I'm still amazed at the things my grandmother-in-law can do at 87. I'm also intrigued by the hardships she endured raising a family of five boys and one girl with almost no outside help, limited resources, etc.
I don't have much outside help either but we live in a wonderful neighborhood with great neighbors, babysitters virtually at my fingertips if needed, a grocery store that's a stone's throw away, and a housekeeper that works her tail off every two weeks. I'm still exhausted at the end of the day and I'm not sure my children appreciate anything they have or what we do for them.
I would love to hear from some people that raised children before me about how they managed and succeeded to raise responsible and considerate adults. Anyone?
We were in church today and at the end of the service, Pastor always asks visitors to raise their hands and introduce themselves. Today a lady and her teen son raised their hand and said they were from a town about three hours away and were stranded. The pastor told them in a quite voice to stay after the service. I watched for a minute to see if anyone would approach them and sadly no one did right away. We were sitting close so I went over to see if they needed anything. She said their car broke down and they were waiting on her brother to bring some money so they could get home. I asked where they slept last night and she said in their car. Someone approached them at that time and I stepped away. I found my husband and asked if they could stay at our home. He didn't think it was safe for our children so we left the church. On the way home I called Pastor and offered to take them a meal wherever they were staying. He said he had given them some money for gas and lunch so they could get home.
I can't imagine not being able to put gas in my car or buy lunch. We live in such a privileged area that sometimes other people's plights go unnoticed. I don't think God wants us to look for these people but to be aware when they come across our path and take action.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The beginning...well sort of...
A blog is a funny thing. I've written for newspapers and magazines and both give you an assignment and you complete it. This is...strange but nice. No restraints or restrictions.
I guess I should introduce myself. I'm a married mother of four who forgets who she is most of the time. I am a mother and wife most of the time, which is wonderful but I do have many interests that I try to squeeze in.
For example, I would like to start running again. This is hard, though, because I have three children not in school full time. So, today, my oldest, who is seven, went to a friend's farm to play. The older two girls, five and three years old, went with my husband to run errands. The youngest, who is 11 months old, took a nap. This is the first time in a very long time I have had any quiet. We are coming off of four snow days from school. A little loco right now.
So, I decided I wanted to go for a run. I put the baby monitor on my hip and ran around the block for 30 minutes. I think I went around about 16 times. I wonder if my neighbors think I'm crazy. I really don't care. I came in, did a few push-ups and took a long shower. Got out of the shower and still no noise. It was heaven. I started to feel guilty that I was enjoying this so much. I usually want everyone in the same room but with Christmas break and the snow days I was DONE! Tonight I met some girlfriends for a rare wine, food and craft time. I'll post some pictures of what we did. It was so cute!
My husbands grandmother, who is 87 years old, has been staying with us since Christmas. One of her sons, who lives lives three hours away, picked her up yesterday. She'll be with he and his wife for the week then they will bring her back. We told her that she could stay as long as she wanted. She lives in the Northwest corner of Nebraska; it is so cold and icy there a lot of the winter. We live in Tennessee where the winter is not normally as severe.
She and I get along really well. My husband travels quite a bit and I don't think I realized how lonely I was when he is gone. She has so many stories about growing up in rural Nebraska. She did not have running water in the house until 1948! She has six children, five boys and one girl, all born at home except for the youngest boy who was born in the hospital. Amazing! I had one of my children without an epidural because we got to the hospital late; I now appreciate natural birth and how painful it is. She has endured so much tragedy and pain throughout her life. Her husband died over 10 years ago from cancer, most of her friends have either passed away or are in bad shape, she has lost at least two grandchildren and a daughter-in-law, she lived through a horrendous car accident, her father passed away when she was two years old and her mother raised nine children alone. So many other tragedies that I'm finding out about. She doesn't dwell on them but she does occasionally tear up when she's talking about them.
Life on Earth is painful and God tells us it will be. I guess it's like childbirth, it's painful so we know it's time to push forward, to hold that baby and experience the joy. Life here is painful and it will continue to be painful so we will want to push forward to be in Heaven someday.
I guess I should introduce myself. I'm a married mother of four who forgets who she is most of the time. I am a mother and wife most of the time, which is wonderful but I do have many interests that I try to squeeze in.
For example, I would like to start running again. This is hard, though, because I have three children not in school full time. So, today, my oldest, who is seven, went to a friend's farm to play. The older two girls, five and three years old, went with my husband to run errands. The youngest, who is 11 months old, took a nap. This is the first time in a very long time I have had any quiet. We are coming off of four snow days from school. A little loco right now.
So, I decided I wanted to go for a run. I put the baby monitor on my hip and ran around the block for 30 minutes. I think I went around about 16 times. I wonder if my neighbors think I'm crazy. I really don't care. I came in, did a few push-ups and took a long shower. Got out of the shower and still no noise. It was heaven. I started to feel guilty that I was enjoying this so much. I usually want everyone in the same room but with Christmas break and the snow days I was DONE! Tonight I met some girlfriends for a rare wine, food and craft time. I'll post some pictures of what we did. It was so cute!
My husbands grandmother, who is 87 years old, has been staying with us since Christmas. One of her sons, who lives lives three hours away, picked her up yesterday. She'll be with he and his wife for the week then they will bring her back. We told her that she could stay as long as she wanted. She lives in the Northwest corner of Nebraska; it is so cold and icy there a lot of the winter. We live in Tennessee where the winter is not normally as severe.
She and I get along really well. My husband travels quite a bit and I don't think I realized how lonely I was when he is gone. She has so many stories about growing up in rural Nebraska. She did not have running water in the house until 1948! She has six children, five boys and one girl, all born at home except for the youngest boy who was born in the hospital. Amazing! I had one of my children without an epidural because we got to the hospital late; I now appreciate natural birth and how painful it is. She has endured so much tragedy and pain throughout her life. Her husband died over 10 years ago from cancer, most of her friends have either passed away or are in bad shape, she has lost at least two grandchildren and a daughter-in-law, she lived through a horrendous car accident, her father passed away when she was two years old and her mother raised nine children alone. So many other tragedies that I'm finding out about. She doesn't dwell on them but she does occasionally tear up when she's talking about them.
Life on Earth is painful and God tells us it will be. I guess it's like childbirth, it's painful so we know it's time to push forward, to hold that baby and experience the joy. Life here is painful and it will continue to be painful so we will want to push forward to be in Heaven someday.
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