good advice

At school I frequently remind the students to pay attention and watch where they are going; they like to walk backwards or fling their coat over their head. I should have listened to my own advice this week, for I ran into the flag pole, right in front of 4 kindergarten classes. I was walking with them in from recess and was turned to adjust a little boy’s glasses for him. Smack! Fortunately having my head turned I hit the side of my head and wasn’t knocked out or knocked down. The bruise will remind me to “pay attention and watch where I am going.”

Also this week, January 18th, granddaughter Kaitlyn was born!

gerbils

We had gerbils many years ago when the four oldest boys were young. The boys liked to make mazes out of blocks and run the gerbils through them, among other entertaining things. One day Jesse (about 6 years old) picked up his gerbil by the tail and swung it around; who knows why. The swinging twisted the skin at the base of his tail, causing the skin to break and slide right off the tail. The gerbil went flying, leaving Jesse holding the empty tube of furry tail skin. What to do… We tried sliding the skin back on the tail and taping it, but it didn’t work. I actually can’t remember what finally happened, perhaps it was just so horrible my subconscious has blocked it. Thankfully Jesse won’t be doing THAT to Jim & Pam, they’ll just be terrorized by a cat with a penchant for furry little critters.

Jim & Pam

At a recent visit to the thrift store Jesse found an offer he couldn’t refuse: a small-animal cage with accessories. So he bought it. A trip to the pet store for two gerbils and he is now a proud father. The boys were worried about my reaction when he brought them home. Being “The Calm One,” I was calm, “What have you named them?” We talked it over and offered our suggestions, everything from cartoon characters (Mickey & Minnie, Donald & Daisy) to classics from literature and scriptures (The-brother-of-Jared & The-brother-of-Jared’s-wife). Jesse liked the simple Jim & Pam from “The Office” television show (although I thought he should have named one of them after me…). In case you haven’t guessed, one is male and one is female. We are very likely going to have more gerbils soon. I wonder that we don’t already have enough little critters running around what with Missy’s mice “friends” she brings in every few days. I guess I should be glad that these are caged, and glad Jesse is older now. He has done gerbils before, about 20 years ago… More on that tomorrow. Meanwhile, I am staying calm…

a land of milk and honey?

Five of my children have attended college in Utah where they've been exposed to many of the finer things of life, certain things Utah has which cannot be found here in Colorado. Namely fry sauce and apple beer. Now fry sauce is easily made at home by mixing simple ingredients from the refrigerator. But apple beer, well, there is just no substitute for the real thing. Last fall Jesse moved back to Colorado to attend graduate school and he has sorely missed apple beer. His siblings brought 14 2-liter bottles back with them at Thanksgiving, then another 7 at Christmas. And just this week, when he heard that his sister-in-law was making a trip over, Jesse arranged for Hannah to get another 14 2-liter bottles of the stuff to send back with her. There will be joy in the house tomorrow. Ah,Utah, a land flowing with milk and honey, if by milk and honey you mean apple beer and fry sauce.

The Calm One

It came out at work this week that I have six children. That revelation was quite astounding and impressive to my co-workers in the Special Ed. Department, the most any of them have is three. One of them commented, “No wonder you’re so calm, you’ve seen it all!” Perhaps that is why they appreciate me so much; calmness helps to diffuse The Angry one, compensate for The Lazy one, and tolerate The Know-it-All. It even helps secure The Quiet One and gives The Happy One an ally. Perhaps having six children also explains the wells of patience and compassion I have found within myself to adapt to the needs and limitations of the sped children. And so, thank-you, my own sweet children, for all the growing pains and learning curves we’ve been through together that have helped me become The Calm One.

tel-tale sign

The holidays are now behind us and everything is put away for another year. We spent yesterday organizing and packing away decorations from outside lights to 30-year old ornaments, poinsettias to Christmas music. Hannah cleaned her Christmas greeting off the picture window with the help of her brothers’ snowball barrage (to dissolve the paint). While I had the help of my children to move furniture, I also cleaned the living room from chandeliers to baseboards, bookshelves to piano bench, organizing and cleaning. It is a good way to start the year. I noticed last night a tell-tale sign of Christmas we had forgotten: the “blood” Hannah painted on our door Christmas Eve so that the “destroying angel” would pass by us and not “sleigh” us…