Saturday, April 21, 2012

Beautiful Flowers


On April 1, 2012 (no fooling) these beautiful flowers appeared in the sanctuary at church in loving memory of Katy Gray, who died on April 10, 2010.  We work to keep her memory alive.  I asked our flower coordinator to put me down for "Sunday closest to April 10" for the next five years.  Every Sunday when the ministers ask us to say the names of people we have brought with us, I always say "Guppy."  (For the last few months I have said "Guppy, Livi and Liam," but I think Livi and Liam are good now!)


I'm no photographer, more's the pity, but these are some pretty flowers, yes?  And here's Guppy's bench:


Sometimes I wonder if Mom would have thought all this grief is maudlin.  I worry that she would have, but I never talked to her about how she felt about losing her own mom.  I guess...grief is grief, right?  We can't get over it any more quickly than we do.  I know she knew we were going to miss her, and she was right.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Spring Daffodils

Rose #2 and a couple of her friends at after-school care found a daffodil, and one of the teachers sent me an email titled "We Love Your Kid."  That is a really nice message to get in the middle of the day. 

But...

I spend so much time agonizing over our life choices: we work too much.  We don't see our kids enough.  We don't get to spend a lot of family time together.  Rose #1's time at home is halfway over, people!  She is halfway to age 18!  (I know, she probably won't be moved out for good at age 18, but still.)  The time when they think that I hung the moon is about to pass us by.  That makes me really sad.

So when I see pictures like the above I am so glad to know that Rose #2 is searching out daffodils in the middle of the day, but oh, how I wish that I was there with her.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

We're Still Here...Practicing Resurrection


Happy Easter!  This morning I was awoken by all three Roses, who had set their alarms for 5:25 a.m. (!!!) and crept down to the kitchen to make H and me a surprise breakfast!  Lightly toasted sourbread toast, Bran Chex, and apple slices.  Luckily they contained their excitement and didn't wake us up until 7:00.  Phew.  The breakfast was, well, delicious!

At our house the E.B. (that's what we call the Easter Bunny) leaves clues to where the Easter baskets might be found.  Each Rose had as many clues as she is years old:  5, 7 and 9.  There was some gnashing of teeth and some grumbling and some pleas for help, but in the end, all three found their baskets.  (See above.)

And, each had a chocolate bunny.  With bitten-off ears in each case.  Well, bitten-off now - they were intact in the package.

I rousted everyone out the door for the 11:00 church service.  Forcing the Roses to sit through church is like asking them to scrub the bathroom floor with a toothbrush or making them organize their clothing drawers:  an unlikely prospect, and certain to not go very well.  After Rose #3 dropped her "Kid's Activity" book and hymnal on the floor for about the 78th time, I almost lost it in the middle of service.  Luckily everything settled down and we made it.  The title of the sermon was "Practicing Resurrection."  I love that.  I also love that our ministers know that on Family Sunday when the kids stay in the worship service for the whole time, the sermon needs to be short.  7 minutes:  PERFECT.

We are about to head out to Cherokee Park to plant flowers at my mom's memorial plaque site and to have an Easter egg hunt (both my ideas, and I think they are fairly brilliant).  Then to dinner at Aunt Boo's.  We are practicing resurrection all the time, aren't we?  Keeping on with life even after terrible loss afflicts us.  Keeping up old traditions and making new ones.  Guppy, we miss you so, so much.  I know you would have loved an Easter egg hunt.  I wish you were there with us to see it.