Sunday, October 6, 2024

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my mother. As the oldest of her seven children, I was in some very lovely ways my mother's long-time confidante about her own before days, which I thought of as my "pre-history"--everything that happened before my parents had me or even each other.

Happily for me, my mother had a significant before days era. She was the eldest of two daughters of dairy farmer/small-town grocer parents. Born in 1919 before her own mother could vote, she went to college in 1936, taught school, then went to New York in 1939 to study music, and returned home to teach again. When America joined WWII she moved to St. Louis where she got an office job and eventually met and married my father after knowing him only a month. Then he went to Europe as part of the D-day prep team, and she was on her own again for a year before he returned.

Her pre-history experiences, adventures and perspectives made her extremely different from all my friends' mothers. In other words, she was my first role model. I grew up wanting to become, like she had done, my own person.

When my father died (at 68), I was single, and Mother and I started traveling together. She was always up for any adventure, and I discovered how big a flirt she was! A few months ago I found a news article about a long-ago high school reunion in which she described herself proudly as "a traveling widow." During that phase of her life, she loved living alone and sharing her before days stories with her granddaughters. Eventually, Alzheimer's happened, and she came to live with me and my husband for the last dozen years of her life.

Life has many phases. Like Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over 'til it's over." Thank you, Mother.

(And thanks to y'all for listening.)

Thank you for sharing that! Your mother had many lives!

Greetings all

Sunny again here. After my usual coffee dawdling I went to the gym and did walking. No grunt man was present. Fast in, fast out.

Then we had the family zoom call that DSL presides over like a CEO. Baby announcement was made official and it's a boy. All good. The package sent to me and others was a little sort of memory box. Cute. After that it was studio time where I got some things done any my studio buddy got nothing done. She is a person who talks all the time and gets nothing done as a result. I am glad I am not such a person.

Liz you are the person of action. Goof off time is well deserved.

CC is there much fall color in Arizona? Hope it cools off soon so you can enjoy the fall balloons.

DD sounds like your scored on your shopping! Way to go.

So there was discussion on what this baby boy will be named. Their last name is Crane. So DH and I decided what NOT to name this kid is "Dwayne Hussein Crane" or "Wayne Blaine Crane". LOL not likely.

We started the Apple TV series "Lady in the Lake". It's intense, weird but compelling. We will likely watch the rest tonight.

Cheers. Diane S

Probably not Frasier, Niles, Martin, or Eddie Crane either!

No fall color yet. We've got a month maybe? Still so dang hot. 113 in Phoenix today. Unprecedented.

That's what came to my mind too!

Funny! :)

When I was a kid, my favorite knock joke was:

Knock knock

Who's there?

Duane the bathtub, I think I'm dwauning.

159.2. Calories have been low, probably too low.

Checked out a new to us church today and then lunched with some friends. Our current church had a mass exodus the past year and none of our peeps are there anymore. We were not going to leave and join a new church since we were going to be moving soon, but now that we are not moving we may flee as well. Church dynamics are weird sometimes!

Tried out the sous vide function on my new range today. Pictures on Facebook!

Need to start packing for the Door County trip tomorrow. Hair cut and color in the morning before we leave!

Our long time church does not feel the same to us any longer too. It has grown more conservative over the years, which isn't necessarily wrong, but it is not how I am called to serve. DH and just discussed this on Saturday. Are we going to continue saying we are members but only show up sporadically, or do we need to re commit to our changed church or do we need to go find another?

Personally I would try to find a church that feels like it is a better fit!