Where has the time gone? We are 22 days in to the new year--2013--and I'm just getting around to writing about New Years Resolutions. Isn't it obvious what I should write?
In 2013, I resolve to be more faithful in keep up with the Bethel Valley Girls blog!
Tomorrow night we are having our first dinner meeting of the year. I'll be serving Coq au Vin. Since we're all on some sort of a diet, I prefer to call it 'Diet Coke au Vin,' but whatever. Anything with 'vin' in it sounds good to me!! After all, 'vin' is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy. I know we will all be happy to get together tomorrow.
So much has happened since I last posted in the blog....now, if I could only remember what that is. Hmmm. Well, I know this: 50% of the BVG's have had surgery since then. How's that for BVG demographics? I had the privilege of picking Elletu up at her house in the wee dark hours one morning and took her to a small hospital in an undisclosed area (because we work hard to keep our anonymity online) for surgery 'of a personal nature.' It was quite the bonding experience to be with her in her time of need. She was cute in her little gown in the pre-op area. I couldn't get over how fun all the people working there were. They said they were mixing up a little 'cocktail' for her. On the other hand, I only got free Tully's coffee in the waiting room during her surgery. But hers knocked her out completely, and I kept my wits about me, which is good because not only was I her 'family' that day, but I was her designated driver as well, also her caregiver back at my house after she was released---on her own recognizance, I believe they said.
I was amazed at how alert and perky she was after her surgery, so much so that we went out to lunch at the local tea room on our way back to my house. Once home, we each took a recliner, curled up with blankets and watched some chick flicks. I had ginger ale for her, orange sherbet, things like that, and when we watched the movie "Chocolat" and she got a craving, I even indulged her in that area. Eventually, other fans of hers came by to pay their respects (lured by the offers of free wine, I suspect), and her daughter came to claim her and take her back home. She had to solemnly swear to follow doctor's orders before I would allow her to leave.
When j had her recent nose surgery, however, I was away in California. All I could do was pray---for her, and also that I would not laugh at the pictures she sent of her with her nose all bandaged up. I would like to have made her some chicken soup or something. She apparently did okay without me. I'll be anxious to hear how she is doing when I see her at tomorrow night's meeting.
The big thing for me at the end of 2012 was being able to look back and realize that we made it through all of our big trips we had to take during the year. Actually, in a year and a half we had major trips to New Orleans, California (3 separate driving trips), North Carolina, Greece and Hawaii. During that time there were three family weddings and two grandsons born, so we have been clearly blessed many times over. But I'm tired from all of the traveling. Staying home this year will be fun, and for the first time, we plan to see the horrendous balance on our credit card go down instead of up. So that's another resolution:
I resolve to stay home this year and to pay our credit card bill down!
Then there's the usual:
I resolve to get healthier!
I remember back in the early '70's---no, not MY 70's, the 1970's---when I had about 20 pounds to lose and was so disgusted with myself. My New Year's Resolution was this:
I resolve that you will see less of me this year!
But I don't want the Bethel Valley Girls to misunderstand me. I want to see more, not less, of them in 2013. I was thinking of this as my husband and I were driving back from California after two weeks of family Christmas fun with the families of two of our three children. This included our two baby grandsons----what incredible fun! Yes, it was hard to say goodbye, but as we drove home I realized how much I had also missed my friends while we were away. We said goodbye to our family, but our friends are family to us also, and no one more than the Bethel Valley Girls. So this year:
I resolve that I will let the Bethel Valley Girls know how much they mean to me and my life!
