29 Jun 2000 - A Paper Dollar!
I went to a fast food resturant, Wendy's, yesterday. Getting my children some Happy Meals at the drive through. The bill was $6 and some change, so I was handing the guy a five and a one. When I handed him the money the one blew out of our hands. (Don't worry I hopped out and got it. LOL) But it reminded me of a story about my Grandmother.
She was born in 1917 so this happened around 1925 or so. She was born and raised in the North Carolina mountains along with 9 brothers and sisters. So saying they were poor was a gross understatement.
She was asked to walk to the store and buy something. It was rare but the mother had a dollar bill as opposed to change that day. She gave grandmother the dollar to take to the store. I believe Grandmother said she had never touched a dollar at that point in he life. She was very excited and proud to be carrying a dollar. She wanted everyone to see it and know that she had been trusted with a dollar bill. So as she walked to the store she carried the money like a banner over her head for all the world to see. Like my dollar yesterday, the wind snached it out of her hand. Unfortunately the wind must have been alot more fierce that day. It blew that dollar away never to be found again.
I heard that stroy from my Grandmother 50 years after the fact. But I still feel sorry for the little girl that had to go home and tell her mother that she lost that dollar.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Pillows
28 Jun 2000 - Pillows
Today the boys wanted to go to the toy store. Jordy had birthday money leftover and Jamison had a few dollars of allowance left and Jordy had offered to lend him $2.00. So I told them that once their chores were done we would go. They hurried around and got all of their stuff done. I was still working and they wanted me to hurry. I told Jordy that when I finished washing dishes I would still need to make up my bed and then we could go. Jordy wanted to speed up the process so he offered to make my bed for me. He did, and we went shopping. later this afternoon I went into my bedroom. Jordy had done a pretty good job. But one thing that I thought was funny. I have 2 pillows that are forrest green. Then to fancier pillows that are the "wedding ring" design that matches my comfortor. I put the 2 green pillows agains the headboard, one on Calvin's side and one on my side. Then I put the prettier pillows in front of those, one on each side. Jordy had put both of the green pillows together on my side and both of the fancy pillows together on Calvin's side. I guess in his little boy brain that seemed the way things should be, like pillows together.
Anyone that doesn't think that boys and girls are born different either doesn't have children of both sexes or hasn't paid attention. With no prompting from me Hannah is careful that her clothes match, and would have instintively put the pillows the way I do. Jordy and Jamison only get dressed because I tell them I would get arrested if they went around the neighborhood naked. Then when they do dress it is the first thing they put their hands on with no regard to color or style. They will go take a bath and put on the dirty clothes that they just took off if I don't check. Hannah on the other hand changes several times a day. LOL.
Of course there are countless differences. But these are the things I noticed today.
Today the boys wanted to go to the toy store. Jordy had birthday money leftover and Jamison had a few dollars of allowance left and Jordy had offered to lend him $2.00. So I told them that once their chores were done we would go. They hurried around and got all of their stuff done. I was still working and they wanted me to hurry. I told Jordy that when I finished washing dishes I would still need to make up my bed and then we could go. Jordy wanted to speed up the process so he offered to make my bed for me. He did, and we went shopping. later this afternoon I went into my bedroom. Jordy had done a pretty good job. But one thing that I thought was funny. I have 2 pillows that are forrest green. Then to fancier pillows that are the "wedding ring" design that matches my comfortor. I put the 2 green pillows agains the headboard, one on Calvin's side and one on my side. Then I put the prettier pillows in front of those, one on each side. Jordy had put both of the green pillows together on my side and both of the fancy pillows together on Calvin's side. I guess in his little boy brain that seemed the way things should be, like pillows together.
Anyone that doesn't think that boys and girls are born different either doesn't have children of both sexes or hasn't paid attention. With no prompting from me Hannah is careful that her clothes match, and would have instintively put the pillows the way I do. Jordy and Jamison only get dressed because I tell them I would get arrested if they went around the neighborhood naked. Then when they do dress it is the first thing they put their hands on with no regard to color or style. They will go take a bath and put on the dirty clothes that they just took off if I don't check. Hannah on the other hand changes several times a day. LOL.
Of course there are countless differences. But these are the things I noticed today.
My Obit
23 Jun 2000 - She Will Be Missed By All (LOL)
I read about a writing exercise. It was to write your own obituary. At first thought that sounded morbid. But at second thought it is just a way of saying what you hope your life turns out to be.
So if I could have an unlimited obit what would I want it to say? I know one thing,,,,she lived to be very old but remarkably healthy and died in her sleep after a wonderful party. LOL.
Her 3 children and 10 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren survive Mrs. Calvin Sinclair born Jami Luther. Her late husband Calvin was a Chemist. (I think Calvin should die first, but only a little while before me, otherwise he might marry again and then I’d be jealous. LOL.) They were married for 65 years. Her parents were the late Mr. and Mrs. Irving Myrick who lived remarkably long, healthy lives. As a matter of fact Mrs. Myrick led the choir at church until her death last year at the age of 117. (I know that is ridiculous but I can’t bear the thoughts of losing Mom anytime over the next 50 years.)
Her children and grandchildren have all enjoyed happy healthy lives. Thusfar all of her descendants have been homeschooled. Among the descendants are ministers, missionaries, writers and many other honorable professions. And Mrs. Sinclair was always pleased that the children always had mothers at home with them. The factor that was the most important to Mrs. Sinclair was that all her family had become Christians, and lived the life God had planned for them.
Mrs. Sinclair was always proud to tell that none of her descendants had ever voted Democratic and the only “non-republican” couldn’t vote because he was an in-law and not a US citizen.
Mrs. Sinclair was an active member of her church until her death and was always a member of the choir. (She finally got to “retire” from teaching Vacation Bible School several years ago. LOL.)
It is reported that she did eventually learn to be a good housekeeper (hopefully before I hit 40) although this reporter finds that a little hard to believe. And just last year she finally made spaghetti as good as Calvin’s mom had. LOL.
After her children were a little more self-sufficient she started practicing piano again and eventually did get that last movement of “Fur Elise” down pat. She loved writing in her journals and met her goal of writing something everyday. And she continued to read several books a month until the very end. But we must report that she never made it through “The Idiot” by Descovski (sp? I have no earthly idea how to spell that name). But once she realized that no one in the book ended up even remotely happy she didn’t even want to finish it.
She continued to whistle 1940’s show tunes in the morning, much to Calvin’s consternation. And their on going battle as to whether to leave the window opened a little in the winter or closed was never won. Jami would open it, Calvin would close it, but Jami would go back and open it. LOL.
Her hobbies included music, reading, talking, and going out to eat, and going to the movies, writing and the computer. She got to travel some, finally made it to Europe. She was a good friend, daughter, sister, wife and mother. She had a good life.
I read about a writing exercise. It was to write your own obituary. At first thought that sounded morbid. But at second thought it is just a way of saying what you hope your life turns out to be.
So if I could have an unlimited obit what would I want it to say? I know one thing,,,,she lived to be very old but remarkably healthy and died in her sleep after a wonderful party. LOL.
Her 3 children and 10 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren survive Mrs. Calvin Sinclair born Jami Luther. Her late husband Calvin was a Chemist. (I think Calvin should die first, but only a little while before me, otherwise he might marry again and then I’d be jealous. LOL.) They were married for 65 years. Her parents were the late Mr. and Mrs. Irving Myrick who lived remarkably long, healthy lives. As a matter of fact Mrs. Myrick led the choir at church until her death last year at the age of 117. (I know that is ridiculous but I can’t bear the thoughts of losing Mom anytime over the next 50 years.)
Her children and grandchildren have all enjoyed happy healthy lives. Thusfar all of her descendants have been homeschooled. Among the descendants are ministers, missionaries, writers and many other honorable professions. And Mrs. Sinclair was always pleased that the children always had mothers at home with them. The factor that was the most important to Mrs. Sinclair was that all her family had become Christians, and lived the life God had planned for them.
Mrs. Sinclair was always proud to tell that none of her descendants had ever voted Democratic and the only “non-republican” couldn’t vote because he was an in-law and not a US citizen.
Mrs. Sinclair was an active member of her church until her death and was always a member of the choir. (She finally got to “retire” from teaching Vacation Bible School several years ago. LOL.)
It is reported that she did eventually learn to be a good housekeeper (hopefully before I hit 40) although this reporter finds that a little hard to believe. And just last year she finally made spaghetti as good as Calvin’s mom had. LOL.
After her children were a little more self-sufficient she started practicing piano again and eventually did get that last movement of “Fur Elise” down pat. She loved writing in her journals and met her goal of writing something everyday. And she continued to read several books a month until the very end. But we must report that she never made it through “The Idiot” by Descovski (sp? I have no earthly idea how to spell that name). But once she realized that no one in the book ended up even remotely happy she didn’t even want to finish it.
She continued to whistle 1940’s show tunes in the morning, much to Calvin’s consternation. And their on going battle as to whether to leave the window opened a little in the winter or closed was never won. Jami would open it, Calvin would close it, but Jami would go back and open it. LOL.
Her hobbies included music, reading, talking, and going out to eat, and going to the movies, writing and the computer. She got to travel some, finally made it to Europe. She was a good friend, daughter, sister, wife and mother. She had a good life.
Jordy
22 Jun 2000 - Jordy
Today is Jordy’s birthday. He is 10 years old. Always on my children’s birthdays I remember the day they were born. I guess all mothers do that, seems pretty natural.
My pregnancies were pretty difficult, not like some women that come near death. But it was harder on me than the “average” pregnancy. Spent several days every month of the pregnancy in bed, and at the end was for the most part incapacitated. So I was really ready for him to be born.
I had just given birth to Hannah 11 months before. I remembered very well what certain things felt like. So on Monday morning when I got up and felt a “leak” I knew what was happening. I went to the doctor’s office. They didn’t examine me other than a BP check and listen to my tummy. They said that because of the baby pressing on my bladder the “leak” was urine. I didn’t think so, but he was the doctor. The leaking continued and I called them on Wednesday. They said no need to come in because I had an appointment on Friday morning. I continued to leak and called again Thursday. Finally Friday morning came and I got to the office. I told this other doctor about the leak. He wasn’t impressed, and repeated the bladder story. I got a little huffy. I said I just had a baby 11 months ago, and I have been familiar with urine and in my opinion it was amniotic fluid. So the doctor told me to get undressed and he would check. He did the litmus test and sure enough it was amniotic fluid. He said you have to go to the hospital right now. I said can’t I drive back home and meet my husband so we could go to the hospital together (the hospital was an hour from our home). Now this is one part that I found amusing, if I hadn’t insisted on the test I would have driven home anyway and if I had left the office and headed for the hospital alone that was going to be all right. But he wouldn’t let me drive home which was a shorter trip than the hospital. Anyway, I ended up having to wait at the office while Calvin came from work and got me.
I started having contractions on the way to the hospital. It had already been decided that I would have a C-section. The C-section was already scheduled for a couple weeks later. So when we got to the hospital we had to re-register. Well, this was 9 months to the day after Hurricane Hugo had hit. After no electricity for more than 2 weeks 9 months earlier there were a lot of babies coming that day. The maternity ward was packed. The children born during that time were dubbed “Hugo Babies”. After a lot of poking and prodding I was taker to the operating room. Jordan Browning Sinclair was born at 3:08 PM. The first thing he did was pee on the doctor. The doctor said, “Here comes the water works.” He weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces. And had a head full of dark hair.
I don’t know if it is just my makeup or if it is the fact that I had so many painkillers after the wreck but it is hard to put me to sleep or to “deaden” an area on me. So I ended up getting 2 epedurals. Then during the surgery they had to give me phenegrin (which does whack me out). Then got back to the room I had a severe allergic reaction to the epedural so they tried different medicines on that. Finally after 3 different allergies medicines and painkillers the doctor was sure I would go to sleep. As a matter of fact he used the expression “enough to kill a horse”. So about time all this medicine hit my system, they came and told me that Jordy was going to have to go to neo-natal intensive care. Turned out that because I had “leaked” for 5 days they thought he had a very dangerous infection. Well I lost it. I am sure that there had been woman in that hospital that had lost babies that behaved better than I did. I am sure it is because of the drugs. I embarrassed Calvin and scared the doctor. Finally, after me having a fit, the doctor had me wheeled while still in my bed and hooked up to all manner of tubes. He tough seeing Jordy would calm me down. Wrong. Seeing Jordy all hooked up to machines made me worse. So the poor nurses and Calvin had a hard night ahead of them. In my own defense I did calm down once the drugs got out of my system.
After 4 days the tests came back and Jordy was fine. We went home and Jordy has always been very healthy.
We make a big deal out of birthdays here. Calvin takes the day off and the birthday child has a “date” alone with Calvin and me. And they get to spend their birthday money. They we also do something with the other children and normally a few friends or cousins. Today, weather permitting, we are having a pool party.
Happy Birthday Jordy!
Today is Jordy’s birthday. He is 10 years old. Always on my children’s birthdays I remember the day they were born. I guess all mothers do that, seems pretty natural.
My pregnancies were pretty difficult, not like some women that come near death. But it was harder on me than the “average” pregnancy. Spent several days every month of the pregnancy in bed, and at the end was for the most part incapacitated. So I was really ready for him to be born.
