The Homecoming

We have had a most wonderful Easter and I hope it has been the same for all of you as well. We have also enjoyed Spring Break this week. Jenna and I were both really sad to have to return to the daily grind today.

AUNT MAR'S BIRTHDAY. We celebrated Aunt Mar's 90th birthday last Monday and I must say that Judy, my cousin, gets the Mary Poppins award for masterminding a most wonderful party. She reserved the conference room at the nursing home for the occasion. Then, around midnight Sunday night/Monday morning she slipped into Aunt Mar's room with 90 balloons. Aunt Mar would have awakened to a helium filled surprise but one of the balloons popped while Judy was getting things situated.

That evening we all (Judy and her family, Mom, Pauline, and all of my family) gathered for cake, ice cream and cookies. Judy had brought little presents for all the kids to give to Aunt Mar (simple items that would be handy for her stay at the nursing home) and then pulled out coloring pages and crayons for all the kids to color for Aunt Mar's room. It was a really fun time.

VICKI COMES HOME. Jenna, Ben and I left Aunt Mar's party a bit early to meet Vicki at the airport and it sure was good to see her again. The kids really were excited about seeing Vicki but when she came down the escalator to meet us they were both more interested in the baggage claim conveyor and simply said, "Hi," without hardly looking her way. She got a better reception from me. They warmed up to her after her luggage arrived.

AUNT MAR COMES HOME. I must say that I deeply admire Aunt Mar's spirit and determination. Once her mind is set to do something she will get it done and she didn't want to stay at the nursing home any longer than this week. I really can't blame her. Take Mrs. Isola Payne, her roommate, for example. She was my third grade teacher and is about my mom's age. About six years ago she suffered from a massive stroke. Since then she has not responded to any stimulus and is kept alive by a feeding tube. It breaks my heart to think about her.

Anyway, come 10:30 Saturday morning Aunt Mar was ready to leave. She was at the door as soon as we had the last of her belongings in the car and even set their alarm off on her way out. She didn't even stop to sign her release papers. We did, of course, have to pay a visit to Ann Sloan, her hair stylist, before leaving town.

A TRIP TO THE ZOO. We went to the Nashville Zoo on Thursday and had a really good time. Unfortunately, we picked a chilly day to go. Ben said he couldn't remember going to a zoo before and was really excited. It was so funny watching him right after we entered the gate. He was walking down the pavement with his map unfolded in front of him and asking, "Where are all the animals?"

YOU ARE MY VICTORY was the title of the Easter musical our choir performed this weekend and they did an outstanding job. We had rehearsals several evenings this week and then performed it Saturday night and Sunday morning. We had a 50 voice choir and 17 piece orchestra. Did I say they did an outstanding job?

One thing Aunt Mar had set her sights on was getting to the Saturday night performance. Since we were all involved in the production Kenny brought Aunt Mar to church. I had put a wheelchair near the back door for her to use but she would have NOTHING to do with it. We were all touched by the reception she got from all the people there. She was worn out when I took her home but I don't think she would have missed the evening for anything.

EASTER ACTIVITIES. Part of our traditional Easter activities is to hold joint Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services with Cross Plains United Methodist Church. We me at their church on Thursday evening and at Mt. Carmel on Friday at noon. Both services make Easter a really special time for me.

SURPRISE GUESTS. Aunt Mar was surprised yesterday with the arrival of Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob. They got here in time for our Easter dinner at Pauline's house. Another surprise came today as the Yergler family (except Daryle who had to work) arrived from New Jersey.

RELEASING HER AGGRESSION. Vicki has joined our church volleyball team. They are in the White House league. Vicki is sore but really enjoying herself.

A SAD CLOSING. Thomas Drugs in Cross Plains operates an old fashioned soda fountain and serves lunch. Mom and I have traditionally eaten lunch there after the Good Friday service. Unless things change this is the last year for that as they will be closing their grill after April 8. Their soda fountain will still be open but they will no longer serve any food. We are all very sad about that.

Joe

A Most Abnormal Week

I know it has only been four days since I published the last edition of our newsletter but it has been a most abnormal week. And with next week being Spring Break I thought I'd better grab the time to write this when I could. Just looking at the schedule I'll feel lucky if I can write again before Easter.

AN UPDATE ON AUNT MAR. I think Aunt Mar is doing much better but it did take a day or two for her fighting spirit to break through the haze of pain medication. Yesterday she was moved to NHC Healthcare in Springfield for ten or so days of rehab. From Aunt Mar's point of view just being in a nursing home motivates her to work extra hard to get back on her feet as she DOES NOT want to be there any longer than those ten days.

