even get to see her off at the airport since I was confined to the bed through the day. She got back to Arkansas without incident but I suspect was torn emotionally about being happy to be there. Saying “Good Bye” is never easy if you are truly going to miss the ones you are speaking to, but this was a fairly easy one since they will be in constant communication by phone.
We have new upstairs neighbors. They moved in the day before yesterday and on Thursday night I had to go up to their door and ask if the children could be a little quieter. He understood right away why I was there and was very receptive to the suggestion. I told the father that I understood that the kids were super excited about being in a new place and it was hard to get them to settle down but since it was near 11p.m., if he could we would appreciate it.
We have since introduced ourselves properly. The kids have been in our apartment. We have invited them to the picnic at the church today and they are planning to come to church tomorrow. I’d say, all-in-all that went pretty well.
The other of my visiting daughters will be going back to Arkansas on Thursday. Mama and I will miss them – especially Mama.

Another houseful, Shopping Buddies, Imitation & Taking Notes

Mama’s little buddy, Jake, the six year old spent the night with us last night. It was partly to spend time with my wife and partly because there was houseful of teenagers – mostly female at our apartment last night and he is quite the flirt. Most of the day had been spent at the Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall and I guess it was just too much fun to leave.
Jake is also Mama’s shopping buddy. Between his mother and my wife I am not sure how this poor little fella will turn out. My rough guess is that prior to going to kindergarten, he spent about a third of his life shopping with either his mother or my wife. I know he has been shopping with my wife for over five years – and they both love it. Mama tells me they were at a Bath and Body Works and because there was some promotional sale going on, the store was packed.
There were no plans to buy anything – besides the line was way too long – but my wife loves their candles. She is the typical female shopper, cracking open lids to smell the fragrance of the contents, body washes, lotions, soaps, etc, but especially candles. There were several dozen different candles and each one had to be checked out.
Now my wife is not a quiet person, neither is she shy about communicating her comments, whether positive or negative, about whatever she happens to be doing. Jake has learned this expressiveness. As they worked their way through the candles it was, “OH! I love this one.” Or “Oh, my gosh, that’s awful!” “Whoa Mama Kim, smell this!” Once in full swing Jake could only cheer her on just to get her evaluation, complete with facial and verbal expressions. “Try this one Mama Kim!” “See if you like the green one!” “I bet you’ll love this one. It’s apple pie.” Reveling in whatever outburst followed since he had instigated it. My wife got dizzy a couple times and Jakes face hurt from smiling so much by the time it was all over.
While we were in church last night for the Wednesday night service, Jake had to sit with us since the normal children’s program was not going on this particular night. He has been with us to church many times and he is well behaved during the services. He is usually occupied with coloring, drawing, or some other quiet activity.
He must have noticed the girls he had been shopping with that day taking notes during the preaching part of the service so what started off as a page of scribbling and doodling turned into a full page, front and back, of printed letters jumbled one on top of the other. When the service was over, he casually turned the page into me and flew off to see what else was going on.
As I stared at the page I prayed he would remember what he had done when he is old enough to realize what he was doing. I suppose that as we teach our kids, that is our greatest hope.