Five Things You HAVE TO ask your Grandma

It has been 14 months since I've been "home" to Colorado.  I miss my family terribly, and am thilled to say that I've just booked my trip to see them again in April.  Yay!

I'm SO glad to have this trip booked since I feared that my next trip to Denver was going to be for a funeral.  I have several aging grandparents and whenever one of them calls, my heart skips a beat until I hear that there's no alarm in their voice.  (I guess this means I should call them more often!)

I lost my dad's mom the day before I was due with my first child. My last conversation with her was along the lines of childbirth advice, of which she was an expert having done it a whopping 9 times!  She's also the grandma that introduced me to sewing, and even though I hardly ever do it, I remember the basics that she taught me.

I'm lucky enough to still have one living grandma.  She's a wonderful cook and really enjoys video poker in Central City (the gambling town outside of Denver).  She's actually assembling for me a cookbook with all of her favorite recipes, and I'm so excited to see what it includes!

Based on a few converstions I've had with her, I would recommend (actually IMPLORE) you to ask your own grandma - memaw - nana - grandmother the following things:

1. How to prepare your favorite meal that she makes.
2. What her relationship was like with her grandma?  Mother?  Your parent?  Your grandfather?
3. What has changed the most (about society, family, etc) since she was your age?
4. What does she want you to always remember about her?
5. Are there decisions she made in her life that she would have made differently, knowing what she knows now?

Hurry, you never know when she won't be there for you to ask.

It Takes a Village

We've all heard the term, "It takes a village to raise a child."  I've always interpreted that statement as permission for me to ask for help when it comes to caring for and raising my own children.  Somewhat selfish, I know.

But I have recently had an opportunity to see this in a new way...where I'm the villager helping with another's child.

I have nieces, nephews, and friends with small children.  I've never been shy about helping that child grow or learn from mistakes. Sometimes I handle those situations much more admirably that I would with my own children!  But when I was made aware of a teenager who make a poor judgment call, I was stumped about what to do.  (I will refrain from some details to protect the privacy of this teenager)

I typically treat this teenager with the same respect and trust that I would with any other adult.  So when I learned of her lapse in judgement, I thought, "I should treat her like an adult then, and handle this one-on-one without involving her parents."  I chewed on it for days...almost a week...until I finally realized that I couldn't let it consume me any more.  And I had a convincing conversation with my Mom who said, "If someone were going to confront YOU when you were a teen, I would want to know about it.  And even though you treat her like an adult, SHE'S A CHILD."

So, I called the teen's Mom (who is also a friend).  It was hard to tell the mom about this situation, being that no one likes to know when their kid screwed up.  But she was thankful, concerned, and disappointed in her actions.  Then...get this...she thanked me for keeping an eye on her daughter and told me that I would understand, someday, that it's a good feeling to know that others are looking out for your kids.

It dawned on me that this was one of those It-Takes-A-Village moments.

Later that evening I did talk with the teen and settled things.  She's learned what she did wrong, both from her mom's perspective and from the "outsider adult" perspective (me).

With my kids being 9, 6 and 2, it looks like a have a lot of "fun" to look forward to in the teenage years.  So if you see one of my young ones doing something they shouldn't, PLEASE don't hesitate to correct them and/or let me know so I can!

What I've Been Doing With My Time

So here's what I've been doing with my time...

Ahh!  We're finally in the new house!  As you can see, whe need lots of work on the yard, so anyone who is getting ready thin their pernnials, please let me know.  I'd love some starts.

In April, I called in all kinds of favors and had many friends help with the project.  Throughout the months of April, May, and June, I painted walls, trim, stained doors, stair parts, and all the other things that go with the final touches of a new home.  Here are the stats:

• Approximately 35 gallons of paint, including the Burnt Almond and Planetarium Blue seen in my bedroom below.

• 37 oak doors, 14 stair treads, 7 posts and about 70 feet of hand and shoe rail using 2 gallons of Minwax "Early American Stain" and 3 gallons of oil-based Minwax Polyeurathane

So as I add a few finishing touches here or there, I'll make sure to keep you guys in the loop.  Thanks for welcoming me back to the blogosphere!

Thanksgiving thoughts

Here are a few things I'm thankful for:

• I'm thankful for my God
• I'm thankful for the love of my husband and children
• I'm thankful that my mom and I are the best of friends
• I'm thankful to had my dad in my life for 24 wonderful years, and that he was alive to walk me down the aisle and meet his first grandchild
• I'm thankful for my Indiana family
• I'm thankful for good friends, especially for those who have dealt with me on a bad day.
• I'm thankful for the roof over my head, food in my pantry, clothes on my back, and the financial security of having a job, insurance and money in the bank.
• I'm thankful for my health and the health of my loved ones.
• I'm thankful for my education and life experiences I've been granted.
• I'm thankful for the arts - books, movies, theater, music
• I'm thankful for my freedom (this should be much higher on the list)
• I'm thankful for my cleaning lady.
• I'm thankful for chocolate, peanut butter, Japanese food, Video Entertainment Systems in vehicles, LL Bean slippers, and the nights when my husband cooks dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Note to Boilers - be sure to watch the BEGINNING of the Macy's parade.  The All-American Marching Band is the first band on Thursday morning!