101 Excuses (or NOT) and Highlights

April-ish 2015. . .
My excuses have overlapped and multiplied toward infinity now; there's no hope of any explanation for my communication absence, but here I am--again, hoping to jump-start my dedication to continued communication regarding our lives. Happy reading--and keep your fingers crossed that my motivation generator functions properly and indeed does generate some substantial thread of "ramblings" here.

I like what I'd begun here nearly two years ago--even in it's sorry state of incompletion--so I'm going to just let it be as is, abandon the 101 excuses list, add in in some memorable highlights from the "absentia interim" and roll from there.

So, I know you've bubbled over with inquiry, a thousand "whys" and "how comes" and "whens" tumbling about in your teeming noggins, craving some rationale for my rampant lack of "Ramblings."  In brutal honesty, I can sum it up in one five-cent, uninspired adjective: LAZY.  But, in a less-succinct, friendlier defense of my dishonorable habits, I--seeking ready redemption from my esteemed readers-- offer this (presumably) more informational and imaginative justification for my severe and sustained silence  

1. Spring sunshine in my region beckons grey-winter-burdened persons to the outdoors. . .
   
2. Protective Papa-hood precludes time at the computer while Princess is home on Spring Break
   
3. Not to mention, the actual journey out of town to take Princess to visit high school friends living in the Pacific Northwest (and of course, dear Bride never neglects any opportunity to head ocean-ward.)
   
4. And a partial week later, (think it happened before my last post--but still qualifies as an attention distracter) was my Spring Break which compelled us to take a soaking journey to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho!  Lovely time, and a nice visit with son on way back.
   
5. And speaking of the brilliant boy, his graduation from university in early May was a busy, exciting time--with lots of family involved in the festivities.
   
6. Drove down on the Friday, met Grandpa from CA there, and made preparations for a celebration party in the park near son's apartment with friends and family after the ceremonies on Saturday.
   
7. Two l-o-n-g ceremonies on Saturday and he participated in both, as he actually earned two Bachelor's degrees: in Mathematics and Computer Science.  The Bride and Grandpa M. attended the morning one, while I happened to watch the part that included him receiving his degree streaming live on-line from the hotel room while preparing for the afternoon and waiting for more family to arrive.
   
8. We all headed to the afternoon ceremony, but didn't meet up with rest of family until at the fieldhouse awaiting the ceremony.  Most of us sat somewhat near one another in the hot, packed arena to endure the ceremonial pomp and witness his second pass through the lines, with mispronounced name, shaking of hands and reception of diploma holder.  Again.
   
9. A bit delayed, but very tasty dinner celebrating his achievements--after Grandma helped get the gravy fixed back in the hotel room, and we hauled all the parts of the feast to the park.  He had 15 or so friends from college there to celebrate with him, as well as all of the family that came over. So very blessed to have the support and dedication of family: Grandpa M., Grandpa & Grandma W., two Aunties, Uncle, and two cousins, and --of course--Mom and Dad.  
   
10. Returning home plans after church services on Sunday needed a tweak or two, but worked out in the end--if a bit later than we'd figured.  Sister's car suffered an ailment after encountering a deep pothole in the street on the way to church, but thanks to AAA membership, an uncle living within 100 miles, and available space in Grandpa M's car, we did all make it back that evening.  
    
11. And, loving Papa-hood (and Son-in-law-ship, too) again minimizes computer time while Son and Dad M. are home with us for about a week  
    
12. Some other time in the spring, spent a long weekend connecting with family.  Spent one night and next morning at my oldest Sister's house--enjoyed too-infrequent relaxed conversation, and a glass of tasty home-brewed wine.  
    
13. Seems we headed up the road a mile for breakfast with Mom and Dad the next morning, and decided would like to go soaking that evening, so made lodging reservations while using wi-fi from sister's driveway, and headed off toward one of our favorite hot springs in Canada in the afternoon.  Met up with other sister and husband for Chinese dinner, and a bit of visiting on the way up.
    
14. Enjoyed a warm soak the last hour before closing at the National Park Hot Springs late that evening, and on our return trip the next morning, we ventured off the highway a ways back into a Provincial Park to check out a very natural, minimally developed hot springs we'd never been to before. Delightful soak among the rocks where a hot river flows off a cliffy-bank into a cold river on the floor of a steep canyon.  Beautifully scenic and peaceful locale for a relaxing soak; we will go back!
    
15. And to further perfect the day, we had a superbly tasty Japanese dinner at a restaurant just down the block from the Chinese we'd eaten with Sister and Brother-in-law the evening before.  Also plan to return there.
    
16. So, guess would be sufficient to say, we enjoy mini-vacations, connecting with family as often as we can fit it in, which makes composing blog entries at home a bit problematic.
    And then there's the thing about my spring/summer jobs.  For about six weeks in the spring, my two jobs tend to overlap.  The greenhouse business sees its most critical and busiest times during the month of May and the first weeks of June.  And concurrently, public schools drag on--despite long-lost focus from most students and a good many teachers as well--til a couple weeks into June.
    
17. Thus, between the harried "get-it-in rush" of the final weeks of lessons at my school, and the "spring-is-finally-here mania" of philafloralists at the garden-center, there were only three days that I did not report to "work" from the day after I got home from son's graduation the first weekend in May until the day we left to retrieve daughter from college in MN in mid-June.  
    
18. One of those days off I attended the memorial service for my sweet, recently-passed Auntie, (at which my brother-in-law compassionately officiated, my brother touchingly eulogized, and my nephew hauntingly fiddled); on another day off, I joined family to help celebrate my amazing Dad's 80th birthday.
    
19. Last day of school was a Friday.  We headed out early Saturday morning east toward MN.  First night in Bismarck, ND and on to Twin Cities area on Sunday afternoon .  Dinner with a friend and her mother at their home was delicious and relaxing, and was so good to catch up some.
    
20. Monday was my 50th birthday and the Princess's last final and paper due; she'd estimated she'd be finished around 5:30, so we planned to go out to dinner to celebrate the milestones--new decade of life for me, completion of second year of college for her.  She IM'ed or texted some time during the day stating that she was now taking her last test at 7:00, so wouldn't likely be done until around 9 p.m.

MUCH LATER:  APRIL 2015: Wow. . . I even ended mid-thought way back then. I'll now try to succinctly complete the potentially lengthy tale of this day, and then change reporting gears for the remainder of the post.  So, Princess's testing delay prompted the bride and I to venture forth for my birthday dinner celebration without her company and made plans to go for dessert with her later. We were sad to discover that the Indian cuisine place where we'd hoped to eat was closed on Mondays; since eatery choices in Northfield are rather limited, we drove one town north on the freeway, wandered a good while on dark streets in the entirely unfamiliar MN city, becoming increasingly frazzled when every well-lit suburban shopping strip failed to prove on its potential to provide "just the right" establishment for my celebratory dinner; we pondered the preposterous profusivity of "Sports Bar and Grills" in one city (NOT what we were looking for,) and were about to redirect our thinking: "Maybe an Arby's Melt is secretly the perfect birthday dinner fare," when just before the freeway ramp, we spotted a dining establishment called "Porterhouse" that projected potentiality.  Steak place, as the name hints.  Enter heavy wooden doors, dim lighting drifting from the dining area, greeted and guided to a table by a quite formally attired host, and offered menus: Arby's Melts are looking like a GREAT idea now. . .but we heroically suppressed all financial sensibilities, delved deep within to don the "Oh well, it's only money. . .it IS my birthday. . .we ARE on vacation" attitude and persevered.  Truthfully, dinner was quite tasty, and we were even served a complimentary sweet, creamy, airy "birthday dessert."  We actually took most of it away in a "go box," since even the two most low-end items from the menu were quite filling, and we had dessert plans with the Princess.  She was well finished with her commitments by the time we got back to campus; we met up with her and exchanged "good-to-see-you" hugs on the dark porch of her Sci-Fi Interest-House residence; she wandered back inside to invite any friend to join us for late night ice cream and returned followed by one kind friend.  Both Princess and the accompanying gentleman thought perhaps there was a Dairy Queen down the way, so we headed "down the way," never to discover a DQ, tried a mid-west diner chain called Culvers who happened to be just closing for the night as we pulled in, and finally arrived at a Perkins, a few cars and lights on hinted that it was still open for business.  As we entered, we were quickly informed they were not an "all night" place but were open for another half-hour, and they did serve ice cream treats.  Lovely Bride probably remembers her ice cream order that night; my "food memories" lack that accurate clarity, however, though I am sure I enjoyed it, and I know I definitely reveled in the company as we celebrated entrance into my "second half-century" of life.  A memorable day!  The next day was spent helping the Princess pack-up and clean her room, to leave behind her sophomore year of college.  We also set out together toward Chicago that evening which ushers forth the Princess's next highlight adventure.

