dual personalities

Month: April, 2021

April 30, 2021

Tempted and tried with each step we take

by chuckofish

I received some very nice gifts for my birthday from my thoughtful family, including a foot massager that is out of this world. Another favorite is my new book, Dolly Parton Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.

You know how I feel about Dolly–she’s the greatest–so wiling away the hours reading this collection of the lyrics to 175 of her best-loved songs, along with the personal memories and the inspiration behind them, has been a pleasure. Just looking at the pictures of this remarkably beautiful lady from the hills of Tennessee is fun.

In other news, we had a new roof put on our house yesterday and I feel as if I went through the Battle of the Somme. I was exhausted and shell-shocked after 7 hours of incessant hammering and thumping above me while I attempted to work remotely in my upstairs “office.” Boy, do those guys work hard! Anyway, the new roof looks very nice and I am glad to have it done and finished.

Tomorrow is the birthday of Henry Koster, who, though he never won an Oscar, directed some darn good movies: The Bishop’s Wife (1947), Harvey (1950), The Robe (1953), A Man Called Peter (1955), and a host of others. I will toast him and watch one of his films.

And here’s a good thought from another Scotsman. “So we do not panic and we do not vent, and we enjoy a deep confidence even as the tides seem to run against our faith. “

Well, TGIF. Have a good weekend. Mine will be a quiet one with none of the rollicking fun of last weekend, but that’s okay. I need to catch my breath.

Tempted and tried with each step we take.

We stumble and slide and make our mistakes,

Ask God to forgive us for all of our sins,

Then we take off our horns and wear halos again.

–Dolly Parton

(Only Dolly can rhyme sins with again.)

3 Comments
April 29, 2021

The kindness of strangers

by chuckofish

Darling Katie and I made it back home in one piece — for the most part. I think both of our nerves are a bit frayed. I didn’t manage to do much back at work because Katie was all out of sorts and would get very upset if I was not in her sight. I think after a fun weekend with a relaxed, happy mommy and lots of extra attention, she was a little bit like:

What, mommy is back on her laptop?

I feel you, Katie.

Since we have already reported the play-by-play of all the fun we had over the weekend, I thought I’d share how we did on the airplane. While being in crowds in an enclosed space after 13 months of…not doing that…was a bit much, I was happy to find that you can still depend on the kindness of strangers. I was able to tote Katie, a suitcase, and a huge diaper bag with me through the airport and onto the airplane and into a window seat only because several people offered to carry my bags, make room for us to move around, and pick up various items from beneath their seats over and over again.

Katie spent most of her time in the air like this:

but no one so much as gave us the side eye. Instead, they gave us lots of compliments: on Katie’s cool demeanor, peekaboo skills, leopard-print attire, etc.

Katie’s seat-mates about her in-flight performance

Well, I have to agree. It is gratifying to know that this “pandemic baby” can handle being out in the world — and that the world is not totally terrible!

Until our next adventure, we will be readjusting to our quiet routine: unpacking baskets, practicing standing, and holding conversations with clown bear.

“YES, I like your bowtie, OK!?”

3 Comments
April 28, 2021

The scent of water

by chuckofish

Who didn’t get the memo? JK, there was no memo, which is even funnier.

Today I am standing in for daughter #1, who drove all over Missouri yesterday, after driving us around all weekend. I know she was exhausted when she finally rolled into Jeff City late yesterday afternoon, having made a side-trip to Springfield (to film a video) on the way home.

I too went back to work (in my upstairs office at home) and tried to get my mind off everyone leaving by concentrating on other things. Likewise daughter #2 is recovering from her trip home with her bright-eyed and very energetic baby. Life barrels on.

“Jean was visited by one of her rare moments of happiness, one of those moments when the goodness of God was so real to her that it was like taste and scent; the rough strong taste of honey in the comb and the scent of water. Her thoughts of God had a homeliness that at times seemed shocking, in spite of their power, which could rescue her from terror or evil with an ease that astonished her.”

― Elizabeth Goudge, The Scent of Water 

This article by John Piper about angels interested me. “So, all angels serve the good of all Christians all the time. They are agents, as it were, of Romans 8:28, making everything work together for good under God’s providence.” As a matter of fact, I call on angels every day, especially when my children are driving around the state and flying on planes. Does that surprise you?

Willie Nelson will celebrate his eighty-eighth birthday tomorrow. Here is one of my favorite recordings of his, a duet with Emmylou Harris from 1990.

