Last week sort of slipped right on by and here we are about to start a new week. Here's the news.
PUTTING A LITTLE WEIGHT DOWN. Pauline went to the doctor for a check up on her foot Friday. He told her she could begin to put about 25 lbs. of weight on her foot as she used her walker. She has also gotten her diabetic shoes. While Pauline was hoping that she would be able to put all her weight on her foot and start walking again, the rest of us are happy she can start doing this much.
PEARS, PEARS, PEARS. Our pear tree has really produced this year. While the crop was overwhelming Pauline and Vicki did put some of them to good use. Their preserves turned out well but I think they'd had enough of pears (and each other) after a long day of pealing and cooking. Vicki, poking fun at herself, says it is a good thing she was not a farmer's wife 100 years ago.
A BAD DAD. Vicki and I have always had the philosophy that our kids are always welcome to melt down and have a good cry whenever things don't go their way--as long as they go to their room to do it. Jenna has grown out of this and Ben has pretty much left this behind as well. Not Nate. But Nate is to the point that you can tell him to go to his room when he starts to cry and he will. I think this works because their bed becomes a comfortable refuge when we have to enforce the rules and become public enemy number one.
One day I came home from work and Nate was wanting something out of the fridge. It was 20 minutes until supper and Vicki told him no. He melted down and would not close the refrigerator door. I walked in and told him to close the door and go to his room and stay there until he got control of himself. This he did. Then I got busy and he got quiet. Some 10 minutes later I hear this little voice coming from the boys' room saying, "I wanna get up," over and over again. That's when I realized he didn't hear the last part of his instructions and that I had forgotten him. I sure felt bad about that.
STICKING UP FOR LITTLE BROTHER. Tuesday night Pauline invited all of us (including Mom and Aunt Mar) over to eat. She is more and more able to do things for herself and decided to try her hand at cooking a large meal. Not only was it good but I am proud of her accomplishment. Now to the point of the story...
We have always tried to get our kids to do a fairly good job of eating before they can get the occasional dessert. We're not perfect at this but our goal is for them to have a healthy meal and at least try everything that is there. Nate is at that hardheaded stage. Tuesday night he wanted the fudge pie but did not want to finish his mashed potatoes to get it. Every time he mentioned the pie I would say, "Two bites of potatoes and the pie is yours." He always replied with a cheerful "No." Ben finally said to me, "Dad, quit being so hard on Nate and let him have some pie." I got a good laugh but Nate didn't get any pie. (He did get a slice the next day.)
BARBECUE. The Heritage Commission had their second annual Barbecue supper yesterday evening. Like last year we had a good turn out. People attending the supper enjoyed entertainment from the Friendship Baptist Church men's choir and a small band who called themselves "Barely Pickin'." (Friendship Baptist is a black church. All the men were dressed in purple striped suits. I don't think I could pull of a suit like that, but they did look sharp.) The choir sang several old time spirituals, a cappella style. The band consisted of several guys from the community who enjoy playing guitars together. Their repertoire consisted of more modern ballads and songs. The weather was nice. The food and music were good. It was a fun evening. (And the Heritage Commission made over $3000!)
IS THIS MY BOY? Speaking of fashion, I do not like to wear a necktie. I do not like to wear a sport coat or suit. It is in my genes to wear jeans. So you will understand my concern now that Ben has actually asked to wear a tie for the last two Sundays. I'm not sure where that comes from but it wasn't from me. To each his own.
TRUE APPRECIATION. The boys had gotten up from the table and gone to play after lunch today when Vicki and I broke out some Little Debbie cakes for dessert (Jenna went out to eat with Mom and Aunt Mar). Ben happened to come into the kitchen at that time so we only had to call Nate. He didn't respond to our calls until we mentioned chocolate. When he got to the table he looked at his Swiss Cake Roll for a moment, then he looked at Vicki and with sweet sincerity said, "Choc-kit, thank oo!"
ROLE REVERSAL. Most men love to watch sports, either in person or on TV. Not me. To be honest I am totally lost on the finer details about how every ball game works. The biggest reason I am remotely interested in hockey is that no one else in Tennessee really understands the game so I am in good company. When Vicki turns on a Titans or Vols football game, even the Super Bowl, you can find me anywhere else in the house doing anything else. What was funny was that when Vicki flipped on the Titans game today she and Jenna were in there rooting their team on. (Jenna did wonder why most of the players are brown.) The boys followed them in there but lost interest after about five minutes. Ours is not a typical home.
Joe
