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June 10 Family Reunion 2008It was going to be a different kind of gathering this year, I was so very sure. We had moved the location for a variety of reasons and I just knew that people would use it as an opportunity to break with tradition and either show up extremely late, or not show up at all. Frankly, I wasn't expecting a very large crowd. The group had been dwindling in recent years and we had diminished from a gathering of 50+ to barely 30 in the last couple of years. I thought we might have 20 this year. What a joy to be wrong! We were 42 strong, with one out-of-town caller. Four generations gathered together to celebrate who we are and the places and people from whom we come.
Miners, educators (including one doctorate), a medical doctor and several other medical professionals, information technology experts . . . the variety was as diverse as the people themselves.
The most senior of my father's generation will be 87 this week. We've lost one of my father's sisters, and two brothers-in-law. Each time we gather, their presence is sadly missed.
At the end of our devotional, I took a few minutes to acknowledge, honor and thank the men of my father's generation for their military service. As a family, we are truly blessed. Many families gather several times a year for funerals and other crises. We have chosen to gather in serenity and joy.
It may be only once a year, but it is a gathering that keeps us grounded and in touch. I wish I had taken a few minutes to acknowledge families and individuals so that we can reacquainte (is that really a word?!?) ourselves with each other. Next year, I want to share some old family films and photographs. So if you have something special, be sure and let me know - maybe by Christmas?
I am proud of my heritage, and grateful for the strong gene pool from which I come. I am blessed and privileged to be a daughter of a family that understands and values honor, ethics and caring for one another. Thank you, God.
Enjoy the pictures. And those of you who weren't able to join us, save the second weekend in June next year and we'll see you in West Virginia.
March 05 It was one of those days ...........I left for work at the regular time - actually, a few minutes early because I wanted to stop by the store on the way. But, when I saw the traffic lined up for the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, I forgot about the store. Traffic was barely moving and the line for the access ramp was almost a quarter of a mile long. So I passed them and headed for one of my alternative routes. Made it to the first traffic light and - nothing. Traffic was just sitting. So I tried another alternative - and then another. Parking lot after parking lot. Aaarrrrrgggggghhhh!!! Traffic was so light the past two days, and now this. It took me almost two hours to get to work.
I was overloaded w/updates for legal books. They come periodically - and you have to take the old pages out and put in the replacement pages. Not difficult, but it's easy to make a mistake if you don't pay attention. And then, on the most important book, the one my boss uses every day - it's her securities Bible - there was a huge chunk of the updates missing. They were listed, but were simply omitted from the replacement pages. Which means you have to track down another set, make copies, and put them in the book. Sounds simple, except the pages are an odd size which requires that each sheet has to be handled manually, turned over to just the right position on the copier, then cut down to size, and punch holes. A stupid, mindless task that is extremely time-consuing.
My associate lawyer screwed up the formatting in some weird kind of way on one of her documents, so I had to straighten that out. But it was late, so I took a short break and ran upstairs to the cafeteria to grab some lunch before they closed.
Ahhh . . . something going my way. It was Pasta Bar day and I've been dying for some spaghetti. I filled up my box, paid my bill and headed back to my office. I stepped onto the empty elevator . . . and the doors closed too quickly, striking my elbow and knocking the pasta out of my hands and all over the floor. I had to stand there and wait for someone to come and clean it up and, by that time, the cafeteria was closed.
No problem. I cleaned up the associate's document, finished the updates for the securities book, and headed across the street to grab a sandwich. "Sorry," the man said as I tried to enter the restaurant, "we're closing early."
Why did I stop and buy a lottery ticket? It so obviously isn't my lucky day!!!!!!!!!!
Hope yours was better ..............
February 26 When the swallows return to Capistrano. . .you know it's Spring. Every year, sometime around the 19th of March, swallows descend upon the Mission of San Juan Capistrano in California, returning from their winter refuge in Argentina, some 6,000 miles away. It is a definite milestone that announces the arrival of Spring.
Of course, there are a couple of problems with this announcement. We are no where near San Juan Capistrano, or even the mighty state of California. And most of us, quite honestly, wouldn't know a swallow if we saw one (unless it flashed it's international passport). We know eagles, robins, Cardinals, Blue Jays, sea gulls and, of course, pigeons. But swallows? Not a chance.
I guess we can point to the blossoming of the beautiful Cherry Blossoms but, let's face it, by the time those are here it's usually late March or early April, the sun shines more often than not as the weather' warms, and we're starting to think summer.
I spotted the first official DC sign of spring today, even though it's only February. The guaranteed landmark that hails the end of winter and the promise of warmer days ahead.