I had just given birth to Hannah 11 months before. I remembered very well what certain things felt like. So on Monday morning when I got up and felt a “leak” I knew what was happening. I went to the doctor’s office. They didn’t examine me other than a BP check and listen to my tummy. They said that because of the baby pressing on my bladder the “leak” was urine. I didn’t think so, but he was the doctor. The leaking continued and I called them on Wednesday. They said no need to come in because I had an appointment on Friday morning. I continued to leak and called again Thursday. Finally Friday morning came and I got to the office. I told this other doctor about the leak. He wasn’t impressed, and repeated the bladder story. I got a little huffy. I said I just had a baby 11 months ago, and I have been familiar with urine and in my opinion it was amniotic fluid. So the doctor told me to get undressed and he would check. He did the litmus test and sure enough it was amniotic fluid. He said you have to go to the hospital right now. I said can’t I drive back home and meet my husband so we could go to the hospital together (the hospital was an hour from our home). Now this is one part that I found amusing, if I hadn’t insisted on the test I would have driven home anyway and if I had left the office and headed for the hospital alone that was going to be all right. But he wouldn’t let me drive home which was a shorter trip than the hospital. Anyway, I ended up having to wait at the office while Calvin came from work and got me.
I started having contractions on the way to the hospital. It had already been decided that I would have a C-section. The C-section was already scheduled for a couple weeks later. So when we got to the hospital we had to re-register. Well, this was 9 months to the day after Hurricane Hugo had hit. After no electricity for more than 2 weeks 9 months earlier there were a lot of babies coming that day. The maternity ward was packed. The children born during that time were dubbed “Hugo Babies”. After a lot of poking and prodding I was taker to the operating room. Jordan Browning Sinclair was born at 3:08 PM. The first thing he did was pee on the doctor. The doctor said, “Here comes the water works.” He weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces. And had a head full of dark hair.
I don’t know if it is just my makeup or if it is the fact that I had so many painkillers after the wreck but it is hard to put me to sleep or to “deaden” an area on me. So I ended up getting 2 epedurals. Then during the surgery they had to give me phenegrin (which does whack me out). Then got back to the room I had a severe allergic reaction to the epedural so they tried different medicines on that. Finally after 3 different allergies medicines and painkillers the doctor was sure I would go to sleep. As a matter of fact he used the expression “enough to kill a horse”. So about time all this medicine hit my system, they came and told me that Jordy was going to have to go to neo-natal intensive care. Turned out that because I had “leaked” for 5 days they thought he had a very dangerous infection. Well I lost it. I am sure that there had been woman in that hospital that had lost babies that behaved better than I did. I am sure it is because of the drugs. I embarrassed Calvin and scared the doctor. Finally, after me having a fit, the doctor had me wheeled while still in my bed and hooked up to all manner of tubes. He tough seeing Jordy would calm me down. Wrong. Seeing Jordy all hooked up to machines made me worse. So the poor nurses and Calvin had a hard night ahead of them. In my own defense I did calm down once the drugs got out of my system.
After 4 days the tests came back and Jordy was fine. We went home and Jordy has always been very healthy.
We make a big deal out of birthdays here. Calvin takes the day off and the birthday child has a “date” alone with Calvin and me. And they get to spend their birthday money. They we also do something with the other children and normally a few friends or cousins. Today, weather permitting, we are having a pool party.
Happy Birthday Jordy!
What's A Parent To Do?
20 Jun 2000 - What's A Parent To Do?
The preacher is still preaching on the family. Calvin and I were talking about the sermon yesterday while we were going to his parents for Father’s Day. We agree that we are enjoying the sermons and that we think it is needed. If people with good marriages don’t stop and teach younger people we can’t expect things to get better. With divorce and unhappy marriages being so prevalent, I would think a young person could grow up never having seen a good marriage up close.
This week the preacher was focusing on parenting. It, like the other sermons, was based on Ephesians 6:1-4. And he focused on “Fathers provoke not your children to wrath…” He gave 3 steps.
#1 Parents should encourage their children.
#2 Parents should discipline their children. a. Begin Early b. Think of spanking as a last resort c. Don’t lie about discipline (if you tell a child they will get a spanking for something do it) d. Administer it promptly e. Parents present a united front f. Discipline in love g. Never withhold love as a form of punishment h. Discipline with repentance as the goal i. When you do spank do a good job j. A child needs to realize that when they disobey a parent they are disobeying God
#3 Parents should teach their children.
I have a bumper sticker on my van. It says, “Every home is a school. What do you teach?” That goes along with that last point.
The preacher is still preaching on the family. Calvin and I were talking about the sermon yesterday while we were going to his parents for Father’s Day. We agree that we are enjoying the sermons and that we think it is needed. If people with good marriages don’t stop and teach younger people we can’t expect things to get better. With divorce and unhappy marriages being so prevalent, I would think a young person could grow up never having seen a good marriage up close.
This week the preacher was focusing on parenting. It, like the other sermons, was based on Ephesians 6:1-4. And he focused on “Fathers provoke not your children to wrath…” He gave 3 steps.
#1 Parents should encourage their children.
#2 Parents should discipline their children. a. Begin Early b. Think of spanking as a last resort c. Don’t lie about discipline (if you tell a child they will get a spanking for something do it) d. Administer it promptly e. Parents present a united front f. Discipline in love g. Never withhold love as a form of punishment h. Discipline with repentance as the goal i. When you do spank do a good job j. A child needs to realize that when they disobey a parent they are disobeying God
#3 Parents should teach their children.
I have a bumper sticker on my van. It says, “Every home is a school. What do you teach?” That goes along with that last point.
Whose Child Is It Anyway?
19 Jun 2000 - Whose Child Is It Anyway?
I heard about this family on the radio. They have a son. I think he is about 14 years old. He was consistently getting into trouble at school. The majority of the trouble came about during the lunch break. So the parents decided that the mom would pick him up at school everyday when his lunch break began, have lunch together, then take him back to school in time for his next class. Some days they would get Burger King at the drive through, some days it was leftovers from home and other days a sandwich at home.
Immediately the trouble at school went from 2 or 3 times a week to nothing. The boy appeared to need this one on one time with a parent. Then the parents got a letter from the principal. The letter said that it was disruptive for the boy to be taken out to lunch everyday, and that it would be no longer allowed. DISRUPTIVE!? NO LONGER ALLOWED!?
It is my understanding that the child was never late for his after lunch class. So what was disruptive. And as far as being “no longer allowed’, I pity the person, principal or no, who tells me I am not allowed to take my child to lunch.
I respect and admire teachers and principals. They have a very difficult job. But some people forget that the teachers and principals are hired employees of the taxpayers/parents. When a person drops their child off at school they are not relinquishing parental rights and responsibilities. I have gotten some comments from people who don’t know me when I say certain things, the comments are along the line of, “if you don’t like this situation you can put your child in a private school or homeschool.” Those of you who know me know that I have always homeschooled. So I don’t need to be told to homeschool. Although, I do welcome comments.
I told Calvin about this yesterday. We disagreed about it, which is very rare. So I feel sure a lot people won’t agree with me.
I don’t know the outcome of this. I was driving in the car when I heard it on the radio. I hope the family stood up for themselves.
I heard about this family on the radio. They have a son. I think he is about 14 years old. He was consistently getting into trouble at school. The majority of the trouble came about during the lunch break. So the parents decided that the mom would pick him up at school everyday when his lunch break began, have lunch together, then take him back to school in time for his next class. Some days they would get Burger King at the drive through, some days it was leftovers from home and other days a sandwich at home.
Immediately the trouble at school went from 2 or 3 times a week to nothing. The boy appeared to need this one on one time with a parent. Then the parents got a letter from the principal. The letter said that it was disruptive for the boy to be taken out to lunch everyday, and that it would be no longer allowed. DISRUPTIVE!? NO LONGER ALLOWED!?
It is my understanding that the child was never late for his after lunch class. So what was disruptive. And as far as being “no longer allowed’, I pity the person, principal or no, who tells me I am not allowed to take my child to lunch.
I respect and admire teachers and principals. They have a very difficult job. But some people forget that the teachers and principals are hired employees of the taxpayers/parents. When a person drops their child off at school they are not relinquishing parental rights and responsibilities. I have gotten some comments from people who don’t know me when I say certain things, the comments are along the line of, “if you don’t like this situation you can put your child in a private school or homeschool.” Those of you who know me know that I have always homeschooled. So I don’t need to be told to homeschool. Although, I do welcome comments.
I told Calvin about this yesterday. We disagreed about it, which is very rare. So I feel sure a lot people won’t agree with me.
I don’t know the outcome of this. I was driving in the car when I heard it on the radio. I hope the family stood up for themselves.
Daddies Are Important
17 Jun 2000 - Daddies Are Important
Daddies are important. In this world of “Murphy Browns” and Rosie O’Donnels daddies are still important. I am not saying this to the cheapening of motherhood. I am saying that daddies are as important as mommys.
Jonathan Lindvall has a theory. And he will be the first to say that it is just a theory. He grew up in church. He is a preacher’s son. He went to church 2 times on Sunday, once on Wednesday nights, and to revival services several weeks a year. He also attended “Christian Camps” in the summer. He grew up hearing people stand up and testify. Through his 30+ years of hearing these testimonies he can’t count the times he heard a person begin their testimony with, “ I left the church (God, Jesus, the Christian life) and did all these terrible things. But Through all that I knew my dear sweet mother was on her knees praying for me everyday. And after X number of years I returned.” And I like Jonathan Lindvall grew up going to church 3 or 4 times a week and all sorts of revival services and programs all through the year. I heard that testimony more times than I can remember. What Lindvall never hears and I never heard and the many people I have asked never heard was, “ I left the church. Lived a terrible life. But I always knew that my dear old daddy was on his knees praying for me everyday. And I returned.” Lindvall’s theory is: could it be that if the father had been involved and there everyday and on his knees praying the child would have never left in the first place? Therefore you never hear that testimony because the child stayed “in the faith” and never had to return because they never departed. Whether that is the case or not I think it shows the value of daddies.
Another case I know of that shows the importants of daddies in a child’s life is something I heard Chuck Colson tell about. He knew of a church that decided that, as a ministry to prisoners, they would provide Mother’s Day cards and postage for them. They had 400 cards ready for the men. With in minutes every card was taken and more were needed. The additional cards were purchased and given out.
The church decided it was only fair to do the same thing for Father’s Day. They purchased 500 cards. They didn’t want to fall short like they had before. The week before Father’s Day they went to the prison with the cards. Two men showed up wanting cards for their fathers.
When asked why they were so happy to send Mother’s Day cards they answered, “I don’t even know who my father is, or I haven’t seen or heard from him since I was a small child, or why would I send a card to a man that abused me.”
These men had good mothers. But their fathers were absent or bad men. So as wonderful it is to have a good mother it didn’t out weigh the negative effect of not having a father.
God created it for babies to be born to a man and a woman for a reason. Children need both. We hear so often today that men are unnecessary. I just want to say that daddies are important.
Daddies are important. In this world of “Murphy Browns” and Rosie O’Donnels daddies are still important. I am not saying this to the cheapening of motherhood. I am saying that daddies are as important as mommys.
Jonathan Lindvall has a theory. And he will be the first to say that it is just a theory. He grew up in church. He is a preacher’s son. He went to church 2 times on Sunday, once on Wednesday nights, and to revival services several weeks a year. He also attended “Christian Camps” in the summer. He grew up hearing people stand up and testify. Through his 30+ years of hearing these testimonies he can’t count the times he heard a person begin their testimony with, “ I left the church (God, Jesus, the Christian life) and did all these terrible things. But Through all that I knew my dear sweet mother was on her knees praying for me everyday. And after X number of years I returned.” And I like Jonathan Lindvall grew up going to church 3 or 4 times a week and all sorts of revival services and programs all through the year. I heard that testimony more times than I can remember. What Lindvall never hears and I never heard and the many people I have asked never heard was, “ I left the church. Lived a terrible life. But I always knew that my dear old daddy was on his knees praying for me everyday. And I returned.” Lindvall’s theory is: could it be that if the father had been involved and there everyday and on his knees praying the child would have never left in the first place? Therefore you never hear that testimony because the child stayed “in the faith” and never had to return because they never departed. Whether that is the case or not I think it shows the value of daddies.
Another case I know of that shows the importants of daddies in a child’s life is something I heard Chuck Colson tell about. He knew of a church that decided that, as a ministry to prisoners, they would provide Mother’s Day cards and postage for them. They had 400 cards ready for the men. With in minutes every card was taken and more were needed. The additional cards were purchased and given out.
The church decided it was only fair to do the same thing for Father’s Day. They purchased 500 cards. They didn’t want to fall short like they had before. The week before Father’s Day they went to the prison with the cards. Two men showed up wanting cards for their fathers.
When asked why they were so happy to send Mother’s Day cards they answered, “I don’t even know who my father is, or I haven’t seen or heard from him since I was a small child, or why would I send a card to a man that abused me.”
These men had good mothers. But their fathers were absent or bad men. So as wonderful it is to have a good mother it didn’t out weigh the negative effect of not having a father.
God created it for babies to be born to a man and a woman for a reason. Children need both. We hear so often today that men are unnecessary. I just want to say that daddies are important.
12 Steps To Raising A Delinquent
12 Jun 2000 - 12 Steps To Raising A Delinquent
1. Begin as an infant to give him or her anything they desire.
2. Laugh when they speak disrespectfully or use profanity.
3. Never give them any spiritual training. Wait till they are adults and let them make up their own minds.
4.Avoid ever using the word wrong when it refers to them.
5.Pick up after them.
6.Let them read or watch anything they want.
7.Fight in front of them alot.
8.Give them all the money and things they ask for.
9.Satisfy every desire.
10.Take the child's side in all arguments.
11.Apologize for them when they do wrong.
12.Prepare for a life of grief.
The preacher gave this list today. He is still preaching on the family. Today his focus was "children obey your parents." I enjoyed that list.
1. Begin as an infant to give him or her anything they desire.
2. Laugh when they speak disrespectfully or use profanity.
3. Never give them any spiritual training. Wait till they are adults and let them make up their own minds.
4.Avoid ever using the word wrong when it refers to them.
5.Pick up after them.
6.Let them read or watch anything they want.
7.Fight in front of them alot.
8.Give them all the money and things they ask for.
