dual personalities

Category: family

December 28, 2018

The bells began to chime

by chuckofish

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This morning we are driving daughter #2 and DN to the airport. We had a super fun week with them. We threw a party and we went to a party. We went to church on Christmas Eve and opened presents on Christmas morning. We made a delicious Christmas feast. We sat around and talked a lot. We ate a lot and toasted a lot. We watched movies. We played with the wee babes.

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We packed a whole lot of fun into a few days. We will miss them so much.

Sigh.

Some of us slept through it, but c’est la vie.

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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.

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December 25, 2018

Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lord

by chuckofish

IMG_5182.JPGThis was the most precious moment of my Christmas Eve…the wee laddie sitting on my lap toward the end of the Christmas Eve service, entertaining himself by paging through the Book of Common Prayer. I mean, c’mon…

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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December 24, 2018

Christmas postcards

by chuckofish

Everyone arrived home and we threw a party!

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Just the basics…

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The wee laddie found the knife drawer…

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These two dudes are on the same wave length…

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The hero worship begins…

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This fashion maven is all about the books…

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This little chair was just right…

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After everyone went home and we cleaned up, we got in our jammies and watched White Christmas. 

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

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December 20, 2018

Go tell it on the mountain

by chuckofish

Today is my last day at work before taking off for my Christmas holiday! Yes, I took some vacation days not long ago, but my pilgrimage to the holy land was hardly restful! Now I am going for restful.

  1. I am going to enjoy my Christmas decor…

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2. I am going to enjoy the fact that I have already wrapped all my presents…

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3. I’ll watch Christmas movies…

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4. I’ll make a grocery list for our party on Sunday…

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5. And await the arrival of daughter #1, daughter #2 and DN this weekend.

BTW–Congratulations to daughter #2 👏👏👏 who was “hooded” yesterday! She is now officially a PhD. I think she looks like a Presbyterian minister.

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The two PhD couple–adorable!

I will also note that it is time again for the TCM Remembers video:

It was news to me that Barbara Harris had died. She had quite a career, although most people nowadays probably have never heard of her. She appeared in a lot of stage productions on Broadway, including On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, which Lerner and Loewe wrote especially for her. She was in some good movies too, my favorite, of course, being A Thousand Clowns (1965). She was also in the original Freaky Friday (1976) with Jody Foster.

Screen Shot 2018-12-19 at 5.04.28 PM.pngI also just heard that Penny Marshall died the other day. Although the New York Times chose to remember her as “the nasal-voiced co-star of the slapstick sitcom “Laverne & Shirley” and later the chronically self-deprecating director of hit films like “Big” and “A League of Their Own,” I will always remember her as the very talented director of one of my favorite movies, the wonderful Awakenings (1991).

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I think I will watch it tonight and toast Penny Marshall, Barbara Harris and my  lovely, talented and deeply intelligent daughter #2!

Onward to Christmas!

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December 18, 2018

In calm or stormy weather

by chuckofish

Today is my dear DP’s birthday. There is nothing that makes me feel older than my little sister reaching an age milestone, even hitting that milestone myself! We are getting to be such old ladies!

Screen Shot 2018-12-17 at 9.08.10 AM.pngHere she is on a dig in Jordan back in 1985 when she was a twenty-something graduate student, back when we had waistlines and tucked in our shirts.

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You may have gathered that my sister is the intellectual in the family and the most like our mother in that respect. Our mother was very proud of her, traveling all over the world in the pursuit of knowledge. She lived to see her go on to Yale and the Babylonian Collection, but she did not see her married and the mother of three boys. She would have been equally proud of that. She would have loved that she is a college professor. And she would have been very happy to know that she is a elder in her church.

I have always been proud of my little sister as well. She did the things I wasn’t able to do–she made the varsity field hockey team! She was never timid.

Well, we have been lucky to have each other and to support each other through the years, because, you know…

…there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands

(Christina Rossetti, “Goblin Market”)

Perhaps we are beginning to totter a bit, but we’re still standing! Join me in a toast to my much loved dual personality!

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December 14, 2018

I choose joy

by chuckofish

Unknown.jpegI am still getting Christmas decorations out and finding a place for them. Other things must be put away. Annie and Andy were quite accommodating.

Unknown-3.jpegThis gang goes on the mantle.

Unknown-2.jpegBut I am not so sure where this gang is going to go…

Unknown-1.jpegThis weekend I will (hopefully) settle all these decorating issues.

These are issues I can deal with. Three years ago we were dealing with finding out the boy had cancer. Two years ago the twins were born at 27 weeks, 3 months premature, and their parents were camped out in the NICU. “Things happen,” as T.E. Lawrence said, “and we do our best to keep in the saddle.” We stayed in the saddle. We keep going.

Because there is always something to deal with. The ups and downs of business. The precarious-ness of jobs. They seem magnified at this time of year when we are so busy and so focused on the festivities of the season. What we really  need to focus on, of course, is the fact that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld  his glory, the glory as of the only begotten son of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

It is Advent, after all. We are waiting. Let’s take a deep breath (or two) and ponder these things in our heart.

Listen to some good music.

Read something uplifting.

“He knew that all was well, because he had done the best that he could, from day to day. He had been true to the light that had been given to him. He had looked for more. And if he had not found it, if a failure was all that came out of his life, doubtless that was the best that was possible. He had not seen the revelation of “life everlasting, incorruptible and immortal.” But he knew that even if he could live his earthly life over again, it could not be otherwise than it had been.”
― Henry van Dyke, The Story of the Other Wise Man

This weekend I am going to finish my Christmas shopping, wrap a boatload of presents, decorate the big tree, get my house ready for visitors, go to church, and choose to be joyful.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (I Timothy 1: 15-17)

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December 10, 2018

“Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding. ‘Christ is nigh,’ it seems to say…”*

by chuckofish

Well, we are well into Advent and it was good to be back at my home church yesterday. Last Sunday we pilgrims were celebrating the first Sunday in Advent at St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem. Established in 1899, it is the seat of the Bishop of Jerusalem of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. The Bishop gave the sermon (in English and in Arabic) and we sang good old hymns. It was a lovely service.