So, a nice segue into my "reporting-style change" as I catch up from the "missing months" of my delinquency.  With no further ado, I present: RAMBLINGS ON FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS

*Princess spent 10 weeks of summer 2013 studying in Ireland.  Irish history and culture through literature and writing was the gist of her coursework, and she explored and immersed herself in the vibrancy of Irish culture as much as possible.  Ruins and pubs and cemeteries and sheep and pastoral green hills and dramatic seaside vistas filled her moments between reading Yeats and Joyce; solo-adventures to castles and museums and concerts around Dublin and a bit in Belfast filled her ten weeks away.  On her mid-term long weekend break, she ventured off-island to the bustling metropolis of London-town to partake of the literature, history and cultural attractions there: got photos taken from Platform 9 3/4 in Charing Cross Station, toured Shakespeare's Globe theater museum, and reveled in the Charles Dickens museum, even acutely connected with beloved hero David Copperfield by reading parts from the book about him in Coventry Garden while sitting in a Dickens Coffee Shoppe in Coventry Garden.  Had an adventurous night or two alone in the city with train mix-ups, before connecting with friends who had also ventured to London.  Made for some quite exciting stories!  You can see photos and read her own telling of the adventures from "Notes" on her facebook page if you are interested.  We parents praise God for providing friendly people to care for her at the right moments and for giving her this wondrous life-broadening opportunity.

*Continuing in the vein of oversea adventures, our brilliant son ventured forth on his Peace Corps stint to Liberia, Africa in June of 2014.  He spent the first part of the year doing some substitute teaching for the school district that I'm at, and completing all the medical, dental, travel paper, and vaccination requirements before flying off for a couple days of stateside orientation meetings in Philadelphia and off to Africa form NYC a couple of days later.  A couple months of language and teacher training together with about 50 other new volunteers while living with a host family in Kakata (an hour or two outside of Monrovia, Liberia's capital) was scheduled before moving to the village where he would teach high school math to Liberian schoolkids. His host father was a Methodist preacher and the mom was a hairdresser; he thoroughly enjoyed learning the Liberian ways with this family, and formed deep connections with the culture and caring people of Liberia before all the volunteers in three countries in the region were suddenly evacuated to avoid the ebola outbreak that was ravaging West Africa at that time.  So, on August 2, just a day or two before he was to learn where he was assigned to go to live and serve for two years, he was whisked away on a plane to London, where they had a layover for a day before routing everyone back to their homes in the US.  He also has a good story about his night alone on the streets of London because of train schedules. Ask him sometime.  The hope that the epidemic would subside and volunteers could return to their assignments in Africa after a month or so was unrealized, and the evacuation involved so many volunteers that Peace Corps was unable to reassign them to different sites, and he was granted "Completion of Service" as of October 1.  After a bit of wondering how to proceed and still committed to volunteer service, he reapplied to Peace Corps; the application was processed very quickly, and he was invited to serve in Tanzania, Africa.  He is happy about getting to return to Africa, albeit on the opposite side of the continent and some further south.  It is the location of the famed Mount Kilimanjaro, part of Lake Victoria, the Serengeti Wildlife Preserve, and the island of Zanzibar, so has lots of appealing features.  Unlike Liberia, where the main language was English (with several tribal languages spoken as well,) he will need to study a bit of Swahili during his orientation months, but he will still be assigned to teach high school level math, and gets to teach in English. He departs for Tanzania in early July.
 
*So, we parents have begun to think of the extra time we get to spend with him as the "bonus year."  In God's wisdom, this bonus year has allowed him to be a part of several important happenings that he'd have had to miss if he'd been serving as scheduled in far away Liberia.  Just a week or two after his return, he got to be a groomsman at the wedding of a friend he's been close buds with since middle school.  He also was able to accompany us on our family road trip to take the Princess back to MN for her final year of college, and so was there to participate in our family dinner with the MN relatives; and he will still be around in June so will get to return to MN to attend his sister's graduation too.  Serendipity!

*No listing of our "highlights" would be complete (as you've likely come to learn) without a mention of the special FAMILY moments we've experienced.  So. . . had awesome time connecting with oldest nephew last spring when we journeyed to Portland to see him in concert with his "soul band."  He plays bass guitar and writes music for a very lively band of seven talented musicians who have been professionally touring to sold-out performances across the country for over two years now, and have just returned from their third tour in Europe.  So wonderful seeing him having so much fun and success living his dream as a "rock star."  He remains very humble and gentle, and we got to stroll the neighborhood in Portland with him, have a bite to eat together, and visit a bit before his concert. (Of course, we also spent a night at the beach; simply can't be that close and NOT go!) So, was a great trip. Son was with us too, assuming it would be the last he'd see of his cousin for a few years before heading to Africa. Also, a grand family time again watching him in concert in our hometown in July of 2014 with LOTS of family attending.  So cool!
  
Spent a week with Dad and brother in CA a few weeks ago, and also last February.  Both kids with us both times, as thinking would be the last chance to all be together for awhile, due to son's departures for Africa.  Always relaxing, fun times to be together, eat tasty international cuisine, play cards, enjoy the solace and sun in the back yard of their family home, and of course, head to the beach as many times as we can squeeze in.  Awesome family times!  This year, worked it in during Princess's Spring Break, and happened to be the week of our 25th wedding anniversary as well.  So, lots of good reasons to travel and gather with family.  

Early last summer saw the passing of two dear family members within a few weeks of one another, so gathered on those occasions for supporting family in our loss, remembering and celebrating the remarkable lives of gentle Great Uncle, and caring Cousin.  God's commentary on Life--in all it's phases--was communicated with crystal clarity on these days: my oldest sister's first grandson was born the same morning as Uncle's memorial, and our Pastor's first granddaughter came into the world on the day of Cousin's service.  Clever choreography from our caring Creator!

Work schedules prevented getting to see much of the extended family during the holidays this past winter, but was able to travel a bit and have a fun family-filled weekend in February. Son decided he'd like to spend a few days with college buddies back in his university town a few days after his birthday, so we drove him down on a Saturday.  Treated him (and a friend he invited to come over too) to a festive and tasty teppan-yaki dinner that evening to further celebrate his birthday.  We stayed in town that night and the next morning drove a sunny and scenic couple hours back west and some south to the small college town where Nephew #3 lives.  He was acting the role of Count Paris in his college theatre department's production of "Romeo and Juliet" that afternoon. We enjoyed watching him (and a dear cousin's son-- who also attends university there) artfully perform, and gathered at his apartment afterwards, with my sister, brother-in-law, Nephew #1, and Niece #2 and her two adorable sons; his parents, brother, sister and nephews that had come down to see his production.  They had all been at Nephew #1's concert at a larger university town a few hours north and west, and his band had a bit of a break in their tour, so he was able to spend a few days with his family before flying back to the South to do a private event and prepare for departure for their several week tour in Europe. Nephew #3's 21st birthday was just a day or two earlier, so his loving Mom (dear Sister) brought a carload of food for his birthday dinner to celebrate with friends. We were so honored to be invited and blessed to be able to share in the family festivities.  Was super having some time to spend with Nephews and Niece and visit about their unique and busy lives.  And the grand-nephews remain as adorable and sweet as ever.  Also got in a tiny bit more time visiting with rock-star Nephew and Sister a few days later when they stayed the night at our house before his early morning flight back south. What a blessing having opportunity to spend time with family now and then!

Another blessed extended-family moment happened on a Friday evening in March when the lovely Bride and I got to spend a few hours with three beautiful sisters--dear Nieces #1, #5 and #7.  They'd made sister plans to meet to view Disney's recent-release of the live-action Cinderella movie together, and Niece #1 had called to invite us to join them.  We were honored to be asked and excited to spend time with the girls, and were even able to treat them to a tasty Asian-fusion dinner and have a bit of a mostly-sunny stroll together before showtime.  Pretty and fun movie, and glorious connecting with the sweet Nieces.  

