Oh, How Time Flies

Mama always said that time flies when you have children. Boy was she right! (You hear that Mama? I admitted you were right about something!!!) Aaron attended his first dance this evening. He went from a kid in jeans and a t-shirt to a young gentleman in a new black suit and tie in a matter of minutes!

The 5th graders were treated to a dance just for them in the school cafeteria, which was decorated with black and silver balloons. The DJ kept the music going, the mamas kept the food and punch coming out of the kitchen, and the kids danced for two hours straight. It was fun to see how the girls reacted when Aaron started dancing. He likes to do his version of the robot, but got some pointers from the other kids. At one point he was out there with three other boys, and they looked great!!! The ILT (assistant principal) said it was nice to see Aaron out of his shell, and grooving with the other kids! I must admit that some of the 5th grade girls surprised me. Some looked like ladies, and a few looked - well - maybe not like a lady, if you get my meaning. Don't their mothers look at them before they allow them to step out of the house??? Also, don't they tell them that you should be careful when wearing short skirts and bending over? Really, the kids were well-behaved and truly enjoyed themselves. Daniel even found a couple of little brothers and sisters in the back to dance with.

It's really funny, but in the photos I took tonight Aaron looked like an 11-year-old, but in person he seemed so much more mature. His smile was different, and he carried himself like he knew he was so cool! Barry arrived home just in time to see his young gentleman before he took his suit off and transformed back in to our little boy again. Now, everyone is in bed but me, and I'm headed that way. Us old folks need our rest!!!

My First Day In Uniform

It has been a way-too-eventful week. The boys and I went fishing on Tuesday afternoon at my cousin's house and each caught about 4-5 brim. Shortly after leaving his house we found out that an uncle was in the hospital and had to be life-flighted to Atlanta. On Wednesday Barry was in an accident and totaled our van. Thankfully he is fine!!!

Finally Saturday arrived, and I reported for my first mission with the Georgia State Defense Force: the Big Shanty Festival in Kennesaw, Georgia. At 6:25 AM I swore in and at 6:30 was in my first formation. I was so thankful that Barry stood me in the kitchen the night before and practiced showing me how to stand and turn and salute so I didn't look like a complete idiot!!! There were six medics, so they split us into two teams. One team deployed to the battlefield where the reenactment was going to take place, and the other deployed to the downtown Kennesaw area where the festival was getting ready to start. We figured on a busy day with 800 reenactors and an estimated 60,000 people in attendance!

Our team reported to the battlefield first, and took the time to walk the grounds and get an idea where everything was. The funniest thing I saw was a guy who looked like Robert E. Lee carrying a "dead" horse over one shoulder! These things were full-size and amazingly life-like but weighed nearly nothing. In addition to General Lee, President Abraham Lincoln was present. (I spotted him later in downtown Kennesaw behind a building drinking a Coke!) The sheriff's department sent sack lunches to the battlefield for us by our colonel on an ATV, and we stood in the shade and chatted with the ambulance crew we were partnered up with. After lunch we switched with the other team and went into downtown. We picked up three CIvil Air Patrol cadets and roamed throughout the festival patching boo-boos. Thankfully we had no serious injuried to tend to, although I became a casualty myself. I was shot by a marshmallow gun and had the white mark on my uniform to prove it! I had been on point and gallantly shielded the other five members of my team from enemy fire! Wonder if I'll get a medal or promotion for that?

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and the other medics were great people to be with. Apparently they didn't find me to be too much of a nutcase, as they all said they looked forward to seeing me again at the May drill. The visitors were all very nice to us. A foreign family wanted to take our photo with their children. Many of the food vendors offered us free drinks and snowcones all day. According to the colonel, the sheriff's department was also very complimentary about our performance and professionalism.

Barry brought the children up to see the reenactment. He was in uniform too, since it makes things easier to navigate through that way. (Security personnel are more likely to allow your dancing 8-year-old to get to the "restricted" staff-only potties when you are in uniform!) When we headed home we stopped by Cracker Barrel for supper. I must admit that it was cool to see the respect you get in uniform. When the time came for us to pay our bill, two servers came to our table. It seemes that three tables wanted to pick up our check. One table paid the bill, one table prepaid for four desserts, and the other table simply sent their thanks to us. It was really humbling.