Have a great Wednesday. I thank God that his mercies are new to me every morning and that his grace is sufficient for all situations that I may encounter. Peace to you.

4 Comments
April 27, 2021

Unlatching the door to the canary’s cage

by chuckofish

We had one more fun day with daughter #2 and Katiebelle. We stuck to our plan of going to the zoo between Zoom meetings,

but then our plans fell apart in the afternoon. We found out the hard way that our local custard station hasn’t opened for the season yet, Club Taco is closed on Monday, Hacienda had a 25 minute wait at happy hour and so on. We finally went home and daughter #1 made Margaritas the old fashioned way (in the blender). We ordered takeout from Dewey’s and the OM picked it up. Splendid.

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.

Today daughter #2 and Katie are heading home to DN and we are very sad 😭, but we will see them soon.

And here’s a poem by Billy Collins:

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary’s cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

4 Comments
April 26, 2021

Postcards from the weekend

by chuckofish

Daughter #2 and Baby Katie made it to flyover country on Saturday which was rainy and dark, but this little cupcake brightened things up right away…

We went to our favorite winery in Hillsboro and the wee twins came over for a frolic. Baby Katie was chill throughout–quelle trouper! I managed to go to church for the 4th week in a row! And we celebrated two birthdays.

Today I am supposed to be working, but we are sneaking off to the zoo between Zoom meetings. Sounds like a plan.

3 Comments
April 23, 2021

Tally ho!

by chuckofish

It’s Friday and I am very excited because daughter #2 and baby Katie are arriving tomorrow for a quick visit. How great is that? Thankfully we have gotten through all the snow and cold temps and we should be able to enjoy some nice sit-outside weather.

In other news, my DP gave me this book for my birthday and I have been flying through it.

Scary stuff, harrowing stuff, but we knew that about the Comanches already. (I had a hunch that Larry McMurtry wasn’t exaggerating. He must have read Rachel Plummer’s journal.) Read it, if you can take it. There is no sugar-coating and excuse-making for the Comanches’ behavior. There is plenty of context. I am enjoying it a lot.

I watched two Humphrey Bogart movies this week: The African Queen (1951) and The Oklahoma Kid (1939). I enjoyed them both a lot. The African Queen is a classic, of course, and I have seen it many times. I had not seen the latter in 50 or so years–not since the Humphrey Bogart Theater on channel 11 days of my childhood. It also stars James Cagney as the eponymous hero. He is a little weird (and short) in a western, but I have grown to appreciate him in my dotage. He had a style all his own, even in high-heeled cowboy boots.

This was a thought-provoking piece. “How does a person become a saint? By grace alone. To argue otherwise questions what the Bible has to say about people and about saints. A true saint is not someone we strive to imitate, but someone who shows us a clearer picture of what it means to be a sinner saved by God.”

This reminded me that The Selfish Giant was one of the boy’s favorite stories and deeply affected him as a child. “And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, ‘You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.”

O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

BCP

Enjoy your weekend! Make good choices!

5 Comments
April 22, 2021

Mamu’s birthday week continues

by chuckofish

First things first: we want to add our happy birthday messages to mamu!

We love her very much, especially when we get to see her on FaceTime after the phone goes “boo-do-boo-do-boop” and her face shows up. Mamu sends us the best care packages, including the chicest outfits (hello leopard print and quilted jackets). Mostly, she sets the very best example for mommy and we can only hope to continue a wonderful generational mommy-and-me tradition. Will Katie want to spend all of her Saturdays with me in high school?

“Only if you chill with the matching outfits.”

In our neck of the woods, we continue to work and play nonstop. Like, literally nonstop until we all crash into bed (Katie for 12 hours, mom and dad for AT LEAST 9 or we feel like zombies.) When Katie wakes up, it’s like a jack-in-the-box who is ready to go after being all wound up with all that rest. Very sweet, and very exhausting.

We suspect that another tooth is coming in, so the teethers are back in action. Does anyone have advice for holding on to your teether while doing your wiggle dance?

Above, you will also see clown bear and little brown hare, Katie’s friends who now have full-fledged personalities and voices thanks to her parents. Are we going nuts? A little bit.

In other news, a friend passed along this standing activity toy for Katie now that she wants to pull up whenever and wherever possible. Did I used to scoff at garish primary-colored toys with jungle themes and music features? Yes. Am I thrilled to now have this in my living room? Yes. Are we still holding firm with the “off” switch on sound? Wholeheartedly yes.