*And you know I need to mention a few of our travel adventures too.  Late last summer, we headed to Calgary for a bit of a journey before the Princess headed back to college.  Always fun seeing whats new for the critters at the zoo, and taking in the stunning scenery of the Canadian Rockies; discovered another quite authentic and tasty Japanese restaurant in a town on the drive back. Yum!  During my October days-off from school, we drove with the son to Seattle.  Always revel in the chance to shop at the Uwajimaya Asian market, and enjoyed a fun Korean lunch at the awesome food court there, before heading to the docks to catch a ferry across to Bainbridge Island where the son's good friend now lives.  We dropped him off at a Starbucks near his buddy's apartment to wait until he got home from work, and the Bride and I continued heading south and coastward through the grey, misty lowlands.  Travel through the coastal hills and plains of the Pacific always takes much longer than it seems like it should when consulting mileage and routes on maps, but we got to our reserved place at Ocean Shores just a bit before dark.  Peaceful, empowering, ocean view and sounds and smells just out the sliding window door from the deck, gas-fueled flickering flames from the faux-rock fireplace, and a full-functioning kitchen to whip up our simple pasta and fresh garlic green bean dinner all factored in to our satiating and idyllic seaside stay.  A few miles of beach wandering on the peninsula the next day yielded a few fun seashore finds, and provided the breezy, salty solace that sea-goers crave.  Enjoyed a tasty fish and chips take-out dinner on our deck the next evening, and soaked in the oceanic ambiance to energize us for our long-day's drive back home the next morning.  Bride and I also have enjoyed a couple overnight getaways to more nearby locales too.  To help celebrate her birthday last fall, we reveled in a "deluxe" room with a large jacuzzi-jetted soaking tub, a fireplace, and  a scenic view of snow-topped mountains backdropping the wavery waters of a sizable mountain lake.  We ordered takeout from a favorite Thai place just a ways down the street, brought it back to the room, and simply savored our peaceful, scenic, evening of exotic flavors and luxurious bubbles.  Then, for another celebration of our quarter-century of wedded bliss in early March, we stayed at a ski resort in British Columbia; we're not skiers, but the condo-style room with kitchen and fireplace made for a delightful stay, and we loved having the hot tubs to ourselves while everyone else headed to the slopes the next morning.  After our leisurely toasty soak overlooking the bustle of activity at the base of the ski runs, we checked out and made our way down the hill into town for lunch at the local Japanese restaurant.  We'd discovered this one when we'd passed through town some months prior, but it was closed then, so we were excited to find it open and serving very fresh, genuine obento lunches. We deemed it, too, definitely worth a re-visit sometime.

One last travel to mention: next weekend we'll drop the son in Seattle again for a visit with his friends, and the Bride and I will sail on the ferry across to San Juan Island to see the sights (and hopefully some Orcas) and do the island-life for a day.  Hope to have an evening visit with a friend from high school and her family on our way back through before driving home on Monday.  Fun times ahead.

**So, guess I may have hit most the highlights of the missing months now.  Time continues to whiz by and it's taken me several sittings and several weeks to get these updates written and ready for posting.  Spring is officially here for me now, as my job-overlap season began for me yesterday with "Open House" weekend at the greenhouse where I work seasonally.  Busy times ahead--for all of us, I presume.  Seems to be the way of life these days.  May your busy times ahead blossom with all the sunshine and beauty and promise that Spring brings, and you bask in the assurance of God's love and providence for you.  "Talk" to you again soon--presumably. . .

A Quick Ponderance. . .

So, it seems like I have noticed the counter on the blog see a couple significant jumps this past week since publishing the last post.  I like that--if it really means that more folks are reading.  What I don't quite understand is why there is no other evidence that folks are reading the posts.  There are several quick, painless avenues for you to let it be known that you visited the page.  Because I guess I am emotionally needy or greedy, or something like that, I would LOVE to see all visitors leave some sort of indication of their visit.  Let me take a moment to explain these options to you in case you were unaware of the simplicity, and importance (for me), of leaving traces of your visit.  Aha!  My word-choice phraseology may just have helped me stumble upon the cause of the un-indicated visits.  Maybe many of you are back country enthusiasts, and you've sincerely internalized the eco-friendly mantras so relentlessly preached to you in the past decades of "green" campaigning: "Leave no trace!"  Well, I am here today--still loving God's gifts of nature and our role in caring for and wisely using His gifts--to ask your blatant disregard of that naturalist's command so engrained into your psyche.  Please DO leave me evidence that you've visited my "world in words."  Here's how.

1) REACTION:  the simplest way--takes just a micro-second of your precious time.  Directly under each entry, you will see an aquamarine box giving the date and time of the post, and below that, a line in dark purple lettering reading "REACTION:  Made me:"  followed by five possible response choices.  This is an upgrade to Facebook's "Like" button, only offering more specific responses.  I've seen countless Facebook comments saying how they need a LOVE, or SUPER EXCITED, or DISLIKE--or any number of other possible ideas-- button.  So, in my infinite wisdom, I give you a few more choices here--some positive and others less positive.  I truly am interested in honest responses so will never be offended by any response you click--just click one, okay?  So simple.

2) POLL: also very quick and easy--get to express your opinion.  In the right hand column of the blog page, just below the "about the author" blurb, you'll find a section called "Cast your Vote." Under the instructions will be one or more usually light-hearted questions relating to the recent posts, with choices for answers.  Read through the often silly choices and choose one or more that best describes your thoughts, feelings, or experiences regarding the issue.  Sometimes you can choose only one answer; sometimes you can choose more than one.  It will tell you when more-than-one choice is available.  Just a fun way to interact with my thoughts, and I sometimes amuse myself by trying to guess who may have chosen the answers they did.  Sometimes, it may say that the poll has closed, but I try to keep them updated so that they do not expire.  Also, can be intriguing for all readers to scope out the opinions of other readers to see how they fit in the audience.  So, have fun, and interact with my words, by "Casting your Vote."   

3) COMMENT: fairly quick, but allows for more specific idea communication.  In the same pale-blue box where the reaction buttons are, following the date and time of publication, is printed; "0 comments," (or however many there may be, if others have commented on that post.)  If you click on the word comment, it will take you to a different screen with a white box instructing you to "enter comment here."  Simply type what you have to say in the box and hit publish.  If it asks how you want to be identified, you can always choose the "anonymous" option, and it'll probably ask you to enter some code to prove you're not a robot, but that's all there is to it.  Yes, your comments are then a permanent part of the page and available for others to read.  So, if you have specific words of wisdom, or advice, or chastisement, or encouragement, to share with me--and can spare an extra moment or two--this may be the proper option for you.  If more privacy is important for you, then read on to choice #4.

4) E-MAIL: good, feels-modern-but-quickly-become-old-fashioned electronically sent note to me.  In the "About the Author" section in the right column, directly under the hippo photo, you will see my name.  Click on it and it will bring up my profile page.  On the left of that page, again under the photo of William the hippo, there's a pale grey "contact me" box.  Click on the first option, "Email" and voila, a compose message screen should open from your messaging source with my email address in the "To" line.  Type away, and hit "Send."  Easy, private, and of course, I always appreciate messages of substance.

One more thing.  Another feature I've added today is a spot where you can add your email address if you would like email notification when my blog has been updated.  It's toward the bottom in the right column, right above the counter.  So, give it a try if you like to keep current--as often as I do.  Let me know if it's working the way it should. 

So, now that I've enlightened you to the ease of letting me know I have readers--and yeah, shamelessly, nearly-begged for digital attention--I look forward to stunning revelations from my reading audience.  Keep reading!