Everything.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Uses, Excuses, Ruses and Muses
USES
I now have in my possession a Theracane. I didn't know what a Theracane was until j introduced me to hers. One night when the Bethel Valley Girls were hanging out at her house I grimaced because of some back pain. She asked, "Don't you have a Theracane?" and I asked, "What's a Theracane?" It turns out both j and Cool have one, and since they work together, they also have one at work. Too bad Elletu doesn't have one yet. We should add that to the BVG Demographics:
75% of the BVG's have a Theracane
25% of the BVG's do not have a Theracane
Anyway, although it sounds like a flu medication, it is actually a device that takes the place of my husband's elbow, freeing him up to do other things with his spare time. You see, for a long time I have been plagued with intense upper back/shoulder pain when certain muscles tense up, and the only way I could get any relief was to have my husband dig his pointed elbow in to the muscle and move it around for as long as he could stand it. He's a good sport, but his elbow gets tired. With the Theracane, I can reach it behind me from the front, and the round end can do the digging into the painful muscle. To try and describe the Theracane, it looks like a green cane for a dwarf, with some extra little thingies sticking out of it that serve as massagers.There is a pamplet that came with it that describes and illustrates the USES for the Theracane. I discovered another USE for it on my own and want to post it here: The Theracane is a perfect cane for walking upstairs, and in this house, our bedroom is upstairs. That makes this a multi-tasking device and well worth the $35 I spent on it.
EXCUSES
Elletu was supposed to have surgery last Thursday. It had been postpone by her doctor before and then rescheduled for that date. I was ready to be her ride to the hospital and friend-in-waiting, as in the waiting room, and then I agreed to sit with her in recovery and to go so far as to hold the turquoise kidney-shaped bowl for her should she become nauseated post-surgery (hence the Barf Subway Art in a previous post). But the surgery didn't happen. Elletu fell the Friday night before and cracked her ribs, and the doctor can't operate until she is healed. Of course all the BVG's were anxious to hear what happened with the fall---Where? When? How? Why? (Sorry if that's not in the right order, but it's been over 40 years since I studied journalism and I'm a bit rusty with the rules and formulas.) She would not tell me until we got together in person. We did, and she did, and now she doesn't want me to tell the real story. After a few tries she came up with something worthy of being published. So here is her EXCUSE for the fall the last time I asked her:
I now have in my possession a Theracane. I didn't know what a Theracane was until j introduced me to hers. One night when the Bethel Valley Girls were hanging out at her house I grimaced because of some back pain. She asked, "Don't you have a Theracane?" and I asked, "What's a Theracane?" It turns out both j and Cool have one, and since they work together, they also have one at work. Too bad Elletu doesn't have one yet. We should add that to the BVG Demographics:
75% of the BVG's have a Theracane
25% of the BVG's do not have a Theracane
Anyway, although it sounds like a flu medication, it is actually a device that takes the place of my husband's elbow, freeing him up to do other things with his spare time. You see, for a long time I have been plagued with intense upper back/shoulder pain when certain muscles tense up, and the only way I could get any relief was to have my husband dig his pointed elbow in to the muscle and move it around for as long as he could stand it. He's a good sport, but his elbow gets tired. With the Theracane, I can reach it behind me from the front, and the round end can do the digging into the painful muscle. To try and describe the Theracane, it looks like a green cane for a dwarf, with some extra little thingies sticking out of it that serve as massagers.There is a pamplet that came with it that describes and illustrates the USES for the Theracane. I discovered another USE for it on my own and want to post it here: The Theracane is a perfect cane for walking upstairs, and in this house, our bedroom is upstairs. That makes this a multi-tasking device and well worth the $35 I spent on it.
