My Firstborn is 35! I am older....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I am trying to stay calm...Paul David is 35 tomorrow at 3:24 pm. I cannot avoid the fact that he has reached an age at which I thought people were adults, old, grown-up, mature, done being children! But he is my son, my baby, my firstborn...how can this be?

I clearly remember the day we found out he was actually growing within my body. It was so mysterious, one day I am a teller at a bank and the next minute I am expecting a little human being. Nothing was the same and yet everything was the same!
His father and I read all of the right books, tried to stay calm and yet kept wondering why nobody realized we were NOT ready for parenthood! We were young, foolish, uneducated in parenting, only married 2 years and certainly could not handle the possibilities that a having a child might bring. For crying out loud, who even knew how to change a diaper? Keep in mind this is before the Internet that could have shown me a YouTube video on how to do it, before car seats were for anyone but the very wealthy, before childbirth was taken over by qualified hospitals and doctors and snatched from the hands of Midwives(tongue solidly in cheek ). There were already rumors that this bearing of a child and raising him to adulthood would most likely wipe out our savings...if we had one. One child per family, please, two at the most, and this was my first! Oh My Goodness.

I had him! His father watched the World Series, I recall, as I labored and birthed this 8 lb. 2 oz. package, then glibly waved to me as I was wheeled by thinking death had arrived disguised as childbirth. He could not be 'with me' since in 'those days' we had to have attended a birthing class together and since I worked(remember I am a Bank Teller?) and his dad worked the night shift, there were no classes available. So he smugly watching TV(Yes they had TV back then!) while I did the job set before me.

His grandmother, my mom, living a few states away, arrived before we left the hospital[one had to stay 3 days back then] and promptly sobbed at first sighting. I could NOT understand this, since she had just met the child and she had known me 23 years and I didn't see her crying at seeing ME! How curious, I thought, until May 1, 2001. Fast forward to Eliot Raymond's arrival and my need for Kleenex as an accessory.

This firstborn son was indeed the wonder of the world I lived in, bringing me joy and pain, laughter and tears, singing and groaning, frolicking and fretting, but always thankfulness and hope and wonder that God would entrust me to raise one of His little blessed children to adulthood, should I be so blessed. And I was.

Paul is one of the most intelligent men I know, next to his father, and his faithfulness to his family is cause for me to be proud to know him. He is a strong leader, secure in the knowledge that his talents and gifts are being well used and were given him for a reason of importance by His God. He calls himself a follower of Jesus, and follows Him well. The path he has been given has not been easy and yet he stays the course, oftentimes walking on the path without a map. But he always has a compass, the Son is always his true north, and he causes me great joy and peace. Peace because on my own path, when I wanted to give up, I have glanced his way and seen a Man walking along,steady and strong, the very same man whom I didn't know how to diaper...

I am so glad God trusted me with this son. I love him. Happy Birthday PD.
I was and always will be Big B.

The Perfect Day

It is so easy to get caught up in the urgent daily struggles and stresses, obsessing and complaining and worrying about each one. It is less easy to remember to 'stop and smell the chrysanthemums.'(OK, the original is roses but that is so lame and common and it is Fall after all). I am as guilty as the next and am feeling the need to remedy that situation here and now. Today is sunny, in the low 70*'s and beautiful, especially after worshipping God at church this morning and remembering His grace in my life. But that is not the perfect day of which I speak.

Yesterday was the Perfect day.
I had a good night's sleep and that began the morning well, and when I poured my first freshly brewed cup of Brasilian coffee with International Creamer making it taste more like dessert than coffee, I was as content as my cat sleeping in the sun.

Grandson Ethan arrived for the day with a smile and a jump. He always gives a little jump when he arrives, then makes a beeline for the dog.


Then he and I played a bit and headed to Aunt Margie's house where 2 champion soccer players and games were scheduled at noon. Ethan was beside himself with anticipation so I just moved the time forward and off we went!

Soccer is in my blood and the thought of watching a game with my son-in-law coaching and grandsons playing is always cause for joy. When I arrived at their home there were 3 bikers in the driveway, a granddaughter moving her way next to my car door and another little girl bouncing out the door. The "Hi Grammy"'s were quickly followed by the 'watch me Grammy's' and I eagerly obliged. We had a couple of wipe-outs, a game playing request, a pair of arms yanking at my pant leg and a little boy in the car grinning from ear to ear. Six little wonders within 3 feet of me, do you feel the warmth and love??

Off to the Games!


Watching Eliot(the 7 year old) and Jesse(the 5 year old)play soccer, while babysitting Ethan (the 2 1/2 yr old) and still paying attention to Simon (the 6 yr old) and Nora(the 3 yr old) and Bianca (the cuddly 2 yr old) is a challenge for the best Grammy in town , but this Grammy is also passionate about photography, so my hands were quite full. Literally.









But I managed, happily and have about 50 pictures to prove it.

