Tag Archives: family

Summer’s Simple Pleasures

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~  A June evening: flowers, fading light,
hand shovels, mosquitoes,
grandsons and daughter-in-law

 

~  In praise of perennials,
SO worth the extra money up front.

This purple and yellow plant was a 2008 Mother’s Day
gift from our church.  It  came back!  happy sighs…

~ While we’ve been pottering with perennials,
our guys have been getting wood for the winter.
They came across a nursing fawn.
Alas, the picture size was too large to post.

~  My vote for Salad of the Summer
I’ve made it a dozen times already this year.
Refreshing, tasty, a twist of heat, crunchy cashews.
Yum!

~ Coming down the home stretch of
D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II.
Two things about this book:
1. I’m relieved that even though I’m working FT,
I can still get through weighty books. Just takes more time.
2. However difficult or thorny a challenge may present itself,
my life is easy compared to the soldiers of D-Day.

~ Remember the Six Panel Door aka the Christian Door?
How about this architecture feature (front upper windows)
in my friend’s new house?

~ Last year I joined the 100 Species Challenge.
This is a *life* project, folks.
Jessie gave me cute little copper garden tags
which help my wispy, lacy memory.

     

The Grands

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Gavin was seriously smitten with our friend’s horse.
He opened and sustained negotiations to buy it
with three dollars and a wagonful of determination.
Gavin had already changed the horse’s name.
(He also dealt with the disappointment of
not getting his way with manly courage.)

I got to “nanny” Preston last weekend while his Mama
designed flowers and stuff. 
It was gangs of fun.
You can barely see the dimple on his right cheek.

 
Noah is just too far away for this Nana.
I want to gaze into those baby blues.
And feel those teeth.
And watch him rock and roll.

Tip for Closed Eyes in Photos

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Jim – an excellent  wedding photographer – gave me the best photography tip EVER.  When I was in Pennsylvania we had to take the requisite family pictures. 

“I’m sorry, but my eyes are always closed in pictures.  I try not to blink to no avail.” I apologized in advance.

“Here’s what you do.” Jim replied. “I will count to three and you blink on two.  Your eyes will be open in every picture.”

It works!  Blink on two.  Profound!  Have you heard of that? 

Now if I could only learn to shut my mouth.


My six sibs and me

8 Uptakes

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1.   I still regard air travel with wide-eyed wonder.  That we could wake up in Pennsylvania and go to sleep in Oregon is in the realm of miraculous.  My favorite part of flying?  The thirty seconds before the air leaves the ground…feeling those g-forces, oh yeah!

2.   Relaxed brides are a blessing.  I quote my niece Faith:  All I ever wanted was a Cinderella dress and Gerber daisies.  She got that and a whole lot more beauty.  Photos (and flowers) by Tiffany, the wedding coordinator.  One of the pleasures of playing the piano for weddings is a clear view of the groom’s face as the bride comes down the aisle.  This groom’s smile was wider than the Mississippi. 

3.   Small world stories are more fun than bubble wrap and your very own box of sparklers.  We made a rip-roaring, over-the-moon connection this weekend.  Our old family friends were in my small town -unaware that I lived here- last summer to see their friends in the region that belong to me too!  Did they [mutual friends] know you were a Harper?  Um, no, I don’t normally go around announcing my maiden name.

4.    Our hotel was next to the cemetery where my niece is buried.  Ellie’s journey on earth was too short, one brief day in 1985.  A group of us hiked up the hill to see the heart-shaped stone above her grave.  I love the impulse of my siblings to mark and share that loss.  I wish dear Ellie were still with us.

5.   A delightful surprise was an impromptu drum recital (!) given by my sister-in-law, who surely gets the Lifetime Learner Award.  At sixty, she’s acted on a desire to learn to play the drums.  You know: the whole drum set thing.  My brother drops her off for lessons and they have a date night afterward.  How cool is that?

6.  My sister and her husband made heroic efforts to be with us.  Limited mobility and chronic pain are part and parcel of her life.  Yet you will never hear her complain.  She amazed all of us with her determination and gumption.

7.   My nephew shared his pictures from a trip he took with his sister (my niece) to eastern Turkey.  I was amazed at the Armenian Cathedral ruins at Ani.   




check out the story of Jonah and the whale

8.   As a large family whose parents are gone, we don’t have the best track record for staying in touch.  After such a great time together we have renewed intentions to meet again…sooner than later.  The older I get, the more I understand the Jewish words of parting: next year in Jerusalem.  Our Jerusalem may be St. Paul, MN, and we hope it might included a performance of Prairie Home Companion.  

