Siblings

I find myself thinking about sibling relationships from time to time. I've had some down time and I've used it to scan old family photos and documents. Pictures that show the interaction between siblings are some of my favorites. In the photo below, I don't look look terribly pleased next to my baby sister M.

My sister K will have her own baby baptized this weekend. She gave us less than a week's notice with regard to the date. That's her style. As difficult as it will be, we want to travel and attend. It seems to me that it's something important within a family - to be there for events like weddings and baptisms. Sometimes God allows us to be there for our siblings during more difficult times (I'm remembering a time I traveled to DE to be with K when she was in the hospital with food poisoning. I swore then I would avoid food borne illness at all costs).


My own children get along marvelously - a situation I don't take for granted. This morning, as they were getting ready for school, I marveled at how they help each other get ready - packing lunches, checking the time, or lending a needed pencil or two


The oldest just passed his driving test this Monday. This morning (Thursday), he had his first accident. The roads were very covered with ice and although he had pushed the breaks in time (under normal conditions), the truck slid another 4 feet into the side of another car.


His brother was riding with him. I imagine that, long into the future, he will be there for his brother to retell the story.

Approaching a Birthday

February 5th is my birthday. I have very fond memories of childhood birthday celebrations. In particular, I remember going to a rollerskating rink (Skate 98!)with a group of friends, circling the floor hundreds and hundreds of times around a disco ball with loud music overhead. I kept on skating through spills and blisters. The DJ announced my birthday and we ate pizza in a private room.


This year I asked for a cannoli donut. Imagine that the most amazing fry cake married a chocolate chip cannoli and they had a baby. That's the sweet treat offered by Donuts Delite, a pizza-donut shop that is located a good hour away from our home.


On Saturday we took hogs to market and on the way back through the city, we found our way to Donuts Delite. My birthday wish came true! I have a second birthday fantasy and it's really quite silly. Immature even.I wish to sing "clavado en un bar" with friends. In Spanish. In a bar.


I have no lost love to mourn. I'm WAY BEYOND drowning my sorrows in public. Two beers and I'm pretty much satisfied (and full). I simply miss Spain, spending hours with friends around a table munching on tapas, and singing without specific regard to tone. Join me if you will. "Drowning in a bar" (translation) for no other reason except, it's my birthday!

The Weekends

Psalms 55:6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Weekends are still a novelty. Until mid-October of last year, I worked most, if not all, Saturdays and Sundays. Mr. WestBerryDad was more than a "weekend warrior." He shuffled the children to games and practices, took the boys to church, and spent Sunday evenings preparing homework and uniforms for the next day. I fell out of the cycle of "living for the weekend." A day off, any day off, was a welcome. Weekends taste sparkly and sweet like soda pop, when you haven't felt carbonation on your tongue for an extended period of time. I love having the chance to watch movies, sitting side by side with my husband and my children on the coach (two couches, six people...not much room to recline.) I love sledding, going to the donut shop for coffee, and lingering after church to talk to folks we don't know very well. Deeeelicious!

Booked Solid

The boys are involved in several terrific organizations, including Boy Scouts, the church youth group and the school marching band. The two oldest sing and play instruments. They perform often. I've read the good advice from Dr. Dobson and others who warn about "over scheduling" children. I measure every invitation carefully against the week's schedule, the child's age, and whether or not its the boy's turn to have a social engagement. I try to make family a priority, keep the child on track with homework and chores, and to discourage spending time with other families who don't share our values. I don't tend to search our MORE to do, unless something applies to a current educational interest. Yet, we are overbooked. Tonight the 6 year old will have a friend stay overnight. Still, this child needs to leave the house tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. with his dad and the Cub Scouts for a Winteree. Today the teens will lift weights after school, attend choir practice and play practice, and then celebrate "Twelth Night" with a formal dinner and dancing. THEN they will go to an overnight lock in, where their band will play a 3 hours set. The dad will chaperone until 2 a.m. Are you , dear reader, keeping track of all this? All I know is that there is a lot of food and equipment to pack! I hope the little boy who is visiting tonight doesn't get lost in the shuffle!

Worn

Lyrics from "Worn" by 10th Avenue North Let me see redemption win Let me know the struggle ends That you can mend a heart That’s frail and torn I wanna know the sun can rise From the ashes of a broken life And all that’s dead inside can be reborn Cause all that’s dead inside will be reborn Though I’m worn Yeah I’m worn Yesterday I ran into a colleague and good friend at the library. She asked me how I was doing, given the "shorter" break between semesters this year. We have only two weeks "off" from meetings and professional development and three weeks between classes. She herself had just finished grading the day before, as she governs a course designed for high school students. Their calendar differs from the college calendar. She also told me that she travels twice a week to help her daughter, a cancer survivor who is oxygen dependent. She felt tired, as if she were always running behind. On the same day I caught Chip Ingram's series, "Spiritual Simplicity." He is currently working in a Silicon Valley megachurch. He speaks to people whose lives are extremely complex and fast paced. I know all too well the feeling of persistent, deep fatigue. It seems that every Christmas I find myself sick, worn out by work, holiday preparations, and some virus. This year it took four full days of sleep to be able to stand for any length of time and then two weeks to clear up the cough and mucus. But between Fall 2012 and Winter 2013 I've had time to build my courses and rest. It's wonderful to have the strength to face projects and to think more clearly. Now "let the joy of the Lord be my strength."

A Creative Space

We've done a good deal of room shifting lately. When we saw the reality of stuffing four teenage boys, a drum set, several large amps and music stands into the smallest room in the house,the former music room, we allowed our oldest son to take over the "man room" as his new music room. The piano was already there (along with the needed electrical outlets). Boys #3 and #4, who had shared a bedroom for many years, began to argue at bed time. It became clear that they each needed some personal space. Over the Christmas vacation, we moved one boy to a back storage room and the other "traded spaces" with his older brother. The older brother adopted an entertainment center and the cideo game console, leaving the "common room" as... storage? (Yes, needed). Better yet, the common room has become my art sudio. It's a work in progress. This weekend we moved bookshelves and set up a card table. I'm in desperate need of lighting and more shelving. But for the first time in months I designed, cut, and pasted a mixed media project. It's a baby step. It felt awkward and painful. It's fantastic to have a creative space where I can bring everything I've collected together. I can tape things to the wall and leave projects half finished without fear of them being sabatoged. 2013 is off to a great start!

Boys Will Be Boys

I have a new temp job at a local energy/fertilizer company. Many of my coworkers are guys that I grew up with, showed cows in the 4-H with, drank beer around the bonfire with...Now they are truck drivers, salesmen, office managers and supervisors. As adults they still joke around like young boys. Yesterday two men, both in their forties, went outside to shovel show. A snowball war soon commenced, followed by pushing and shoving until someone face planted into a tall snow pile. They banged on my office window to make sure I was witness to it all. Boys will be boys. For me, it's more of the same. At home I'm surrounded by perpetual aggression, silly jokes, and air quality issues. My husband asked me if I'd like to come along to a Cub Scout winter activity. A day filled with boy-centered fun, physical activity and outdoor adventure. I felt as if he'd invited me to a torture session. He even seemed perplexed at my my reply, "No, thank you!" It's hard to explain, except to another mother of "all boys." Here is a video from an LA band I quite enjoy, Ozomatli. I laughed when I saw it this morning. More of the same... "La Gallina" by Ozomatli