The Importance of Stories

The dogwoods are blooming — I’ve always liked dogwoods — and the trees are greening up enough that we are starting to lose that wintertime look. Our yard will have shade again soon. And by the end of this week we should be out of danger of having a frost.

SPRING BREAK
With spring comes spring break. Jenna's break came to an end a week ago Tuesday and she has begun that final stretch toward graduation. The boys and I enjoyed having the last week of March off. I'll skip the Easter activities for a moment and say that since this was a staycation I wound up getting several things on my to do list accomplished. The mower, for example, has been serviced and already cut the grass once. Vicki and I also tackled a bit of spring cleaning around here. On the fun side of things we went to Gallatin to see Zootopia at the movies and have supper. We've all enjoyed the downtime.

ON THE FINAL STRETCH
Jenna just has five more weeks of school. The seniors at East Robertson miss exam week and get out a week early. Hard to believe that little girl we took to kindergarten in 2003 is about to don a cap and gown. She had an appointment with a local photographer yesterday and in my biased opinion looked gorgeous. They took some shots in the studio before hitting the road for a few outdoor poses. After that she and Vicki went to Hendersonville to see Fiddler on the Roof (the boys and I went to see Batman Versus Superman). They have such a wonderful time together. As much as Vicki wants Jenna to go off and have the college experience, she is wondering how it will be like being the only girl left here at home.

Jenna also got a letter yesterday saying she was awarded a scholarship from the Springfield Rotary Club! Every bit helps and we are grateful.

EASTER
We had a good Easter service at church. Sunday School was canceled so we could have a church wide breakfast.

With Davidson Academy on spring break the week after Easter their baseball team was scheduled to play in a tournament in Florida beginning Monday. Many families, including Kenny and Lori, decided to head to Florida early and include some family vacation time when they could. Mrs. Connie decided to stay home so we invited her to our Easter dinner at Mom's house. Vicki and Jenna put on a spread and we ate around 4:30. What topped off the great meal is that we all stayed around the table and reminisced for at least an hour. It was exactly what a gathering like that should be.

STORIES
What really struck me as I have reflected on our Easter meal is that we all have stories. Jenna went back to Mrs. Connie's house the the next day and interviewed her in preparation for applying for the Covington Scholarship. (For this scholarship the applicant has to write a biographical essay about a long time Cross Plains resident.) Jenna came home with a two hour recording on my laptop. I have a number of interviews on video and audio tape of family, many of whom have passed on now. We all have stories and they are important stories.

Thursday, March 31, there was a vehicle parked across the road as Vicki was leaving for work. She walked over to see if they needed help and learned the pair inside was a grandfather and grandson from France who was waiting for their son/father to run by.

Serge Girard, who is currently 62, is attempting to run around the world. He left Paris, France, on January 31. His travels will take him across North America to Alaska, then to New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, and then to Turkey where he will trek across Europe back home. You can following him at http://sergegirard.fr/en/ if you wish. One never knows what stories are passing right by the front door each and every day.

WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND
Speaking of stories, Ben found my old boomerang the other day and decided to give it a whirl. As you can imagine getting it to return to you is a bit harder than throwing a frisbee. We even consulted YouTube for some flight lessons. Practice is still needed.

A day or two later Ben convinced Nate to come out for a demonstration. With Nate standing about ten feet behind, Ben flung into the wind. The boomerang made a beautiful arc out, around, and headed back. Nate was quite impressed as Ben got into position to catch it. Then Ben realized the boomerang was coming in a bit too fast to be caught and did what any sensible person would do...he ducked. Nate had no time to react when the thing hit him in the neck. It left a pretty good mark. He is now quite convinced as to the effectiveness of this as an Aborigine hunting weapon.

CRACKING UP—FINALLY
I should note here that Nate’s voice has begun to change. There’s still a hint of the boyhood soprano, but he’s sounding deeper now. Just as it was odd to first hear Ben’s voice grow deeper, it’s odd to hear Nate make the adjustment too. He’d say its about time. Both boys are growing. Nate has topped 5’ 9” and Ben is approaching 6’ 4”.

Joe