Also file in the Renewed Intentions File: trip to NYC to see my nephew, an Art History major, for a few days of art museums; The Sturdy Shoes Trip (what my sister-in-law and I call our dream of a children’s literature tour of the UK). 

My Life is a Visa Commercial

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Airline tickets:  $430
Motel: $360

Two hours with my father’s friend and colleague — all of my siblings and spouses, and several of our kids — listening to stories about my dad and mom….priceless.  Dr. Smith worked with my dad from 1959 until his death in 1987.

The wedding was beautiful, the reception was lovely, and the music went swimmingly. 

But the hallmark of this trip, I believe, will be those hours of laughter, tears, questions, revelations.  The winks and nods and fingers lovingly pointed by the spouses when a certain trait of my father’s was described.  That’s you, babe.

Priceless.  Unforgettable. 

A gift.

Bonus: my husband and oldest son shared the experience. 

Wendell Berry’s Mother

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To My Mother

by Wendell Berry

<!– (from Entries) –>

I was your rebellious son,
do you remember? Sometimes
I wonder if you do remember,
so complete has your forgiveness been.

So complete has your forgiveness been
I wonder sometimes if it did not
precede my wrong, and I erred,
safe found, within your love,

prepared ahead of me, the way home,
or my bed at night, so that almost
I should forgive you, who perhaps
foresaw the worst that I might do,

and forgave before I could act,
causing me to smile now, looking back,
to see how paltry was my worst,
compared to your forgiveness of it

already given. And this, then,
is the vision of that Heaven of which
we have heard, where those who love
each other have forgiven each other,

where, for that, the leaves are green,
the light a music in the air,
and all is unentangled,
and all is undismayed. 

~     ~     ~

I received a keeper Mother’s Day card in the mail yesterday.  Here’s one sentence from it:

I honor you for the hard work, blood, sweat and tears

that you poured into me as a child and want you to know

that these have been small seeds planted in my life;

but they have reaped a bounty of blessings on me.

This same son wrote a Mother’s Day note when we had been reading Milton.  It began

To my precious,

I love you more than false Unas

or a damnéd sprite

a sentiment that made me laugh (you have to read the Faerie Queen to get it) and rejoice both.

Easter Monday

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From the view of the sunrise outside our front door
to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof as we fell asleep,
Easter was a magnificent, glorious, rich celebration.

Today, Easter Monday, is a day of hugs and good-byes
with family returning to their homes,
a day for the washing machine to exert itself,
a day of putting away,
a day of happy, contented sighs.

I read somewhere that in Greek villages,
they celebrate Easter Monday with practical jokes,
reflecting the cosmic “joke” of Christ’s resurrection.
It is a holiday in many countries, a designation I fully support.
I think I’ll take a walk.

 

Good and Pleasant

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Two years and three weeks separate my oldest sons. 

For years, their differences caused further separation.  Different gifts, different dispositions.  One was defiant, one compliant.  One was a straight-forward rebel; one was underhanded. The typical tensions that beset firstborns and second-borns wormed their way into our house.  I don’t want to overstate the case: the rivalry did not brew hatred.  But the competition was more than evident.   

Sibling relationships are seldom simple.

But sometimes, siblings offer some of the best friendships around. 

Watching my boys this week brings me joy incapable of containment.  Delight and approval in their role as daddy and as husband overcome me.  How much fun is it to have my sons instruct me on holding my grandsons in the most comfortable manner? 

And the pleasantness continues.  To see the friendship between brothers grow and expand is as refreshing as an ice-cold drink on a blistering day.  When one of our three-month babies fusses, his uncle is just as likely to pick him up and comfort him as his father. 

The unity between them is evidenced in a particularly special way.  Their differences in theology are not an occasion for division between them.  One son holds to believer baptism and one son holds to paedo baptism.  Tomorrow, little Noah will be baptized and the whole family will be there as witnesses.  At some future date, Preston and Gavin will be baptized and the whole family will be there to rejoice.  And, thanks be to God, there is no tension. 

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity! 

Pneumonia

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Our baby Noah has pneumonia.  Noah is three weeks old today.

