Fall Is Here

As I drive around I see that the green is just beginning to drain out of the tree leaves, the mornings have a hint of crispness in the air, and the fall rains are starting their cycle. And when it rains we seem to get 4-5 inches at a time.

PLAN C. Speaking of all the rain, Wil Swann was supposed to have his 6th birthday party down at the river Saturday. They had planned to have a cowboy celebration complete with a hay ride and panning for gold in the river. The storm that blew through that morning (accompanied by a tornado warning) made the ground too soft for us to get down to the river. Kenny and Lori shifted to Plan B: a round up back at the ranch (the barn at their house). I mention all this because for Ben, who had been so excited about going to Wil’s party all week, it was sort of disconcerting to get up the morning of the party and see it raining so hard that you wonder if animals are off somewhere lining up in pairs.

By mid morning it had turned off pretty and things were looking up for the party. When we all arrived that afternoon another front of dark clouds weren’t that far behind. They decided to proceed with the hay ride. All the kids were given hats; bandannas; water guns and small, slightly rotten gourds and sworn in for fighting the Indians. We took off toward K-D Orchard. Half way there the clouds let loose and we had to take refuge in the Henry’s chicken house until several moms came to the rescue. Kenny, who spins a great story, entertained with the tale of Samson and Delilah while we waited. The Indians (Mac, Andrew and Brandon Tate) almost got soaked while waiting to attack all the cowboys and cowgirls.

Our kids all had a great time in spite of the weather. We gave Wil a pair of cap pistols for his birthday. The boys are wishing we had bought them a set of their own as well. Jenna is glad we didn’t. At any rate, the party was a hit with our crew. We’ve had two cowboys and a cowgirl running around ever since. Ben even slept in his cowboy hat last night. It looks sort of funny where he mashed the brim in odd places as he slept. At least he didn’t have cow licks in his hair.

BARBECUE AND EGGS. I forgot to report last time that the Cross Plains Heritage Commission had its annual Barbecue Supper on Saturday the 16th. We fed over 300 people and made about $2000.

Vicki was asked to make two pies as a dessert contribution. We don’t have a lot of fridge/freezer space at our house but Pauline has ample room at her house for our overflow. When Vicki was ready to make her pies the other Saturday she had the boys bring our pie crusts and a few eggs from Pauline’s. Pauline bagged up the goods and sent the boys over. Vicki about had a cow as she looked out at the boys walking across the yard. Ben was carrying the bag with the carton of eggs and how those eggs survived the trip is beyond me. He was dancing like a wild man and slinging the bag of eggs in an eccentric orbit around his head. Sixteen people got slices of fudge pie made with pre-beaten eggs.

SHE GOT ME. When we kiss the kids good night Jenna thinks its funny to try and kiss us on the lips. Well, she was quicker than I thought she’d be tonight and hit her target. Acting in mock disgust I said, “Eww, that’s almost as bad as kissing your own mother on the lips!” (Sorry Mom.)

Ben tries the same sort of thing by giving a slobbery kiss. I finally got tired of it and fought back by holding him down and licking one side of his face. This broke him for a while, but his memory is pretty short.

SELF EMBARRASSMENT. Just yesterday she was sitting at the table reading the badges they got from Wil’s party. In trying to sound out “deputy” she overemphasized the middle syllable and said “de-POO-tee” and Vicki and I didn’t let that one slide by (she can be sensitive about mispronouncing words). Even better was the other evening in the middle of supper when Jenna suddenly looked at Vicki and asked with a tone of accusation, “Mom, where’s my fork?” Vicki calmly replied, “It’s right there in your hand.” Jenna’s face went from stern to sheepish in record time.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I want to recognize Bill and Marnie Lind for their 60th wedding anniversary tomorrow! (Bill piloted the B-29 my Dad flew on in World War II.) They will be celebrating at their church in Minneapolis on October 8. Their oldest daughter will be preaching that day. I wish I could be there. I’ll be thinking about you on your special day.

Joe

Slow News Week

Maybe my memory is a bit faulty, but it seems like the fall weather has arrived a bit earlier than usual this year. There have been several times I have looked out the office window and wished I could be outside.

FLOOR SKATES AND OTHER THINGS. Nate has been wearing sandals for months. The other day Vicki put socks on him so he could wear shoes. He called them skates and thought they were the coolest things for sliding around the house. And as Vicki was getting dressed he pointed out her “skates” as well. Now he wears his skates to bed.

Nate is pretty good about trying to put his sandals on correctly. After picking up his sandals he’ll come to me, hold the sandals out over his feet and ask, “Right foots, Dad?” If I say “no” he will cross his arms to switch positions with the sandals and walk that way to the back hall where he’ll sit down and put them on. When Ben was this age he didn’t think too much about it. More often than not his sandals were on the wrong feet.

