The Good Old Days

Last week, Will bravely got on his knees and entered the storage space that runs along the eaves on one side of our house , accessed by doors from Craig’s room and Nick’s room. He quickly learned that Nick apparently used that space to “clean” his room more than once, as evidenced by the computer parts, clothing papers and other trash. Many stories and garbage bags later, with help from the boys who filled it up, the space is cleaned up and organized. Thank you, Will, that job would have done me in.

We had records stored in there from my daycare years, so Will has been shredding lots of papers. I looked through my calendars from some of those years, where I occasionally jotted little comments about what was going on. Life was sure different then.

I always referred to Nick as Nicholas back then. I was under the illusion that if I called him that, so would everyone else. He changed that when he started kindergarten. Like he’s going to write Nicholas when he can insist that he wants to be called Nick!

Anyway, here was my entry on Sunday, March 1, 1992: “Nicholas was dedicated at church this morning. He was very squirmy, Craig (age 5) was tickling his feet, Eric (age 3) was making Will’s watch beep. I thought it would never end!” How’s that for a meaningful remembrance of your last baby’s dedication? I had forgotten all about that! I love baby dedications, in fact there were two at church just this morning. Those babies were perfectly well behaved.

March 11 “Eric gets sword back” I was very careful at the time about having non-violent toys, but I did get a set from Rainbow West that included a plastic sword of the Spirit, shield of faith, and helmet of salvation. The boys loved it! I'm sure every time they played with it, they were fully cognizant of the spiritual significance of each item. I wonder what Eric did with that sword of the Spirit that caused him to lose it for a time? I do not remember!

Sept 10: Craig - “Mom did you put the spices in the salsa? …That’s the most important ingredient.” He started at age 6, and he is still trying to improve my cooking!

We skip a few years to 1994. Why, I wonder, is “Casey Karstens 926-3876” written on the calendar week of Feb 14? I have no idea.

The calendar pages show a record of seven daycare children’s hours, beginning at 7 am, in and out all day until the last one left around 4 pm. The days were filled with the weekly trip with the kids to the Indoor Park at the Boys and Girls Club, wrestling, Little League, swimming lessons, basketball, nursery duty, Caravans, soccer, a recipe for gak, top scores for Tetris (my secret Gameboy addiction back then….occasionally I would stay up til the wee hours of the morning playing it!)…. Good times. I loved those days.

Oh no, another thing I had successfully blocked from my memory. Thursday, Dec 29, 1994 “Party at Mishlers – got stuck in Breitmeiers driveway picking up Craig:(!” It was dark…I didn’t back out straight and got hung up on a rock on the side of the driveway backing downhill – couldn’t move forward or backward. Eventually Will arrived and was able to move the rock. It was kind of embarrassing. I do remember that they were very nice about it.

And lastly,scribbled across the bottom of a page, unknown who said it, “Cleaning your house while the kids are growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.”

Sadly, that one is still true around here!

She called me what?!

This afternoon about 20 minutes before quitting time, I answered a call from a parent telling me her child forgot a book that she really needed. Would it be possible to get into a locked classroom to get her book? I said, yes, a custodian could unlock the room and let her in as long as she got there before 4:00. Oh yes, she was on her way. In fact, she was in a big hurry so could I send the custodian to unlock the room now and have him wait for her to get there?

I was a bit taken aback. Really, instead of apologizing for imposing and taking the custodian from his tasks, you want him to go wait by a room for you? So I am ashamed to admit, perhaps I was less than tactful when I said, "No, I'm sorry, I can't have him waste his time waiting for you." (Oops. Note to self: Don't ever refer to anyone wasting their time when helping a parent. Sometimes things just come out of my mouth.) "Stop by the office when you get here and it will take him just a minute to open it for you."

She replied in a sugary sweet voice, "Well thank you so much for all your help. I appreciate it so much." Was that sarcasm I detected in her tone? Then I heard, "Witch!" and she hung up. Well, perhaps the word actually started with a b, not a w. My mouth dropped open. I just got called the b-word! This is not routine in my happy little world!

So I had to decide what to do when she came in. Should I step away from my desk and be unavailable, be on the phone and ignore her, or treat her with sweet politeness? Rudeness was tempting, but as I discussed it with my co-worker and we recalled other rude parents, I knew this was an opportunity to practice turning the other cheek.

So when she came in, I greeted her cheerfully if less than sincerely, got right on the radio and called the custodian, assuring her he would be right there. A few minutes later, she was back saying, "Never mind, I just ran into another teacher in the hall and she is giving me the book." Again, no apologies to or appreciation for the custodian interrupting his work to go unlock a door for her. She was in the building for at least 10 minutes, exhibiting no hint of the big hurry she had expressed on the phone.

I guess I just don't know what it would be like to be one of those people that the world revolves around. It must be so frustrating for them when they encounter those who don't recognize their status. I vow to be more accommodating to them!