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Meanwhile back at the ranch, daughter #1 was home and she helped me a lot getting out more Christmas stuff…

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putting up the outside lights and buying and setting up our small tree in the dining room.

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We also went to the church bazaar and to a couple of estate sales where we picked up some books, including the hard-to-find St. Louis Then and Now. She spotted it, grabbed my arm and stage-whispered, “Pick it up! Pick it up!” I knew then and there that daughter #1 has become a true estate sale-er with an eagle eye for the rare find!

We watched the 1951 A Christmas Carol with Alistair Sim (the best version) and The Bishop’s Wife (1947).

Screen Shot 2018-12-09 at 5.29.53 PM.pngThe wee babes and their parents came over for tacos on Saturday night. In 2 1/2 weeks the babes have apparently made huge leaps and bounds in the talking department.

IMG_2768.JPEGThe switch really flipped in the little guy and he is so verbal now! When you pick him up, he says, “Down!” Amazing.IMG_2766.jpegAfter daughter #1 left on Sunday, the OM and I girded our loins, donned our mittens and went to the Optimist lot to buy a big tree. We were successful and carted it home to the garage. Setting it up and decorating it will be a task for next weekend.

It’s good to be home.

*Hymns Ancient and Modern

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November 22, 2018

“Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices”*

by chuckofish

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Here’s something good to read about the “First Thanksgiving,” which reminds us that the Pilgrims were “people of remarkable faith and fortitude—common folk of average abilities and below-average means who risked everything in the interest of their families and their community of faith.” Americans tend to forget that and most may not even value those qualities anymore. Well, I do.

Last night we had the whole gang plus Tim and Abbie, who drove in from Indiana, over for gluten-free chili. Today we will be a smaller gathering for turkey and trimmings–the wee babes and their parents are coming later for pie and our annual viewing of Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987).

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We do love our traditions.

Let’s all take a moment.

*Martin Rinkart

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November 16, 2018

“When we laughed round the corn-heap, with hearts all in tune, Our chair a broad pumpkin,—our lantern the moon”*

by chuckofish

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Well, yesterday we had our first snow day of the season–before Thanksgiving!

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Having a snow day is a big pain for school administrators, but for once, I was grateful. Boy, did I need a day at home to get things done! I worked hard all day and made great strides in getting ready for my Big Trip and also getting my house ready for houseguests next week and Thanksgiving.

The snow stopped when the sun came out around 2:15, but the OM and I still felt justified in skipping an event last night, which was a super relief. Sometimes you just have to know when enough is enough. I feel much better now about dealing with work obligations including a big event today. Phew.

The boy sent pictures of the wee babes walking around  in their yard enjoying the snow.

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The world is more than we know.

And the weekend is almost here! The wee babes are celebrating their 2nd birthday (3 weeks early) at a Toy Story-themed birthday party.

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Let the good times roll. But get some rest. Remember:

“Sleep is a daily reminder from God that we are not God. Once a day God sends us to bed like patients with a sickness. The sickness is a chronic tendency to think we are in control and that our work is indispensable. To cure us of this disease God turns us into helpless sacks of sand once a day.”
― John Piper

*from “The Pumpkin” by John Greenleaf Whittier

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November 12, 2018

“He hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat”*

by chuckofish

It is chilly here in flyover country and there was snow on Friday! Daughter #1 drove home buffeted by a wintery wind in time to accompany Carla and me to a 90th birthday party for a church friend–oh boy! Then the three of us went to dinner afterwards and Carla regaled us with the saga of getting rid of a 20 lb. raccoon that had died behind her closet wall. And you thought you had a bad week.

After estate sale-ing on Saturday I dropped daughter #1 off at her football game watch party (Monon Bell) and I caught up on some housework. The wee babes came over that night for tacos and ran us ragged. I cannot imagine anymore how calm and placid it must be with just one toddler!

They love our old-school toys.

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Clearly Lottie understands what a rotary phone is for.

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Those antennae are endlessly fascinating.

They can now sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat complete with hand movements, although they do have trouble with the “merrily, merrily, merrily” part. Life is but a dream.

IMG_1850.JPEGAfter they left, we managed to watch Murder on the Orient Express (1974) without passing out.

I was glad to see that our church made (sort of) a big deal out of Veterans Day for a change. We had two uniformed veterans and an active Air Corpsman participating in the service. We sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The rector talked about the 100th anniversary of the armistice in his sermon and announced that the three memorial plaques, which had been taken down several years ago during a renovation, had been re-hung last week. I was glad to hear it, since I had just been thinking it was time to nag him about it again.

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Two young men from Grace Church died in the Argonne Forest and one died of wounds suffered there a month later in the U.S. Eight men from Grace died in WWII.  I was very happy to see the plaques back in a prominent place where they belong. Lest we forget.

After church daughter #1 headed back to mid-MO and the OM and I went to see our friend Eleanor in the matinee (i.e. senior citizen show) of the Kirkwood Theatre Guild production of Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, a “delightful satire” which promised to “keep us laughing.” Guess what? Well, I didn’t fall asleep.

I have a Big Week coming up with 2 big events, multiple meetings, and Marilynne Robinson is visiting my flyover university. Yikes. Take a deep breath. Have a good one.

*Battle Hymn of the Republic

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