EXCUSES
Elletu was supposed to have surgery last Thursday. It had been postpone by her doctor before and then rescheduled for that date. I was ready to be her ride to the hospital and friend-in-waiting, as in the waiting room, and then I agreed to sit with her in recovery and to go so far as to hold the turquoise kidney-shaped bowl for her should she become nauseated post-surgery (hence the Barf Subway Art in a previous post). But the surgery didn't happen. Elletu fell the Friday night before and cracked her ribs, and the doctor can't operate until she is healed. Of course all the BVG's were anxious to hear what happened with the fall---Where? When? How? Why? (Sorry if that's not in the right order, but it's been over 40 years since I studied journalism and I'm a bit rusty with the rules and formulas.) She would not tell me until we got together in person. We did, and she did, and now she doesn't want me to tell the real story. After a few tries she came up with something worthy of being published. So here is her EXCUSE for the fall the last time I asked her:
You don’t want to hear THAT story again!? OK – I was dressed up and en route to the gala. I was a little preoccupied with my handsome escort (should have been paying more attention to my surroundings) and as I was getting out of the limo, I caught my toe. Luckily, my date caught me in time but I hit the Bentley’s door. It was all so quick…thankfully none of my expensive jewelry broke or anything. The flash of all the paparazzi slightly dazed me - - but you know how THAT is!! J
RUSES
That's a RUSE if I've ever seen one!!!!! But I'm printing it here for her benefit. Now we have to wait many weeks for the surgery. However, I printed up the Barf Subway Art on premium matte paper and framed it in a beautiful rich dark wood 11"X14" frame with gold edging. Presumably it is now hanging over her toilet, ready to encourage her if and when that surgery finally happens. Remember Elletu, "You'll Never Barf Alone"!
MUSES
In Greek mythology, The MUSES were the goddesses who were the inspiration of literature, science and the arts. They were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. We Bethel Valley Girls often refer to ourselves as being a Sorority, and as most people know, in North America Fraternities (for guys) and Sororities (for girls) are social organizations that bear names made up of two or three Greek letters, often the initials of a Greek motto. When naming our Sorority we thought of Beta Veta Gamma to go with BVG, but then found out there is no V in the Greek alphabet, so the V translates to a B. Thus we went with Beta Beta Gamma, BBG. When I researched that, I found there was actually a Sorority with that name at the University of Hawaii of all places, and it was established in 1948, the year I was born. Both of my sons graduated from UH during the nine years we lived in Hawaii. This just solidified our choice of names. So first came the Bethel Valley Girls, then came Beta Beta Gamma, then came this blog-----a fine specimen of great literature if I do say so myself-----and so it came to me, perhaps we should refer to ourselves as The MUSES. This Greek thing means a lot to me right now, just five days past the birth of my Greek grandson. My daughter is married to a wonderful Greek man who is much-loved by our whole family, and now they have brought a precious little guy in to the world. Bowing to Greek custom, they waited three days to name him, as it is said that on the third day a baby boy receives all of his 'attributes' and then a fitting name is chosen. Our grandson has been named Perseus Theodoros, after the Perseus Constellation--which was named after the Greek hero Perseus-- and our son-in-law's father, Theodoros. I've done my research on Perseus, and now after reading about The MUSES, I was interested to read that they are half-sisters to Perseus! Yes, Perseus is the son of Zeus and Danae. The MUSES and Perseus have the same father, Zeus. However, I suspect this Greek mythology is nothing but a RUSE. That's something I could MUSE about in a future blog post, but for right now that's an ABUSE of my time, because I'm getting ready to go meet my grandson Perseus in California. Can't wait to hold him in my arms.
*************
And I guess I've MUSED long enough, with USES, EXCUSES, RUSES and ABUSES. But when I don't add to this blog, everyone LOSES!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Day of Joy, Day of Sadness
It's pathetic when the joy of my second grandchild being born today is overshadowed by the news that the coffee shop I have loved for 16 years is closing its doors forever this Sunday. But you know what they always say: "When God closes a coffee shop, He opens a uterus." Well, maybe it's not exactly that, but it's something like it. So as I mourn the closing of our local Tully's coffee shop, I am also celebrating the birth of my daughter's first child, a boy born by emergency C-section in California at 2:40 a.m. I'm going on two hours of sleep, so I really needed that last Tully's latte. Yum! Bye bye, Tully's (sniff sniff), hello.....................Robotaki?