9.Satisfy every desire.
10.Take the child's side in all arguments.
11.Apologize for them when they do wrong.
12.Prepare for a life of grief.
The preacher gave this list today. He is still preaching on the family. Today his focus was "children obey your parents." I enjoyed that list.
Jeep Alexander
8 Jun 2000 - General "Jeep "Alexander
Who is General "Jeep" Alexander you may ask. He was my mother's toy eskimo spitz dog when she was a girl. I grew up listening to all of my mother's stories. And I loved hearing them over and over again. Hearing about "Jeep", and the love in my mom's voice whenever she spoke of him made me feel like I knew him. But Jeep died 20 years before I was born. My mother really loves dogs. She loves all animals actually (well maybe not possums, but who could love a possum, yuck)but she especiall loves dogs. Jeep was a special dog. he was very intelligent. And he and mom were together constantly during her early growing up years. She says Jeep was the little brother she never had. Jeep even got arrested with Grandaddy once. Mom went and got Jeep and left Granddaddy in jail. LOL. When Jeep died it broke her heart. And she would well up at the mention of him. She was hurt over his death until about 25 years ago, which would have been about 25+ years after his death. What got her over her pain over Jeep was getting another toy eskimo spitz, Teddy. Teddy was my Christmas gift when I was 11 or 12 years old. He was a replica of Jeep. We all loved Teddy. He was a precious dog.He wasn't smart like Jeep was he was sweet. When Teddy was about 5 he got cancer in his leg. The doctor amputated it. He healed so well and could still run around. But about a year later the cancer came back to his lungs. He had to be put to sleep. That hurt, but having teddy helped mom get over Jeep. I have no idea why I am thinking about this, but I am so I put it down in here.
Y'all have a good day. Jami
Who is General "Jeep" Alexander you may ask. He was my mother's toy eskimo spitz dog when she was a girl. I grew up listening to all of my mother's stories. And I loved hearing them over and over again. Hearing about "Jeep", and the love in my mom's voice whenever she spoke of him made me feel like I knew him. But Jeep died 20 years before I was born. My mother really loves dogs. She loves all animals actually (well maybe not possums, but who could love a possum, yuck)but she especiall loves dogs. Jeep was a special dog. he was very intelligent. And he and mom were together constantly during her early growing up years. She says Jeep was the little brother she never had. Jeep even got arrested with Grandaddy once. Mom went and got Jeep and left Granddaddy in jail. LOL. When Jeep died it broke her heart. And she would well up at the mention of him. She was hurt over his death until about 25 years ago, which would have been about 25+ years after his death. What got her over her pain over Jeep was getting another toy eskimo spitz, Teddy. Teddy was my Christmas gift when I was 11 or 12 years old. He was a replica of Jeep. We all loved Teddy. He was a precious dog.He wasn't smart like Jeep was he was sweet. When Teddy was about 5 he got cancer in his leg. The doctor amputated it. He healed so well and could still run around. But about a year later the cancer came back to his lungs. He had to be put to sleep. That hurt, but having teddy helped mom get over Jeep. I have no idea why I am thinking about this, but I am so I put it down in here.
Y'all have a good day. Jami
When A Child Is Sick
6 Jun 2000 - When A Child Is Sick
Yesterday David wrote about his little daughter being very sick. (If you didn’t read it you ought to.)It reminded me of a time when Jamison was 14 months old. He had an ear infection. On Friday I had taken him to the doctor. He was given antibiotics. Every other time my children were put on antibiotic they seem to get well almost immediately. So that is what I expected from Jamison. He seemed better on Saturday morning. He wasn’t completely well but was improving. We had made plans to go out that night. So when he seemed better I decided to go ahead with our plans.
Paulette was to baby sit. Jamison was a little on the shy side as a baby with everyone. But for some reason he really didn’t like Paulette. Now he loves her and there is no problem but when he was that age he cried if I left him with her. So we made our plans late. Paulette was to come over after he was asleep.
He went to sleep and seemed fine. I put him in the crib and Paulette came and Calvin and I went out to dinner. We were gone about 2 hours. Paulette didn’t want to wake Jamison because she knew he would pitch a fit if he saw her there. So she would go to his room and not turn on the lights and not touch him to check on him.
When we got home Calvin had to drive Paulette home so they left right away. I went right in to check on Jamison. I just touched him lightly and could tell he was warm. So I came to the kitchen. I was fixing him a bottle of juice and I put some “fever drops” in the juice. I thought the cool juice would cool him off and the medicine would kick in soon after that. I went to his room and picked him up. He felt funny, very limp. I hadn’t turned the light on because Jordy was asleep in the same room. I walked to the kitchen patting him and telling him to wake up. When I got to the kitchen and could see I looked at him. His lips were blue. And his face just looked like wax. It scared me to death.
I don’t know what I was thinking. When I am rational I know that in an emergency I should call 911. But instead I called my mom and dad. Daddy answered. Right when daddy answered Jamison started shaking and he opened his eyes but they rolled back in his head. I honestly thought he was dying in my arms. I can't even put words to the horror I felt. It makes me feel sick just remembering it. My heart just breaks for parents that have lost a child.
I called 911. The woman on the phone told me that someone was on the way and told me to put Jamison flat on the floor. I did that. As soon as I did he looked better. Within 2 minutes (I was so impressed) a policeman was at the door. He was very sweet. Then in another couple of minutes the ambulance was here. Right behind them came my parents. Calvin had taken Paulette to the grocery store on the way home. I didn’t know why he was taking so long. But I had no way to tell him what was going on.
Jamison was taken to the hospital. He had several tests. For some unknown reason his fever shot up very very high very very fast. It caused him not to breathe as well as he should and to have the seizure. He was fine the next day. It was if it had never happened.
I cringe when I think of what would have happened if I hadn’t checked on him and then taken him out of the bed. I am thankful that God spared him that night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just looked at today's date. I wrote about Jamison being very sick, nearly dying. I didn't realize till now that this is the anniversary of Calvin's brother's death. When Calvin was approx. 15 his brother, Richard, died. Richard was 24 I believe. He was a pilot and his plane crashed. I never met him, this was long before I met Calvin. From all I hear about Richard he was a special person, very bright and kind. I wish I had known him. I wish my children could have known an "Uncle Richard". From what I understand about him Jamison seems to be like Richard. I know the Sinclairs have a hole in their hearts from losing Richard.
Yesterday David wrote about his little daughter being very sick. (If you didn’t read it you ought to.)It reminded me of a time when Jamison was 14 months old. He had an ear infection. On Friday I had taken him to the doctor. He was given antibiotics. Every other time my children were put on antibiotic they seem to get well almost immediately. So that is what I expected from Jamison. He seemed better on Saturday morning. He wasn’t completely well but was improving. We had made plans to go out that night. So when he seemed better I decided to go ahead with our plans.
Paulette was to baby sit. Jamison was a little on the shy side as a baby with everyone. But for some reason he really didn’t like Paulette. Now he loves her and there is no problem but when he was that age he cried if I left him with her. So we made our plans late. Paulette was to come over after he was asleep.
He went to sleep and seemed fine. I put him in the crib and Paulette came and Calvin and I went out to dinner. We were gone about 2 hours. Paulette didn’t want to wake Jamison because she knew he would pitch a fit if he saw her there. So she would go to his room and not turn on the lights and not touch him to check on him.
When we got home Calvin had to drive Paulette home so they left right away. I went right in to check on Jamison. I just touched him lightly and could tell he was warm. So I came to the kitchen. I was fixing him a bottle of juice and I put some “fever drops” in the juice. I thought the cool juice would cool him off and the medicine would kick in soon after that. I went to his room and picked him up. He felt funny, very limp. I hadn’t turned the light on because Jordy was asleep in the same room. I walked to the kitchen patting him and telling him to wake up. When I got to the kitchen and could see I looked at him. His lips were blue. And his face just looked like wax. It scared me to death.
I don’t know what I was thinking. When I am rational I know that in an emergency I should call 911. But instead I called my mom and dad. Daddy answered. Right when daddy answered Jamison started shaking and he opened his eyes but they rolled back in his head. I honestly thought he was dying in my arms. I can't even put words to the horror I felt. It makes me feel sick just remembering it. My heart just breaks for parents that have lost a child.
I called 911. The woman on the phone told me that someone was on the way and told me to put Jamison flat on the floor. I did that. As soon as I did he looked better. Within 2 minutes (I was so impressed) a policeman was at the door. He was very sweet. Then in another couple of minutes the ambulance was here. Right behind them came my parents. Calvin had taken Paulette to the grocery store on the way home. I didn’t know why he was taking so long. But I had no way to tell him what was going on.
Jamison was taken to the hospital. He had several tests. For some unknown reason his fever shot up very very high very very fast. It caused him not to breathe as well as he should and to have the seizure. He was fine the next day. It was if it had never happened.
I cringe when I think of what would have happened if I hadn’t checked on him and then taken him out of the bed. I am thankful that God spared him that night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just looked at today's date. I wrote about Jamison being very sick, nearly dying. I didn't realize till now that this is the anniversary of Calvin's brother's death. When Calvin was approx. 15 his brother, Richard, died. Richard was 24 I believe. He was a pilot and his plane crashed. I never met him, this was long before I met Calvin. From all I hear about Richard he was a special person, very bright and kind. I wish I had known him. I wish my children could have known an "Uncle Richard". From what I understand about him Jamison seems to be like Richard. I know the Sinclairs have a hole in their hearts from losing Richard.
Eddie The Movie
26 May 2000 - My Two Days Of Stardom
The movie “Eddie”, starring Whoopie Goldburg, is probably one of the worst if not THE worst movie I have ever seen. So, why do I bring it up? Because I was in it. LOL. I live about 30 miles from Charlotte. The Movie Company rented the arena in Charlotte. It was a basketball movie. So they put a “casting call” out in all the surrounding areas. I have never had any designs to be in the movies. But it sounded like it might be fun. And it was definitely something I had never done before. And they were paying. So I asked Cal if it was ok with him. He didn’t mind so I signed up.
I spent 2 days on “the set”. The first day was a lot of fun. Whoopie Goldburg was there. I am not a big fan of her’s, but she is famous and it was fun seeing her. And she did do funny things in between takes that made the day more enjoyable. Fabio was there that day too.
Then the second day was a really long day. No stars were there. We were doing crowd scenes all day long. Maybe 10% of the people needed to fill up the arena were there. So to make it appear full we would sit in one area for part of a shot. Then have to run over to another area to fill up a different side of the arena for another view of the same scene. So we would have to watch the same “play” of a basketball game played over and over. I am not a basketball fan anyway. I had no idea what was supposed to be happening. The director would just tell us, “Cheer, this is an important play” or “Boo, you hate this guy”, then “Be all broken up that the ball is going to miss the hoop, then get crazy when it does go in”. So I cheered, booed, and got crazy on command. Then ran over to the other side of the arena and did it all again. The funniest thing to me was another trick to fill up the arena. They had 100s of stiff cardboard life size cutouts of people. They were of 3 different people; a white man, a black man, and a white woman. But they all had different outfits on. We carried those with us as we moved from spot to spot to make it more populated.
Early on the director noticed that we would all stay in our places during the scenes. We were supposed to be New York Knicks fans in NY. He told us that he realized that we were all polite southerner but we were supposed to act like New Yorkers (rude). LOL. And we needed to always have the aisles full of people coming and going and pushing. The next scene not enough people got up. So he assigned the task by telling all the people born in January, February and March to get up and walk up and down the stairs. My claim to fame is that during the “championship game” at the end of the movie, I was chosen to be the person that held up the big O, in the GO KNICKS! Sign. I thought, “Oh boy, now I am sure to be able to see myself in this movie.”
It was about a year later when this movie came out. I went of course. I was bored out of my mind, but held out because I was going to be seen at the end of the movie holding that big O. The scene finally came. I knew exactly where to look. And was looking as hard as I could. If the camera was on me for half a second that is stretching it. I think I saw my shirt. But it was blurred.
That was my first and last movie experience. It is nice to be able to say I did it. But I wouldn’t care to do it again.
The movie “Eddie”, starring Whoopie Goldburg, is probably one of the worst if not THE worst movie I have ever seen. So, why do I bring it up? Because I was in it. LOL. I live about 30 miles from Charlotte. The Movie Company rented the arena in Charlotte. It was a basketball movie. So they put a “casting call” out in all the surrounding areas. I have never had any designs to be in the movies. But it sounded like it might be fun. And it was definitely something I had never done before. And they were paying. So I asked Cal if it was ok with him. He didn’t mind so I signed up.
I spent 2 days on “the set”. The first day was a lot of fun. Whoopie Goldburg was there. I am not a big fan of her’s, but she is famous and it was fun seeing her. And she did do funny things in between takes that made the day more enjoyable. Fabio was there that day too.
Then the second day was a really long day. No stars were there. We were doing crowd scenes all day long. Maybe 10% of the people needed to fill up the arena were there. So to make it appear full we would sit in one area for part of a shot. Then have to run over to another area to fill up a different side of the arena for another view of the same scene. So we would have to watch the same “play” of a basketball game played over and over. I am not a basketball fan anyway. I had no idea what was supposed to be happening. The director would just tell us, “Cheer, this is an important play” or “Boo, you hate this guy”, then “Be all broken up that the ball is going to miss the hoop, then get crazy when it does go in”. So I cheered, booed, and got crazy on command. Then ran over to the other side of the arena and did it all again. The funniest thing to me was another trick to fill up the arena. They had 100s of stiff cardboard life size cutouts of people. They were of 3 different people; a white man, a black man, and a white woman. But they all had different outfits on. We carried those with us as we moved from spot to spot to make it more populated.