COMMON COURTESY. Another thing that crossed my mind when comparing actions is how each of the kids started saying “thank you.” Jenna got “thank you” and “you’re welcome“ a bit mixed up and would say, ”fink um.“ Ben was a bit more accurate with ”fink you.“ Nate has approached it from a different angle. He says, ”kink you.“

INCLEMENT WEATHER DAY. We got up yesterday to rain. For some reason Ben thought this would cancel school and was dumbfounded when we told him to get himself dressed.

OUR BUSY SCHOLAR. Jenna is really very serious about her studies. She has more homework this year, and it is still more pleasure than pain. We hope this attitude will follow her through the years.

Jenna fills in spare time with reading. She is now devouring the first book in the Harry Potter series and keeps everyone updated on the chapter she is currently reading. I am several books ahead of her, and we are keeping a running discussion of the story line. She is looking forward to finally seeing the movie when she finishes the book.

OVERHEARD. Ben’s teacher, Linda Jakes, goes to our church. Sunday Ben and Nate were sitting on the bench by the back door at church waiting for us to leave. Linda and her husband, Lyn, were leaving right then and Mom overheard Ben say to Nate, ”That’s what my teacher looks like.” I guess he thinks Linda has a twin that goes to our church.

A BRIEF VISIT. Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob are in for a few days. They drove up to visit their daughter, Ann Beth Yergler, and her family this weekend. The Yerglers have recently moved from New Jersey to Marietta, Georgia, and from the pictures I’ve seen they have a beautiful house. Anyway, Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob came on up here Sunday. We had our traditional trip to the Catfish House last night. We ate over at Pauline’s this evening.

FREEWHEELING. Every time I’ve tried to wean Ben from the training wheels on his bike he has put up a fuss (and I’ll admit I never pushed the issue). He just never wanted to trust his bike without them. Vicki found another bike without training wheels for Ben at a consignment sale and we put him on it Sunday. I gave him one big shove and off he went. Within five minutes he was even able to take off by himself from a standstill. Now he’s riding all over the yard like he’s been doing it all summer.

Nate has also been reluctant to use the pedals on his tricycle. It hasn’t mattered how much we’ve worked with him, he has continued to ride the thing Fred Flintstone style. Along comes Aunt Linda who tells him to put his feet on the pedals and gave him a push across Pauline’s driveway and off he went. Now, as long as he’s on the concrete he’s pumping those pedals for all he’s worth.

Joe

Remembering a Terrible Day

Five years ago I called Vicki to tell her to turn on the TV. I heard the news while at work. While we were on the phone Vicki saw the second plane. She called back after the Pentagon was hit. It was after the fourth plane crashed that I got a chance to see the horror for myself on a TV. Like those of you who remember the day Pearl Harbor was attacked or when JFK was assassinated, the events of 9/11 and what I was doing will forever be etched in my memory. While I don’t know anyone who was personally affected by the attacks that day my heart still hurts for those victims. But to me the deeper tragedy is that the hatred that drives things like this seems to still be alive and well. With this in mind I write in the spirit of keeping on with life, refusing to be cowed into defeat.

CATARACT SURGERY. Aunt Mar had cataract surgery on her left eye almost two years ago. Her right eye was done Thursday. She is doing well with it. As we were talking about how well Aunt Mar’s surgery went Mom remembered her uncle, Joe Denning, who had undergone the surgery when it was a new procedure. In that day they weren’t doing it in Nashville and he had to travel to Lexington, Kentucky. After his surgery was over he had to lay in bed with his head completely immobilized for many days. Things sure have come a long way.

GRANDPARENTS’ DAY. East Robertson Elementary had another huge Grandparents’ Day celebration on Friday. They served about 500 grandparents for lunch. Vicki is once again one of the PTO Volunteer Coordinators. She was blessed and tired by the end of the day. Mom and Pauline went to eat with Ben and see his classroom. They visited Jenna’s classroom too, and Mom accompanied her to lunch when it was third grade’s turn to eat.

WORDS THAT MAKE GRANDMAS MELT. Friday night it was Nate’s turn to spend the night with Mom and Aunt Mar. I went over on Saturday to pick him up. After eating some chicken salad sandwiches for lunch we left. As Nate was walking to the truck Mom called out, “Good-bye Nate. We had fun with you. You’re a sweet boy.” At this he turned around and said, “You sweet girls!” He told them they were sweet girls again today when we went to take off their trash.

GOOD CHARACTER. East Robertson participates in the Character Counts program. The other day Ben saw a little girl land really hard coming off the slide during recess and went over to see about her. Mrs. Linda saw him in his moment of empathy and awarded him a Character Counts coupon. He is the first in his class to receive one. We’re proud of our character.

A FUN WEEKEND. Our choir at church will be performing a musical next month and they had a retreat last weekend to concentrate on the music. They went to Coldstream Christian Camp in Cedar Hill (on the other end of the county). Vicki spent the night Friday. From the sound of it they all had a great time together.