A Sibling's Offspring

And, here we go again.  How come there's no one word to encompass the aunt/uncle-ship; niece/nephew-hood condition?  See, it's even confusing when I try to clarify what I'm talking about.  We have words like paternal, maternal, fraternal for referring to other familial relationships--although even then, chasmic liberties have been taken.  Fraternal--for example, too often references things widely antithetical to the actual bond between two people with the same parents.  Images of buff, sun-tanned, polo-shirted, inebriated college boys comes to mind--suppose it's a movie-induced image, but seriously causes some animated head-shaking and finger-wagging in the direction of the one so carelessly responsible for coining that usage of the word-part.  What were they thinking?  Or were they?  Personally, I can fathom no correlation between "frat-boy"-hood and a true brotherly bond!  Equally as disconnected and insulting is the insurance/finance industry's use of the term "fraternal organization" to euphemistically refer to greedy, schmoozing, corporate racketeers that deem themselves as caring providers of much-needed or desired financial management services.  Shame on them for abusing the inclusive, multitasking nature of our forgiving language--just for the smooth, underhanded seduction of innocent and optimistic frugal-minded folks simply trying to be good stewards of their rewards.  Where are the "spirit-of-the-law" linguistic police when you need them most? 

Okay--can you say "Tangent"; how about "Rant"?  Seems there may be a bit of pent-up passion there.  My apologies--sort of.

So, for the sake of linguistic ease and clarity, let's realize the idealistic etymologist's dream and coin our own term that encompasses the entire and general realm of the aunt/uncle/niece/nephew relationship.  A quick comparital glance at the terms "aunt" and "uncle" rewards us with the common letters of "U" and "N"; likewise, with "niece" and "nephew", we attain another "N" and two "E"s.  So, lets combine the common letters into a somewhat logical and pronounceable new term: "enune."  I like that it sounds similar to "anew"; after all, isn't the enune condition a dynamic state of renewal as the involved individuals grow and age?  Fitting.  I also like the palindromic nature of the word; it mirrors the palindromic, two-way-street condition exemplified by the relationship-web it describes.  Yes?  And, with a bit of etymological scrutiny we could conclude that the word is a combined form from the Latin prefix "en-" (to cause to be in) and the Latin stem "uni/e" (one, oneness).  Since enune ideally encompasses these ideas of "within" and "oneness", I, again, submit my enthusiastic two-thumbs-up approval for the fortuitous suitability of our newly born word.  Does it work for you?  Guess if you're in the "Negatory--Good Buddy!" camp, you have a choice to make.  Quit reading now.  Or, humor me--and temporarily allow my linguistic fantasy its due process.  Maybe you'll come around.  If you're among the "10-4, Copy that, Loud and Clear!" group, thank you--sincerely--for embracing my linguaphilic passions, and read on: experience the serendipity and strength and solace gained from strolling amid the enune-strewn meadows of our recent lives. 

*mid-January 2013: my dear mother's only sister--the most caring, doting, loving auntie ever, to every one of a couple of dozen or more nieces and nephews, I might add--spent some days in the local hospital, as respiratory and arthritic complications ganged up on her physical body.  So happens that my school is just an Olympian's stone's-throw away from the hospital, so stopping by to visit Auntie after school every day was easy to do--and so rewarding. I basked in the warmth of her unceasing and genuine care for me, and all her family (which--of course--to her included many more folks than those of us blessed to actually share bloodlines).  I gloried in her feisty wisdom, her reverent memories, her purity of passion and devotion for "kids" and "hard-work" and the faith in her God and Lord that holds it all together.  Despite the diseases' crippling warfare on her body, they were impotent against her spunky spirit.  Through the constant pain and discomfort, and the hyper-humbling condition of hospitalization--being the lifelong "doer" now requiring all the "doing"--Auntie remained dignified and calm and spirited, charming all her care-givers, and dinner-deliverers, and this-or-that-therapists that filtered through on their charitable duties.  And me!  I feel so blessed having had this opportunity to spend time with my Auntie, reacquainting, and rekindling a bond born in early childhood when our families were so-closely-knitted-together in time and space that many local townsfolk truly seemed in-cognizant of which of all us cousins (there were nine of us) belonged to which sister--Auntie or Mom.  May not have mattered to us all that much either, sometimes.   Needless to say, time has a way of altering childhood conditions, and adult life hadn't allowed ample togetherness with Auntie for the past few decades, so these solo visits in the hospital--several visits in the past few years--became my selfish pleasure.  I still feel guilty in a way for reveling in the "good fortune" of my visits brought about by her "unfortunate" health condition.  But the revelation that while the effects of time can seem severe to sensitive folks like me, they are rendered profoundly ineffectual against the stoic strength of "enunic" bonds shall remain forever imprinted in my psyche.  And I praise God for my special Auntie as the premiere and prevalent teacher of this important lesson on "enunity."

*later-January 2013: just four-and-a-half days after my last visit (a good five-hours on a very rare, blue-skied, sunshiny Saturday in January) my dear Auntie left her respiratorially encumbered and aching body behind and her soul went to party with her Creator in peace and jubilee.  As I left the hospital to pick up the beautiful bride after her work that Saturday and kissed Auntie's still enviably-rose-petal-soft-skinned forehead and announced my love for her, and consciously slowed my rushing pace to make certain I took in her response, "I love you too, Larry.", I never imagined it would be the last words I would hear her speak.  But, in reflection, since hearing a loved-one's last words is an inevitability for us, I now ponder, "Can it get any grander than that?"  Her life was celebrated a couple Saturdays later at a service of remembrance in the auditorium of the high school where she had dedicated countless hours of service--cheering, waiting, transporting, feeding, truly caring for--to a few generations of kids: her own children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, grand-nieces/nephews, neighbor-kids, kids' friends, and many others whose hearts called her "Auntie" or "Gramma"--even when not familially connected.  A nephew-in-law (my brother-in-law) officiated at the service, and several of her grandchildren presented memorial tributes to their ever-so-special Grandma, including one granddaughter's touching and tuneful rendition of a Merle Haggard song that her Grandma had liked, soulfully presented as a clear, near-angelic, a-Capella melody.  A theme repeated throughout the service was how Auntie frequently praised her Grandma and Aunts and Uncles, declaring that, "If I can be half as good a Grandma (or Aunt, Uncle) as mine was, I'll be doing great."  Of course, the overwhelming consensus from all was that she had succeeded--with flying colors.  And, thus, the challenge then passes on to all of us; can we be as good an Aunt/Uncle as she was to us?  I accept the challenge, and am enraptured with any opportunity for practice in achieving this noble goal.  See why I think the palindromic quality is so fitting for enune?

*same day--later January 2013: and the day of Auntie's service was the very day I first began to  conceptualize this blog post expounding on the nature of enune.  Here's the enune-laden details.  It actually begins the evening before--on Friday--when the bride and I had arranged to spend the night doing dinner and movies with another special aunt.  This aunt is my dad's older sister, widowed a couple winters back, and she and Uncle never had their own children, so they also were always very devoted and special to a host of nephews and nieces.  After Uncle happened to win a VCR in a raffle several years ago, their pattern of watching movies together every evening began.  The pastime gradually developed into a passion over the years, and my aunt became a dedicated and discerning movie collector; her frequent thinning of the "watched-enough" titles and her ever-focused "junk sale" or thrift store pursuit for the elusive, desired John Waynes or early musicals has resulted in an impressive library of video entertainment, complete with inked tick-marks--or sometimes abbreviated dates--on the cardboard cases to track her viewing history of each title.  Since the bride and I also quite enjoy our movies, and spending time together with family is always fun--especially with special, widowed aunts, we made the dinner/movie night plans.  We left as soon as we could get everything together after school on Friday in order to make it to Aunt's comfortable, roomy home by her lifelong-routine 5 p.m. dinner hour.  We did need to call to warn her that we were running a bit late, but we did make it by 5:30 or so.  The home-cooked, lovingly-prepared meal was very tasty, of course. And the collection of crystal or ornate cut-glass vases, candy dishes, creamers, etc, that ever occupy the edge of Aunt's table shimmered brilliantly in the refracting light from the dining-room chandelier overhead.  But this fulfillment and illumination at the dining table proved to only be pale reflections of the more lasting and profound fulfillment and the brighter, deeper illumination occurring within our souls as we steeped in Aunt's gentle wisdom, inner strength, and devoted nature.  Later, while I perused Aunt's decades' worth of dedicatedly kept-up photo albums, the bride and Aunt went downstairs to select the movies we would watch.  The better fraction of an hour later they ascended with a few choices, and a bit more discussion concluded with a Gene Kelly musical, "An American in Paris," and the 1948 John Wayne classic, "Red River," as our evening's entertainment.  The bride and I had never viewed either of them, and Aunt knew the western was definitely one to re-watch, and had watched the dancing film, but couldn't  remember it clearly, so another go-around was fine.  We watched the musical first--light and truncated on plot, heavy with elaborately-set, lengthy dance routines, and we finished up with John Wayne in the wee hours.  Fun night at the movies--even had popcorn somewhere in the span of hours!  Enjoyed a relaxing Saturday morning, late rising, light breakfast, and early leisurely lunch with Aunt, before we left to head into town for other Auntie's memorial service.  Of course, family abounded at the service accompanied by hugs and handshakes and whispered words of comfort as we communally remembered a remarkable life and grieved a too-early passing.  It was following the post service meal and gathering that our day developed into a doubly-exposed image of enunity.  My oldest niece and her husband had bought and semi-moved-into a new house in town that we hadn't been to, so we accepted the offer to come over for tea and have a look at their place.  Two of her sisters (nieces #3 and #5) and #3's husband were leaving her place shortly after we arrived.  Need to let you know that this niece and her husband are tea enthusiasts on par with us, so there's an extra dosage of bonding going on when having tea together.  Her unique mugs and ornate iron teapot and a flavorful, herby, whole-leaf blend added to the pleasure and ambiance of "taking tea" with our niece.  Midway through our first delightful mugs, nieces 3 and 5 and accompanying husband suddenly returned to the second-level abode.  Seems they were fueling up when they noticed the occupant of the neighboring pickup truck kept a very startling companion; seeing the apparently very large python-like serpent writhingly embrace its master's head, neck, arms was quite unnerving for the young ladies, so they returned to sister's to calm themselves a bit--and a mug of hot, aromatic tea would be just the thing.  So we sipped our soothing tea, socialized a bit more, and soaked-in the enune-induced solace. All three nieces are charming, cheerful, and delightful souls so fun to spend time with.  Truly an enunically-effervescent day!