We had an excellent visit with Carson and Taryn and Noah which culminated in worship Sunday morning and lunch at The Cedars, my favorite Seattle restaurant (Indian/Mediterranean food).  As the day progressed Noah’s breathing became more labored.  After x-rays and blood tests, he was diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia and admitted to the hospital for a few days. 

We didn’t know as we listened to a sermon on I Peter 1:3-9 that God was preparing us for a trial.  But what better words to have ringing in your ears in a moment of crisis than:

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Please pray for Noah’s healing and for Carson’s strength and leadership and especially, my dear friends, — especially for Taryn.  It is so hard for new moms when their baby suffers.

From the Lutheran Book of Prayer (I’ve prayed this prayer several times in the past years.  I especially appreciate the second section.):

For a Member of the Family in Danger

O God, our ever present Help in trouble,
we beseech Thee to be with us in this hour of danger and distress.
Keep us calm, confident, trustful.
Thou art with us.
See us through this trying hour.
Let us not doubt that Thou canst help to the uttermost.
O Lord, we put all our trust in Thee.

Thy will be done, O God.
Let it be a gracious will and grant us grace to believe that all is well for time and eternity.
Today we look through a glass, darkly, but there is no darkness around Thy throne.
Even in these anxious moments we praise Thee, because we put all our trust in Thee.

O Lord, uphold us.
Do not forsake us.
Look upon us in mercy and forgive us our sins.

Strengthen our faith.
Give us courage.
Keep us calm and composed.
Bring peace to our souls.
Protect our loved one and, above all, preserve us all in Thy grace
now and forevermore, for the sake of our Redeemer,
Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Amen.

**UPDATE** After an uneventful day, Noah and his parents are planning on one more night in the hospital.  Things look good and, Lord willing, they will come home tomorrow.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers.

Paper Boy No More

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New Year’s Day was the first day in 15+ years that one of my sons didn’t trudge out to deliver papers.

One paper route passed down through three boys.  With their earnings from the route, they purchased:

Three cars
One truck
Three motorcycles
One mountain bike
A snowboard
A computer

The car was always the first big purchase.  Our only rule was “Pay Cash.”  By the time each guy was 15 and had a permit, he had found a car to buy and had saved enough money for it.  They all loved counting out those hundred dollar bills.

Sometimes the route was a pain in the patootie.  How many times did a son suddenly realize–the night before we were leaving for a trip–he had forgotten to get a substitute?  Frantic phone calls followed.  It has become harder than ever to find a reliable sub.  There were no Sunday papers.  The only other day off was Christmas Day.  Sports schedules and fun activities had to be worked around the daily need to deliver the (afternoon) papers.

But many great lessons were learned. 

The biggest lesson, I believe, was respect.  We have many older folks on our route, for whom receiving the paper is The Highlight of their day.  Each boy had to be taught to respect his customers even when he thought it was lame to be so attached to ink and paper.  Learning the preferences of 50-70 subscribers took patience and perserverance. 

Another lesson was courage.  One grouchy lady scared Chris so much, he didn’t collect from her for six months!  He would rather pay for her paper himself than ask her for money.  (We found that out waaaay after the fact!) One man-curmudegeon would be too kind of a word-opened the door, saw a young boy and never failed to respond: “What the #*$&% do you want?”  Carson inadvertently missed collecting from him for several months; with shaking knees he had to explain and ask for the back money owed.  Even I was scared; but I made him deal with it himself!

The boys also had to be taught discretion.  I checked the Sexual Offenders list to see who might be living on our route.  I wanted them to be wary of too-friendly neighbors. 

Organization is the key to life, my sister-in-law says.  Learning to keep track of payments was an important part of the job.  Carson did his best to convert as many customers to “Office Pay” before he handed the route to Collin.  “Collecting” was the bane of the boys.  I couldn’t believe the few folks who tried to stiff the boys, put them off, continually ask them to come back. 

Friendship was the biggest benefit. So often when I took my turn substituting, customers along the way would stop me to compliment the boys, ask about the older ones or just chat.  If Collin took longer than usual collecting, I knew that he was in the living room of one of our neighbors telling hunting stories. A while back when Carson and Taryn were home for a visit, we saw Mrs. Whitmore working in her front yard.  We stopped the car and said hi (she always liked Carson a lot) and introduced Taryn to her.  A few months later she died of a stroke.  We have enjoyed the kind comments and notes from customers.  I sigh; I say Yay!  The end of an era has arrived.