Early on the director noticed that we would all stay in our places during the scenes. We were supposed to be New York Knicks fans in NY. He told us that he realized that we were all polite southerner but we were supposed to act like New Yorkers (rude). LOL. And we needed to always have the aisles full of people coming and going and pushing. The next scene not enough people got up. So he assigned the task by telling all the people born in January, February and March to get up and walk up and down the stairs. My claim to fame is that during the “championship game” at the end of the movie, I was chosen to be the person that held up the big O, in the GO KNICKS! Sign. I thought, “Oh boy, now I am sure to be able to see myself in this movie.”
It was about a year later when this movie came out. I went of course. I was bored out of my mind, but held out because I was going to be seen at the end of the movie holding that big O. The scene finally came. I knew exactly where to look. And was looking as hard as I could. If the camera was on me for half a second that is stretching it. I think I saw my shirt. But it was blurred.
That was my first and last movie experience. It is nice to be able to say I did it. But I wouldn’t care to do it again.
Mom's Movie Story
24 May 2000 - Mom's Movie Story
My mother grew up in the late 30s and 40s. She lived in the city of Charlotte. Times were very different then. A child could walk on the street alone, go places alone and be safe. Her mother worked so she was alone a good bit of the time. She loved to go to movies. Anytime she could talk Grandmother out of a quarter she would head straight for the theater.
She would go to all kinds of movies. When she would go to a scary movie she would have to bypass the cemetery on the way home and walk out of her way around it. She watched romances. This was during the day that women in film would hold cigarettes in the long holders. She thought smoking looked so glamorous. She fell in love with Al Jolson by watching the movies of his life, “The Jolson Story” and “Jolson Sings Again”. She passed that love on to us. Jolson died almost 20 years before I was born but I know all his songs by heart. I remember Jon and me listening to the old records when we were very small children. When it came right down to it Mom would watch about any movie.
She went to a movie one afternoon. I think she was about 9 years old. She was alone. That sound terrible now but as I said before it was a different time. She was safe. I don’t know if the movie was not as interesting as she liked, or if she was more tired than usual, but she fell asleep. When she woke up the theater was totally dark and empty. She felt her way out to the lobby. The streetlights allowed her to see. The theater was closed and locked. She was locked in.
I have known this story my whole life. I think it had to be so scary for a little girl to be locked in like that. Mom didn’t know what to do. So she stood at the big glass at the front of the theater. Finally someone saw her and called the police. The manager was called. He came and let her out. Her mother and father and neighbors were all frantically looking for her.
That is just a little story, part of my family history that I didn’t want to forget.
My mother grew up in the late 30s and 40s. She lived in the city of Charlotte. Times were very different then. A child could walk on the street alone, go places alone and be safe. Her mother worked so she was alone a good bit of the time. She loved to go to movies. Anytime she could talk Grandmother out of a quarter she would head straight for the theater.
She would go to all kinds of movies. When she would go to a scary movie she would have to bypass the cemetery on the way home and walk out of her way around it. She watched romances. This was during the day that women in film would hold cigarettes in the long holders. She thought smoking looked so glamorous. She fell in love with Al Jolson by watching the movies of his life, “The Jolson Story” and “Jolson Sings Again”. She passed that love on to us. Jolson died almost 20 years before I was born but I know all his songs by heart. I remember Jon and me listening to the old records when we were very small children. When it came right down to it Mom would watch about any movie.
She went to a movie one afternoon. I think she was about 9 years old. She was alone. That sound terrible now but as I said before it was a different time. She was safe. I don’t know if the movie was not as interesting as she liked, or if she was more tired than usual, but she fell asleep. When she woke up the theater was totally dark and empty. She felt her way out to the lobby. The streetlights allowed her to see. The theater was closed and locked. She was locked in.
I have known this story my whole life. I think it had to be so scary for a little girl to be locked in like that. Mom didn’t know what to do. So she stood at the big glass at the front of the theater. Finally someone saw her and called the police. The manager was called. He came and let her out. Her mother and father and neighbors were all frantically looking for her.
That is just a little story, part of my family history that I didn’t want to forget.
Kids Say The Darndest Things
21 May 2000 - Kid's Say The Darndest Things
Today my children were watching their "Prince of Egypt" video. I sat down and watched a few minutes of it. It reminded me of something Hannah used to say when she was about 3 years old. She was memorizing the story of Moses and the burning bush. This is how she put it; "God said to Moses 'Take off your shoes because you are standing on holes in the ground.'"
Then I started trying to remember funny things the children had said. I remember when Paulette's grandson was born. He was named Colton, but they said they intended to call him Colt. That next morning when Hannah got up (she was still 3 at the time) I told her that she had a new baby cousin and his name was Colt. She looked at me with an odd expression on her face and asked, "Kim had a baby horse?"
We were learning about mammals several years ago. Jamison listened in although he was too young to understand, or so I thought. He was 2 or 3 years old. I told Hannah and Jordy that mammals had hair. A bout a week later we visited Calvin's uncle. This man is totally bald. He shaves his head every morning. We hadn't been with them long when Jamison told us that Uncle WC wasn't a mammal cause he didn't have hair.
All during the same week Jordy realized that his Granddaddy Sinclair didn't have a leg. He had just never really noticed. He also saw my dad take his teeth out. Then within a few days Calvin showed them how he could remove his eye. Jordy came running to me and asked, "What part can you take off Mommy?" Guess he thought all adults had removable parts. LOL.
The kids say something cute or funny everyday. And I think I'll remember them forever. But I don't. I wish I had been more careful to write them down. I do have somethings recorded but not nearly enough.
Today my children were watching their "Prince of Egypt" video. I sat down and watched a few minutes of it. It reminded me of something Hannah used to say when she was about 3 years old. She was memorizing the story of Moses and the burning bush. This is how she put it; "God said to Moses 'Take off your shoes because you are standing on holes in the ground.'"
Then I started trying to remember funny things the children had said. I remember when Paulette's grandson was born. He was named Colton, but they said they intended to call him Colt. That next morning when Hannah got up (she was still 3 at the time) I told her that she had a new baby cousin and his name was Colt. She looked at me with an odd expression on her face and asked, "Kim had a baby horse?"
We were learning about mammals several years ago. Jamison listened in although he was too young to understand, or so I thought. He was 2 or 3 years old. I told Hannah and Jordy that mammals had hair. A bout a week later we visited Calvin's uncle. This man is totally bald. He shaves his head every morning. We hadn't been with them long when Jamison told us that Uncle WC wasn't a mammal cause he didn't have hair.
All during the same week Jordy realized that his Granddaddy Sinclair didn't have a leg. He had just never really noticed. He also saw my dad take his teeth out. Then within a few days Calvin showed them how he could remove his eye. Jordy came running to me and asked, "What part can you take off Mommy?" Guess he thought all adults had removable parts. LOL.
The kids say something cute or funny everyday. And I think I'll remember them forever. But I don't. I wish I had been more careful to write them down. I do have somethings recorded but not nearly enough.
Luther Gang
20 May 2000 - Let Me Tell You A Little Story About The Luther Gang (to be sung to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies theme song LOL)
I don’t know a lot about my bio-dad’s family. Almost all of the information I do have comes from my mother’s side of the family. My mother’s family, the Reeds, is from the NC Mountains as are my bio-dad’s family, the Luthers. The Reeds were a funny bunch. Always playing practical jokes on people and just very humorous people. And the Luthers, who lived in the same town, were the town loons. If you are from a small town or have ever spent time in one you know that there is always a family that is odd. They were a little backward and happened to be the butt of most of the Reed’s jokes. Don’t get me wrong the two families got along even intermarried. But I grew up having no contact with the Luthers because my bio-dad (Bobby) left us. So my impression of them is solely based on what I heard.
Anyway, the story I am thinking about happened during World War II. School children all over the country were encouraged to gather up scrap metal and turn it in for the war effort. At Bobby’s school they were going to have a contest to see who could bring in the most. He was determined he would win. He spent all his free time scouting out scrap metal and gathering it up to take to school. It was almost an obsession with him. HE HAD TO WIN! Near the end of the scrap metal drive it appeared that this other little boy was going to beat Bobby. That sent Bobby into a panic. So he went home that day and talked his mother into giving him the family car for the scrap metal drive. LOL. He won, but the family was out of a car.
Another funny story I remember hearing about the Luthers is about Grandpa Luther, Bobby’s daddy. He loved pretty women. And the pretty women in the area knew that. It got to be a common thing for women to ask him to co-sign loans for them. He would do it. And then the women would never pay back the loans so Grandpa Luther had to pay. This happened over and over again. Grandma Luther got pretty tired of that. (I don’t blame her.) She warned him not to do it again. But the next pretty woman that asked for him to co-sign got the same help all the other’s did. When Grandma Luther heard about it she calmly went to Grandpa Luther’s barn and burned it down. Guess she showed him. LOL. I guess the moral to that one is ~ don’t rile a Luther woman~.
Y’all have a great day. Jami (Luther) Sinclair
I don’t know a lot about my bio-dad’s family. Almost all of the information I do have comes from my mother’s side of the family. My mother’s family, the Reeds, is from the NC Mountains as are my bio-dad’s family, the Luthers. The Reeds were a funny bunch. Always playing practical jokes on people and just very humorous people. And the Luthers, who lived in the same town, were the town loons. If you are from a small town or have ever spent time in one you know that there is always a family that is odd. They were a little backward and happened to be the butt of most of the Reed’s jokes. Don’t get me wrong the two families got along even intermarried. But I grew up having no contact with the Luthers because my bio-dad (Bobby) left us. So my impression of them is solely based on what I heard.
Anyway, the story I am thinking about happened during World War II. School children all over the country were encouraged to gather up scrap metal and turn it in for the war effort. At Bobby’s school they were going to have a contest to see who could bring in the most. He was determined he would win. He spent all his free time scouting out scrap metal and gathering it up to take to school. It was almost an obsession with him. HE HAD TO WIN! Near the end of the scrap metal drive it appeared that this other little boy was going to beat Bobby. That sent Bobby into a panic. So he went home that day and talked his mother into giving him the family car for the scrap metal drive. LOL. He won, but the family was out of a car.
Another funny story I remember hearing about the Luthers is about Grandpa Luther, Bobby’s daddy. He loved pretty women. And the pretty women in the area knew that. It got to be a common thing for women to ask him to co-sign loans for them. He would do it. And then the women would never pay back the loans so Grandpa Luther had to pay. This happened over and over again. Grandma Luther got pretty tired of that. (I don’t blame her.) She warned him not to do it again. But the next pretty woman that asked for him to co-sign got the same help all the other’s did. When Grandma Luther heard about it she calmly went to Grandpa Luther’s barn and burned it down. Guess she showed him. LOL. I guess the moral to that one is ~ don’t rile a Luther woman~.
Y’all have a great day. Jami (Luther) Sinclair
Honeymoon
We spent the first night after the wedding in Charlotte. Then the next morning we were to drive to Tennesee. We got up and ready to leave and Calvin realized he had forgotten his glasses. He had his contact (Yes, just one. A man with one eye only needs one. LOL) But he wanted his glasses to be able to rest his eye. So we had to drive back to Concord, before we could go to Tennesee. This started a trend in our marriage. I can count on my hands the number of times we left the house and DIDN"T come back. I just plan on it now. If I am going anywhere with Calvin I try to leave 5 minutes eariler than I would if I were alone. Because I know we will have to come back home to pick up something. I love him to death, but he is the person that really would forget his head were it not attached. And poor little Hannah is exactly like him.
Our destination was Roan Mountain, Tennesee. We had a little cabin booked up there for 4 nights. In my opinion it was a perfect honeymoon spot. It was up on a mountain far away from everything. Within a mile was a waterfall. The people that ran the place lived down the mountain a bit. They had a dog named Mitzi. The manager told us when we got there that when we wanted to see the waterfall to ask Mitzi and she would show us the way. The next day we did ask Mitzi and sure enough she led us to the waterfall. She would run about 20 feet ahead of us and then stop and look back and wait for us. Amazing. The waterfall was beautiful. We loved it.
This place was about 20 miles from Elizabethtown. We went there for our meals. One of the places we went was a "locals hangout". We walked in and there were animal heads all over the walls. And pictures of the resturant owner skinning or something the animals that he had killed. The picture on the wall next to where we sat was a 8X10 color shot of him standing next to a car, gun in hand, and a big ole bloody bear thrown over the hood of the car. LOL. Good thing I grew up on a farm and have a strong stomach. Seeing all this got us tickled and when the waitress came over (the waitress happened to be the bear killer's wife) we giggled and couldn't stop. We had our breakfast with no odd occurances. The bacon was the best we had ever had and Calvin wondered if it might be bear. But I think he was teasing me.
There isn't much to tell. We ate alot and walked alot and just enjoyed each other. I think it was just the way a honeymoon should be. We fully intended to go back to the same place a year or two later. We still haven't made it back there. I hope we do someday.
Our destination was Roan Mountain, Tennesee. We had a little cabin booked up there for 4 nights. In my opinion it was a perfect honeymoon spot. It was up on a mountain far away from everything. Within a mile was a waterfall. The people that ran the place lived down the mountain a bit. They had a dog named Mitzi. The manager told us when we got there that when we wanted to see the waterfall to ask Mitzi and she would show us the way. The next day we did ask Mitzi and sure enough she led us to the waterfall. She would run about 20 feet ahead of us and then stop and look back and wait for us. Amazing. The waterfall was beautiful. We loved it.
This place was about 20 miles from Elizabethtown. We went there for our meals. One of the places we went was a "locals hangout". We walked in and there were animal heads all over the walls. And pictures of the resturant owner skinning or something the animals that he had killed. The picture on the wall next to where we sat was a 8X10 color shot of him standing next to a car, gun in hand, and a big ole bloody bear thrown over the hood of the car. LOL. Good thing I grew up on a farm and have a strong stomach. Seeing all this got us tickled and when the waitress came over (the waitress happened to be the bear killer's wife) we giggled and couldn't stop. We had our breakfast with no odd occurances. The bacon was the best we had ever had and Calvin wondered if it might be bear. But I think he was teasing me.
