Five Minute Friday: Home

An apt topic for this weekend's writing, as I've only just returned from a vacation from Parts West, from my hometown. How can I limit it to just five minutes?

Home

Home is where the heart is. If so, my home is with my loved ones. It's with my husband and baby.

Home is familiarity. That city, that state, that region--I spent my formative years there and they are my home as nothing else will be or can be. To be in my culture of origin--Colorado is so different from the South!--and feel at home not like an interloper is good. To smell that smell of pine trees and wind that comes (literally!) from mountaintops to valleys. (I remember Uncle Janis used to say "That's the smell of fresh air!" There's nothing like coming back from Away and smelling that smell again.

Oddly, I found my Mother-in-Law's house to be my home as well. We arrived there after two days on the road and it felt so relaxing to arrive. I felt at home. I dawdled in the shower. I washed clothes. I knew without asking where the laundry pre-treat is and that I was welcome to use it.

And now, in my own house where I've lived for 4 years, I am home. My kitchen. My bedroom. My living room. Here I am housemother, saimniece, hostess. Here is where I cook and clean and live large moments and tiny moments.

7 Quick Takes 2011-05-11, Volume Three

::1:: Do you remember the movie The Emperor's New Groove? All it took for the wicked king to realize his humility and the dignity of each person was to be turned into a llama for a few days. The movie is so.funny. I am relating to it these days...I want my groove back, and Baby keeps interrupting my groove. Perhaps I am simply too idolatrous of My Groove and need to realign my heart to God's priorities: to serve and love others. Sigh. Sanctification is good...but it stinks.

::2:: I've gotten a lot less fussy about stains. I've got milk on my shirt all the time, whether fresh milk, slightly old milk, or slightly digested milk. If Baby spits up on me...meh, I'll wash the shirt. (He's not much of a spitter-upper, thankfully.) If Baby spits up on Husband...oh boy, get the man a clean washcloth, because YUCK.

::3:: In Baby News, do you know what his new skill is!?!? Smiling! He smiles at me at least once a day, and has smiled at his Daddy twice...both times on purpose. What a thrill. I know the emotion was in his heart but we humans are communicators, and it's nice to see the affection on Baby's face, a connection between his heart and mine. Yay. Oh, yay!

::4:: We're going on a road trip in a few weeks. Will Baby make it, strapped in his car seat for 6-8 hours a day (except for food/diaper breaks)? We shall see.

::5:: This road trip...we're headed West to Colorado and Kansas. In Colorado, the plan is to go to Vail for the Teva Mountain Games. We need to bring winter clothes for Baby because it snowed there last night. (And the temperature is to hit 90 degrees here at home today.) Winter clothes? In June?

::6:: I was asked months ago to write for a Pro-Life blog. It was founded by a man in my church, a very logical, absent-minded-professor type. I'd be the only woman writing for it. I was unmotivated to write during my pregnancy, but now I'm fomenting some thoughts for that venue. Perhaps I'l take the plunge after all.

::7:: You know those laundry bags you buy for small items and unmentionables? I bought one the other day for baby socks, because I read somewhere that they can get sucked into your washing mashine drain and clog up the works...anyway, I love it. It was 97 cents (of course I didn't buy the name brand, are you kidding?), and I love it. I'm going to buy several for my mom. (Why? Because she loses socks in her dryer. It's truly amazing. I remember being a girl, and about once every six months, we'd dump out the lawn and leaf bag [yes, the lawn and leaf bag] onto her bed and try to match some socks. Neither my sister nor I have ever lost any socks in the laundry in our own homes...it has got to be something with her dryer.) She'll be able to wash clothes and put all the socks in a sack and hopefully they'll all come out of the dryer.

7 Quick Takes Volume 2

Go to Conversion Diary for more 7QT.

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So, last week I was frenetically preparing for a northward weekend journey, the museum's annual not-so-scary members-only Halloween event, and fighting bad allergies that have since mutated into a cold and sinusitis.

1. I am thankful for doctors who take action. At the doctor's office, I received several prescriptions--antibiotics, cortisone for the swelling, cough suppressant that's not codeine-based so I don't have to deal with the OTC cough-syrup side effect of stupidity--AND a cortisone shot right then and there. Woo. I haven't taken any pills and I feel better already. It's the cortisone. I can finally breathe through my nose well.

