Simple pleasures

Recently I read a blog with this title. It was a list of simple things enjoyed by the blogger. Made me stop and think about what simple pleasures I enjoy. Here are a few.

Clean sheets
A baby’s laughter
Not having to set an alarm
Time to read without feeling guilty
Calls from my kids
My girlfriends
Snow
Breakfast food for dinner
Getting a mani/pedi
Watching the deer in the backyard
The crispy edges of brownies
Celebrating my birthday
Working the Sunday crossword puzzle
Football
My cat purring in my lap
Sharing bagels and the newspaper with Tommy
Daisies
A fire in the fireplace
Fall colors
Reconnecting with old friends

MFF

I took down my Christmas tree today. Now before you think I'm one of those "leave it up forever" people, let me explain. My decorations go up Thanksgiving weekend and normally come down about the 26th. However, our family celebrated Christmas January 24. This was the second annual Ward Family Christmas in January, and Utah was the destination of choice. Tommy and I wanted to have the tree up to make the celebration more realistic. Thus, the final "undecorating" happened today. (Most everything but the tree came down on the usual schedule.)

As I was taking ornaments off the tree, I indulged in a little trip down memory lane. Since the year we married, we've purchased an ornament each year that is embellished with the date. Some remind us of special events--the moose family ornament we bought on a family vacation to Yellowstone, and the 2002 Olympic-themed ornament from the year the winter Olympics were in Salt Lake City. Some remind us of special people--the snow globe with a small penguin because Tommy's mom loved penguins, the picture frame with a family portrait. Some remind us of special times--ceramic bells purchased in Del Rio, our first Air Force assignment location, a replica of the Rose Window in the National Cathedral in Washington DC that we bought on our first visit there.

But the memory that most moved me today, and brought me great joy, was the closeness of our family. Our children LIKE coming to visit mom and dad. They enjoy one another's company. Amber, our daughter-in-law, fits right in with the Ward quirkiness, which is awesome. We worked hard to achieve this as the kids were growing up. You see, we've never in almost 35 years of marriage had the typical 9-5 work day where everyone sat down to dinner together most nights. Between an Air Force career and an airline career, Tommy was often gone. I have always been a working mom (by choice). For a long time, I worried about how my children would turn out since we didn't have a "normal" lifestyle. Then one day a wise person told me, "but what you have is the 'normal' for your family." Huge burden lifted!

So, we created special family times. Mandatory Family Fun (MFF). Everybody had to participate and at least act like they were having a good time. Sometimes a movie together. Sometimes dinner out. Sometimes attending a sibling's school function. Sometimes trips. Sometimes working in the yard together. Sometimes organized and planned; sometimes spontaneous. But always with a goal of spending time together. Don't get me wrong. We got plenty of the "do I have to" whines and grumpy faces. But, we held firm on MFF activities and participation.

Now, the kids sometimes are the ones who initiate MFF. The Christmas in January was their idea. And I am so thankful God blessed us with this result. And with such great kids.

Football Fantasy

Do you realize we only have four football games left this season???? I'm mourning already. I LOVE football! And really miss it once the season is over. The Longhorns are my college team, since I graduated from UT. I oscillate between pro teams. Was a die-hard Houston Oilers fan, followed them to Tennessee (especially when Vince Young was drafted to play there, and have enjoyed watching the Houston Texans mature into a fairly good team. Can't stand the Dallas Cowboys. However, I'll watch just about any pro game.

So this year, I decided to give Fantasy Football a try. I like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable about football (even toyed with the idea of becoming a sports caster while in college). But, my foray into the fantasy world made me realize that's not the case. To succeed at fantasy football, you need to study/know who the best players are in each position. I can name good quarterbacks and running backs but am useless when it comes to tight ends or special teams. And, I had no motivation to learn any more than I can glean from watching lots of games and the local sports broadcasts. That was the other realization from the season. Fantasy Football takes LOTS of time. I have friends who play in three and four leagues. Don't have a clue how they stay on top of making sure they have all the positions filled for each game in each league. It was all I could do to be ready in one.

My season wasn't a total flop. I did win a few games but no one in my league was frightened at the prospect of playing my team. That's OK. It was fun. I might even play again next year. But I'm not giving up my day job to try to become the perky sideline reporter any time soon.

Sonshine

Tommy and I were in Seattle last weekend. It was raining when we left. Imagine that, rain in Seattle. :) I happened to get a window seat on the plane and watched as we took off. What started as gray skies, dark clouds, and pouring rain turned to brilliant sunshine when we broke through the clouds. It stayed that way until we landed in Salt Lake City.

I couldn't help but think that sometimes that's the way we envision God when things are not going as we planned. All we see are gray skies, dark clouds, and pouring rain and assume He's left us. But, the Son is still shining brilliantly on the other side of our worries. We've just shifted our focus a bit.

Let us always remember the words of Deuteronomy 31:6, "...the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."

First Birthday Party

Surprise! Bet you were expecting pictures of a toddler. My siblings and I gave my mom a birthday party for her 75th birthday. It was a huge success, and she loved it. When it was done, she told us we would never know how much the day meant to her; because this was the first birthday party she'd ever had. That brought a few tears among the sisters. Can you imagine living to be 75 and never having had a birthday party?!?!? My grandmother tried to host a birthday party for mom's 10th birthday. But a neighbor girl went to school and invited the entire class. This was during World War II when my grandfather was away at war. The family had $25 to live on for the month, so there wasn't enough money to have everyone over. The party had to be cancelled.

We were fortunate to be able to have the party in a Victorian home in Texas City, my home town. It was a beautiful setting (and meant we didn't have to do a lot of decorating). More than 50 of Mom's friends stopped by to wish her well. Mom knew about the party but didn't know exactly what we were doing. We arranged for her to arrive a few minutes before the guests began coming so she could see the cake and table decorations and we could enjoy her reaction.

