Stories and Bragging

If you will forgive my bragging, I’m going to do it.  Stories and bragging about my family, that is.  You’ve heard about my family, before, of course.  Daughters #1 and 3, Son-in-Law, two Grands, a mother, and a sister.  We were five sisters, three older than I and Sister Clara, younger – all of us Colorado Natives.

Actually, my father had three families,  A wife and child, both of whom died when the baby was born.  A second family with the woman who was caregiver to the first wife while she lived.  Together, my father and the second wife had six children – two boys and four girls.  My family didn’t know that family existed until about five years ago.  In our family of five girls, three of us had one spouse and two of us had two spouses.  Of all of those family members, Clara and I are the only ones still living.  There are assorted nieces and nephews, as well.  Scattered to the wind, they are; I won’t talk further about them here.

My mother, almost single-handedly, raised five daughters.  She raised us to be the independent women we became – just like she was.  I grew up thinking there was probably nothing she could not do.  I was never disappointed.  I remember one time when a nephew told his mother that he wished Grandma (who spent years taking care of him and his siblings) was going to cook dinner for them that night.  His mother questioned that statement; he said, “Because she can make something out of nothing.”  And, she could – make something out of nothing.  Clothes.  Bed covers.  Food.  I also remember a time in my seventh grade when I needed seven cents so I could purchase a pack of paper on my way to school.  She did not have this much money in her purse.  My sister and I did not have any money to spend.  But, somehow – somewhere in the house – she found the seven cents.  I had the paper I needed for school.  That was a particularly difficult year for us.  My father worked in another town; my older sisters were gone from the house.  Christmas was approaching.  I remember receiving one of my all-time favorite gifts.  It was the only gift I received that year.  I tried to be a collector of small animals; the gift was a gorgeously sculpted male lion.  It was a beloved part of my collection, until it went to live in a daughter’s home.

I can tell you that one of my joys is being surrounded by these family members.  I only wish time and again that sister Clara lived closer, but I realize that is not going to happen.  She can’t move into my area; I can’t move into her area.  I also wish that Daughter #3 and her family lived closer.  But, again, they cannot do so.

There was a time during my eldest granddaughter’s schooling that I was privileged to be her home school teacher.  Larry and I agreed that it would be proper for me to go to her home, states away, and teacher her for about a year and a half.

That meant that Larry would keep the home fires burning and take care of the house and dogs while also going to work every day, being sure that he fed himself, and do all of those things that I would be doing if I were at home. He hated the laundry – well, he actually hated folding bed sheets after they were laundered.  His solution was to take the bedding off of the bed, wash and dry it, and immediately put it back on the bed.  Kept him from having to fold those miserable (his term) bottom sheets!

Being a home school teacher allowed me to participate in a situation that I had always been suspect of.  As an educator, I never believed that a home school experience could be as good for a child as being in a school setting with other students.  I learned that given the right circumstances and appropriate school program and supervising teachers, home schooling can be very effective for children.  Of course, they need to associate with other children; the opportunities for this association can be arranged by the adults in charge of the home schooling.  I also think (pridefully, I admit) that, perhaps, because I was her teacher for that period of time, my teaching contributed to her successfully receiving a National Merit Scholarship.  She will soon finish her second year of college; next summer, she will spend a semester in New Zealand.  The last time we talked, her goal is to enter the field of astrophysics.  Which seems appropriate.  From the time she could talk, whenever taking a drive at night she wanted to see the moon.

Grand #2 was around when the home schooling of her older sister was in process.  Clearly, there were times when she participated in activities that I planned for Grand #1; both have great artistic abilities and showed that in the planned projects.  Creative and clever, her work may still be around – they were that good.  She plans for a career in computer science.  Her plan for college is a state university with a great program in computer science.  She has been a “computer nerd” for as long as I can remember.  And, she is an exemplary story teller.  With this past Christmas, I discovered that she is a fine poet.  My present from her last Christmas is a set of twelve poems – poems to be opened one per month.  The first three poems are exquisite; I am happily awaiting each month of discovery.    Here is her February poem.