After the rousingly exciting games Ethan and I packed up and headed North to visit the cousins in Boyertown. We had a nice ride and other than the annoying road construction which has the potential to take away from the nice part, the trip went smoothly.

On the schedule for the Boyertown visit was Aidan's first haircut and at almost 2 years of age, this was a highly anticipated photo op for Grammy and emotional melt-down day for Mom. I had my haircut first and mom explained to Aidan that he needed to sit still and take off his glasses and be a quiet boy , see Grammy? We took a before picture(of course).



As Aidan climbed into his chair he reached up and removed his glasses...oh my, my heart melted.



Mommy let out a scream after the first cut, but other than that momentary distraction,Aidan and Grammy love our new haircuts !!







The day was almost over and still to come was a visit from two of our close friends , Muoy and Ron, who brought dinner! As Muoy and Becca made jasmine rice, pork chops and green beans with apple dumplings, I was outside watching the 2 year olds play. Such a normal activity, and yet I was focused on enjoying the moments individually and refusing to not savor every event. Aidan and Ethan decided to pick the green tomatoes, and after mom told them not to , I noticed a lingering in the garden area, so I investigated. There, on the ground under his boot, Aidan had 'hidden' the tiny tomato so as to make sure mommy didn't see it!






Dinner came after a long day of fun and I was so thankful to be sitting among these gifts of mine.



It is oftentimes easy to complain about my Isabel and Ava living so far away , it is easy to fuss about the hot or cold weather not being just right. It is often my voice heard among the gripers who moan and groan about aches and pains. I am too often found wondering what life would be like if my husband were still here, if the sons still living at home were on their own, if the cat disappeared or the dog ran away!! Why? Why am I unable to JUST BE? Just BE THANKFUL?! Just BE CONTENT?!

I memorized a portion of God's Word in the book of Psalms when I was younger and as I was writing this Blog it kind of jumped out of my normally jumbled mind. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

My Perfect Day. It was like any other Autumn Saturday in many ways, but in the most important way it was different. The difference was in how I appreciated it and how I mentally noted the Goodness of the Lord in every single moment.

I think I will have alot more Perfect Days..it isn't that hard.
Thanks for Lunch Carolyn! You gave me a head start on today!!

Diversity and Tolerance

The last few days have been causing me to challenge some of the current politically correct decisions of the day. I have spouted off at work and realized nobody even dares comment on something if it is a topic of a religious nature. It seems politics is fair game, but religion is still off the chart.

So what else is a Blog for? along with freedom of speech and growth in grace, I am covered adequately and will sound off.

Rosh Hashannah, the immediate reason for my Blogging, is being celebrated by the Jewish Community , one of their 2 more Holy holidays. I am told that Yom Kippur is holier, and that is next Thursday. I have co-workers and know of people who will miss work and school and not even be questioned because of this stated holiday. The last 2 days my co-worker has fled the scene of work and all because of the holidays. Now she also celebrated early this last weekend with friends because they traveled better then, but she still wanted off on the holiday. Also, to add to the wonder of it all, she is not a practicing Jewish person as she has told me it is too expensive to be part of a Synagogue.

Further, this is the second person who has told me they do not participate in the Synagogue because of expense! I was shocked and saddened that God cannot be worshipped by them corporately because of the dollar.

My surprise was made more profound as I saw that not only was all homework cancelled in the school I work in for 2 days because of these holidays, but also the news media announced that Congress would be 'closed until Thursday ' because of the Jewish Holidays!! Now our country is in a financial crisis, according to all of the people in the know, and yet Rosh Hashannah has shut down Congress! I mentioned that perhaps God was OK with Congress fixing the mess of our country this week, and was looked at as if I had threatened the Pope. Oh my, I am just wondering what is going on here.

When I was growing up, many , many years ago, the celebrations of religions other than Christianity was barely mentioned publicly. I am not saying whether this is right or wrong, as that would be yet another Blog. What i am saying is that now it is not only mentioned but flaunted in front of us as if to ignore it was blasphemous.

I am all for diversity and tolerance. I love the dialogue that ensues when someone discovers a truth that they had never experienced , as when I read that on Rosh Hashannah you eat a round Challah Bread to signify the New Year being full of new seasons and ever circling round. I rarely meet people I do NOT like, no matter their race or religions. I think it is healthy and wonderful to teach our families of other religions and ideas. What I find uncomfortable and unfair is that the Jewish Holidays, or any others for that matter, are held HIGHER than the others. Everyone in the USA gets off for Thanksgiving, a traditionally Christian observance of Thankfulness to God . Can't I, a practicing believer in Jesus Christ, otherwise known as a Christian, celebrate and get off work early because of something on my calendar?

My daughter suggested this morning that when we go to our cabin and write Christmas
cards this fall, we call it a Holy Holiday and skip out of work early because it can be called Holy. Let me see if I can convince Congress to shut down then....there isn't much reason for them to be open in November anyway.


I'm just thinking out loud.