Actually, the baby doesn't have a name yet and might not for a day or two. Since she never wanted to know ahead of time the sex of her child, she decided she'd think of the baby as a little robot (even though I assured her babies are never ever robots). From that the robot became Robotaki, and that's what we've all called him. If my daughter had had a girl, she would have been called Amelia. I love that name and relished the thought of being able to say it often. My son-in-law is Greek, and he gets to pick out a Greek name for the boy. Have you seen a list of Greek names? (This is where you might say, "They're all Greek to me." Of course they are, if you're referring to lists of Greek names.) There are lots of letters in them. Their last name has nine letters, so how rough is it going to be on this kid learning how to spell and write out his name? At least his birth date is sequential and easy to remember: 10-11-12. I love that. His parents are both math geniuses, and I suspect he will be too. He better be good at writing long names as well.
So that's all good, but this coffee shop closing, not so good. Sixteen years is a long time. I go there every Thursday morning at 8 a.m. to meet with three friends. Two of them are retired teachers, and they taught two of my children for many years. Even when I lived away for 11 years, any time I came home on a trip I would meet them in Tully's, and when I moved back three years I took up where I left off. I meet other friends there too, and my husband and I also go there on occasion, not just for the lattes but also for the ambiance. I order the same thing every time: "Grande Latte, please," I say, but then all of the baristas know me and often stop me by asking, "The usual?"
What is it about someone saying, "The usual?" that makes a person feel so good inside? You feel recognized, known, like you matter. It is a sense of 'belonging.' Belonging to a coffee shop? I know, it sounds weird, but it's true. I have a rewards card!! And this is how they reward me, by closing the doors this Sunday and never opening them again?
So I went to say goodbye to Tully's today. My friends and I hugged the baristas, who were crying. One has been working there since it opened in 1996. The other one took a picture of the four of us around 'our' table. I sat in Tully's once at another table with my daughter 14 years ago. She was home from college on her spring break, and while we sat sipping our coffee she was working on writing out a song for her then upcoming senior recital prior to receiving her degree in composition.
Today my daughter produced something much better than a song. She's written oodles of compositions, and none of them took nine months to produce. I won't be able to hold my new grandson for a couple of weeks, but I tell you, he is already playing his song on my heartstrings!
So welcome to this world, with incredible joy, Robotaki. And, sadly, RIP Tully's.
P.S. BVG's FOREVER!
Actually, the baby doesn't have a name yet and might not for a day or two. Since she never wanted to know ahead of time the sex of her child, she decided she'd think of the baby as a little robot (even though I assured her babies are never ever robots). From that the robot became Robotaki, and that's what we've all called him. If my daughter had had a girl, she would have been called Amelia. I love that name and relished the thought of being able to say it often. My son-in-law is Greek, and he gets to pick out a Greek name for the boy. Have you seen a list of Greek names? (This is where you might say, "They're all Greek to me." Of course they are, if you're referring to lists of Greek names.) There are lots of letters in them. Their last name has nine letters, so how rough is it going to be on this kid learning how to spell and write out his name? At least his birth date is sequential and easy to remember: 10-11-12. I love that. His parents are both math geniuses, and I suspect he will be too. He better be good at writing long names as well.
So that's all good, but this coffee shop closing, not so good. Sixteen years is a long time. I go there every Thursday morning at 8 a.m. to meet with three friends. Two of them are retired teachers, and they taught two of my children for many years. Even when I lived away for 11 years, any time I came home on a trip I would meet them in Tully's, and when I moved back three years I took up where I left off. I meet other friends there too, and my husband and I also go there on occasion, not just for the lattes but also for the ambiance. I order the same thing every time: "Grande Latte, please," I say, but then all of the baristas know me and often stop me by asking, "The usual?"
What is it about someone saying, "The usual?" that makes a person feel so good inside? You feel recognized, known, like you matter. It is a sense of 'belonging.' Belonging to a coffee shop? I know, it sounds weird, but it's true. I have a rewards card!! And this is how they reward me, by closing the doors this Sunday and never opening them again?