Retreat Ramblings

The long-awaited SACC-Grove womens retreat is over, leaving behind great memories and sore stomach muscles from so much laughing. Someone there said that for each minute of laughter, a person's immune system is boosted for 72 hours. (That's three days for the math-challenged.) If that's true, then my immune system should be boosted for the next several weeks!

This was the first joint retreat since about a hundred SACC people left us in the fall to start a sister church called the Grove in North Albany. It was like a family reunion, getting together with all the women we used to see at church every Sunday morning, and meeting lots of new family members who have come to the new church. I am blessed to be on the planning committee, so I have enjoyed seeing some of these awesome women regularly over the past few months as we planned this fabulous weekend.

For the past 12 years I have enjoyed being the MC. I feel like I am selfishly hoarding the best job. Every year I tell them I will be happy to let someone have the chance to do it, but they keep asking me back. Being on the committee all those years, I have been so blessed to work with and get to know so many different talented women who use their gifts in amazing ways! At each retreat, I meet more women, some of whom I have seen at church and some who I haven't. Retreat provides opportunities to sit at meals and visit with old friends and new, to play games together, to hear testimonies from several women each year, to witness their dramatic and musical talents, and to laugh and pray together.

It also gives us opportunities to express our dramatic talents or lack thereof. This year our theme was "Fashioned by God's Great Design" and our theme verse Psalm 139:15b-16:"...When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

This opened the door for skits dealing with fashion, such as "The Bronx Beat with Betty and Jody" having a famous fashion model as a guest. I was so inspired by her fabulous make-up and hair that I gave myself a little make-over just before the evening session.
At least that's what I told the gals there. Truthfully, I was to appear in the fashion show just following the opening and had no time to get made up. Barely enough time to get into my stunning outfit before it was time to strut down the runway.

I appeared in an A-line skirt with a wool vest that I made myself. It had a sheep tail down the back and ears on the shoulders.

My next outfit was a jacket with padded shoulders and a pin stripe down the front. My jeans were accented with a little piping.

My fellow fashion models appeared in outfits that included a pencil skirt and a brief case,

a pillbox hat
and many other literally astonishing creations. I'd love to post more pictures of their outfits, but since they may not be as unashamedly brazen as I am, I will restrain myself. Such fun!

Saturday morning I was unprepared for the love offering we give our speaker, so I ran to my room while the worship team was singing. I was going to use the facilities since I was there anyway, but I noticed a horrible huge cockroach on the back of the toilet in the nick of time. My shriek did not bring any help, so I scurried back to the meeting room. I was up next to close the morning session, so I informed the ladies of what I had just observed, adding that I sincerely hoped it was a practical joke but I needed someone unafraid of insects to accompany me to my room to determine whether or not it was real. I had many willing helpers and they determined it was a fake. But no one touched it. After they left, my fearless roommate wanted to be sure, so she boldly attacked it with her tube of toothpaste. Chop chop chop. Wish I had that on video!!

"Cockroaches" were then found in many rooms, as well as bright frogs and snakes in showers. The instigator has never fessed up. I did enjoy the fact that I ruined the shock of it by announcing it before anyone went back to their rooms! Also, some of the older women (like Lynn and Roberta) might have had heart attacks if they hadn't been forewarned of such fearsome creatures! So they owe me!

They were everywhere, so that evening I put a couple in my pocket to take home and use for my own entertainment. Unfortunately, late that night when I was heading back to my room with a couple of people, I absent-mindedly stuck my hand in my pocket and screamed when I pulled out two cockroaches, crazily throwing them, leading to a long bout of hysterical laughter with me and three other women. I just wonder of any of them were the provocateur of the original prank....I suspect possibly.....

There are many reasons I have never missed a retreat in the past 14 years. The privilege of becoming acquainted, deepening friendships, and having fun with so many awesome women is one. The other is that I always learn and apply some spiritual truth, sometimes from the speaker, sometimes from other women, which changes my life forever. I am truly blessed.

My Transgressions

Today's quote from Will: "Now you're going to add sarcasm to your myriad transgressions?" My transgressions?

Eating Jelly Bellies after I said yesterday was the last day for them.

A Jelly Belly in his water glass that I did NOT deliberately put there!

And somehow I sprinkled cayenne pepper atop our clam chowder at dinner instead of paprika. Cayenne pepper is HOT!!!

Our eyes have stopped watering, our noses have stopped running, and our mouths are no longer on fire....

I'm Perfectly Normal. Ain't I?!

Costco was so crowded today. They were also offering lots of delicious samples including shrimp scampi, breakfast burritos, quiche, and salmon. Nick called me to relay that his father said I should get ice cream (which strangely Will does not confirm). I had just eaten a pizza sample and it was not wanting to go all the way down. I told Nick I was probably going need to go over to the soda aisle and sneak a soda to get it down. Fortunately, I was able to get it swallowed without resorting to that.

I had a cart full of items and was heading out of the store when my dear friend called. It's really difficult to maneuver a full shopping cart while holding a cell phone to your ear. The check-out guy at the door turned his back and stepped in front of me, to test my reflexes I presume. I skillfully but narrowly avoided him and gave my full attention to the phone call as we discussed what food should be served on New Year's Eve. I traversed the crowded parking lot, scanning all the gray cars that look just like my Camry, but not spotting it. (I think I'll get a big purple car next time.) We couldn't come to any conclusion about food, and I couldn't come to any conclusion about where my car was.