*A couple weeks later-early/mid February 2013: wanted to have a bit of  together-time with the son, so made plans for a quick visit with him on the weekend before his birthday.  His Saturdays are filled with scheduled activities--hours of D&D gaming, lengthy strategy-training sessions to prepare for the campus Humans versus Zombies tag game--so no need to arrive before having a chance to visit him in the evening.  And we're in the habit of leaving home after work on the day before--just for the extended-vacationality of it.  So, since we planned to spend Friday night a couple hours son-ward in the city where my nephew (#2) and his bride live, we arranged to meet them for dinner.  When we called soon after pulling in to town, we agreed with their suggestion to eat at a Thai noodle restaurant.  None of us were experts on Thai cuisine but our dinner choices proved to be both tasty and filling.  And as I know you've come to expect from me by now, while I do always savor ethnic flavors, and truly did enjoy this flavorful Thai dinner, the true and deeper delight of our evening was the enunic camaraderie.  Newly-wedded (around 10 months now) Nephew and Niece-in-Law are easy-going, charismatic, caring, and down-to-earth folks who--we presently learned--also happen to be "movie-fans", so our dinner conversation was a smorgasbord of sharing about jobs, university classes, family, movies, travels, and other interesting whatnot.  After we parted in the parking lot, exchanged "see-you-later" hugs (I tromped on sweet Niece's toes--So sorry!) and sent them on their way with Valentine's treat bags of freshly baked monster cookies, beautiful bride and I were in total agreement as we clicked our safety belts in place and near-simultaneously commented to each other, "They're sure cool, good kids."

*Next day, same city: after a brisk, few-mile walk along the river, we waited near a downtown eatery for another niece (#2) and her husband and their super-adorable year-old son.  They were temporarily living down the highway a ways but planned to come in on this weekend, and since we were in town and had a few more spare hours before heading on to see son, we made plans to have lunch with them.  Turns out that the cafe where we'd decided to meet was also the choice of hordes of other local folks on this mild, nearing-Spring Saturday, so we opted to try a different establishment rather than wait.  Actually, we wandered the neighboring blocks to three or four possible dining locales before finding one that was open for the lunch hours.  Fun, historic building, very welcoming and friendly atmosphere, and plenty of unique menu choices made it a serendipitous option in the end.  I know I liked the meal, although I can't remember what I ate.  The endearing enunity of the afternoon trumped the needed memory space, I guess, as we shared and connected with this beautiful young family.  I even got to assist grand-nephew with eating his lunch, so after his rousing game of "I Drop-You Retrieve" with the plastic-coated mini-spoon, and amid wide-eyed, crinkly-nosed grins and non-stop "let-me-help" hand action, we managed to get him an ample supply of natural and nourishing cereal/fruit puree.  After lunch we extended our visit a bit as we all trekked down the block to a park and playground to play with sweet baby grand-nephew.  He really enjoyed drumming on the music pipes, and climbing up and sliding down the slides.  Again, rampant appreciation, and awe and pride--enunic emotion--bubbled within me as we hugged our good-byes; so grateful that we have opportunities to connect with family in this way, and so thankful that our busy, brilliant, charming, youthful nieces and nephews (and spouses) are willing to make the time for the perhaps selfish whims of a perhaps hyper-emotional "old" uncle and his dear, caring, innocent bride.

*Two weekends later--mid/late February: during a quick overnight visit up to my folks' place, we were accompanied on a winter trek through the woods by nephew #4.  He's an energetic, caring, outdoorsy early-teen and had strapped on his x-country skis while we were using snowshoes, so his progress was much quicker than ours (never mind the few decades age difference) and he constantly, patiently stopped to wait for us every several-dozen yards during our "across the crick and through the bottom" journey.  Good time together.  He also is a brilliant musician, so we always enjoy his impromptu violin performances and he often has plenty of questions or points of discussion for his musically-gifted Auntie--my sweet bride.  Another of his passions is languages and cultures of the world, so since we have some international experiences, we enjoy connecting with him in these realms as well.  What a super fun and loving kid that we are blessed having as a nephew!

*Same weekend +: after services on Sunday, we re-journeyed to connect with dear Niece #2 and wonderful husband, who a few days earlier had become parents to a second baby-boy.  There were some neonatal complications, so the baby was admitted to the hospital.  My sister was with her daughter helping care for first grandson so Niece and husband could tend to new baby's needs at the hospital.  We wanted to be of help and support for anyone we could, so we decided to make the drive.  We made contact with Sister on the way down and learned where to find them all, so we converged on them for that evening and part of the next day.  We tag-team accompanied whoever was over at the hospital in baby's room and back at the Ronald McDonald house for support that evening, visiting and helping however we could.  It is very hard watching loved ones go through such intense, stressful experiences, but so impressive witnessing the strength and wisdom and insight with which they endure. And grace.  Despite our uninvited "invasion" on their private emotional moments, Niece and her husband (and Mom and Dad--my sister and brother-in-law) remained welcoming, and appreciative and gracious.  We were happy to be able to provide some groceries and have a bit more time with them before returning home on Monday.  Baby underwent a surgery and resided in the NICU for several weeks before released, so we went down again a couple weeks later.  Brought take-out Chinese for dinner when we showed up that evening, and I got to cuddle little-one for quite awhile when we went over to his room with his Momma.  Awesome.  Beautiful.  Miracle.  The family needed to move from the home where they were temporarily living while awaiting baby's arrival, but since they were more-importantly occupied with their newborn at the hospital, the bride and I came down this time primarily to do what we could to help pack-up and clean, so the house could be more easily vacated and ready for new incoming renters when their deadline date came later in the week.  We made the better-part-of-an-hour's drive down the highway to the unique house in the foothills with Sister's directions from the passenger seat while Brother-in-law followed after stopping for a few groceries at a market on the way.  The bride and I had a pleasant, sunshiny jaunt around the gravel/muddy roads the next morning after Brother-in-law's tasty sausage and egg breakfast, and before dismantling, packing, and vacuuming as much as we could in the house.  We returned to hospital town in the afternoon, ate tasty, skillfully-crafted, deli-style turkey sandwiches freshly assembled by Nephew-in-law, and enjoyed a few more radiant grins, contagious giggles and amusing antics from gorgeous grand-nephew #1 before bidding our adieus and driving home.  Enunical encounter overload, you wonder?  I respond, boldly and resoundingly, "No!"