Really, I jest. Grab your bonnets, we’re living our best lives (headed to the park)!

3 Comments
April 21, 2021

Ready for the weekend.

by chuckofish

This picture is from five years ago (FIVE YEARS) when Susie and I were in town to throw a rager for our dear Mother’s 60th birthday. It seems like a lifetime ago. I don’t think any of those clothes fit me anymore. Well, maybe the scarf does.

Anyway, I’m glad we’ll all be together this weekend to celebrate Susie’s birthday AND Mom’s birthday. Last year, we were all sequestered in our separate homes–and Dad forgot about it entirely (he was too busy stocking up on Dinty Moore beef stew in the event of the apocalypse). Was that worse than the year I accidentally froze her birthday cake and had a meltdown a la DJ Tanner the time she froze the turkey on Thanksgiving? Well, I think we can laugh about both now…

I sure am grateful for my sweet mother who always brightens my day, takes my phone calls, and tells me my stitching looks fine, even when it doesn’t. She is a blessing to those around her.

I should have volunteered to take blog post duty for her birthday–but I guess my failure to do that means that at least she doesn’t have to write one on her birthday. So let’s raise a toast to her today and many more toasts this weekend! And hopefully at a rager this summer, when we’re allowed to gather in person again. Oy vey. We can all channel our inner-Lottie.

4 Comments
April 20, 2021

“So now I’m going back again/ I got to get to her somehow/ All the people we used to know/ They’re an illusion to me now”*

by chuckofish

The 1970s is not my favorite decade. Although it is the decade of my long lost youth and beauty, I view those years with some horror and a bit of loathing. Lately, however, I have been revisiting the decade and finding comfort and, yes, even some joy in it.

Last weekend when daughter #1 and I recovered from one long bout of babysitting with a margarita at Club Taco, we listened with pleasure to the 1970s playlist being piped in. It wasn’t just the booze. I enjoyed hearing Don McLean, the Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bob Seger, the Who, Fleetwood Mac, even the Bee Gees, and so on.

Besides listening to music from yon olden days, I have to admit that I have been watching reruns of Adam-12, a show I wouldn’t have been caught dead watching as a teenager when it was first on TV (my father was a big fan) but with which I am now quite taken. In fact I watch it every weeknight instead of the evening news.

It looks like I’m not the only fan out there:

Love the Coldplay mood music

As you know I’ve also been watching Starsky and Hutch and Banacek from the 1970s. Where is all this nostalgia coming from (and where is it going) you ask. I couldn’t really say. But there is comfort to be found in the adventures of old Pete Malloy and Jim Reed and comfort is what I’m looking for I guess.

Don’t judge me, but I think this guy is next on the list.

Maybe the point is, when you get to be my age, you don’t care if it is cool to do something. And I can’t always be reading the Psalms.

P.S. I also like these kiddos doing covers of music from the 1970s.

P.P.S. Today is my birthday!

*Bob Dylan, “Tangled Up in Blue”

6 Comments
April 19, 2021

Postcards from the weekend

by chuckofish

I turned in a huge project on Friday–a grant proposal years in the making–and so when daughter #1 arrived in town, we celebrated at our favorite local re-opened wine/Tapas bar with a glass of wine and some hummus. Delightful. That set us up nicely for the rest of the weekend which involved a 4.5 hour babysitting assignment with the wee twins on Saturday, followed by a reprise on Sunday afternoon.

It was a lot, but a mostly delightful experience. I also managed to go to church for the third week in a row! In addition, we ordered a car seat and stocked up on Pampers and organic veggie pouches in anticipation of daughter #2 and Katie’s visit this coming weekend. We watched Hatari (1962) in two parts. This movie is a lot of fun and was a huge hit in 1962. All the actors did their own stunts with the wild animals–amazing!

It is a celebration God’s creation, plus there is a lot of chain-smoking, hipster merry-making.

It is fun to have four-year olds with whom to share the bounty of spring: the beautiful blooming trees, the lush green grass, the bugs that are appearing, the hosta poking through the dirt, along with the iris, the roses, the Euonymus and Ajuga, the peonies, the ants.

We even found two plastic Easter eggs that had not been found two weeks ago during our egg hunt! The chocolate bunnies inside were gobbled up immediately!

But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.

–Job 12: 7-10
9 Comments