OUT OF POCKET. As I reported last time Vicki is out of town visiting a friend. She left Friday morning and had a good flight. From talking to her on the phone they are having a good time together and I believe the visit is just what our friend needs right now. I am glad Vicki is able to go but the kids and I sure look forward to her return on Monday.

CHOIR PRACTICE. Our choir at church is scheduled to perform a musical titled You Are My Victory next Saturday evening (March 26) at 7:00 pm and again the next day for our Easter morning worship service. Vicki sings in the choir and is also part of an ensemble for one song. Since Easter comes early this year they have been practicing really hard. I am running the sound system for the musical and my first practice with the choir was Wednesday evening. Let's just say I have a lot of work to do to be ready for our performances. Looking at the practice schedule for this coming week I'd say I'll have ample opportunity though.

SOCCER PRACTICE. The spring soccer season at the YMCA is getting started. Jenna and Ben are both playing again this year. Ben missed his first practice on Monday due to his strep throat but Jenna was healthy for her practice on Thursday. Jenna moved up to a new age division and is one of the younger players on her team. She commented to Vicki about how the other kids could do more than she could and Vicki challenged her to work hard. I haven't seen a schedule but I'd say the first games will be the Saturday after Easter.

BIKING AROUND. You may remember that Ben got a bike for Christmas. Now that the weather is getting warmer he is really enjoying riding it on Pauline's driveway. He and I rode together after supper yesterday and had a good time. A little later Jenna and Nate came out. Nate gets up and down the drive by walking his tricycle as his legs are just a touch too short to operate the pedals. Jenna has asked me to remove her training wheels. She doesn't have the hang of it yet but she is persistent.

I told Jenna the story of when I first learned to ride without training wheels. Mr. Kenneth Swann (Kenny's dad) came over and took my training wheels off. He walked around with me for a few minutes before giving me a big push down the driveway which was also going downhill. It was either ride or crash and I'll never forget him laughing as I held on to those handlebars for dear life. I did, however, pedal my way back up the hill all by myself. All along the way I couldn't decide whether to be mad at him for pushing me or happy that I had ridden my bike.

CONVERSATIONS WITH NATE. Here is a conversation we had the other night.

"Nate do you know what time it is?"

"No!" [Enthusiastically.]

"Well, It's time to take your medicine."

"Eh-sin." [Medicine.]

"And it's time to brush your teeth."

"Teef."

And then it's time to go to bed."

"NOOOOO!!!"

Nate also likes to uncouple the cars from his train. His only problem is that he cannot couple them back together. Whenever this happens he finds me or Vicki and says, "Peas fiss." [Please fix.]

Joe

They Say It Comes In Threes...

I've always heard that bad things come in threes. One bad news item I have to report is that Aunt Mar fell and broke her left hip yesterday afternoon. I think I've mentioned before that Jenna catches the school bus at her house and sometimes we'll let Jenna stay there in the afternoon until I get home from work. Aunt Mar really looks forward to that and yesterday afternoon she was on the front porch watching for the bus. When Jenna got off the bus Aunt Mar turned to go inside, lost her balance and fell.

She is at NorthCrest in Springfield and had surgery today. They put three screws in her hip. The doctor said her bones seemed very solid and she came through fine.

We are all just devastated that this has happened. We were ready to celebrate her 90th birthday this weekend but we'll just have to change the plan a little bit. (The other two bad things are below but they don't stack up to this.)

---

I think winter, such as it was, is pretty much over. I mentioned in the last news letter that we had a chance of snow and we did see two quick flurries on Friday but the temperature was way too high to even think about sticking. The only white we have seen is the crust on the roads where they sprayed brine to be prepared for the snow that never came.

OVERHEARD. The kids and I were in the yard walking to Pauline's house and Ben grabbed Nate's hand and said, "Come on Nate, let's run!...That's when you move your legs really fast."

TRAIN ON THE BRAIN. I mentioned the Thomas the Tank Engine train set a few weeks ago. Nate is OBSESSED with it. And he was such a docile boy. Getting him to come eat or get ready to go somewhere or go to bed is a very unpleasant experience. Now if you leave him alone he is perfectly happy to sit in his room and watch Thomas and Percy make their rounds for hours on end. But if you come pick him up--well, the ear plugs I use when running the weedeater have crossed my mind. One night I had to give him one of the train engines to hold so he would go to sleep. (Nate's intense excitement lasted 3-4 days. He has mellowed out a lot now.)

BAD STORY, GOOD ENDING. Nate and I came home from church Wednesday night--we come home before everyone else since there is no nursery--and when we got here we found the back door ajar. I could tell the door had been jimmied.