So I went to say goodbye to Tully's today. My friends and I hugged the baristas, who were crying. One has been working there since it opened in 1996. The other one took a picture of the four of us around 'our' table. I sat in Tully's once at another table with my daughter 14 years ago. She was home from college on her spring break, and while we sat sipping our coffee she was working on writing out a song for her then upcoming senior recital prior to receiving her degree in composition.
Today my daughter produced something much better than a song. She's written oodles of compositions, and none of them took nine months to produce. I won't be able to hold my new grandson for a couple of weeks, but I tell you, he is already playing his song on my heartstrings!
So welcome to this world, with incredible joy, Robotaki. And, sadly, RIP Tully's.
P.S. BVG's FOREVER!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Diversity
It isn't often that I make two blog entries in one day. Come to think of it, this has never happened before. After reading my post earlier today, both Cool and Elletu responded. Cool was cool with me being an Honorary BVG. Elletu pointed out that they accepted me as a BVG even though I didn't live on Bethel Valley Lane way back then--31 years ago to be exact--and did so to 'diversify.' I love it! So the BVG's were into diversity before diversity was cool. What trendsetters, and what an inspiration! They did not have to go through any 'sensitivity training.' They also didn't receive any federal funding for accepting me. They didn't say, "Sorry, you don't live here, you're not like us, now go away."
And that's how LL Cool j came to be, even though they were really L Cool j. It was meant to be.
Thanks again, BVG's!
And that's how LL Cool j came to be, even though they were really L Cool j. It was meant to be.
Thanks again, BVG's!
Honorary BVG
It is October 5, and I just finished wrapping seven Christmas gifts. Six of them I made, three of them for the Bethel Valley Girls. When they read this they will roll their eyes, I'm quite sure. They will say I'm just channeling my inner Martha Stewart, or as they say, MFS. I don't do this to make my Sisters envious of or upset with me. My daughter will be having her first baby any day, so we have a trip to California coming up to hold our second grandchild and to help our daughter and son-in-law. We'll make another trip there in December to enjoy a big family Christmas. Because of these trips, I need to be ready for Christmas much earlier than usual.
While I was making gift cards for the BVG's presents, I realized for the first time that they each have an i in their name. While my BVG name, Firstelle, has an 'i' in it, my real name does not, and that's what I'm talking about, real names. Theirs have i's and mine does not. And why are they not at home making and wrapping Christmas gifts? It's because they are at work. They are all gainfully employed, but I am not. I'm retired without a pension. Thank God for my husband who does a great job supporting me in the manner to which I have become accustomed since I quit teaching piano five years ago.
These are three commonalities between my friends, the Bethel Valley Girls:
* They all lived on Bethel Valley Lane----I did not
* They all have i's in their names---I do not
* They are all gainfully employed---I am not
It is as I have always known: I'm not REALLY a Bethel Valley Girl. I am just an HONORARY one.
But we have this in common:
WE LOVE US!
While I was making gift cards for the BVG's presents, I realized for the first time that they each have an i in their name. While my BVG name, Firstelle, has an 'i' in it, my real name does not, and that's what I'm talking about, real names. Theirs have i's and mine does not. And why are they not at home making and wrapping Christmas gifts? It's because they are at work. They are all gainfully employed, but I am not. I'm retired without a pension. Thank God for my husband who does a great job supporting me in the manner to which I have become accustomed since I quit teaching piano five years ago.
These are three commonalities between my friends, the Bethel Valley Girls:
* They all lived on Bethel Valley Lane----I did not
* They all have i's in their names---I do not
* They are all gainfully employed---I am not
It is as I have always known: I'm not REALLY a Bethel Valley Girl. I am just an HONORARY one.
But we have this in common:
WE LOVE US!