SPEAKING OF MUSIC. One night Vicki went upstairs to help Jenna practice her piano. It was late and Jenna had had a long day which made her fingers not want to cooperate. At one point I heard her tired, exasperated voice exclaim, “Oh Lord, help me!” This prayerful utterance made Vicki realize she was pushing Jenna a bit too hard that evening.

A BOOK REVIEW. I have been reading a good book lately. Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler has been quite fascinating. Feiler grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and has a Jewish background. It has been interesting to read not only of his 10,000 mile trek across the Middle East but also his spiritual journey as he has begun to explore what he believes about God. He does a great job of not only describing the places he visited on his trip but also explaining aspects of culture, history and life there. If you’re like me and can’t visit these places yourself this book comes recommended.

Joe

Three Years and Counting

Boy, have we gotten the rain! And all this rain has brought fall-like temperatures. Tuesday afternoon I looked out my office window at the wall of water coming down and imagined I could almost swim through the air. Flash flooding was a problem in town as the storm drains just weren’t designed to handle the volume of rain we got that day. And that’s not the only rain we’ve gotten since I last wrote. Between the rain and our schedule I haven’t gotten to any of the yards until this weekend. And from the look of the grass trimmings I could bale hay in a few days.

CAN IT BE THREE YEARS? For those of you who have been on the address list since the beginning, you have gotten our newsletter for three years now. I found several similarities when I compared life today with what I reported in the first edition. Back then Jenna had just started kindergarten which is where Ben is now. In 2003 we were trying to get Ben to use the bathroom on his own and he was making making some progress. Today Nate wears underwear and can stay dry during the day, but you’d better have a pull up on him at night. Like Ben in 2003, Nate is attending Mother’s Day Out two days a week. He REALLY likes his teacher, Mrs. Candy. He has also adjusted well to being the only kid at home during the day. Like getting out old pictures or home video, it is fun to look up previous issues and read what we were doing in the past.

POTTY PROGRESS. One or two nights this week Nate has gotten up and gone to the bathroom on his own. He’s still wet in the morning but at least he’s trying. The other morning I found out he had gone without asking for any assistance. One clue was that the bathroom light was on when I got up. The next clue was when he was coming down the hall from his room. Seeing me coming out of the bathroom he asked, “Hey Dad, did you see that crazy butterfly in there?” There had been a moth fluttering around in there when I first got up.

FAIREST OF THE FAIR. Our fair is always held the week before Labor Day. One of the early events is the “Fairest of the Fair” beauty contest (which is unfortunately held in the Livestock Arena). I’m not really into that sort of thing but I have been the scorekeeper for the last 10 years (I laughingly say I am the accounting firm that tallies the judges’ scores). Because of this I am pretty well removed from the contestants and their mothers, although I can say we don’t see very many “win at all costs” types. Most everyone who participates does so because they simply like to dress up. Actually the judges offer more fodder for backstage talk than anything else (one dressed no better than Dukes of Hazzard character Daisy Duke this year). But one very touching story happened about five or six years ago....

To participate in the senior division you must be a resident of Robertson County (and I think a U. S. citizen). This is because the winner goes on to represent Robertson County at the state fair. The girls are together for one rehearsal and the contest itself. Unless they go to school together they really don’t have a lot of time to get to know each other. One year a foreign exchange student from Germany wanted to participate. In submitting her application she told Celeste, the director of the competition, that she understood she could not compete, but she wanted to simply participate as part of her experience here in America. Celeste consented, the emcees gave a brief explanation as they introduced her and she was warmly received (and the judges simply did not score her). Backstage the girls get to vote among themselves for “Miss Congeniality.” That year the German girl got a unanimous vote.

AT THE FAIR. We loaded up and went to the fair Thursday evening. It was very pleasant to be out and we enjoyed our time walking around the midway. The kids enjoyed riding the rides and playing the games (though they did not win a goldfish or a hermit crab). Nate even thanked the horse he rode on the carousel. He also tried to touch the moon from the top of the Ferris Wheel. They wanted to go back the next night.

FRECKLES. Ben has several very small freckles scattered across his nose. We found out this week that he does not like attention to be brought to them (that is, he probably doesn’t like the idea of them making him look cute). Calling him “Freckles” really gets his goat. I do not advise doing this. He has been known to hit--hard. That’s why I only do it when I have him pinned beneath me or have a pre-planned escape route.

BUDDING AUTHOR. Jenna has decided to write a book. I don’t know how far she’ll get with it, but she has already filled a couple of pages in a notebook with her story. She let me read part of it today which brought a smile to my face. She read it to Vicki and by the time she introduced Anne, Anna, and Annabelle, Vicki suggested different names in order to reduce confusion. Jenna just smiled and said, “You just keep listening.” The story continued with about at least eight more characters, all with names beginning with A. Jenna laughed as she threw Vicki’s suggestion out the window.

If you can get past that, you will learn that they all live in a castle and attend school. I think the main point of the plot so far is that they have spread the flu to each other.

Joe