The cake served as the centerpiece and was spectacular. My sister, Diane, found a baker on Craig's List. Diane wanted the cake to represent things in Mom's life. The baker did an excellent job--and even drove over an hour to get the cake to the party. Each layer was a different delicious flavor. The bottom layer is a suitcase. Mom loves to travel. Three dice were resting on the suitcase. Mom has played Bunco for 47 years and is a charter member of her club. Dots on the dice added to 75. The top layer is a red hat. Mom has been queen of her red hat group since it began, and she loves the monthly activities. Diane and my sister-in-law, Lynn, did a great job of capturing the essence of mom--lots of fun, world traveler, loyal, and a wonderful friend.

For the table, we took a long length of ribbon and tied a knot for every decade of Mom's life. The ribbon wound around the table. Starting on one end to represent 1934, we placed replicas of things that had been invented or happened during Mom's lifetime along with pictures of her in the appropriate decade. Then, each child added something to represent a special connection between them and Mom. For example, the first overseas trip Mom made was with my dad to Germany in 1988 to visit Tommy and I when we were stationed there. I put the hat my dad bought while there and a picture of the three of us at one of the places we visited on the table. The table and the cake were huge hits!!

The next day we had a family gathering at my brother's house. He loves to cook on the grill and prepared racks of ribs, sausages, and brisket. Good friends brought potato salad and deviled eggs. Actually, several people brought deviled eggs. We had four or five dozen. I can assure you none went to waste. More than 30 people came by to visit and eat. There was birthday cake from the party for dessert.

A wonderful celebration for a wonderful mom!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The End of an Era

My brother and sister-in-law recently bought a new house in Santa Fe, Texas. It is large enough that my mom moved in with them. With their move from Texas City, all my ties to my home town are now gone. Don't feel too bad for me. Santa Fe is only 14 miles from Texas City, so it's not like I can't go back--there's just no reason for me to go. Feels just a bit like I've abandoned a friend.

Texas City sits between Houston and Galveston on Interstate 45. It's not really a town you drive through. You have to exit the freeway and make the effort to drive into town. It's a port and the southern end of town is lined with refineries. It used to be home to one of only two tin smelters in the world. Fishing and water sports are big. Every summer the city celebrates Tackle Time, a type of fishing rodeo, that culminates on July 4th with a fireworks show over the water. It was a big deal to drive out on the dike, a man-made peninsula that jutted five miles into Galveston Bay, to see who was winning in the rodeo and see the biggest shark or stingray hanging on the scaffolding. (However, it was wise to keep the windows rolled up in the car. Dead fish and warm temperatures don't mix well.) Unfortunately, Hurricane Ike destroyed the dike.

Not much has changed in the city since I moved away more than 30 years ago. The restaurants have changed names, but the buildings are the same. The only high school looks exactly as it did when I graduated in 1972--although work began this summer on a new school building. The entire town celebrates Friday night football games. Palmer Highway is still the main street in town, and it only takes 10 minutes to drive from one end to the other. Residents still drive to Houston to shop. Although most have changed hands, the refineries still line the edge of town. Shipley's Do-nuts still makes the best chocolate filled donuts you've ever tasted.

I think it's that constancy and familiarity that I will miss. I may have to borrow Mom's car and drive back every once in a while just to make sure all is where it should be.

Home again, home again; jiggity jig....

My mom used to say that whenever we'd been out running errands or away from the house for most of the day. Recently, I was with her and quoted her line when we pulled into the garage. She told me the rest of the rhyme goes,"Off to the market to look for a pig; Home again, home again, jiggity jig." Don't know about the looking for a pig part, but I am definitely glad to be home again after a busy month.

You've seen the post about the girlfriends' visit to Seattle. The weekend after that I traveled to Hurricane, Utah for a staff retreat. (It's not pronounced like the storm, but "her ih cun" with the emphasis on the first syllable.) Hurricane is in southern Utah about 15 miles north of St. George in what is known as Utah's Dixie. It's a beautiful setting in the red rock country. My boss co-owns a home there, and the entire staff and their spouses travel down for a weekend of planning, fellowship, and fun. We get a lot done. But, it's also a lot of time on the road--five hours each way. Although, we do have fun on the drive as well. Last year we discovered one of our employees is a whiz at TV sitcom jingles. And you thought full-time Christian work was always serious! :) And we bring enough snacks to feed an army for weeks. You know how Baptists are when it comes to eating. :)

The following Thursday, I flew to Texas to help my mom pack to move. My brother and sister-in-law bought a house big enough for all three of them to live in comfortably, so the whole crew moved last Saturday. My sisters and I came to help mom get ready for the movers. Hooray for not having to move everything!! Packing was tiring enough. We didn't get finished by Sunday, so I stayed until Wednesday. We got mom completely packed and had time for some fun--Sunday breakfast with mom and the siblings at IHOP, Whataburgers for dinner at my brother's, and a quick trip with my mom's girlfriends to Coldwater Creek. Those ladies can shop!!

In case you're having trouble following when I was gone and when I was home, I was gone August 6-9, 14-16, and 20-26. I love to travel but I was REALLY glad to be home.

It gave me a new appreciation for what Tommy goes through every week as a pilot. A few days at home followed by a few days on the road--sleeping in a different bed each night and eating every meal out (assuming there's a restaurant open at 4 a.m. or midnight). Often adjusting to a new time zone multiple times in one day. Coming home and trying to catch up on what needs to be done here. Missing family. Yet, he does it with a smile on his face and a love for what he does. Thanks, Tommy. You're the best!