Friday, September 28, 2012
My Other Blog
This isn't my only blog. Though techincally my Monday Morning Update (MMU) wouldn't be considered a blog per se, it operates in the same way as a traditional blog. Every Monday morning I 'post' my thoughts to what I call the 'MMU Family.' We are a 'family' of 15, and this 'family' actually includes my family members, all eight of us, and the other seven are 'adopted family.' One was our foreign exchange student from Sweden 15 years ago, and he's still part of our family. Another lived in our neighborhood (next cul-de-sac over) when we were raising our children. I met her when I would go in to our middle son's kindergarten class to help kids with reading. Soon she was playing in our backyard and, lacking any real supervision at home, she sort of became part of our family in a very special way. Another MMU Family member once dated our daughter, and his humor fit with our family's so well, he seems like he must have been born in to our family. Another is our son's best friend and roommate, along with our now-daughter-in-law's cousin--they make the cutest couple! Still another is the daughter of close friends of ours (they are part of the 'Warthog Crew'), and the newest member is my niece, who is close to our daughter.
I mention this here because to me, the Bethel Valley Girls are 'family' too. I have another group of friends I call 'The Warthog Crew,' and they're definitely 'family' to me. So what is FAMILY? I am pondering that on this drizzly Friday morning, thinking how amazingly blessed I feel and realizing things weren't always this way for me.
I decided to jot down the things that come to mind first when I think of the word 'family':
Love
Security
Trust
Traditions
Fun Together
Sharing Joy, Sharing Sorrow
Shared Values
Enhancing Life
Like so many people, I grew up in what would be by today's standards a 'dysfunctional family.' No need to dwell on that. It is what it is, or I guess I should say it was what it was. Not all was bad, so having made peace with what was, I have moved forward and have embraced the good. That's what I concentrated on when raising my own family. With God's help I have designed how I wanted my life to be, and along with my husband have set out to make family functional for our three children. At the same time we have opened our arms wider to keep family from being an exclusive, closed group. It is no accident that they have gone out in to the world with their arms and hearts open to good relationships, good friendships, lives of their own. We envisioned this for them.
So about this other blog, the MMU...Five years ago we became empty-nesters when we moved from Hawaii to Virginia. That's a huge move and a real cultural shift. We didn't know then that eventually we would finally make it back to Washington State, our point of origin. For me, I left the career I loved behind when we moved yet again because of my husband's career. I mourned the loss of friends in Hawaii while I still missed my friends in Washington. Both of our sons had lived with us through their college years, but now they were college graduates, off on their own like their sister before them, pursuing their dreams and their careers. Here we were living in a state I did not know. My husband's employer would only ship one of our cars with our belongings, so he took our van to work every day leaving me alone in our townhouse with no car, no friends, no interesting place to walk. I missed my family, and I literally cried out to God about it. He sent me a solution, although I did not see at the time what a great idea He had.
My husband and I are explorers. We spent every weekend in our new state exploring all this new territory, and we were doing fun and interesting things. I would send individual e-mails to our children--who all lived in different states--telling them about our adventures. When I was lamenting to God about our family being so spread out and how that made my heart ache, He clearly said to me, "If you want to do something to keep your family close, then write a Monday Morning Update to all of them at once." And so the MMU was born, and before long, our children were writing responses back and forth. I saw a new closeness developing before my very eyes. We loved it, they loved it.
Five years later, the MMU is still going strong. Our three children have married, expanding the original MMU list to eight, including my husband and me. Along the way, as I said, seven others have asked to be added to the MMU, and I learned recently that our children having been passing especially good ones to their friends. We have a following!
I mentioned The Warthog Crew---this consists of three other couples besides my husband and me. The husbands are my husband's three closest friends, and between them they represent over 130 years of friendship. Between the four couples, we represent about 170 years of marriage. I dubbed us The Warthog Crew after we started the tradition of meeting at the Warthog BBQ Restaurant to celebrate my husband's birthday every year.
Ah yes, traditions..........don't they keep families connected through the years, even through the generations? The MMU has become a tradition. It keeps our family close even though we are spread out so many miles apart. I suspect that after I pen my last MMU, one of my children will volunteer to pick up where I left off. With the Warthog Crew we have lots of traditions. We get together every September for the Fox Island Garage Sale, followed by lunch together. We have Christmas parties, celebrate each other's birthdays, do murder mystery parties, have a Green Party on St. Patrick's Day, etc.