There isn't much to tell. We ate alot and walked alot and just enjoyed each other. I think it was just the way a honeymoon should be. We fully intended to go back to the same place a year or two later. We still haven't made it back there. I hope we do someday.
Renewal
15 May 2000 - Renewal
Today at church the mother's were honored and the preacher commented on mothers. But he started a new series of sermons focused on the home. He offered, to any couple that wanted to do it, a renewing of marriage vows. Anyone who wanted to do it was to go forward. Several couples did. I would estimate 45 couples. He told us to face each other and hold hands. Then the preacher asked if there were any children there from the union to come forward. Hannah, Jordy, and Jamison came up. The took our hands. So we were standing in a little circle of five. The preacher spoke for a few minutes about marriage. The boys were funny. They kept looking at us and I could see in their faces that they had no idea why we were up at the front of the church.But I could tell that Hannah understood it and was impressed. Then the preacher had us say vows to each other. The men went first. I looked into Calvin's face. He tends to be cynical, and not care too much for this sort of things. But I could tell that this was meaningful to him too. (Sidenote,,,,Mom told us that when the preacher asked the men to vow that they will love their wives even more in the future than they had in the past. Daddy leaned over to Mom and said, "I don't see how that is possible." Very sweet, don't you think?") Then whe we women were saying vows I got choked up. I'm not that sort and I am not even sure why, but I had tears in my eyes and my voice was shaky. Then the preacher even told the men to kiss their "brides". The kids giggled. It was very nice. Hannah said when it was over that now she had been to her parent's wedding. I told her not to be spreading that around. LOL. Have a great week. Jami
Today at church the mother's were honored and the preacher commented on mothers. But he started a new series of sermons focused on the home. He offered, to any couple that wanted to do it, a renewing of marriage vows. Anyone who wanted to do it was to go forward. Several couples did. I would estimate 45 couples. He told us to face each other and hold hands. Then the preacher asked if there were any children there from the union to come forward. Hannah, Jordy, and Jamison came up. The took our hands. So we were standing in a little circle of five. The preacher spoke for a few minutes about marriage. The boys were funny. They kept looking at us and I could see in their faces that they had no idea why we were up at the front of the church.But I could tell that Hannah understood it and was impressed. Then the preacher had us say vows to each other. The men went first. I looked into Calvin's face. He tends to be cynical, and not care too much for this sort of things. But I could tell that this was meaningful to him too. (Sidenote,,,,Mom told us that when the preacher asked the men to vow that they will love their wives even more in the future than they had in the past. Daddy leaned over to Mom and said, "I don't see how that is possible." Very sweet, don't you think?") Then whe we women were saying vows I got choked up. I'm not that sort and I am not even sure why, but I had tears in my eyes and my voice was shaky. Then the preacher even told the men to kiss their "brides". The kids giggled. It was very nice. Hannah said when it was over that now she had been to her parent's wedding. I told her not to be spreading that around. LOL. Have a great week. Jami
My Mom
14 May 2000 - Happy Mother's Day
I wanted to talk about my mom today. She is simply incredible. I can not imagine a better mother. She taught me to read. She taught me to sing. She has always, even when I was a child, trusted me and treated me with respect. She, by her example, taught me how to be a friend, and how to listen. I got my sense of humor from her. (Mine went a little overboard but it is basically like hers.) She taught me how to be a good wife. She taught me how to get along with people. She taught me to expect the best out of people. She taught me to look for the good in things. (And if you just can't find any good whatsoever,,,,,you can normally get a funny story out of it anyway. LOL) She taught me how to be a good mother. I'd like to say she taught me how to save money like she does, but I am still learning that. I'd like to say she taught me how to cook like her. But then there are lots of good resturants around these parts. (She is one of the best cooks I know of.) I'd like to say she taught me how to spell, but I can't because she taught me it was a sin to lie. LOL. She made our home so pleasant that I didn't really care if I left or not. (Therefore when I got married to Calvin it was to be with him not to get away from home.) She makes me feel special and loved every single day. I can trust her with anything. The best gift I can give my children is to be as much like her as I can be. And the best thing I could wish for anyone would be to have a mother like her. I love you Mom. Happy Mother's Day
I wanted to talk about my mom today. She is simply incredible. I can not imagine a better mother. She taught me to read. She taught me to sing. She has always, even when I was a child, trusted me and treated me with respect. She, by her example, taught me how to be a friend, and how to listen. I got my sense of humor from her. (Mine went a little overboard but it is basically like hers.) She taught me how to be a good wife. She taught me how to get along with people. She taught me to expect the best out of people. She taught me to look for the good in things. (And if you just can't find any good whatsoever,,,,,you can normally get a funny story out of it anyway. LOL) She taught me how to be a good mother. I'd like to say she taught me how to save money like she does, but I am still learning that. I'd like to say she taught me how to cook like her. But then there are lots of good resturants around these parts. (She is one of the best cooks I know of.) I'd like to say she taught me how to spell, but I can't because she taught me it was a sin to lie. LOL. She made our home so pleasant that I didn't really care if I left or not. (Therefore when I got married to Calvin it was to be with him not to get away from home.) She makes me feel special and loved every single day. I can trust her with anything. The best gift I can give my children is to be as much like her as I can be. And the best thing I could wish for anyone would be to have a mother like her. I love you Mom. Happy Mother's Day
Wizard of Pop
12 May 2000 - The Wizard Of Pop
My Christmas present from my sister, Paulette, the year I was 13 was tickets to the Billy Joel concert that year. It was 23 years ago. I can remember the concert was to be December 9th. She gave me the tickets near Thanksgiving. She came over to practice a song we had to sing the next day at church. She had a book in her hands. When we started singing she kept holding the book at a funny angle near my face. She had been there about 15 minutes. And she looked at me exasperated and said; “Don’t you see this?” I said, “Yeah, it’s a book.” She asked me if I didn’t want to know what the pieces of paper were that were sticking out of the book. She said normally I was so nosy I would have taken them and looked at the as soon as she walked in the door. So I looked at them. THEY WERE BILLY JOEL TICKETS!!! We were so in love with Billy Joel. I grew up not listening to secular music. My parents didn’t approve of most of it and to be honest I wasn’t impressed with what I did hear. But when Paulette introduced me to Billy Joel I immediately loved it. And Mom saw that he was talented so she didn’t mind.
To the best of my recollection that was the most excited I had been in my life up to that point. I am silly and excitable, add to that the fact that I was 13. (Whew, nothing much sillier than a 13 year old girl.) Then keep in mind that Paulette is even sillier and excitable. So our family heard little else than Billy Joel chatter for the 2 weeks before the concert.
Finally the day of the concert arrived. It was a school day, wasted day. Paulette was getting off work early. We left as soon as we both got home and got ready. We stopped by the florist and bought him some roses, 3 I think. We sang a song we wrote all the way to Charlotte.
We’re off to see the wizard The wonderful wizard of pop We hear he is a wiz of a wiz If ever a wiz there wop If ever a wizard of wiz there wop The wizard of pop is on becop Becop becop becop becop BECOP Becop of the wonderful things he dop
Told you there was nothing sillier than a 13-year-old girl. LOL. We got to the coliseum and hunted down the “stage entrance”. We saw a “roadie” or bodyguard or something. He was behind the “line” and had on Billy Joel stickers. We asked him if he knew Billy Joel. He said, “Yeah.” We screamed. LOL. My sister, the flirt, talked him into giving the roses to Billy Joel. We of course had no idea if he would.
After that we found our seats. Then, because, we had gotten there so early we had about a 2-hour wait. But it was just fun.
It was almost time and we were really on the edge at this point. Then everything went black, totally black. I thought, “Oh God, please no don’t let me go blind now. Let me see Billy Joel first!” Then we heard the whistle. Billy Joel was whistling the introduction to “The Stranger”. I started screaming, and Paulette started punching me in the arm. With every word she screamed she punched me in the arm. THAT (punch) IS (punch) Billy (punch) JOEL (punch). HE (punch) IS (punch) WHISTLING (punch)! Through that entire song she screamed a commentary in my ear and punched me in the arm.
When the lights came up we could see Billy and he was carrying roses. We had no idea if they were ours or not but it was 3 roses wrapped in paper just like we sent backstage to him. He put them in a beer bottle and put them on his piano. Needless to say this started another pounding screaming session. THOSE (punch) ARE (punch) THE (punch) ROSES (punch) WE (punch) GAVE (punch) HIM!!!
After a couple of songs things quieted down for a minute. I felt my arm. It was puffy and very hot. I told Paulette to feel my arm. She did, and said, “My goodness it’s burning up. What’s wrong with it?” I said, “that’s where you keep hitting me every time Billy sings.” She hadn’t realized she was doing it. LOL.
The concert was great. I enjoyed every moment of it. When it was over we were walking to the car. We saw a little crowd outside of a side door. We walked over to see what was going on. We got the impression that Billy would be coming out that door. So we waited and waited. All of a sudden a garage type door open several feet from where we were all standing. We headed over there. It just so happened that although Paulette and I were on the edge of the first group, we ended up in the very center of this rearranged group. Several cops rushed out of the door pushing us apart. They were saying, ‘Don’t touch the car, don’t touch the car.” It all happened real fast. All of a sudden there was Billy Joel in a limo right in front of me. Don’t touch the car,,,,,,,you’ve got to be kidding me. LOL. I put my hand on the glass right at his face. Two seconds later a cop knocked me down. Paulette stayed with the car for a minute snapping pictures. The pictures are blurred, but basically one is a close up through the glass of Billy then the next one is of Billy cringing in pain from the flash that hit him right in the eyes. Then she also got several of his hands through the glass.
The next morning my voice was gone from the screaming. My ears were ringing from all the noise. My butt was sore from hitting the pavement. And my arm was useless from the beating Paulette gave me. But it was worth it.
That was the first of many Billy Joel concerts. Each one was great. Paulette still goes to the concerts when he comes anywhere nearby. By nearby I mean within 500 miles. I believe the last one she went to was in Georgia, 2 states over.
My Christmas present from my sister, Paulette, the year I was 13 was tickets to the Billy Joel concert that year. It was 23 years ago. I can remember the concert was to be December 9th. She gave me the tickets near Thanksgiving. She came over to practice a song we had to sing the next day at church. She had a book in her hands. When we started singing she kept holding the book at a funny angle near my face. She had been there about 15 minutes. And she looked at me exasperated and said; “Don’t you see this?” I said, “Yeah, it’s a book.” She asked me if I didn’t want to know what the pieces of paper were that were sticking out of the book. She said normally I was so nosy I would have taken them and looked at the as soon as she walked in the door. So I looked at them. THEY WERE BILLY JOEL TICKETS!!! We were so in love with Billy Joel. I grew up not listening to secular music. My parents didn’t approve of most of it and to be honest I wasn’t impressed with what I did hear. But when Paulette introduced me to Billy Joel I immediately loved it. And Mom saw that he was talented so she didn’t mind.
To the best of my recollection that was the most excited I had been in my life up to that point. I am silly and excitable, add to that the fact that I was 13. (Whew, nothing much sillier than a 13 year old girl.) Then keep in mind that Paulette is even sillier and excitable. So our family heard little else than Billy Joel chatter for the 2 weeks before the concert.
Finally the day of the concert arrived. It was a school day, wasted day. Paulette was getting off work early. We left as soon as we both got home and got ready. We stopped by the florist and bought him some roses, 3 I think. We sang a song we wrote all the way to Charlotte.
We’re off to see the wizard The wonderful wizard of pop We hear he is a wiz of a wiz If ever a wiz there wop If ever a wizard of wiz there wop The wizard of pop is on becop Becop becop becop becop BECOP Becop of the wonderful things he dop
Told you there was nothing sillier than a 13-year-old girl. LOL. We got to the coliseum and hunted down the “stage entrance”. We saw a “roadie” or bodyguard or something. He was behind the “line” and had on Billy Joel stickers. We asked him if he knew Billy Joel. He said, “Yeah.” We screamed. LOL. My sister, the flirt, talked him into giving the roses to Billy Joel. We of course had no idea if he would.
After that we found our seats. Then, because, we had gotten there so early we had about a 2-hour wait. But it was just fun.
It was almost time and we were really on the edge at this point. Then everything went black, totally black. I thought, “Oh God, please no don’t let me go blind now. Let me see Billy Joel first!” Then we heard the whistle. Billy Joel was whistling the introduction to “The Stranger”. I started screaming, and Paulette started punching me in the arm. With every word she screamed she punched me in the arm. THAT (punch) IS (punch) Billy (punch) JOEL (punch). HE (punch) IS (punch) WHISTLING (punch)! Through that entire song she screamed a commentary in my ear and punched me in the arm.
When the lights came up we could see Billy and he was carrying roses. We had no idea if they were ours or not but it was 3 roses wrapped in paper just like we sent backstage to him. He put them in a beer bottle and put them on his piano. Needless to say this started another pounding screaming session. THOSE (punch) ARE (punch) THE (punch) ROSES (punch) WE (punch) GAVE (punch) HIM!!!
After a couple of songs things quieted down for a minute. I felt my arm. It was puffy and very hot. I told Paulette to feel my arm. She did, and said, “My goodness it’s burning up. What’s wrong with it?” I said, “that’s where you keep hitting me every time Billy sings.” She hadn’t realized she was doing it. LOL.