2. Today, during Story Time, I read to two 6-year-olds. We did some Early Childhood Games (can you guess if the pumpkin inside the smaller box will be bigger or smaller than the first pumpkin? it's called prediction of volume) and they enjoyed the games...a little...and I could see they were relieved to learn that the Early Childhood Games were designed for kids who are TWO YEARS OLD and that it's OK that they were BORED by them.

3. Those 6-year-olds from Story Time enjoyed a book that was a little scary, The Little Old Lady Who Was not Afraid of Anything. They liked knowing that the scariness is in the anticipation of the reader saying "BOO!" They were cute!

4. My husband is at a high school football game tonight. That means I am at home alone to rest and rest and to rest. I usually hate being alone but tonight I'm ok.

5. My bum hurts from the cortisone shot.

6. Our northward journey took us on a 12-hour drive (one way!) to visit my grandparents. I am thankful to have seen them...and thankful that Grandma knew who I was...and thankful for the hope of heaven where God will wipe all the tears away from our eyes. Oh, how I grieve. Aging stinks! Sure, they have the wisdom of experience and all that....but when their brains start imploding and they stop being themselves....it hurts. Oh, for heaven! Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

7. I can't think of anything else.

Post-Summer Recap

Slept in.
Worked shifts.
Exercised together.
Spent time together.
Stayed up late.

Car trip to Kansas.
Short jaunt to Colorado.
Precious time spent with both sides of our family.
Spent time with all immediate family members...but one.

Recuperated at home.
Worked.

Days spent in our home with dear family.
Days spent in Atlanta with more dear family.
Time spent at the beach: sleep, swim, play, eat, read. Repeat.
More days spent in Atlanta with dear family.

All in all, a fast summer, but a good one.

Returning home...re-entry...is strange. (Do astronauts feel weighed down when they come home from the international space station? Did they miss the sunlight, soft breezes, fresh air when they were weightless?)
It's good to be home. It's good to be back. But summer freedom was good too.

In-Laws and Outlaws (Christmas Travels Part IV)

Whew! It's March and I'm still posting about Christmas. Oh well. Deal with it.

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So, after our time in Colorado Springs, we traveled back to Quinter. Here are the Quinter 'skyscrapers,' 8 miles away from us at this point! (They're actually grain elevators. Note the flat, flat, flatness of Western Kansas. It's flat out there, folks.)



My youngest brother-in-law's girlfriend had flown in a couple days before to 'meet the family,' and my husband and I got back to Quinter earlier than we expected. Consequently, I got to go along on the Girls' Antiquing Trip! After the antiquing, we all went to grocery shop in the W-M*rt. (When living in the country, you have to be sure to grab groceries when you can!)



The next day, New Year's Eve, I got to talking to the youngest brother-in-law. He and his girlfriend and the sister-in-law and I climbed up on the roof and watched the sun set. It was the last sunset of the year and it was a good one.



Here's the cute couple, in the beautiful sunset light. (Do you notice her scarf? That's one of our Christmas gifts to her. I'll have you all know that I made it!)


Aaaaand then, after counting down with the folks in Times Square, middle brother-in-law's wife played reveille on a trumpet for the whole town's enjoyment. (People, there are 800 people in this town. This was the loudest celebratory sound to be heard...a trumpet.)

The In-Laws' New Year's Eve Tradition dictates that we play fussball. Mother-in-Law's dad made this fussball table, and it's Mother-in-Law's favorite game! She really gets into it. (In this picture, from L to R, are: youngest brother-in-law, mother-in-law, middle brother-in-law's wife, middle brother-in-law, and sister-in-law.)

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(The 'in-laws' in the title are my husband's family, and the 'outlaws'...they are us, the married-into-this-family kids. Me, the Trumpeter, and the Girlfriend.)

(And I like them all. It's a gift, to like your in-laws, and I do.)

Westward Ho! (Christmas Travels, Part 1)

First in this series of posts about our Christmas 2008, the trip itself.


View Larger Map

Here's our westward route. Due to the weather in Mt. Vernon, IL and thereabouts (70% chance of evening wintry mix on the 23rd! yikes), we opted for the southern route. It took us about 5.5 hours on the first evening to drive across one state. Yes, Memphis is very far away.