THE BETHEL VALLEY GIRLS AS FAMILY
We truly LOVE each other. Our motto is 'Love us!' We are SECURE in the knowledge we are here for each other no matter what. We can TRUST each other with our very lives. We have our TRADITIONS, like our once-a-month gathering for dinner (Winings and Dinings) and our Christmas gift exchange. We have so much FUN together---hello, Spa Day!! We SHARE OUR JOYS and SHARE OUR SORROWS. For instance, they gave me an Attitude Adjustment Shower when I was pregnant with my third child--truly unplanned--and was so sick, reminding me that they were there for me during those difficult months. They really did change my attitude! By the same token, 29 years later they surprised me with a fun Grandma Shower, celebrating the imminent births of my two first grandchildren, the first to be born to that 'surprise child' and his wife, the second to my daughter. We have all suffered the loss of our parents during the course of our long friendship, and we have prayed for and encouraged each other as our various grown children have gone through their own struggles. We have SHARED VALUES, and for instance, I know we'll all be voting the same in this presidential election. But more importantly, we know and love God and have put our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. And because of all of the above, the Bethel Valley Girls have ENHANCED MY LIFE.
This has been a long blog entry, but this is what was in my heart and on my mind this morning. Here's to the Bethel Valley Girls, my Sisters, my dear friends, forever and ever. May we be blessed with many more than just these 31 years of friendship. And together we say, "Love us!"
I mention this here because to me, the Bethel Valley Girls are 'family' too. I have another group of friends I call 'The Warthog Crew,' and they're definitely 'family' to me. So what is FAMILY? I am pondering that on this drizzly Friday morning, thinking how amazingly blessed I feel and realizing things weren't always this way for me.
I decided to jot down the things that come to mind first when I think of the word 'family':
Love
Security
Trust
Traditions
Fun Together
Sharing Joy, Sharing Sorrow
Shared Values
Enhancing Life
Like so many people, I grew up in what would be by today's standards a 'dysfunctional family.' No need to dwell on that. It is what it is, or I guess I should say it was what it was. Not all was bad, so having made peace with what was, I have moved forward and have embraced the good. That's what I concentrated on when raising my own family. With God's help I have designed how I wanted my life to be, and along with my husband have set out to make family functional for our three children. At the same time we have opened our arms wider to keep family from being an exclusive, closed group. It is no accident that they have gone out in to the world with their arms and hearts open to good relationships, good friendships, lives of their own. We envisioned this for them.
So about this other blog, the MMU...Five years ago we became empty-nesters when we moved from Hawaii to Virginia. That's a huge move and a real cultural shift. We didn't know then that eventually we would finally make it back to Washington State, our point of origin. For me, I left the career I loved behind when we moved yet again because of my husband's career. I mourned the loss of friends in Hawaii while I still missed my friends in Washington. Both of our sons had lived with us through their college years, but now they were college graduates, off on their own like their sister before them, pursuing their dreams and their careers. Here we were living in a state I did not know. My husband's employer would only ship one of our cars with our belongings, so he took our van to work every day leaving me alone in our townhouse with no car, no friends, no interesting place to walk. I missed my family, and I literally cried out to God about it. He sent me a solution, although I did not see at the time what a great idea He had.
My husband and I are explorers. We spent every weekend in our new state exploring all this new territory, and we were doing fun and interesting things. I would send individual e-mails to our children--who all lived in different states--telling them about our adventures. When I was lamenting to God about our family being so spread out and how that made my heart ache, He clearly said to me, "If you want to do something to keep your family close, then write a Monday Morning Update to all of them at once." And so the MMU was born, and before long, our children were writing responses back and forth. I saw a new closeness developing before my very eyes. We loved it, they loved it.
Five years later, the MMU is still going strong. Our three children have married, expanding the original MMU list to eight, including my husband and me. Along the way, as I said, seven others have asked to be added to the MMU, and I learned recently that our children having been passing especially good ones to their friends. We have a following!