I finally confessed to my friend that I should probably call her later because I needed to devote my attention to finding my car. (Why did I admit this to her?) For some reason she brought up the last time we ran into each other at the store. I had stepped away from my cart to speak to my niece Brianna and her new fiance, bringing my purse with me. When I returned to my cart, I put my purse in it and was about to push it away when the person who was using it indicated she wanted it back. Oops, wrong cart, and unfortunately my friend with the elephant memory witnessed it. I had forgotten all about it. Doesn't everyone do things like that? Of course they do.

So, back to the Costco parking lot. I got off the phone, moved one lane over and stopped to reconnoiter. I noticed a woman waving at me and realized I was blocking an empty parking spot that someone wanted to utilize. How embarrassing. Just before I completely panicked, speculating that my car had probably been stolen, I remembered exactly where I had parked it and found it! How could I have forgotten such a close parking spot on a busy day at Costco! It was just too close, that was the problem! And certainly I would have remembered had I not been so distracted by the weighty discussion of what food was worthy of our New Year's Eve celebration!

At dinner, my husband wanted to know what the deal was about me sneaking a soda at Costco. I had to explain that I certainly wasn't talking about stealing a soda. Once when I got a food sample stuck in my throat, I had to get a case of soda (which I purchased on my way out), go way to the back aisle and covertly drink one. Obviously you don't want to do something like this in the middle of the produce section, thus I mentioned "sneaking" it. From there I shared the above Costco happenings with him and two sons. They reacted like I was an airhead or something. I also mentioned to Nick that his requested Cinnamon Toast Crunch (he wrote "sugary unhealthy cereal" on my grocery list) actually had less sugar than his father's Frosted Mini Wheats, however the Mini Wheats have more fiber.

The men in this family then verbalized their vision of me spending all afternoon wandering around the Costco parking lot, talking on my phone, blocking parking spaces, and comparing nutritional information on the food items in my cart. Their speculations about my unsupervised activities degenerated from there. Why must they pick on me like this? I am so misunderstood! Nick then "twittered" something about needing to hire a camera man to follow his mom around to document all her shenanigans. Ha!

But I must be doing something right. The cupboards and fridge are full of food and I provided my family with some delicious homemade chicken noodle soup and biscuits for dinner. The laundry is done, the house is respectably clean, and I believe beyond a reasonable doubt that I am one of the most normal people I know. I insist.

Winter Break Begins

And what a break it will be! My office partner and I stayed a couple hours late Friday stripping down the office, moving everything into the conference rooms. The crews start work on Monday morning, and we should come back to an office with new built-in workstations in two weeks. Of course, that means we'll get to come in the weekend before school resumes to move all our stuff back in. But in the meantime, we can't really work there, so we finally have an excuse to use some of that comp time we've built up!

The last week of school was fun but everyone is so ready for a break. I am still fuming about the mooning incident that took place last Friday. For at least 20 minutes, from the time the last bell rang until the last bus left, two 18-year-olds stood in the large window of the second story apartment across the street and repeatedly bent over and mooned the crowds below. I was about to call 911 to report an out-of-control parent chasing and screaming at a child on the side of the school when I heard someone in the office say, "He's flashing us again!" I looked out the window and sure enough, there it was. So I reported both incidents.

A police officer eventually made contact with the mooners, who admitted to doing it but supposedly didn't realize that everyone in the crowded parking lot and all the buses were watching. They were only mooning a friend of theirs and they were very apologetic and embarrassed. Yeah right. But according to the nice policeman, no crime was committed. Ok folks, go ahead and moon crowds of parents and children across the street from a school. It's perfectly all right in Albany, Oregon.

Anyway, I am thrilled to have the next week off, because I have a Christmas letter to finish and get out, my final shopping to do, all the gifts to wrap, some baking to do, and various other miscellaneous and sundry items on the "To Do" list which I am about to make!

I had a delightful surprise when Anise and Venisa came over last night. We made cut- out Christmas cookies together. How lovely to spend time with a grown up niece who is so beautiful inside and out. (And her mother too of course. Except she said I was bossy sometimes.) Oh well, I guess it's true!

I wonder how many people out there are all ready for Christmas and have no preparations remaining? I suspect I may be behind the average 50-something-year-old matron in my readiness...but the preparations are half the fun! Merry Christmas!

"My First 4.0!"

The either greatly dreaded or anticipated "progress reports", formerly known as "report cards", were passed out to students during their last period class today. After school, sixth grade teacher Mr. J came to the office and shared this story. One of his favorite students raised his hand after looking over the Progress Report and said, "I have a 4.0. That's really good, isn't it!" Mr. J recalled that he had given this child a C, so he asked the student to show it to him. After looking at it, Mr. J was sorry but greatly amused to tell the student, "You do indeed, have 4.0 in absences!”