*So, let me briefly amplify just a couple more momentous enunical encounters from the past months before I finally conclude this over-long post.  First was a quick overnight stay from Nephew-in law #1 (getting tricky here, I know.  He's not my oldest nephew-in-law, but IS the husband of my oldest niece; the tea enthusiasts from a few paragraphs up.)  Anyway, he was flying out early one morning on job-related travel, so phoned to ask if he could spend the night before at our house (10 minutes from the airport) to provide for more sleep and less stress on his travel morning.  We welcomed his company and occupation of our spare bed, and were ready for him the evening he came.  He had called as he was leaving home and was somewhat later arriving than should likely have been.  When I inquired, he confessed that, yes, he had gotten lost a bit trying to find our place in the dark, but also recounted how he'd been detained by an officer curious why he failed to dim his headlights as soon as he ought have.  "Nephew" humbly explained that since their own car's headlamps lacked insufficient brilliance on high-beams, that he was out of the habit of dimming, and he disremembered that he was driving a company vehicle that didn't suffer the same mal-illuminating condition.  Apparently, the explanation sufficed and the officer chose not to ticket his traffic faux-pas.  We, of course, served him a mug of tea--he'd eaten dinner with his dear wife before leaving home--and as he sipped the hot brew to soothe the stresses of his evening, he related how this was the third or fourth time he'd been stopped in the past few weeks for seemingly insignificant cause; none of them had resulted in a ticket, just warnings and clarifications.  We talked a bit about movies, TV shows, and his job before we convinced him that if he really planned to bank up sleep time, he needed to go to bed.  We heard him leave in the dark morning hours but he'd assured us we needn't get up, so we didn't.  Hope he had a good and profitable business trip; haven't talked to him since--but we feel honored that he was comfortable asking and staying with us.  And, finally, I need to mention how blessed it's been the past few months having Niece #5 slide into the pew next to us for worship services on Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings.  Vivacious, outgoing, caring--nearly always adorned with a wide bright smile, her sweet presence with us in church deepens the impact of Worship serving as a model for the "communion of saints" we'll experience when we reach Heaven.  And, its just so fun to have more constant contact with her and learn about the rest of the family, and be uplifted by her always cheerful, optimistic approach to life.  We even managed to find one Sunday when her active friend/family-filled, social life allowed her time to have lunch with us after church.  What a delight, having the chance for casual connectivity, and, though the brilliance of the enunity deeply dims my recollections of the meal, I am guessing the food was tasty and pleasant too. 

So, can you believe the wonder and grandeur of our enune-strewn meadows?  Truly an awesome and miraculous gift from God, huh?  Praying you also discover your life glimmering with the precious treasures of enunity!         

"Parentality"

Yeah--it's not really a word, yet.  But you may have noticed that I tend to do that fairly frequently: use sensible non-words to more precisely convey my intent.  Guess you can decide for yourself how to process the etymology. . . maybe it's a slick combo for "parental" + "mentality", or could be "parent" + "reality."   Or, possibly--logically-- it's simply the noun that names the honorable position of being a parent, and deciding how to deal with all the emotions, questions, doubts, and wonderings that accompany this noble state. Makes no difference which etymological theory you choose adherence to, my musings on our current condition of "parentality" are thus recorded for your enlightenment, amusement, information, boredom. . . you choose.

Well, the six-ish weeks that Princess was home--of course--seemed to fly by and she needed to board the train for her return on New Year's Day.  And son was home for just three weeks before we drove him back on the first weekend of the year.  So, it's only been a few weeks that we've been back to the "empty" status of our current lives.  Vibrant, bustling, home-filled togetherness to quiet, comfortable "just-the-two-of-us"-ness in nothing flat: almost gives a guy head rush!

And in this zooming, vacuum-ous state of mind, I am constantly wondering.  Ranging from the pseudo-philosophical, to the parentally logical, to the ridiculously sentimental--and the whole windy road between. . .

• Why does their "at home" time pass at a multiply accelerated rate compared to the "away" time?
• When will I feel that the quiet and emptiness is the comfortable norm?
• Does the "need" to know all that I can about what's going on for them each day ever abate?
• How about that touch of "panic" when I realize that their "growing up, at home" days are essentially finished, and it's too late to remedy it if I've failed in teaching them what they "need-to-know" for life? 
• How come no one's yet invented a way to digitally transport needed hugs?
• Why are the borders between "stalker-ish hyper-involvement" and "allow-them-their-independence" and "figure-it-out-for-yourself, honey" so oblique and wavery?
• When is it okay to change the condition of their unoccupied bedroom?
• Will they really think to dress warm enough for the very cold, wintry conditions they have now and again?
• Are their roommates really unaffected by them staying up with the lights on for most of the night?
• Is there anyone there for them to REALLY listen and care about their brilliant ideas, random creative thoughts, and personal ponderances?
• Is it ironically selfish that I enjoy that fixing dinner seems easier now that their opinions don't need to be considered, yet, I still worry if they are remembering to take the time to eat, and hope they are making basically healthy choices?
• Who picks up their dirty clothes from the bathroom floor?
• How come I don't find myself accomplishing so much more since they are not home to occupy time with?
• Did we spend the right amount of time on the right things in their growing up so that they have a proper and beneficial perspective, and grounding memories and traditions to develop from?  
• Is he apprehensive about what his future holds after graduation this spring, or just relieved to take a break from classes for awhile and excited about the possibilities?
• Will she officially declare "English" as her major this spring term?
• Will I always experience the throat-constricted pangs of the "lonesome" moments and the heart-jumping, "can't-catch-my-breath" response to seeing there is email from them? 
• How can their college experience be so radically different than mine?  It's only 30 years. . .
• Is "coming home" a cozy, familiar, relaxing pleasantry for them, or an obligatory, freedom-infringing, intrusive sentence to be endured?
• Where will they eventually end up with their job?  And can we get cheap, convenient travel there? 
• Finally, do their friends, acquaintances, and professors truly comprehend and appreciate the amazing, brilliant, creative and caring individuals they are?

And, so, we ponder the perpetuity of our parentality.  Any experiential advice, answers, awarenesses, or comments are very welcomed.  Blessings to you all--parents and kids too!

Resolutions-- or NOT!

Funny word.  Sounds like REVOLUTION (and may even cause inner, personal ones sometimes) but is truly an unrelated word, except in its pattern of derivation from verb to noun.  Both words seem to trip over some linguistic root and end up with a random euphemic change: REVOLT/ REVOLVE--REVOLUTION; (so, do revolutionists turn constantly in circles?) RESOLVE--RESOLUTION.  According to ordinary phonics patterns, the word logically should become resolve+tion=resolv(drop the "e")tion/sion-- RESOLVSION, but our tongues have problems doing that, so, hey--let's use that "u" and "v" interchangeable thing, and voila; we have RESOLUTION, much easier to say.  Only now, we've added an extra syllable, and discreetly disguised from whence it derived--so that one needs to have more experience with language than they otherwise should in order to recognize that the words are related.  (So, which language group does the interchangeable "u" and "v" come from?)  If we apply back-formation for the noun RESOLUTION, logical choices for the original verb become RESULT or RESOLUTE--both very useful words, and even thematically applicable: we do, after all, wish for results from our resolutions and often become resolute (for awhile, anyway) in keeping them.  But, resolute is an adjective, not a verb--although it does stem from the same original Latin root, and result, of course, remains a noun, and seems to have no connection.   And, now that we've got that sorted out, how is the resolution of your photos when you go to print them from the computer related to New Years?  Or those resolutions that get voted on to become laws--are they someone's New Year's resolutions on steroids?  How confusing (and thrilling!) language is.  Don't you think?

That said, do you have a habit of using the change of the calendar as a motivational chance to help you make a positive change in your life, or habits, or goal-setting?  If it works for you--I say, resolutely march on, my friends!  Ignore the cynics and naysayers who may mock you for your naivete or idealism, and proudly strive toward a better you in whatever way works.  If New Year's Resolutions are ideas having only grazed your consciousness back in your elementary school days when prim and intimidating, but smiley and encouraging, Mrs. Teacher sunnily introduced it as the writing assignment for the first day back after Christmas break, and your sugar-dazed, sleep-deprived consciousness tried its best to ignore it then, so you've made a habit of ignoring it every year since; then I say, hey--you've grown up now, maturity has outgrown over-indulgence of Christmas sweets, and under-indulgence of ample slumber, so maybe, this is the year.  Give it a try.  Strive for a better you, and resolve to make a change or accomplish a goal. Couldn't hurt--much.