I mentioned The Warthog Crew---this consists of three other couples besides my husband and me. The husbands are my husband's three closest friends, and between them they represent over 130 years of friendship. Between the four couples, we represent about 170 years of marriage. I dubbed us The Warthog Crew after we started the tradition of meeting at the Warthog BBQ Restaurant to celebrate my husband's birthday every year.
Ah yes, traditions..........don't they keep families connected through the years, even through the generations? The MMU has become a tradition. It keeps our family close even though we are spread out so many miles apart. I suspect that after I pen my last MMU, one of my children will volunteer to pick up where I left off. With the Warthog Crew we have lots of traditions. We get together every September for the Fox Island Garage Sale, followed by lunch together. We have Christmas parties, celebrate each other's birthdays, do murder mystery parties, have a Green Party on St. Patrick's Day, etc.
THE BETHEL VALLEY GIRLS AS FAMILY
We truly LOVE each other. Our motto is 'Love us!' We are SECURE in the knowledge we are here for each other no matter what. We can TRUST each other with our very lives. We have our TRADITIONS, like our once-a-month gathering for dinner (Winings and Dinings) and our Christmas gift exchange. We have so much FUN together---hello, Spa Day!! We SHARE OUR JOYS and SHARE OUR SORROWS. For instance, they gave me an Attitude Adjustment Shower when I was pregnant with my third child--truly unplanned--and was so sick, reminding me that they were there for me during those difficult months. They really did change my attitude! By the same token, 29 years later they surprised me with a fun Grandma Shower, celebrating the imminent births of my two first grandchildren, the first to be born to that 'surprise child' and his wife, the second to my daughter. We have all suffered the loss of our parents during the course of our long friendship, and we have prayed for and encouraged each other as our various grown children have gone through their own struggles. We have SHARED VALUES, and for instance, I know we'll all be voting the same in this presidential election. But more importantly, we know and love God and have put our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. And because of all of the above, the Bethel Valley Girls have ENHANCED MY LIFE.
This has been a long blog entry, but this is what was in my heart and on my mind this morning. Here's to the Bethel Valley Girls, my Sisters, my dear friends, forever and ever. May we be blessed with many more than just these 31 years of friendship. And together we say, "Love us!"
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Subway Art for the Bathroom
Today was supposed to be surgery day---not for me but for Elletu. I was ready to drive her to the hospital, be in the waiting room, sit with her in recovery, drive her home to my house and care for her needs. She asked, "Are you up to all that?" And like a good friend, I not only agreed to the above by told her I would have no problem holding the kidney-shaped spit-up bowl for her post-surgery should all that anesthetic make her sick to her stomach. As we sat together at a recent BVG event (there have been two since I last blogged, lunch out for Elletu's birthday and a dinner at my house), the synonyms for the word 'vomit' came up (no pun intended there). This led to an Internet search for phrases used to denote the 'evacuation of one's stomach contents,' and that led to what I call Barf Subway Art. Subway art is all the rage right now, and I love working on it, but I just don't think anyone else would be perverse enough to do what I am doing for Elletu. Hopefully this will keep her encouraged as she recovers from the surgery rescheduled for two weeks from now. This Barf Subway Art will be printed on premium matte paper and will be beautifully framed to be hung above her toilet. Funny thing, she's not planning to take it down once she is well. This is a true friend!
Barf PUKE Spit up
retch upchuck eject URP
laugh and the world laughs with you, barf and you barf alone
toss one's cookies RALPH disgorge
Throw Up HURL lose your
lunch
bow down before
the porcelain god VOMIT
GAG her barf is worse than
her bite
disgorge SPEW throw up EXPEL un-swallow
gastro geyser sick to your stomach evacuate
baking powder or baking soda: that is the question
Nauseate
regurgitate dry heaves
round-trip meal ticket CALL EARL
HEAVE projectile EXPECTORATE
friends don't let friends
barf alone
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