The concert was great. I enjoyed every moment of it. When it was over we were walking to the car. We saw a little crowd outside of a side door. We walked over to see what was going on. We got the impression that Billy would be coming out that door. So we waited and waited. All of a sudden a garage type door open several feet from where we were all standing. We headed over there. It just so happened that although Paulette and I were on the edge of the first group, we ended up in the very center of this rearranged group. Several cops rushed out of the door pushing us apart. They were saying, ‘Don’t touch the car, don’t touch the car.” It all happened real fast. All of a sudden there was Billy Joel in a limo right in front of me. Don’t touch the car,,,,,,,you’ve got to be kidding me. LOL. I put my hand on the glass right at his face. Two seconds later a cop knocked me down. Paulette stayed with the car for a minute snapping pictures. The pictures are blurred, but basically one is a close up through the glass of Billy then the next one is of Billy cringing in pain from the flash that hit him right in the eyes. Then she also got several of his hands through the glass.
The next morning my voice was gone from the screaming. My ears were ringing from all the noise. My butt was sore from hitting the pavement. And my arm was useless from the beating Paulette gave me. But it was worth it.
That was the first of many Billy Joel concerts. Each one was great. Paulette still goes to the concerts when he comes anywhere nearby. By nearby I mean within 500 miles. I believe the last one she went to was in Georgia, 2 states over.
Jamison & The F-Word
11 May 2000 - Jamison And The F-Word
Jamison has known that there is an “f- word” for a long time. He has asked repeatedly to be told what it is. Keep in mind that he is 7 years old. So finally this weekend I decided I’d tell him. Now Jordy and Jamison are together constantly. So while Jamison has been asking and asking to know the word, I assumed Jordy wanted to know just as badly. Jordy, Jamison, and I were in the van this weekend. Jamison once again asked me to tell him. I said, “ All right, but you must promise to never ever say it.” Jamison immediately promised. Then he looked at Jordy and said, “You promise too Jordy (Jordy is nearly 10).” Jordy apparently hadn’t been listening to us. He asked, “Promise what?” Jamison told him very excitedly that they were about to hear the f-word, but that first they must promise never to use it. I could see Jordy’s face in the rearview mirror. It was a look of panic. He started shaking his head and said, “I don’t want to know that word.” Jamison said, ”Come on Jordy, promise I am dying to know it.” Jordy was still just looking worried and shaking his head no. So I told Jordy to cover his ears and hum. I told Jamison the word. He looked at me and said, “That’s the craziest word I have ever heard.” I said, “Tell me about it.” This was Saturday. On Sunday he went to church and told 2 little girls the word. LOL. Oh well, so much for trusting a 7-year-old.
Jamison has known that there is an “f- word” for a long time. He has asked repeatedly to be told what it is. Keep in mind that he is 7 years old. So finally this weekend I decided I’d tell him. Now Jordy and Jamison are together constantly. So while Jamison has been asking and asking to know the word, I assumed Jordy wanted to know just as badly. Jordy, Jamison, and I were in the van this weekend. Jamison once again asked me to tell him. I said, “ All right, but you must promise to never ever say it.” Jamison immediately promised. Then he looked at Jordy and said, “You promise too Jordy (Jordy is nearly 10).” Jordy apparently hadn’t been listening to us. He asked, “Promise what?” Jamison told him very excitedly that they were about to hear the f-word, but that first they must promise never to use it. I could see Jordy’s face in the rearview mirror. It was a look of panic. He started shaking his head and said, “I don’t want to know that word.” Jamison said, ”Come on Jordy, promise I am dying to know it.” Jordy was still just looking worried and shaking his head no. So I told Jordy to cover his ears and hum. I told Jamison the word. He looked at me and said, “That’s the craziest word I have ever heard.” I said, “Tell me about it.” This was Saturday. On Sunday he went to church and told 2 little girls the word. LOL. Oh well, so much for trusting a 7-year-old.
Our Future?
2 May 2000 - Our Future?
Today on the radio I heard a "letter to the editor" being read. It was from a college professor that was ready to throw his hands up and quit teaching. And from what I heard I can't blame him.
He was giving a test to his class. He caught 3 students cheating. One of the students did admit to it. But it was beyond a doubt that the others had also cheated. The hard fast rule of the college was that the student would get a failing grade on this test, and not be able to make it up. When the other students in the class heard what was going to happen they protested. They all threatened to drop the class.So the college gave in and let the cheaters re- take the test.
The student were giddy with their success. They were acting as if they had won a battle against evil. The description of their behavior made me think of people during the civil rights movement, fighting for the rights of others. This situation was a farce. It makes me sad to think that this generation has lost it's sense of what is right and wrong. If they think sticking up for cheaters, and bullying the school was righteous, they have no idea what righteous is.
And to top it all off these were medical students. Makes me shudder to think of them holding a life in their hands.
Today on the radio I heard a "letter to the editor" being read. It was from a college professor that was ready to throw his hands up and quit teaching. And from what I heard I can't blame him.
He was giving a test to his class. He caught 3 students cheating. One of the students did admit to it. But it was beyond a doubt that the others had also cheated. The hard fast rule of the college was that the student would get a failing grade on this test, and not be able to make it up. When the other students in the class heard what was going to happen they protested. They all threatened to drop the class.So the college gave in and let the cheaters re- take the test.
The student were giddy with their success. They were acting as if they had won a battle against evil. The description of their behavior made me think of people during the civil rights movement, fighting for the rights of others. This situation was a farce. It makes me sad to think that this generation has lost it's sense of what is right and wrong. If they think sticking up for cheaters, and bullying the school was righteous, they have no idea what righteous is.
And to top it all off these were medical students. Makes me shudder to think of them holding a life in their hands.
Apathy
1 May 2000 - Apathy
I just read something today. Hate isn’t the opposite of love, apathy is. That struck me. I don’t know which is more prevalent. I know that I encounter much more apathy than I do hate. And thinking about it now I can see that apathy does a lot of damage all around. Bobby, my biological father, comes to mind. Jon and I actually didn’t give him much thought. But if we had we might have concluded that he hated us. And looking back now I am sure that wasn’t the case, but he was totally apathetic towards us. He just didn’t care one way or the other. I am trying to imagine what would be more damaging. My guess would be hate. If a persons hates they are more likely to take action.
Thinking about society, it leads me to believe that we are terribly apathetic. People don’t vote because they don’t care. We don’t speak out because we are afraid or because we are apathetic. I hear of people being attacked and the neighbors looking out the windows but not coming to the person’s aid. Or a child is being abused but no one reports it until it is too late.
Not that I want anyone to hate me, but if someone is apathetic towards me I take it as a high insult. Well just thinking out loud here today.
Y’all have a wonderful day. Jami
I just read something today. Hate isn’t the opposite of love, apathy is. That struck me. I don’t know which is more prevalent. I know that I encounter much more apathy than I do hate. And thinking about it now I can see that apathy does a lot of damage all around. Bobby, my biological father, comes to mind. Jon and I actually didn’t give him much thought. But if we had we might have concluded that he hated us. And looking back now I am sure that wasn’t the case, but he was totally apathetic towards us. He just didn’t care one way or the other. I am trying to imagine what would be more damaging. My guess would be hate. If a persons hates they are more likely to take action.
Thinking about society, it leads me to believe that we are terribly apathetic. People don’t vote because they don’t care. We don’t speak out because we are afraid or because we are apathetic. I hear of people being attacked and the neighbors looking out the windows but not coming to the person’s aid. Or a child is being abused but no one reports it until it is too late.
Not that I want anyone to hate me, but if someone is apathetic towards me I take it as a high insult. Well just thinking out loud here today.
Y’all have a wonderful day. Jami
Just This Morning.
28 Apr 2000 - Just This Morning
My Preacher told this story about his wife’s grandparents. They were called Bud and Gussie. They were married for 70+ years. Isn’t that incredible? I read recently that the average marriage these days in the US lasts for 12 years. Bud and Gussie had a very sweet relationship and after that many years still wanted to be together all the time. One was rarely seen without the other. They were sweethearts. When they were both 97 years old, Gussie fell and broke her hip. She was taken to the hospital. Later that day Bud died. Gussie had to have hip surgery. She never woke up enough to be told about Bud’s death. She lived in that semi-conscience state for 2 weeks before dying.
An old preacher that had known them both for decades preached at the funeral. He said he really liked to think about what happened in Heaven that day when Gussie died. He pictured it this way: Gussie was in Heaven and looked over and saw Bud. And Bud looked at her and asked her, “Augusta, when did you get here?” She answered, “Just this morning. When did you get here?” And Bud told her; “I just got here this morning too.”
The Preacher said that in Heaven it is always the morning of the first day. That makes me feel good. My Grandmother is there. And I know that if it felt like 2 years to her she would be missing us. But as far as she is concerned she’s just been gone for a few hours. Someday she will turn around a see one of us and will hug us and ask us, “When did you get here?” And we will answer, “Just this morning.” And she will say, “ If I ever told it,,,(that’s just one of her expressions, I have no idea what it really means) I just got here too!”
My Preacher told this story about his wife’s grandparents. They were called Bud and Gussie. They were married for 70+ years. Isn’t that incredible? I read recently that the average marriage these days in the US lasts for 12 years. Bud and Gussie had a very sweet relationship and after that many years still wanted to be together all the time. One was rarely seen without the other. They were sweethearts. When they were both 97 years old, Gussie fell and broke her hip. She was taken to the hospital. Later that day Bud died. Gussie had to have hip surgery. She never woke up enough to be told about Bud’s death. She lived in that semi-conscience state for 2 weeks before dying.
An old preacher that had known them both for decades preached at the funeral. He said he really liked to think about what happened in Heaven that day when Gussie died. He pictured it this way: Gussie was in Heaven and looked over and saw Bud. And Bud looked at her and asked her, “Augusta, when did you get here?” She answered, “Just this morning. When did you get here?” And Bud told her; “I just got here this morning too.”
The Preacher said that in Heaven it is always the morning of the first day. That makes me feel good. My Grandmother is there. And I know that if it felt like 2 years to her she would be missing us. But as far as she is concerned she’s just been gone for a few hours. Someday she will turn around a see one of us and will hug us and ask us, “When did you get here?” And we will answer, “Just this morning.” And she will say, “ If I ever told it,,,(that’s just one of her expressions, I have no idea what it really means) I just got here too!”
Grace: Now or Later?
26 Apr 2000 - Grace. Now Or Later?
My friend Kathy had her legs removed yesterday. Her left forearm and all the fingers on her right hand were removed last week. I hope it can stop there, but the doctors are giving little hope of that. I appreciate everyone that has prayed for her and asked about her.
I understand she is doing well emotionally. I saw her husband Saturday and he seemed to be doing well in that aspect also. My mother and I were talking about that last week. How would our spirits be in that situation? We were saying that we thought we might “freak out”. Or even worse, we might become terribly bitter and angry.
This made me remember the story of Corrie Ten Boom. She and her family hid Jews during WWII. And were caught and put in a concentration camp. Corrie’s entire family died in the camp. She wrote the book “The Hiding Place” about her life. She told a story about being with her father at a train station. They were discussing death. She was 10 years old at the time I think. She told her father that she was afraid to die. She had heard the term “dying grace” and told her father she didn’t have that. He asked her, “Corrie, when you need to take a train ride when do I give you the ticket? Do I give it to you several days before the trip, or a few hours before, or right before you get on the train?” She answered him that he handed it to her the very moment she was stepping on the train. He asked her why she thought he did it that way. Corrie said, “Because I don’t need the ticket before I get on the train.” He told her that God didn’t give grace out before it was needed either. When it was time to die He gave “dying grace”. When you have years to live you don’t need it yet.
That made me think. I can’t imagine losing my legs or arms, not to mention all of them. I know in my heart that I have no grace to handle that. And with just myself to rely on I would be bitter and angry and emotionally unstable. That is because at this moment in time (Praise God) I don’t need that particular grace. If the time were to come God would give it to me when I needed it, not before. I think it is the same way with other crises. I have seen parents lose their children and have the grace to handle it. I have seen people be diagnosed with terminal illnesses and hardly skip a beat. And now I have seen Kathy and Jeff accept the unacceptable.
My friend Kathy had her legs removed yesterday. Her left forearm and all the fingers on her right hand were removed last week. I hope it can stop there, but the doctors are giving little hope of that. I appreciate everyone that has prayed for her and asked about her.
I understand she is doing well emotionally. I saw her husband Saturday and he seemed to be doing well in that aspect also. My mother and I were talking about that last week. How would our spirits be in that situation? We were saying that we thought we might “freak out”. Or even worse, we might become terribly bitter and angry.
This made me remember the story of Corrie Ten Boom. She and her family hid Jews during WWII. And were caught and put in a concentration camp. Corrie’s entire family died in the camp. She wrote the book “The Hiding Place” about her life. She told a story about being with her father at a train station. They were discussing death. She was 10 years old at the time I think. She told her father that she was afraid to die. She had heard the term “dying grace” and told her father she didn’t have that. He asked her, “Corrie, when you need to take a train ride when do I give you the ticket? Do I give it to you several days before the trip, or a few hours before, or right before you get on the train?” She answered him that he handed it to her the very moment she was stepping on the train. He asked her why she thought he did it that way. Corrie said, “Because I don’t need the ticket before I get on the train.” He told her that God didn’t give grace out before it was needed either. When it was time to die He gave “dying grace”. When you have years to live you don’t need it yet.
That made me think. I can’t imagine losing my legs or arms, not to mention all of them. I know in my heart that I have no grace to handle that. And with just myself to rely on I would be bitter and angry and emotionally unstable. That is because at this moment in time (Praise God) I don’t need that particular grace. If the time were to come God would give it to me when I needed it, not before. I think it is the same way with other crises. I have seen parents lose their children and have the grace to handle it. I have seen people be diagnosed with terminal illnesses and hardly skip a beat. And now I have seen Kathy and Jeff accept the unacceptable.