February
Love is in the air
At least I think that it is
It’s too cold to tell

All of my family is talented in many artistic ways.  There are many areas where their talents show.  Dad (son-in-law) is a professor who teaches and writes, plays guitar, and sings with a choral group.  Since the beginning of the pandemic, he has turned creative efforts to cooking – and, apparently, love that.  My daughters share their talents in writing, journaling, drawing, and painting.  I’ve already said that my Grands are artistic with their poetry, stories, painting, and music.  Grand #1 is a harpist.  Grand #2 is a pianist and composer.  They both have experience with a university young women’s group (ending this experience singing with the most advanced group), as well as choral groups in high school.

Daughter #1 has many talents working with children.  Her job is that of reading to children at schools associated with her library.  She reads stories in both English and Spanish (since she is a fluent Spanish speaker, and many of her children come from homes where Spanish is the first language).  It fascinates me to watch her work with these children.  When she switches from one language to the other, she has taught the children to raise a hand to their forehead and say, “Click.”  This switches their thinking from the language just read to the different language being read.  Then, again, when they switch back to the first language, they click back.  She also writes a journal.  I marvel at the journals she has written.  Particularly the coffee journal; – she loves good coffee, as does her sister.  Every year, she creates a Valentine card for every child in every class where she reads.  She also is a pianist and organist.  She was the first ever elementary school oboist in our school district.

Mom, Daughter #3, also has many talents to her credit.  First, and foremost, she is a MOM.  Being a mom is a very special talent – all in its own right.  Raising children to the point where they either are in college or about to be in college, or moving into some other aspects of adult life takes grit, effort, sustenance, and perseverance.  She and her husband have made critical efforts for their daughters; I am proud of both of them.  In addition to all that it takes to be a mom, she has worked at important jobs in her life; now, she assists the education director at her church.  She tells me that they complement each other in many ways.  She plays piano and bassoon (she was the first ever elementary school bassoonist in our school district); she has sung with a choral group.  She has created beautiful jewelry.  Parenting takes much time and effort; some of her creative endeavors have taken a back seat.   She still had time to help her family create one of my most precious gifts.  A couple of years ago, Christmas brought a twelve-month set of cards for me to open.  She had assisted her family in preparing cards with remembrances of activities we have done in the past.  What a joy this was to open each month’s cards and relive those experiences – some of which I really didn’t remember until that moment.  This past Christmas my present (again, produced by Daughter #3) is another set of twelve cards with these titles:  “Insert letter” Stands for …  Here is the March card.

“O” Stands for …
Outstanding                      Observant
Ours             Outgoing
Octogenarian
Oasis for birds
Out-of-the-Box Thinker

Sister Clara has many unique talents, as well.  She is and has been a professional seamstress.  She is a quilter; she quilts for many people in her area, as well as throughout the nation.  She can work crossword puzzles.  I can’t.  She can put jigsaw puzzles together.  I can’t.  If you think those activities aren’t talents, try them. She gives me great advice – although, she says that I never listen to her and do what she says.  But, I do.  Well, sometimes, I do.  Even though she is the younger; isn’t the older sibling the one with the best advice?  She’s also a MOM.  She raised boys.  Boys for her; girls for me.  And, we’ve both survived them.  She moved to where her son and his wife lived to be the caregiver for their infant child who had a medical problems.  She stayed to be the caregiver of both of her grand children, helping to raise them to adulthood.

Our family’s past has not always been “roses and lollipops.”  We’ve had our problems in our families.  We’re talking about at least a dozen different – very different – personalities.  But, we’ve made it to this point in this 2023 year.  There are plenty of skeletons in our closets that I won’t talk about here.  Clara and I have survived them all.

Safe and Be Well.
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are appreciated.