The second day, as we set out across Arkansas, we ran into some rain. It was very rainy, and windy. In fact, as we crossed the Mississippi River, I wan't able to enjoy it because (1) it was so rainy you couldn't even see the water as you crossed it which was just creepy enough to be unsettling and (2) it was so windy I had this terrible surreal fear of being blown off the bridge and into the cold, churning Mississippi below.

So that was our welcome to Arkansas. Thankfully, the rain cleared out in about 30 minutes. Crossing the rest of Arkansas was...long. 5 hours! I drove across most of Arkansas, through all of Oklahoma, and into southern Kansas to Wichita, while Ian read to me or slept.

We got gas in Wichita, and were going to get some fast food, but we forgot that it was Christmas Eve and all the restaurants closed early, so we ate gas station food.* This time, our On the Road Christmas Eve Dinner was fresh, plump, tasty hot dogs (Husband had corn dogs...I held the tray of ketchup for him so he could hold the corn dog, dip it in ketchup, and drive all at the same time), chips, and cokes.

The rest of the trip was uneventful (thankfully so!) till we arrived in Quinter at about 10 pm. Our homecoming was picturesque: the rest of the family had gathered in the living room and were singing Christmas carols while my father-in-law was accompanying with guitar. What a delightful memory!

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*Two years ago on Christmas Eve, we were driving from Colorado to Western Kansas and ate gas station food at 10pm in a tiny town on I-70 in Eastern Colorado. (If you've never driven I-70 in Eastern Colorado, let me tell you: it's barren.) We had the last two glumly revolving hot dogs in the gas station and were grateful! We were hungry, and they were food.

Road Trips

Here is a map of all the states I've visited. I've also visited Hawaii, even though it's not shown on this map.

I like road trips. I might have to plan one to fill in those sad, white states that need to be colored in. (There are so few of them. A couple summer trips would fill this map right up!)

Awesome/Not Awesome

Awesome: the weather wasn't killingly hot today.
Not Awesome: the days are getting shorter and winter is creeping our way. :(

Awesome: we had a superfun weekend with my sister-in-law!
Not Awesome: it's a two-hour drive away and the weekend is over.

Awesome: Ian had a good day today in his InService.
Not Awesome: School is starting, and that is a grind.

Awesome: I submitted about 10 job applications today.
Not Awesome: I need to be working (and getting paid) now.

Awesome: Job applications can be submitted online (thus less gas burned).
Not Awesome: Spending all day on the computer is hard on a recluse like me.

Awesome: I have all this time! I can visit friends, hang out and read, blog all day,...
Not Awesome: I can't afford to drive anywhere unnecessary or buy anything non-vital.

Awesome: Deeper, truer knowledge that God Provides.
Not Awesome: The painful side of sanctification.

Post-Camping Thoughts (these are the deep ones)

So, we went camping last night. It was very fun! I enjoyed it so much...except that I didn't sleep all that well. Oh well, I've got a real bed tonight, right?

Anyway, here are some thoughts I thought as we camped:

:::We camped lakeside. Our campsite was waterfront, and it was beautiful. I sat and watched the lake and listened to the little waves splash and thought about what I learned in high school physics about wave motion. I thought more than I will say...but I'll at least say that the water may look turbulent when it's moving up and down, but the water molecules themselves are still in comparison to each other. That's how I should be, right, with waves and turbulence looking like they're ruffling my surface, but actually at peace.

:::There was a duck family that lived in our little bay. They swam around and around the inlet, getting handouts from all the campers. Fortunately, I had some extra graham crackers (from the s'mores, of course), and I fed them. I tried to feed them all equally, but they fought each other and snapped at each other to get each bite I threw them, even though I had so many crackers and was feeding each one a fair amount. How many times to I fuss and whine because I think that God, my provider, is being unfair and feeding others more than he feeds me? He himself is the perfect provider, so I should trust his feeding hand...but I'm just like a stupid duck, panicking and fighting because I want more.

:::It's really nice to get away. I haven't been myself lately, and it's nice to be able to be away and relax, even just for an overnight.

:::Water, and trees, and ducks, and all that while camping are beautiful. It's really, really beautiful in the world. God is a wonderful creator.