I certainly hope my future activities with the Georgia State Defense Force are as rewarding as what I did this weekend. I feel that in some small way I made a difference, and am no worse for wear. I have recovered from my marshmallow shooting, and only have slightly pink ears from being in the sun! I look forward to the next drill in May and more adventures in combat boots!

A Blessed Easter Weekend

Most people have heard the story of the dogwood blossom and how it represents the crucifixion of Christ. But have you ever truly looked at one and just taken in the beauty of it? Since I was a kid, Easter has been one of my favorite times of the year.

Growing up, Easter was one of the times I looked forward to because it brought two of my favorite things: Mawmaw's turkey and dressing and getting to see all of my cousins at once. Mawmaw's house just smelled wonderful from the moment you got out of your car. She'd been in the kitchen for hours already, either cooking or directing traffic as others did the leg work for her. I can see her sitting there on a stool in one of the aprons all the little girls liked to wear when we played, and she was always smiling. Even early on Easter morning the house was buzzing. Kids were running in and out, Daddy and whichever of his brothers were already there were shooting the breeze and cutting up onions and celery, Aunt Ruby was making biscuits, Mama and the aunts were cleaning up or taking things in and out of the oven, and Baby Jim, Gibo, and Larry were in the living room. Gradually the house would fill with first cousins, second cousins, third cousins, and people who were not related by blood but were family anyway. The feast would fill the dining room table to the point that there was only a narrow fringe around the edge for plates to rest on. People ate in the living room, the kitchen, the front porch, and some of us kids would grab our plates and head for the top of the big rock in the back yard. After the meal and dessert (mmmmm...strawberry cake), the kids had to come inside while the adults hid eggs. It wasn't unusual for around 15 or more kids to have 300 eggs to find. Our deaf "uncle" Jim wasn't allowed to hide the hen eggs because he just threw them and busted them! Instead, he got the marshmallow eggs to hide. You remember those...the long, skinny ones that didn't really taste all that good? Afterward one of us kids would make off with the salt shaker from the house and we'd sit on the rock and eat hard boiled eggs. We'd run around in the woods and play in the dirt and play hide and seek, and as long as we came when we were called, no one worried about where we were. Those were the good old days.

As I said, this weekend was wonderful. On Friday I took the boys and four of their buddies to the local amusement park to play for the afternoon. They were some of the wildest mini-golfers I have ever seen! They had a blast! Saturday was extra-special as it was my little one's 8th birthday. We started with breakfast at Waffle House and then celebrated in grand fashion with a King Kong birthday cake and Mama's house full of relatives. The weather was pretty and the kids ran hog-wild in the yard for the afternoon. Even a rather large snake came out to take part in the events, and like a good Cub Scout leader, I called my husband to take care of it!

Easter Sunday was the most beautiful day of the whole weekend. While Barry read the story of the Resurrection to the boys, I helped Mama with dinner. She made all the good stuff including dressing and a beautiful strawberry cake with homemade buttercream frosting. Granny, Papa, and "Uncle" Walt arrived and dinner was served! Afterward, the kids colored eggs. Then we all retired to the yard, where the boys hunted the eggs hidden by Barry and myself. Barry and the boys played catch, Granny and Papa sat in the shade, and Mama, Walt, Daniel and I played croquet. Mama and Walt hadn't played in a very long time and Daniel and I were clueless, but we figured it was just golf with a hammer! Walt ended up being too good at it, so next time we might make him play with his eyes shut or something! Mama and I brought the card table out in the yard and served cake and iced tea in the shade. Everyone laughed and talked and played, and no one was in a hurry to go home. The weather was absolutely perfect (breezy and mild) and the back yard was a cool, shady, green oasis. It was the kind of Easter Sunday I hope the kids can look back on in the way I recall the ones when I was a kid.

Who's Child Are You?

Friends are a valuable thing, even if they serve mostly to remind you of the differences in this world. We are blessed to have friends of all backgrounds, all ethnic groups, all levels of the economic spectrum, and of varying beliefs. We strive to set a good example for our children both personally and in the company we keep. I have never believed in being one of those people who runs around reminding everyone that I am a Christian. I would much prefer that they see it and not have to be told.