Now that you've been etymologically edified and sardonically motivated, enjoy this variety of random New Year's Resolution lists I've come up with:

5 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS I MAY HAVE MADE--sometime in the past

1.  I will not procrastinate.
2.  I will become a published author before the end of the year.
3.  I will write letters to my family and friends more often.
4.  I will have a girlfriend this year.
5.  I will stop "just getting by" and get the grades I know I can get.

7 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS I HAVE NEVER MADE--nor likely ever will make

1.  I will eat less chocolate this year.
2.  I will take up running for my health.
3.  I will wear a tie to work more often.
4.  I won't spend money on travel this year.
5.  I will stop being a "snoopy father." 
6.  I won't allow myself to become emotionally connected to my students.
7.  I will go shopping more often--just for fun.  

4 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS I'D HAVE NO PROBLEM KEEPING--but have never made

1.  I will soak in a hot springs at least 5 times this year.
2.  I will let everyone know how brilliant and creative my kids are.
3.  I will keep my mind healthy by playing card games and doing word puzzles.
4.  I will embrace ethnic diversity by eating international cuisine as often as I can.

3 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS (each) MY FAMILY WOULD LIKELY NEVER MAKE

   the Princess:

1. I will wear monochromatic outfits in matching, subdued colors, and NO hats.
2. I will refrain from referencing any favorite movies, novels, plays, TV shows, or songs in my daily interaction with those around me.
3. I will be sure to make it to bed by midnight, no matter what I want to or have to do. 

 the Boy:

1. I will refrain from using my computer for at least two hours of my awake time each day.
2. I will launder, fold, and put away my clothes as often as (Dad deems) necessary.
3. I will be sure to make it to bed by midnight, no matter what I want to or have to do.

the Bride:

1. I will check out and read only one book at a time from the library every week.
2. I will only bake cookies, or scones, or brownies, on special occasions.  
3. I will not sing along with the radio or CD's when I drive in the car.

 6 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS I SHOULD MAKE THIS YEAR--but probably won't

1. I will make use of my new snowshoes this winter, and our (not so new) canoe this summer.
2. I will finish (after several years) re-making the flower gardens in the front of the house.
3. I will commit to spending "just the right amount of time" writing on my blog and various other creative pieces
4. I will sort through the heaps of "stuff" strategically stored in the house, and get rid of what we  really don't need, and neatly organize the rest.
5. I will be sure to make it to bed by midnight, no matter what I want to or have to do.
6. I will not procrastinate.

 But, no matter how you choose to commemorate or celebrate or calculate it, we are resolute in wishing you a New Year effervescing with energy, entertainment, edification, and enjoyment! 

Sensical Tour--Part V: TOUCH

"Oh, what a touching scene!"  "You should get in touch with your feminine side. . . "  "We'll leave nothing untouched in our search for answers."   We've burdened the word with heavy expectations, using it in multiple ways with a variety of meanings.  Even though it nearly always seems to appear last in the list of senses, it is clearly deemed a very important sense.  You've probably heard of or read research results that prove how vital the sense of touch is to humans: the severe social, emotional, or mental disabilities that occur in young children who have been deprived of human touch as they develop; the amazing benefits of touch in patients healing from illness or disease.  Can anyone quote the statistics on the number of nerve sensors in the varying parts of the human body?  It's staggering information, further validating how very important the sense of touch truly is. Anyway, for the final leg of this hyper-extended "sensical tour," pique your neural acuity, as I invite you to "get in touch" with the goings-on in our lives.

*****tingly warmth and bubbling relaxation of the "healing waters" found in a variety of natural hot springs in nearby-ish regions is a frequent source of neural splendor for us.  ++Always love the scenic grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, so reveled in two wonderful days soaking in two different hot springs in British Columbia just a few hours north of us after dropping Malina at the train to return to MN from her spring break in March, and as my week off began.  Enjoyed a tasty Japanese lunch in Banff too; and the beautiful, sunshiny day with pure blue skies prompted us to drive further west on a highway we hadn't been on before.  Incredible frozen blue waterfalls across the valley were an awesome and unique sight to behold.   ++In our long weekend in October, we soaked at two more springs in Montana that we hadn't been to before, and another one we've done a couple times before.  White Sulphur Springs in central Montana has super murals of local scenery and nature painted on the walls along the soaking pool and toasty, silky waters.  Aaaahhh!  One of the only two spots you can "swim" in Yellowstone National Park is near the North entrance by Gardiner, MT.  Where the steamy, sulphurous waters of the Boiling River flow out of Mammoth Hot Springs and splash down the rocks mixing together with the icy pure water of the Gardiner River, they create warm, soothing, bubbly comfort.  Our morning soak in this delightful natural spot was a wondrous beginning to our day's trek through Yellowstone and its highlights.  Got to love God's gifts of the sensory wonders and warmth of natural hot springs, and so often amid such scenic marvels!

*****overwhelming, goose-bumpy contentment is the best I can do to describe the parental "feeling" of having all of us home together during the kids' break from college.  Princess has been home since a day before Thanksgiving, and we drove to Bozeman and retrieved the son last weekend.  Both will go back in early January, but I'll will savor the warmth and completeness of familyhood for the few weeks we're all together.  A few favorite meals, a couple movies, and whatever extended-family events we can fit in over Christmas are all the plans we have for now--but even if it's just ordinary life-stuff, the "rightness" of being together is cozy and joyous and "touching."

*****wintry wetness, and fingertip numbness during our church's "live nativity" with Christmas caroling before the town's annual "Night of Lights" Christmas season celebration the first Friday in December.  We've participated in this for several years now, and the beautiful bride and a couple other musicians always play their guitars while whoever else sings all the traditional Christmas songs; kids from church are costumed as Mary and Joseph, shepherds and wisemen, and gathered around a stable; we offer hot cocoa and hand out cards declaring Christ as the "Reason for the Season" to all the passing-by revelers.  Very cool opportunity for witnessing, and a fun tradition.  Weather is always a questionable factor however; this year wasn't terribly cold--just quite wet, with flaky moist snow falling most of the time we were caroling--resulting in some rather soggy songbooks--and even after so many years, we've still found no solution for the frosty fingertips of the guitarists.  Just has become a sacrifice they're willing to endure.  What a festive chance to start the joyous Christmas season off with the proper perspective!

*****more wintry wetness--along with evergreen prickles, uphill out-of-breathness, and the warm, homey contentment of a tasty Mom-made dinner were feelings accompanying our annual Christmas-tree retrieval trip to my parents' mountain ranch.  Bride, princess and I tramped around on the hillside near Dad's house for three or four hours, necks craned upward, scanning the forested landscape, searching for a peek of that ideal conical shape--tall enough but not too tall,  perfect fullness, bright soft greenness--but when we hadn't made a final decision as dark approached, we decided to retrace and chose an "almost" consideration from earlier.  Ended up needing to use the headlights as I bundled it up to tie to the cartop.  Narrower than usual, and perhaps missing a branch or two from some angles--it now looks as grand as ever once we finally got it colorfully illumined and decorously ornamentalized.  And, in fact, we even appreciate the little extra space in our living room that the "narrowness" allows.  And, while the evergreen reminds us of God's eternal love and the eternal life we have from Him, and the lights cause us to remember that our Christmas-born Savior came to be the "Light of the World," the tree is NOT the focal point of Christmas.  All praises to Him who we celebrate in this joyous season!

*****draggy, trance-like mornings, unavoidable afternoon drowsiness, and sleep deprivation-induced headachiness are feelings I've experienced a bit too frequently this past couple weeks; getting to bed at a time that would allow me to feel "well rested" is often too rare of an occurrence and becomes even further demoted in priority when other important tasks, or chances to visit with my college-kids (who happen to operate on a quite inverted sleep schedule while on vacation) are vying for attention.  Creating and composing our Christmas newsletter and photo card was the task that competed for my late-night time this past week, but I did finally complete them to my perhaps a bit perfectionistic standard of acceptability.  Actually sent them via attachments on an email to any of the folks we have e-addresses for.  Always feel a bit guilty when choose this less-personal and non-traditional mode of delivery, but certainly keeps them more timely, and saves a bunch on postage and paper.  Plus, it makes them easier to view/read in most cases, as they appear bigger on the computer screen than when printed on to paper.  So, I ask for forgiveness and post them digitally anyway.  Again, connecting with family and friends is only a secondary benefit of Christmas, and I need to be reminded of that when I start to "fuss" over it so dramatically.  But,  I do so love sharing and connecting with family and friends from across the country and around the world whenever and however I can.  

