Some Kind of Musical

Today I realized that I have been VERY neglectful of my blogging ‘duties’.  Chalk it up to not feeling good, trying to adjust to a new work schedule, insert whatEVER ridiculous excuse you want to.  Bottom line, I have a little to catch up on.  One of the big events in our household since the beginning of the year was Annika’s participation in Lynden High School’s performance of ‘Once Upon a Mattress’.  Over the years we have seen many high school productions, but this was the first time that one of our kids had a role ON stage.  We were very excited for Annika.  She bravely tried out (something I surely never would have done as a kid—I don’t think I would do it NOW).  Try-outs consist of standing in front of a large group and singing a song of your choice withOUT accompaniment  Then if you survive that, they hand you a portion of a script and you have to ‘read’ for a part.  She did it.  She was rewarded with a part in the chorus.  

 

The musical was a comedy and we thoroughly enjoyed it.  I am sure we are a little biased, but we thought the kids all did an spectacular job.  I was lucky enough to be back stage with the cast a couple of nights.  I thoroughly enjoyed sitting back and listening to the kids interact with each other.  On opening night, I  was impressed when one of the kids gathered the others together and explained that each night before their performances they would have a popcorn prayer time.  For those that don’t know what that means, basically it is a time where one person begins by praying aloud and others in the circle can take turns adding their own part to the prayer time.  After a period of time, someone finishes and closes the prayer.  No one has to pray, it is optional, but the thanks and praises ‘pop’ around the circle in no particular order.  I know that our 2 oldest kids spent their entire pre-college school career attending a private Christian school, and I have experienced similar times with them.  While these experiences were no less meaningful, this was different, this impacted me in a significant way.  Remember, Annika attends the public high school, not the Christian school that Josh and Kirsten graduated from.   As I silently sat and listened, I was bowled over by the depth of their words as they went around the circle and voluntarily shared their thanks and praise.  I was emotionally affected.  I was drawn in to their time of reflection.

Annika learned a lot through her participation in the musical.  She strengthened friendships with an entertaining group of kids.  Being able to be back stage and observe her interacting with her peers in a healthy and ‘normal’ way made me realize how hard she has worked, how far she has come, how much she has grown and learned.  For that, I give my own praise and thanks.

Under the heading of ‘strange gifts we have received’ I offer this:

What do you do when you receive one of ‘those’ gifts?  I think we all know what I am talking about.  We have all been the recipient of such a gift.  A gift that you open and your immediate thought is ‘what am I going to do with THAT?’.  We received one of these gifts recently.  To make matters worse, it was a gift that was given by someone who enters our house on a normal basis, so I can’t just sell it on Ebay and never use it.  It was given by someone who should know us better, but doesn’t.   And yes, I’m not that morally bankrupt that I don’t appreciate that the giver put time and thought into giving us this gift (although I’m not entirely convinced the giver didn’t first order this for themselves, only to feel guilty about spending the money on themselves so they re-gifted it to us for our anniversary—because it honestly would FIT.RIGHT.IN the giver’s home).  I must admit, when I received it, I laughed.  I laughed REALLY hard.  Then I showed Dean and I laughed more.   So what was this gift you ask?  Well, words can’t really describe it, so I will share a picture:

Uh huh…I warned you.  In the packing information, this little gem is described as:  “Your ‘Thomas Kinkade White Christmas’ Masterpiece Edition Crystal Snowman is an exceptionally fine collectible. … As with any fine collectible, this snowman should be handled with care.  It is not a toy and should not be left unattended.”  Great, does that mean I have to stare at it all the time???  For crying out loud when my kids were toddlers I left THEM unattended, why can’t I leave this hunk of glass unattended.

This fine collectible plugs in and lights up.  Then the little train travels around the track.  This provides entertainment for our cat, Kaja, although she isn’t quite sure about the snowman.  The fine collectible information goes on to describe that this hunk of glass conjures up images of your childhood winters sipping hot chocolate.  Uh huh…ok.  That’s right boys and girls, I remember when I was a little girl living in the village and we would play in the snow and then go inside and have hot cocoa.  It was all wonderful until one day this monstrous snowman came and swallowed the town and we became stuck inside its icy belly.

I’m not sure what we are going to do with this thing.  It may get unattended while on the edge of a counter and Kaja is home alone.  OR, I COULD  put it on Ebay and just SAY that it was destroyed by Kaja.  I just checked…this thing is going for $100 AND there is also an Irish version that sports a green hat, scarf and mittens.  Hmmmmmmm

Anniversary Wishes

This past weekend we celebrated 24 years of marriage.  Every year we make a point of having AT LEAST 24 hours together, alone, to celebrate.  Some years that means a trip away for several days.  Some years that means 1 or 2 nights away.  Other years that has meant staying home (or at our cabin when we had that) and making sure the kids are staying elsewhere.  We feel that when you run the gauntlet like we do on a week in/week out basis that uninterrupted time together is necessary.  This year we opted for 1 night/2 days away.  We didn’t venture far, but it was far enough.   We were SHOCKED when our youngest didn’t text us for 24 hours.  Lucky for us, the 2 big kids were home from college, so all 3 could just stay home together.   For 2 days we relaxed and explored.  We enjoyed our time together, as we always do.  When we got home the kids greeted us with laughter, flowers and a ‘What an Achievement!’ card.  They explained they felt it was more appropriate than a ‘Happy Anniversary’ card.  Our family shares nothing if not our strange brand of humor.

 

This year looks to be a significant one in our lives together.  Our oldest will graduate from college in a few months.  We will gain a daughter (in-law) at the end of the summer.  Our youngest will get her driver’s license.  Our middle child will continue her college path.  I will have more surgery where I will once again be a grumpy, pain in the butt that Dean has to wait on.  However, we look forward to sharing all of these events together, happily.  Sometimes we feel like an old boring couple, but then it is usually in those moments that I am thankful for the intimacy that we share  That intimacy where you can communicate with your partner with a simple glance, no words spoken.  Then of course, there is the laughter, always the laughter.  After 25 years together (24 of those married) we still make each other laugh…CONSTANTLY.  I’d say it has been a pretty good run, this marriage thing.  Now we get to look forward to planning for our 25th wedding anniversary adventure.  I’ve already told Kirsten that she isn’t allowed to get married next year because it is our 25th anniversary and we plan on spending money on us, not on a wedding for her.  I know it sounds kind of harsh doesn’t it??  Again, you have to understand our family’s twisted sense of humor.  Happy Anniversary to us!  There is no one else I would have wanted to partner with these last many years.  Thank you Dean!