Category: reflections

Uganda and Back Again…

11864991_10205074510038400_3173914615367075047_oTuesday spent about 8 weeks over the summer, in Kampala, Uganda volunteering with Days for Girls. She had an incredible experience and I am so proud of her.  I am happy I was able to (in some small way) share this journey with her.  She transported and handed out the 75 kits that I was able to make (with the help of some incredible people).  I believe this was a truly life changing experience for her and I am glad she had the opportunity to go on this adventure.

dfgu kabale groupOf course, I missed her incredibly during this time, but enabling your children to explore the world is what it is all about…..learning to let them grow and learning to let go.

 

Six Months Old…..

Right after my twins were born, someone said to me…the time is going to fly by….it will be crazy..you’ll wake up and your twins will be six months old and then they’ll be one year old before you know it!!  Well, that happened.  Each day goes by so quickly…with barely enough time to do the essential stuff, let alone any extra stuff.  I can’t believe they are already six months old.  I’m not getting much more sleep than I did when they were first born…but they are darn cute!  They just started eating cereal and they seem to be enjoying it.  Escher is rolling here and there and scooting all over the place.  Little shy Grey has done about four roll overs.  She’s slowly getting there.  I’m afraid Escher is going to be leaving her in the dust soon!  So, here are some photos….It seems like just yesterday they looked like this….

 

 

Summer Popsicles….

It all starts out innocent…..”Mom, can I have a popsicle?”

But it is summertime, and there is nothing innocent about popsicles…they just melt too fast…

Kids just don’t get the ratio of licks per second to counteract the melting factor!  It is agonizing to watch…as a parent, you just want to take over……

You want to help your child……but you know they just have to learn…one of life’s most important lessons…..

That if they don’t figure out the licking/melting ratio factor thingie…….the inevitable is going to happen…..

the popsicle spills to the ground…..

but that’s okay….you just teach them the other rule in life…pick it up and keep on going……

Let the rain in…

When I was in high school, I went to a conference for the yearbook.  I was the photography editor and responsible for all the photos in the yearbook.  One of the points I remember them saying was, “let the rain in.”  I have remembered that quote my entire life….one of those things you don’t forget……you remember like it was yesterday.

I try to remember to let the rain…..but sometimes I forget.  The rain is a good thing…..something necessary for all living things…and you gotta let it in….because when you do…you realize how wonderful it is….

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It ends tonight!

Capturing memories….

I took care of my grandmother for about three years before she died.  She died when she was 99 years old.  She lived in the same house for approximately 77 years.   She knew every single inch of that house…inside and out.  I think I knew the house pretty well…but I didn’t want to forget it.  Right before my grandmother died, I saw a photography exhibit.  The entire exhibit was photos of the photographer’s mother’s house…..right after she died.   The little details, the small moments…that you might otherwise forget.

I knew I had to do this…..and I am so glad that I did.   After my grandmother died, before I started cleaning everything out…I went through the house and took many photos of all the rooms….doorknobs, photos, wallpaper, plates, light switches…..things that I knew my grandmother treasured.

Things that seemed so small and insignificant….yet held so many memories.  Lightswitches that my grandmother turned on and off thousands of times, dishes that my grandmother cleaned over and over again, railings that helped my grandmother get up and down the stairs..year after year after year…..the wood worn down to show the years….

I am so glad that I have these memories….and I look back at them often.

They are photos that I will treasure for a lifetime……

Turning Forty-Three….

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I recently celebrated my forty-third birthday…..forty-three…I just had to type that again.  How time flies…as they say…

Well, it was my first birthday without my mother.  And I knew it would be a bit emotional to not see or hear from my her.  It made me want to go and find some photos of my mom when she was my age.  I didn’t find a lot…as most moms…we are usually the ones BEHIND the camera, not in front of it….after about an hour long search, I found two photos.  One is of my mom, one of my brothers and me on my fourth birthday.  The other one is from Easter of that same year, also with my mom and some of my brothers.

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In both photos, I’m wearing dresses that my grandmother made for me.  I loved that purple dress.  It was one of my favorites.  She also made my Barbie a matching one.  My mom didn’t change much year to year….she looks almost identical in this picture as the day she died…..

Nostalgia…..and brown sugar cookies

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Nostalgia….longing for something past….do you ever get that feeling……longing for the past?  I guess with all that snow I got that feeling…I hadn’t made my grandmother’s brown sugar cookies in a long time…and I finally made them…..after playing all day in the snow….

Growing up, my grandmother’s brown sugar cookies were my favorite.  My grandmother only made three types of cookies…chocolate chip, vanilla and brown sugar.  Whenever she made cookies she would put them in her cookie tins and they would be in her dining room…waiting for you….as you came into her house.   Well….I actually have my grandmother’s dining room furniture and I have her cookie tins…..I love those cookie tins…my grandfather made them….they are a set of four…they are one of my most treasured items.  Unfortunately, the cookie tin is already almost empty!  But here is the recipe.  It is a very simple recipe, but delicious…

Nana’s Brown Sugar Cookies

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup butter

1 egg

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Cream together brown sugar and butter. Add beaten egg. Add rest of ingredients. Add walnuts if desired. Roll into balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Use fork to create criss cross design on each cookie.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.

Yields approximately 3 dozen cookies.

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Haiti…

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When certain things happen in the world…things seem so overwhelming….it makes me feel helpless…somehow giving a little bit of money doesn’t seem enough..it makes me grateful for all the wonderful things I have…for being able to go to my kitchen and get a glass of clean water….and being able to feed my children…..

10 years ago today…..

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Ten years ago today, Quinn was born.  It was a Saturday.  I remember because we had gone to my parents house that Friday night and I ate way too much pizza and I had a ring ding for dessert..It was my first ring ding in years….I regretted that later.

It’s been a great ten years.  He is a great child…incredibly thoughtful, creative, though incredibly sensitive.  I think he has a lot of my personality.  Funny, that Tuesday seems to be more like Christopher and Quinn seems to be more like me….

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