I saw a school tour crossing the street enmasse as I stopped at the traffic light. All wearing identical jackets, and flanked by a trio of harried-looking adults. Soon, the streets of DC will be overrun with bus loads of school tours - elementary school children, high school teenagers, Christian school refuges in their lookalike uniforms, all scrambling to learn the history of our goverment and the forefathers who founded it.
And to be first in line at the video games at ESPNZone.
They will be accompanied by a troop of adults scrambling to keep them all in sight, a look of tired confusion on their faces as they herd their group from Point A to Point B, even though they're not 100% sure they're headed in the right direction for Point B. Their eyes darting quickly to and fro as they search landmarks, scan their group quickly to make sure no one is missing, and try to watch the crowds around them to guarantee the safety of their chicks in the Big Bad City.
So forget the swallows, the Cherry Blossoms or whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow. Just listen for that high pitched squeal of children in our streets and restaurants.
Ahhhhh . . . Spring.
February 24 An empty life?????"This is what I do at stop lights," she said as she handed me a completed piece of needlepoint. I stared with puzzlement at the decoration in my hand, knowing that she drove herself to and from work each day.
"When you travel?" I inquired.
"No," she replied, "when I drive to work and back home again."
For just a second, I felt a sense of Wow, followed by a flash of guilt. I don't do anything at stop lights except wait. Okay, maybe singing along with the radio, but I do that when I drive, so I don't think that counts as a "worthwhile endeavor." Wow! I thought again - she really uses every second of her time.
And then I thought again. She works 10 to 12 hours a day, even bringing her lunch every day so that she doesn't have to leave her desk. And she can't even relax for the 20 to 30 seconds it takes a traffic light to change? Is being so driven to do something a lifestyle that I envy?
In all honesty - no.
When my son was small, one of our favorite games was "Pooh sticks." If you have children, then you've probably watched the Winnie the Pooh videos at some point in your life. In one, there's a scene where the characters play "Pooh sticks," a game they made up for their own entertainment. The rules are simple. You stand on a bridge over a small sream and, at the same time, you toss a stick into the flowing water below. Then, you run to the other side of the bridge to see whose stick emerges first. Wheeeee!
For a successful game of Pooh sticks, it is important that the sun be shining, the stream and bridge are in a quiet, country setting surrounded by trees, and that there are, preferably, rocks in the stream to create a lilting, gurgling sound as the water pours over them. You must feel all of these with every core of your being as you chat quietly with your child, listening to meaningless chatter and sincere confidences, and - the final ingredient - laughing hysterically at the occasional knock-knock joke.
My son is grown now and there are times that I feel as if I failed to adequately teach him many important things in life. But I hope that the one quality he absorbed was the importance of the peaceful places in one's life. For it is there that one discovers the value of the spirit - a pricesless quality that can't be found rushing from project to project.
Doing nothing isn't easy, and to learn to do it right is an important life skill. But be careful - the only person waiting for you there is yourself. Maybe that's why so many people avoid this place of peace.
Agape. February 23 You just can't be nice to some people ..........On the way home, I drive thru Chinatown in NW DC. Last night, the driver of a van beside me got my attention at a traffic light and asked for directions to a town that was several miles away, outside the DC Beltway. Knowing he would never find his way w/the limited directions I could give him at a stop light, I told him to follow me to the Beltway, and then he could go south a few miles to his destination.
We set off when the light turned green. I noticed a problem right away as he drove approximately 5 car lengths behind me - an impossible distance for me to monitor in city traffic. I kept slowing down until he was finally closer behind my car.
When I needed to change to the left lane for the upcoming left turn, I did so at least 6 blocks before the turn. The van didn't change lanes. I slowed down, put my car window down, waved my hand out the window, yelled, blew my horn, and the van never changed lanes and sailed right past me . . . with the driver talking on his cell phone!!! He was paying no more attention to me than the man in the moon!
I made my turn and continued on my way. I'm sure he drove around completely lost in the burbs for awhile. I wonder who he was following and how far he went before he realized it wasn't me!
Too bad there wasn't a police officer around - it's an automatic $100 fine in the District of Columbia for talking on a cell phone while driving. If anyone deserved a ticket, he did!
Wasn't it W.C. Fields who said, "No good deed goes unpunished"? This time, the punishment was not on me, but the lost van driver. |
Thanks for visiting!
Delete52Mitchwrote:
Muah! Mitch
Feb. 10
Delete52Mitchwrote:
 Happy New Year! Mitch
Dec. 28
Delete52Mitchwrote:
Christmas Greetings from Alabama
 Here comes Santa Claus (Gene Autry, O.Haldeman (c) 1947) Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus,
Dec. 9
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