That afternoon I had brought home two iMacs that I had repaired. My plan was to return these units to East High School and Krisle Elementary first thing in the morning rather than report to the office. I had brought them into the house and left them at the back door so they wouldn't spend the night in the truck. I looked in the open door and saw the two computers sitting where I had left them I came in. The alarm keypad was flashing. Nothing else in the house was amiss. A deputy did come by in response to the alarm. He did a thorough search of the house and found nothing wrong except for the damage to the back door. All I can figure is that someone popped the door open with a crow bar, they heard the alarm keypad start whining and left. We were very fortunate.

Later, as Vicki and I were talking about it, we got to thinking about what we had in the house that is of value for someone looking for quick cash. Her billfold was sitting on the kitchen table. It had $6 in it and except for the change in the kids' banks that was the only cash here. Vicki was wearing just about all of her jewelry of value and as far as our entertainment center goes, well, it leaves a lot to be desired. We figured any thief who came in and saw what all we have would probably leave a donation.

SISTERS IN FAITH. That's the name of the women's conference Vicki attended this weekend and she really enjoyed it. This conference was organized by women from local churches and featured Selma Wilson of Home Life magazine as the main speaker and Stormie Sheldon for the music.

THE JOY OF COUNTRY LIVING. While Vicki was at the conference Saturday morning I stayed home and dealt with a stopped up septic system. When I got to the bottom of the problem the tank was full and the line was stopped up. When I got the septic service out here they ran their snake to unclog the line but would not drive out to the tank to pump it out for fear of miring up in the wet ground. That did not stop the man from charging me full price for his 15 minute service call though. I won't be calling him back to pump my tank again either. The only humor I found in this situation was the "We haul milk on weekends" sign painted on the back of his truck.

POOR BEN. Ben was complaining about a sore throat on Saturday. I looked inside and it did look a bit inflamed but we just had him rest. By Sunday after church (Vicki kept Ben at home) we looked and were convinced that he should see the doctor immediately. Turns out he has a case of strep throat. He is feeling much better now but unfortunately he missed the church Easter egg hunt.

PLEASE PRAY. I have not mentioned this before but a close friend of Vicki's from Camden and in college is going through a difficult divorce. Vicki is flying out to visit her this coming weekend. Please keep our friend in your prayers and Vicki as she travels to be supportive through this time.

Joe

Lion or Lamb?

Last week I was so full of news from our trip I didn't even mention that our schools were closed on Tuesday. I don't know whether to say March came in like a lion or not. We had a blast of cold air and places west of here got a little snow but we didn't. Our schools were closed due to black ice on the roads. It has been pretty ever since. I've even heard tree frogs for the first time this week. Then this evening the rain moves in and we have a chance of snow.

A LONG TIME IN COMING. It was two years ago today that we moved Pauline here from Camden. She has been without a deck behind her house until now. Construction began on Saturday. The rain made the guys working on the deck stop before they completed the job today but it is very close to being done. At 12 by 30 feet it is a very nice size. It was kind of strange walking into the back door of her house this afternoon as there were no steps to this door before.

SUBSTITUTE BEAR. I have mentioned Ben's "well loved" bear before. On occasion he develops a hole and some of his stuffing leaks out (not that there is a lot of stuffing left). When that happens he goes to visit Dr. Grandma. Ben found a hole in Bear the other night so we put Bear aside so he wouldn't leak any more.

I was doing something in the kitchen after the kids went to bed when I looked up to see Ben standing in the doorway. When asked why he was up he explained, "I can't sleep. I need something to hold." I named off several other animals, none of which he wanted, and then I mentioned Bo Bear. Ben hesitated at this so I slipped in Nate's room and got Bo Bear. When I handed Bo Bear to Ben he gave it a good inspection, hugged it really tight and scampered off to bed not to be heard from again until morning.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BO BEAR. When Vicki was teaching kindergarten Bo Bear was the classroom bear. Throughout the course of the year each of her students got to take Bo Bear home for the weekend as a reward for good behavior. Thinking about that I found Bo Bear's journals. Skimming through them I saw the records of his various visits. He participated in all the normal weekend activities of any family--eating pizza, watching movies, playing video games, going to church, playing with siblings and friends, etc. I also learned that he has taken trips out of town to visit relatives, been to a wedding rehearsal, and learned sign language among other things. Vicki also remembers that Bo Bear was in the wrong place when one kid threw up (the mom sent a note the next Monday explaining why Bo Bear was absent) and has had facial reconstruction (his nose was replaced).