Christi
22 Apr 2000 - Christi
My Mom and Dad are grandparents to 20 children. (Since that was written they now have 28 grandchildren) Some of these “children” are 40 years old. And some of them, 5 to be exact, are great-grandchildren. These grandchildren started being born when I was 4 years old and one was born 4 months ago. I don’t know how many more there may be.
When I was 5 years old my sister Debbie had her second child, Christi. Christi was sweet from infancy.
Jon and I loved visitors as children. We lived down a long dusty driveway. Christi told me that she could remember being a very small child and seeing us run outside when they pulled in the driveway. And the entire time they would be driving down the driveway Jon and I would be jumping up and down excited that they were coming. Christi said she always felt so wanted when she came to visit there.
Christi was a good student in school. She never went through that teenage rebellion that is so common. And she was very pretty. She was very popular in school. All the boys wanted to go out with her. But she would only go out with boys that her parents approved of.
She decided as a teenager that she wanted to be a missionary. Her sister, Andrea, was planning on studying fashion design. So we teased that Andrea would send Christi hand-me-down clothes. And that she, in darkest Africa, would be the best dressed missionary in the world.
After high school she followed her sister to college. They lived in the same dorm. When they came home for Christmas Christi seemed different. Not in a bad way, she talked a little slower, and would really look into your eyes when she talked to you. And whereas her faith had always been very important to her and it had always been a normal topic of conversation in my family, during Christmas break that is all she would talk about. She never veered from the subject of her Bible studies and what new she had learned. But it really didn’t bother anyone too much. It wasn’t that odd. After New Year’s she returned to school. I didn’t think any more about the change in her until in April she went berserk in her dorm. From what I understand she was crying uncontrollably, walking through the dorm halls knocking on doors. She seemed to be afraid and warning the others of something. But she really wasn’t very coherent. That night her Mom and Dad had to go get her. She spent several months in a ward for people with mental problems. The doctors all agreed that it was some sort of chemical imbalance, but they tried medicine after medicine with little results.
That started a pattern. She would be in the hospital for awhile, get a little better, come home, seem like she was getting better only to crash unexpectedly, and have to be returned to the hospital. Certain medicines would work very well for a time then seem to stop being effective.
There were countless ups and downs for 5 years. Sometimes she would seem to be very close to being her old self again. But it never lasted. Then she tried another medicine. It didn’t do any big change; it was very subtle, almost unnoticeable. If just seemed that slowly she was coming out of it. Each step to normalcy, although small, seemed enormous to us. We had all given up on her having a “normal” life. At best we thought she would be home with her parents forever. We never expected she could go back to school. I know that I ever knew the name of that drug. But I do remember reading near that time that when you took certain “anti-psychotic” drugs antihistamines could cause a reaction.
Well Christi continued to get better and better. She did the “impossible” she went back to college. She was only taking 3 classes, but felt like by the next year she would be back in full time. The college had a doctor on staff. If one of the students got sick they could go there and be treated as part of the tuition. Christi got a cold and went to this doctor. He gave her an antihistamine. I don’t know if Christi told him about her medicine and he didn’t pay attention or if for some reason Christi forgot to tell him. But she took her antihistamine. That night in her little dorm room after 5 years of fighting what looked like a losing battle, and seemingly winning, she took all of her pills. She wrote a short little note. Something along the line of “I know what I am doing tonight is permanent. But I can’t live like this anymore. I love y’all”. She lay down on her bed in the same position she always slept in, on her tummy. When she was found the next morning she had been dead for 8 hours or so. I will always believe it was the mixture of the medicine that put her in that state of mind.
I was really worried about her parents. But God held them up. They were such an example. I know of nothing worse than losing a child. And if God can hold a parent up at a time like that He can hold any of us up under any circumstances.
We all still miss Christi. She was such a sweet caring girl. I know though that she was a Christian and I’ll see her someday.
My Mom and Dad are grandparents to 20 children. (Since that was written they now have 28 grandchildren) Some of these “children” are 40 years old. And some of them, 5 to be exact, are great-grandchildren. These grandchildren started being born when I was 4 years old and one was born 4 months ago. I don’t know how many more there may be.
When I was 5 years old my sister Debbie had her second child, Christi. Christi was sweet from infancy.
Jon and I loved visitors as children. We lived down a long dusty driveway. Christi told me that she could remember being a very small child and seeing us run outside when they pulled in the driveway. And the entire time they would be driving down the driveway Jon and I would be jumping up and down excited that they were coming. Christi said she always felt so wanted when she came to visit there.
Christi was a good student in school. She never went through that teenage rebellion that is so common. And she was very pretty. She was very popular in school. All the boys wanted to go out with her. But she would only go out with boys that her parents approved of.
She decided as a teenager that she wanted to be a missionary. Her sister, Andrea, was planning on studying fashion design. So we teased that Andrea would send Christi hand-me-down clothes. And that she, in darkest Africa, would be the best dressed missionary in the world.
After high school she followed her sister to college. They lived in the same dorm. When they came home for Christmas Christi seemed different. Not in a bad way, she talked a little slower, and would really look into your eyes when she talked to you. And whereas her faith had always been very important to her and it had always been a normal topic of conversation in my family, during Christmas break that is all she would talk about. She never veered from the subject of her Bible studies and what new she had learned. But it really didn’t bother anyone too much. It wasn’t that odd. After New Year’s she returned to school. I didn’t think any more about the change in her until in April she went berserk in her dorm. From what I understand she was crying uncontrollably, walking through the dorm halls knocking on doors. She seemed to be afraid and warning the others of something. But she really wasn’t very coherent. That night her Mom and Dad had to go get her. She spent several months in a ward for people with mental problems. The doctors all agreed that it was some sort of chemical imbalance, but they tried medicine after medicine with little results.
That started a pattern. She would be in the hospital for awhile, get a little better, come home, seem like she was getting better only to crash unexpectedly, and have to be returned to the hospital. Certain medicines would work very well for a time then seem to stop being effective.
There were countless ups and downs for 5 years. Sometimes she would seem to be very close to being her old self again. But it never lasted. Then she tried another medicine. It didn’t do any big change; it was very subtle, almost unnoticeable. If just seemed that slowly she was coming out of it. Each step to normalcy, although small, seemed enormous to us. We had all given up on her having a “normal” life. At best we thought she would be home with her parents forever. We never expected she could go back to school. I know that I ever knew the name of that drug. But I do remember reading near that time that when you took certain “anti-psychotic” drugs antihistamines could cause a reaction.
Well Christi continued to get better and better. She did the “impossible” she went back to college. She was only taking 3 classes, but felt like by the next year she would be back in full time. The college had a doctor on staff. If one of the students got sick they could go there and be treated as part of the tuition. Christi got a cold and went to this doctor. He gave her an antihistamine. I don’t know if Christi told him about her medicine and he didn’t pay attention or if for some reason Christi forgot to tell him. But she took her antihistamine. That night in her little dorm room after 5 years of fighting what looked like a losing battle, and seemingly winning, she took all of her pills. She wrote a short little note. Something along the line of “I know what I am doing tonight is permanent. But I can’t live like this anymore. I love y’all”. She lay down on her bed in the same position she always slept in, on her tummy. When she was found the next morning she had been dead for 8 hours or so. I will always believe it was the mixture of the medicine that put her in that state of mind.
I was really worried about her parents. But God held them up. They were such an example. I know of nothing worse than losing a child. And if God can hold a parent up at a time like that He can hold any of us up under any circumstances.
We all still miss Christi. She was such a sweet caring girl. I know though that she was a Christian and I’ll see her someday.
Cheaters Never Prosper
21 Apr 2000 - Cheaters Never Prosper
Calvin and I have a duplex that we rent out. When we first bought it we knew it needed a good deal of work. We started with the smaller apartment. It needed less work and by being smaller we knew could be finished faster. We needed to get it ready to rent so some money would be coming in. Within a couple months it was finished and rented. Then Calvin began work on the larger apartment. Working full-time as a chemist and over time a good bit, it took him several months to finish the inside. Once the inside was done we decided to go ahead and rent it while Calvin worked on the outside. The inside was pretty with new paint, carpet and fixtures. The first ones to see it rented it. It was a young couple both 21 years old. They had a daughter that was 1 year old and another baby on the way. They were just starting out on their own. They hadn’t been married long and had lived with his father. They got social services help with the deposit and first months rent. They didn’t have much materially. They had a bed and a chest, a crib, 2 mismatched couches and a few end tables, a small kitchen table, and a TV and stereo. And she told me as they moved in that it had all been given to them, second hand from family. That was just the way it had been with us. To begin with it was all second hand gifts and yard sale furniture. Of course they also had their clothes. The house didn’t have a refrigerator. Calvin told them that we would buy one by moving day. The next day the renter called and said that he had been given an old refrigerator and would we want to buy it for $50. Calvin told them that would be fine and we paid them $50 for an old 30-year-old refrigerator. Through conversations with her I learned that she was on Medicaid for her pregnancy and they used food stamps. We told them when they moved in that our insurance only covered the house, and that they needed to get renter’s insurance to cover any of their things. (In NC the law will not let the owner insure the renter’s property.) They said they would do that. I remember asking him at least twice if he had gotten that insurance yet. Both times he said no but that he was going to next week. During their 5 months there Calvin worked on the outside. Inside and out it was almost like new. It had become a nice place.
One week after Calvin finished it caught on fire and burned. It came within $5000 of the insurance totaling it. Thankfully no one was hurt. But both families lost almost all of their possessions. The 2 in the smaller apartment really had very little to lose and they moved on without much but their clothes lost. The family in the larger apartment lost more and having a child I worried about them. We offered them some children’s clothes, and a set of dishes and a set of pots and pan. They said no thanks that some area church had really given them all they needed. Then the next day it was in the newspaper and on TV and more donations came in. They ended up with almost all-new much better stuff than they lost. Among other things a brand new large screen TV. I was glad for them. A couple of weeks later they were in the paper again and she said that they had everything except a car seat and a microwave. I remember saying to Calvin, “ I saw their car seat in the car after the fire, and they didn’t have a microwave before.”
A few months after the fire a policeman drove into our driveway. We were being sued for what they lost in the fire. If they had gotten insurance like I told them this wouldn’t have been an issue. I am a worrier. So I did my job and worried. After several days Calvin reminded me of a piece of land that we own and don’t use. He felt sure that we wouldn’t lose but even if we did it would be well under $10,000 and the lot was worth $15,000. So the worst case scenario would be that we would have to sale that lot. That helped. But I was still mad.
As lawsuits do, it drug on and on. They we got more paperwork from their lawyer. The amount we were being sued for was $50,000+. We got a list of all that they had lost in the fire. I still have that list. It said that they lost $1,000 worth of baby shoes, $3,000 worth of baby cloths, $500 worth of men’s tee shirts, thousands and thousands worth of furniture, and a $600 refrigerator. Hey wait a minute! That fridge was almost junk, and it belonged to us anyway! The list was page after page of lies. Our lawyer called when he saw it and asked, “Who did you rent to? The Rockerfellers.” LOL.
This went on for 2 years. We finally, at the advice of a judge, settled and gave them $5000. That was mainly because it would cost at least $4000 to fight it. It really bothered me. People would say to me things like, “well no good will come from that money they stole from you” and “cheaters never prosper”.
Well the night after they got our money the husband went out and bought cocaine. Used it. Came home and beat the wife very badly. He is now in prison for 24 years with no chance of parole. I can’t help but think that he used our money, that he shouldn’t have had in the first place, to buy the cocaine.
As a sidebar to this; that same week Calvin’s uncle came to visit us with an unexpected gift, a car. And then the next day we got a check for $7000 that we didn’t think we would ever get from an insurance company. (Trust me. I’m not grinning too big. LOL)
Calvin and I have a duplex that we rent out. When we first bought it we knew it needed a good deal of work. We started with the smaller apartment. It needed less work and by being smaller we knew could be finished faster. We needed to get it ready to rent so some money would be coming in. Within a couple months it was finished and rented. Then Calvin began work on the larger apartment. Working full-time as a chemist and over time a good bit, it took him several months to finish the inside. Once the inside was done we decided to go ahead and rent it while Calvin worked on the outside. The inside was pretty with new paint, carpet and fixtures. The first ones to see it rented it. It was a young couple both 21 years old. They had a daughter that was 1 year old and another baby on the way. They were just starting out on their own. They hadn’t been married long and had lived with his father. They got social services help with the deposit and first months rent. They didn’t have much materially. They had a bed and a chest, a crib, 2 mismatched couches and a few end tables, a small kitchen table, and a TV and stereo. And she told me as they moved in that it had all been given to them, second hand from family. That was just the way it had been with us. To begin with it was all second hand gifts and yard sale furniture. Of course they also had their clothes. The house didn’t have a refrigerator. Calvin told them that we would buy one by moving day. The next day the renter called and said that he had been given an old refrigerator and would we want to buy it for $50. Calvin told them that would be fine and we paid them $50 for an old 30-year-old refrigerator. Through conversations with her I learned that she was on Medicaid for her pregnancy and they used food stamps. We told them when they moved in that our insurance only covered the house, and that they needed to get renter’s insurance to cover any of their things. (In NC the law will not let the owner insure the renter’s property.) They said they would do that. I remember asking him at least twice if he had gotten that insurance yet. Both times he said no but that he was going to next week. During their 5 months there Calvin worked on the outside. Inside and out it was almost like new. It had become a nice place.
One week after Calvin finished it caught on fire and burned. It came within $5000 of the insurance totaling it. Thankfully no one was hurt. But both families lost almost all of their possessions. The 2 in the smaller apartment really had very little to lose and they moved on without much but their clothes lost. The family in the larger apartment lost more and having a child I worried about them. We offered them some children’s clothes, and a set of dishes and a set of pots and pan. They said no thanks that some area church had really given them all they needed. Then the next day it was in the newspaper and on TV and more donations came in. They ended up with almost all-new much better stuff than they lost. Among other things a brand new large screen TV. I was glad for them. A couple of weeks later they were in the paper again and she said that they had everything except a car seat and a microwave. I remember saying to Calvin, “ I saw their car seat in the car after the fire, and they didn’t have a microwave before.”
