Well, it’s been a good run. I have published 130 editions of this newsletter--far more than I ever thought I would when I began the project. But it is just getting to the point where it is more and more of a chore to sit down and write this thing. So, this is the last edition of the Swann Family News. I hope you have all enjoyed it.
Our landscape is starting its spring transformation from brown to light green as many of the trees have begun to put out this year’s new leaves. And while I am running a bit behind most of my neighbors our yard has gotten its first mowing today. I wish I had worn sunscreen.
TIME AND TEMPERATURE, it is an obsession with Jenna. We have one of those digital clock/thermometers in our back hall. Every morning she checks this when she comes downstairs and then finds me and Vicki and informs us of the current conditions. She goes by that clock (and heaven help her if it fails to synch up with the atomic clock in Colorado Springs and has the wrong time).
Of course, it is next to impossible to keep ALL the clocks in your possession at the correct time. I figure I’m lucky if the fleet is all within 10 minutes of each other. One thing that irritates Vicki every day is that Jenna knows the van clock is two minutes fast. When they get in the van to go anywhere Jenna will say, “Momma, it’s 7:23! Well, not really. That clock is two minutes fast so it’s really 7:21.” This will wear on you after a few weeks and Vicki was complaining about this last night when we were going out to eat. I reset the clock to solve this problem and sure enough Jenna started in when she got in the van that night. It sounded like Vicki really enjoyed telling Jenna the clock was no longer running fast.
BETTER MEAN WHAT YOU SAY! Mom and Aunt Mar invited Ben to spend the night with them last night. They also offered to take him out to eat at the restaurant of his choice. When they made this offer he got this gleam in his eye and said, “I want to go to Hollywood’s!” Ben really like Hollywood’s because they have games like air hockey and skee ball.
I had to laugh because I always tease Mom that when I was growing up she would let me pick where we would eat out as long as I picked Shoney’s. She really didn’t want to go to Hollywood’s but she was good to her word. I think she’ll be a little wiser the next time she let’s Ben pick where they will go eat.
NOW HOW DOES THAT GO? We were having our family bedtime devotion the other night and it was Nate’s turn to pray. His prayer was an enthusiastic roll call of family and friends. When he got to the end of his list he paused. We thought he was trying to think of someone else but he was simply hung on that word you typically use to close a prayer. Since “amen” had escaped him for the moment he simply ended his prayer with “The End!”
SOCCER SEASON. Jenna and Ben are playing soccer at the YMCA again this year. We like both of their coaches (Ben got the coach Jenna had last year). The only bad thing is that we didn’t get our request to have both kids practice on the same night.
Ben tagged along with me and Jenna when Jenna had her practice. We took his bike and he rode beside me as I walked the trail the Y has around part of its property. A new feature of the trail is about a half dozen benches scattered around the 0.6 mile loop. After completing one lap Ben said, “Hey Dad, there’s a bench. You want to sit down and rest?” I told him I was still good to go for a while and we moved on. When he asked me this the fourth time I was about to decline yet again when I asked him if he wanted to stop and rest. “Yeah,” he replied, “this bike is making my bottom hurt.”
Their first games were today. We had perfect weather...sunny, low 70s, slight breeze! Ben had a pretty good game. He scored one goal and came close to getting a second (but when he was the goalie he let one get by him). I was right proud as last year he would stop in the game to watch a plane fly over or pick a dandelion. He’ll turn out to be a good player once he gets a good grip on the mechanics of the game.
Jenna had a good game as well. The other team had several very good players but Jenna held her own. We enjoyed cheering for the kids.
OH, BY THE WAY, that bit about this being the last issue--HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY! (Don’t feel bad, Vicki fell for it when she was proofreading.)
Joe