SPEAKING OF SUBSTITUTES. The secretary at my office used to be the secretary at Krisle Elementary. We got a good laugh the other day when she told the story of a little girl in kindergarten who came in her office one morning to deliver the absentee report and proudly proclaimed, "We have a prostitute in our class today!"

EVALUATIONS. Friday morning Vicki told Ben to make up his bed. He agreed and ran off to tackle the job. Somewhere between the kitchen and his bed he ran into Nate at play and all thoughts of the task at hand deserted him!

Twenty minutes later when Vicki was ready to grab the boys and walk out the door she discovers that Ben's bed is still unmade "because [he] forgot." After fussing and doling out the punishment she herded the boy to the van. While buckling Nate in Ben asked, "Are you sure you know how to be a good mommy?"

Playing along Vicki said, "No, how is a good mommy supposed to be?"

Ben's view on the matter became clear when he declared that "good mommies let kids do whatever they want."

At supper I asked Ben if he thought Vicki was a good mommy. Again, she got low marks from our son. Pursuing the matter we asked his opinion on me and all the grandmothers. I also got a low score as well as Pauline (though he hesitated a second before answering about her). Mom and Aunt Mar, on the other hand, were given a glowing review.

Joe

Getting Away

This weekend Vicki and I enjoyed our Valentine's present to each other. It was a trip to Gatlinburg!

ABOUT OUR TRIP. This was sort of a short notice trip but once we planned it we were really looking forward to going. We left home Saturday morning. We stopped at Cookeville to eat lunch and Vicki made the biggest mess! I thought we had left all the mess makers at home but I was wrong. You see, there was this almost empty bottle of ketchup and Vicki didn't close the lid very well before attempting to shake the dregs down (or up?) to the mouth of the bottle. There was a trail of that stuff starting on her right cheek, continuing down her shirt, across part of the table, in her purse and on the window. We were even worried that she had spattered the patrons sitting behind her. At least we had a good laugh.

While in Knoxville we walked around the UT campus. It was the first time we had been there since I graduated. Lots of changes have taken place in the last 11 years. Vicki was concerned that we might look like prospective parents.

Then we drove in to Pigeon Forge. That night we ate at the Smokey Mountain Brewery in Gatlinburg. The food was great and they had a live band that we enjoyed.

On Sunday we walked around Gatlinburg, enjoyed Italian food at the Gondolier restaurant and shopped around Pigeon Forge. That evening we watched our wedding video and recorded our comments. I am going to put the video on DVD and add our commentary to a second audio track. It will work like the "director's cut" on DVD movies. We really enjoyed reflecting on those memories.

Yesterday we headed back home, stopping to shop in Knoxville and Cookeville. When we got home we took the kids out to eat at Cracker Barrel. As much as we enjoyed getting away it sure was a happy reunion when we returned. Thanks to all the "Grandmas" for childcare!

SHAME ON US. Before we left for our trip Jenna asked me where we would be going to church on Sunday. I confessed that we probably wouldn't go while we were away. That's when she said, "Well you make sure you take your Bible and read it--all of it."

MORE ABOUT JENNA. Jenna has taken to reading like a fish takes to water. She is reading everything. Nothing is safe from her eyes. She got some Dick and Jane books some time ago and has enjoyed reading those over in the last week.

We got a good laugh the other day when I came in from work. Usually when I come in the door the kids hear me and come to greet me. This time they did not and I stood in the kitchen talking to Vicki for several minutes before Jenna thought she heard my voice. As she walked to the kitchen, I decided to hide in the pantry. Vicki played along with the gag. After looking for me a bit she looked out the back door and saw my truck. That's when she asked, "Mommy, where's Father?" Now Jenna never calls me "father," just "daddy," so Vicki questioned her on that which caused Jenna to say, "Oooh, I've been reading too much Dick and Jane."

THE DAILY DEVOTION. Part of our daily routine includes a devotional time with the kids before they go to bed. Before we got started tonight Ben was looking at the maps of the Holy Land in the back of the Bible. That's when he said, "Mommy, show me where we live."

After reading our devotion it is time to pray together. Ben asked me and Vicki not to say very long prayers this time. I guess even a 60 second prayer is long to a four year old boy. Anyway, Vicki started teasing him claiming that she would say an extra long prayer. Then she turned to me and asked how long I would pray. Ben's eyes got real big when I said I thought I'd pray clean on 'til morning.

A STEP TOWARD RETIREMENT. My Mom has been the secretary at church since 1982. She has been thinking about retirement for a while but never wanted to just stop working. So, she has decided to start cutting back her hours after getting someone else trained. Another lady in our church, Shelly Harvey, started working part time last week. Mom will continue to work full time for a while but pretty soon she will be taking more time off. I am very happy for her.

Joe