This afternoon we attended a reception for a man I consider responsible for part of my early growth as a Christian. Reverend Jim Martin retired after serving as the pastor of Lithonia First Baptist Church for nearly 27 years. We waited in the receiving line for over an hour just to get into the fellowship hall to greet him and his wife. (In fact Mama joked with him and told him she thought by the line of people that the Pope himself must be here. Without missing a beat he replied, "I am here...Pope Jimmy the First!") Reverend Martin is a jolly, quick-witted, genuinely caring man who has truly blessed countless lives with not only the Word of God but with Christian love and fellowship. He has counted himself an honorary member of our family for as long as I can recall, and is welcomed in as one of our own at the big dinner before Christmas. As a teen I attended services at this church, and it was there that, I guess you could say, things "clicked" for me as a Christian. With Reverend Martin, you never felt insignificant or unimportant because of your age. When I have sought his counsel, I have received it. When I needed spiritual comfort, it was always there. Reverend Martin leaves some mightly big shoes to fill for the next pastor. It is plain for all to see that he is a child of God.

Later this afternoon we attended a surprise birthday party for a friend we have not seen in about 5 years. When we first married we spent many, many enjoyable evenings with him and his wife. Looking back it seems that as Barry and I grew in one direction, they were drawn in another. Barry and I became more active in the church, and Barry felt the call to the ministry. This young man, however, had an increased fascination with the occult. He regards himself as some sort of mage or mystic. It might sound weird, but there are places in his house that just don't feel "right" to me. Tonight I felt very different from the people around me. Judging someone else is wrong, but I felt like we were square pegs in round holes. The boys played outside and enjoyed themselves, but when they entered the house I wanted to know precisely where they were. We went downstairs to see some new photos of the family and passed a room that seemed to draw the interest of the whole group. Barry stepped inside the door to view a poster on the wall, and I followed. In the center of the room was a column painted with colorful designs and strange markings. The room felt odd, and as Barry stepped away to look at another poster I shivered as though the temperature dropped. I decided to step into the doorway to wait for him. Aaron remarked later that in another room it suddenly grew very warm in a certain spot.

On the way home Barry and I discussed the evening and invitation to come back and play games. I told Barry that if he chose to go and play games with them, that I would not be joining them. We both agreed that we would not feel comfortable without the other one there. We also talked with the children about the importance of remembering who's child you are, and not doing things you'd be uncomfortable talking to Jesus about. You have to pick who you are going to walk with. We have other friends, like our dear neighbors, who make you feel good to be with because the Holy Spirit just surrounds them. No matter what your day has been like, when you give Kay or Terry a hug you just automatically feel better. Then you have this other couple, people I care about but I worry about and pity also. There is just such a feeling of decay around them. Their lives are really the square pegs, but their marriage, their home, their family are all round holes that just aren't fitting right.

Times change and people do too. I am not perfect and do not lead a perfect life. But I do know who's child I am. Daddy was an honest, Christian man. Mama has always led by example down the path of a Christian life. I am blessed to know that I am my Heavenly Father's child.

Our home may be noisy and disorganized, but it is happy and full of love.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Spring Break

I love springtime! The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and the vehicles are all yellow! Pollen is EVERYWHERE, but you must have pollen to have plants and flowers!

Another good occurrence is that Spring Break is finally here!!! No, we aren't headed to the beach or the mountains, but we are home enjoying being a family! I have located the stove and remembered how to use it, the kids have rediscovered the yard, and Barry has returned to work (though not quite up to full speed yet). Our new neighbors have returned from New York and are truly a delightful couple. He found me weeding my roses and we got into a good conversation about gardening. He said, in his beautiful Jamaican/English accent, that he loves to grow "toe-MAH-tehs" which translates to "maters" in Georgia! I'm looking forward to getting to know Hedley and Yvonne. It is wonderful to live in a place with good people around you!

I have written before about how people are blessings and how God blesses us with the beauty of His creation. I have seen this over the past week. My little deafblind angel won first place on Friday in the Special Olympics tennis ball throw. Another therapist took the cutest photo of the two of us that day with her standing in my arms and smiling. I saw a whole field full of these remarkable children and young people running and jumping and being stars for the day. I saw one little child resting on his belly in the cool, green grass. He traced each blade of grass with his fingers and had such a look of wonder and enjoyment on his sweet face. Whether or not he consciously knows Jesus, Jesus knows him!