Well, now that you've gotten "back in touch" with our lives, maybe my "touchy-feely" post has worn itself out; so guess I'll call my "sensical tour" complete, and publish this piece before it gets delayed again.  (Only took  an entire year to finish the series!)   May your life effervesce with "touching" moments and be filled with "feel-good" times.  A very blessed Christmas to you and all your loved ones! 

    

Doubly Interrupted "Sensical Tour" -Part IV: TASTE

November 27, 2012 
So, delinquency reigns rampantly supreme in the realm of scheduled blogging for me!  Not sure WHY I'm unable to keep up the momentum for doing this somewhat regularly. . . Genetics? Habits? Life?  Play?  You name it. . . guess I can come up with an endless roster of usable excuses--but, at any rate, here I am again; attempting again to progress and persist and persevere--maybe even, preserve: history, sentiments, emotions, etc.  I do still embrace the "spirit of the cause" even if the execution of it has proven problematic for me.  Bear with my erraticity, again--my eccentricity, as always, and enjoy our lives from my point-of-view.

June-July ??, 2012
Wow--again, have experienced some DELAY issues.  And started this post several weeks ago--but never got around to completing or publishing it.  Just not a routine kind-of-guy, so have difficulty jostling or ordering "all ducks in a row" in order to allow this "project" to reach fruition.  Lots going on in the past few weeks--and I'm sure the news will work its way in to my reports.  But for now, will give you the bit that I started sometime in late May, and add to it to make a completed post.  So, we had sniffed around a bit, and were scheduled to taste our way onward. . . 

late-May 2012  (Taste--Sense Tour-continued. . . )
Seems hard to separate taste from smell, doesn't it?  Don't scientists say that something like 85 percent of what we perceive as taste is actually smell?   The taste buds on your tongue only detect salt, sweet, sour, and bitter--or something like that.  Will have to do some more recent research rather than rely on my memory from long-ago lessons. . . (See side-bar link for more information on tastebuds.)  Anyhow, perhaps I'll expand the definition of "taste" in this section, just to spice-up my reporting a bit.  Nonetheless, cleanse that sophisticated palate of yours and embark with me on a journey through the flavorful moments of life.

****know the kids are enjoying their "taste of freedom" as college terms ended for them in recent times: the son a couple weeks ago, and the daughter's last day of classes was yesterday; now a couple of study days and three days of finals and freshman year is over for her as well.  Seems she has experienced quite a vast variety of new "tastes" this year: from sweet success to bitter disappointment,  with a populated continuum between.  An alluring array of creative opportunities for fun times with creative new friends sometimes may have won out over time spent on classwork preparations or studies. And the academic rigor required for her to achieve the results that she's accustomed to may have presented a few challenging and humbling moments, but she endured admirably, and now tastes respectable victory at the finish line.  Am sure the life-lessons learned along the way will prepare her palate for more sweet success as she continues on.  (Okay--so now, of course-- the princess has been done with college stuff for several weeks, and is indeed relishing in a less-stress schedule at home with us parental peoples.)  And--now again, she's been back to Carleton for fall term, and is home again for winter break until New Years.  We parents are definitely relishing in having her home for awhile!

****the sweetness of reconnecting with several friends still lingers on our mental palates.  A wonderful evening visiting and dining on superbly tasty Indian cuisine with CA friend in MN the night before moving daughter out of her dorm (in June; now, continuing on in November) --and again in September, after moving daughter into her "Interest House," we dined again with our same dear friend, this time partaking of nostalgic Japanese food.  Yum!  Also, the next afternoon, we met up with her at her house to do a "tasting party" of the varieties of all natural Minnesota maple syrups that she sells at "Farmer's Markets" on weekends.  The sap for the syrup is harvested from trees growing on friend's dear late grandmother's farm--so a cool connection for her, and the syrups are all quite tasty--naturally infused with flavors like cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, blueberry, bourbon. . . we liked the cinnamon the best and bought a few bottles as gifts for dear bride's dear aunties that we were having dinner with that same evening.  Got one for ourselves too, and in fact--just used it on waffles for our leisurely vacation morning breakfast with the princess this past weekend. Tasty!  

****And, more "sweet reunions" with friends during our travels in June include: breakfasting at a Milwaukee area Perkins with Japan friends, and seeing two of their three boys for the first time since they visited us in Montana when all of our kids were toddlers; a generous overnight stay with a college roommate (and his wife) who is a Pastor in the Queens area of NYC--treated us to a flavorful pizza from a nearby seemingly genuine Italian run pizzeria, and a late night "city lights-viewing" tour; a delectable home-cooked late lunch with another couple we knew in Japan and their five charming children in the St. Louis area --such sweet, caring friends and so fun catching up, strolling along seeing the sights near their little country farm; welcoming hospitality for an overnight stay with Japanese friend (her American husband was away on business) in Leavenworth, KS--kids especially enjoyed singing karaoke with her late into the night, and she gave us an interesting tour of the military base there the next morning before we headed out toward Montana.  Always so good physically connecting when possible to fuel the flames of friendship!

****Tasting the "high life" in New York City was great fun for all of us for parts of three days in June.  The bride, the princess and I flew there from Milwaukee-- after moving her out of the dorm in MN.  Son met us in NYC one afternoon after having spent a week or so with college friends near the Boston area.  The impetus that lured our rural-ish Montana family to NYC was attending a Broadway production of "Newsies" --one of the princess's favorite Disney movies based on the historical events of the newsboys' strike in 1899. We were enraptured by the superbly energetic performance, lively dancing, and compelling personal story, and were thrilled to read a couple days later that it won two coveted Tony Awards!  Besides Broadway, we did as many "must do" New York touristy things as we could manage.  Used the trusty subway system, and lots of walking to experience: Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Ellis Island, huge "old" cathedrals, Staten Island Ferry, Chinatown (incredibly tasty dinner!), Times Square (unbelievably chaotic and unceasing parade of EVERY imaginable piece of humanity), and witnessed ancient China in an awesome museum exhibition of the centuries-old Terra Cotta Warriors, and exhilarated with the action (and cost) of watching The Avengers in a multi-storied cinema on Times Square, only a few blocks removed from the locale where the movie's packed-action happens.  Wow!  We left thinking there was still plenty that we'd like to see and do--if we have another chance to make it back to NYC. 

****As always, FAMILY continues to season our lives--homey, comfortable flavors; nostalgic, enticing essences that "spice up" our comings and goings and be-ings.  Our dinner with the bride's three sets of uncles and aunts in MN in September was, of course, quite delicious food prepared by hostess aunt, but metaphorically, a sumptuous feast for the soul as well.  Uncles shared memories of their and their dear sisters' (bride's Mom and Aunt--now both with Jesus) early life, growing up as MN farm kids during Depression and war years.  Even found old family photos to share and copy for us.  We feel remarkably blessed having such loving family caring for us, even from far away, and truly God's gracious gift having them so nearby for darling daughter while away at college.  One Uncle continues to generously volunteer as our "transportation officer" getting her to and from the train depot for all break-time travel.  Another savorous family event was attending our nephew's wedding in IL in June--circuitously en route back home after "doing NY."  It was another expertly choreographed outdoor celebration, creatively decorated and tailored for the bridal couple. It was truly special to be able to share the joyful day with family and especially our nephew and his lovely bride, a native Illinoisan.  Enjoy connecting with my folks and siblings and some aunts, uncles and Grandma when we can, sharing a meal or simply a bit of precious visiting.  Of course, always feels  there's not quite time to spend with everyone that we'd like to--but so thankful for the moments we can relish in the glorious flavors of family!

Well, now that you've had a taste of the moments that've flavored our lives these past months, perhaps it's time to publish this post.  Thanks for partaking--and let me know you were here, some way or another.  Maybe response and input will help motivate me to remain more faithful and final in my postings.  We can always hope.  Pray you're savoring the delicious moments of your life and giving praise to the Creator for His bounteous blessings bestowed on you.  Happy December, and "bon appetit!"