A few months after the fire a policeman drove into our driveway. We were being sued for what they lost in the fire. If they had gotten insurance like I told them this wouldn’t have been an issue. I am a worrier. So I did my job and worried. After several days Calvin reminded me of a piece of land that we own and don’t use. He felt sure that we wouldn’t lose but even if we did it would be well under $10,000 and the lot was worth $15,000. So the worst case scenario would be that we would have to sale that lot. That helped. But I was still mad.
As lawsuits do, it drug on and on. They we got more paperwork from their lawyer. The amount we were being sued for was $50,000+. We got a list of all that they had lost in the fire. I still have that list. It said that they lost $1,000 worth of baby shoes, $3,000 worth of baby cloths, $500 worth of men’s tee shirts, thousands and thousands worth of furniture, and a $600 refrigerator. Hey wait a minute! That fridge was almost junk, and it belonged to us anyway! The list was page after page of lies. Our lawyer called when he saw it and asked, “Who did you rent to? The Rockerfellers.” LOL.
This went on for 2 years. We finally, at the advice of a judge, settled and gave them $5000. That was mainly because it would cost at least $4000 to fight it. It really bothered me. People would say to me things like, “well no good will come from that money they stole from you” and “cheaters never prosper”.
Well the night after they got our money the husband went out and bought cocaine. Used it. Came home and beat the wife very badly. He is now in prison for 24 years with no chance of parole. I can’t help but think that he used our money, that he shouldn’t have had in the first place, to buy the cocaine.
As a sidebar to this; that same week Calvin’s uncle came to visit us with an unexpected gift, a car. And then the next day we got a check for $7000 that we didn’t think we would ever get from an insurance company. (Trust me. I’m not grinning too big. LOL)
Who Said?
19 Apr 2000 - Who Said It Was Time?
In North Carolina, according to the law, a person must name their homeschool. I thought it was silly. But if I had to do it I wanted the perfect name. After much thought we chose “The Isaiah 54:13 Homeschool”. This verse sums up so much of what we believe it says:
All your children shall be taught By the LORD, and great shall be the Peace of your children.
Isn’t that a wonderful thought; God teaching your children. I know that God doesn’t come down and physically teach our children. Instead He gave us His Word and His Holy Spirit to guide us in what we teach and the way we teach. He made each human being different wouldn’t it stand to reason that these unique humans would all learn differently? I can see it no other way.
A member of our church that tutors children in her home spoke to me Sunday. She was concerned that a kindergartner that she tutored wasn’t reading yet. Since I homeschool she wanted some tips. She told me how the little girl would look at a letter and have to be told what it was only to forget it 30 seconds later. I told her I was the wrong one to ask. In my opinion the child wasn’t ready yet. I saw my mother cringe when I started to speak. She supports us 100% and from her own experience she sees and agrees with our ways. But she is still uncomfortable when she feels sure others will judge us. The lady that tutors continued on, “But it is time for her to read.” I asked her, “Who says it is time? Did God put it in the Bible ‘Thou shalt read at 6 years old’? Just because the school system set up the arbitrary age of 6 for a child to read doesn’t mean that all children are ready at that point.” I went on to tell a little about our experience with Jordy, and our ongoing experience with Jamison who is still not ready. She commented that this little girl will most certainly fail kindergarten, and what a stigma that will be. And she is right about that. That child will be labeled a slow learner. Probably every public school teacher she will have from now on will see that in her file even before they meet the child. And when she is ready will she be given the chance to prove that she is intelligent and able to learn? I hope so, but I am not sure. Will this stigma, as her tutor called it, harm her self-image? Will she give up trying to learn? Will she love to learn?
I want our children to love to learn. If I had to put what I want our children to take from their “homeschool” experience in a nutshell it is that they love to learn and know how to get the information. They will go looking for some of this information later than a public school child is forced to. But will also find some of the information long before the public school child is exposed to it. Both ways are fine with me. God made them different from any other children on the face of the earth, and they will learn differently than any other child on the face of the earth.
The last part of our homeschool verse is; and great shall be the peace of your children. I see so little peace today. In the world at large there is little peace. Even in our country we really don’t have peace. And sad to say that I don’t often see peace in the homes. I want my children to know peace. They won’t get it in the world. And I know they do have to live in this world. But wouldn’t it be wonderful to carry peace around inside of you? I covet that for my children.
In North Carolina, according to the law, a person must name their homeschool. I thought it was silly. But if I had to do it I wanted the perfect name. After much thought we chose “The Isaiah 54:13 Homeschool”. This verse sums up so much of what we believe it says:
All your children shall be taught By the LORD, and great shall be the Peace of your children.
Isn’t that a wonderful thought; God teaching your children. I know that God doesn’t come down and physically teach our children. Instead He gave us His Word and His Holy Spirit to guide us in what we teach and the way we teach. He made each human being different wouldn’t it stand to reason that these unique humans would all learn differently? I can see it no other way.
A member of our church that tutors children in her home spoke to me Sunday. She was concerned that a kindergartner that she tutored wasn’t reading yet. Since I homeschool she wanted some tips. She told me how the little girl would look at a letter and have to be told what it was only to forget it 30 seconds later. I told her I was the wrong one to ask. In my opinion the child wasn’t ready yet. I saw my mother cringe when I started to speak. She supports us 100% and from her own experience she sees and agrees with our ways. But she is still uncomfortable when she feels sure others will judge us. The lady that tutors continued on, “But it is time for her to read.” I asked her, “Who says it is time? Did God put it in the Bible ‘Thou shalt read at 6 years old’? Just because the school system set up the arbitrary age of 6 for a child to read doesn’t mean that all children are ready at that point.” I went on to tell a little about our experience with Jordy, and our ongoing experience with Jamison who is still not ready. She commented that this little girl will most certainly fail kindergarten, and what a stigma that will be. And she is right about that. That child will be labeled a slow learner. Probably every public school teacher she will have from now on will see that in her file even before they meet the child. And when she is ready will she be given the chance to prove that she is intelligent and able to learn? I hope so, but I am not sure. Will this stigma, as her tutor called it, harm her self-image? Will she give up trying to learn? Will she love to learn?
I want our children to love to learn. If I had to put what I want our children to take from their “homeschool” experience in a nutshell it is that they love to learn and know how to get the information. They will go looking for some of this information later than a public school child is forced to. But will also find some of the information long before the public school child is exposed to it. Both ways are fine with me. God made them different from any other children on the face of the earth, and they will learn differently than any other child on the face of the earth.
The last part of our homeschool verse is; and great shall be the peace of your children. I see so little peace today. In the world at large there is little peace. Even in our country we really don’t have peace. And sad to say that I don’t often see peace in the homes. I want my children to know peace. They won’t get it in the world. And I know they do have to live in this world. But wouldn’t it be wonderful to carry peace around inside of you? I covet that for my children.
One Of My favorite Places
18 Apr 2000 - One Of My Favorite Places
I was trying to figure out what my favorite place is. There are plenty of places I enjoy but the first thing that came to mind really isn’t a place. It is in the car. I know that may be odd. I don’t just mean in the car every time I am in the car. But I started thinking about being with Calvin and riding somewhere. We spent the majority of our dating time riding around. For the 2 and a half years we were dating we got to have a real date only on Saturday nights. We would go to a movie and out to eat. Then On Sundays we would go to church together, then eat lunch, and then spend the rest of the day riding around. Because of our different work schedules that was it for alone time. We didn’t even get to be on the phone much because we lived in different towns and calling was long distance. During our Sunday afternoon rides we would visit people sometimes but the vast majority of the time we just rode around. We would drive through communities of pretty houses and yards. Or we might drive through the country past farms and groves of trees. And we would talk and talk and talk. Calvin is very hyper he can’t sit still. So to talk to him outside of a car you have to follow him around. And you end up talking to the back of his head. But in the car he is sort of trapped. LOL. I don’t mean in a bad way, but he is comfortable because he is doing something, driving, and I don’t have to chase him around to carry on a conversation. Driving around on Sundays was where we got to know each other. We talked about everything. I told him my life story, he told me his. We found out what we have in common and how different we are. Even to this day our best conversations are alone in a car. We have the homeschool conference next month. We leave the kids with Mom (thanks Mom). It is about a 2 hours drive. I am looking forward to the time together. It will be nice.
I was trying to figure out what my favorite place is. There are plenty of places I enjoy but the first thing that came to mind really isn’t a place. It is in the car. I know that may be odd. I don’t just mean in the car every time I am in the car. But I started thinking about being with Calvin and riding somewhere. We spent the majority of our dating time riding around. For the 2 and a half years we were dating we got to have a real date only on Saturday nights. We would go to a movie and out to eat. Then On Sundays we would go to church together, then eat lunch, and then spend the rest of the day riding around. Because of our different work schedules that was it for alone time. We didn’t even get to be on the phone much because we lived in different towns and calling was long distance. During our Sunday afternoon rides we would visit people sometimes but the vast majority of the time we just rode around. We would drive through communities of pretty houses and yards. Or we might drive through the country past farms and groves of trees. And we would talk and talk and talk. Calvin is very hyper he can’t sit still. So to talk to him outside of a car you have to follow him around. And you end up talking to the back of his head. But in the car he is sort of trapped. LOL. I don’t mean in a bad way, but he is comfortable because he is doing something, driving, and I don’t have to chase him around to carry on a conversation. Driving around on Sundays was where we got to know each other. We talked about everything. I told him my life story, he told me his. We found out what we have in common and how different we are. Even to this day our best conversations are alone in a car. We have the homeschool conference next month. We leave the kids with Mom (thanks Mom). It is about a 2 hours drive. I am looking forward to the time together. It will be nice.
Mother Earth's PO Box
13 Apr 2000 - Wonder If Mother Earth Gets Her Mail At A P.O. Box?
Lately when Gore has visited elementary schools he has had a project for the children. Considering his belief that streams and trees and the like are more important than people are, I am not surprised that it has to do with his “save the earth” agenda. But I am surprised at how far he went this time.
After he gives his little speech on how important it is to be kind to the earth, and protect the earth, (Let me add here that I see nothing wrong in taking care of the resources that God gave us. But God gave them to us for our use. And never is the importance of a tree to outweigh the life of a human.) he asks them to do some work for him. The children are asked to write a letter to “mother earth” and tell her they are sorry for mistreating her and to promise her that they will take better care of her in the future.
Calling the earth “mother earth” and thinking that you can communicate to “her” is a religion, pantheism. As a Christian, I of course disagree with “praying” to the earth, the creation as opposed to the Creator.
If some politician were to go into a school and ask the children to write a prayer to God, asking for forgiveness and promising to do better in the future the liberals would give birth to a herd of 2 headed cows, immediately after they swallowed their fat tongues! For all their rhetoric of “separation of church and state”, they turn a deaf ear when their nominee is pushing a religion in the schools.
Lately when Gore has visited elementary schools he has had a project for the children. Considering his belief that streams and trees and the like are more important than people are, I am not surprised that it has to do with his “save the earth” agenda. But I am surprised at how far he went this time.
After he gives his little speech on how important it is to be kind to the earth, and protect the earth, (Let me add here that I see nothing wrong in taking care of the resources that God gave us. But God gave them to us for our use. And never is the importance of a tree to outweigh the life of a human.) he asks them to do some work for him. The children are asked to write a letter to “mother earth” and tell her they are sorry for mistreating her and to promise her that they will take better care of her in the future.
Calling the earth “mother earth” and thinking that you can communicate to “her” is a religion, pantheism. As a Christian, I of course disagree with “praying” to the earth, the creation as opposed to the Creator.
If some politician were to go into a school and ask the children to write a prayer to God, asking for forgiveness and promising to do better in the future the liberals would give birth to a herd of 2 headed cows, immediately after they swallowed their fat tongues! For all their rhetoric of “separation of church and state”, they turn a deaf ear when their nominee is pushing a religion in the schools.
What About Socialization?
12 Apr 2000 - What About Socialization??? Your Kids Are Going To Be Freaks!!! They Won't Know How To Deal With People!!! (Give Me A Break. LOL)
As a homeschooler the first question you always hear is “What about socialization?” Or “How will they learn to relate to people?” As their mother and being with them all the time I see how friendly and social they are. But I feel put on the defensive when I have to try and explain our situation. So today when I read the results of a study I was happy to know that it has been documented.
This study intended to show that children in daycare are more outgoing and sociable than are children that are kept at home. The study consisted of putting children that were all within one month of their 5th birthday in a room with another child that they did not know. They were observed for 20 minutes. The first 10 minutes were given a rating on initial socializing, then the second 10-minute period to see if they could or would sustain the socializing.
The results were definite. Almost to a child, the children that had not been in day care were more open to being with the other child in the initial contact. And then were better sustainers of the “mini relationship”. The researchers were not expecting this result.
Building up a child’s self esteem is such an issue in day cares and in public schools. But it seems to me that if the children were allowed to be with loving parents longer and allowed to feel the security that only comes from being with someone that puts them first, self-esteem would be a natural by product. And with that self-esteem would come a self-confidence that they have something to offer to the people they meet. Therefore, they are not afraid to open themselves up to strangers.
I know I was always outgoing and friendly with strangers. And I think a big part of that was that Mom and Dad always treated me with respect, and always had time for me. So in my eyes if they liked me and respected me then I expected others to like and respect me. Then conversely, if the stranger didn’t seem to like me, it made little difference because my “fan club” was there at home waiting for me. And speaking of my "fan club", the founder and chief was at home too. Paulette thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread. LOL. But don't worry about me getting the big head because Jon was always there to knock me down a notch or two.
As a homeschooler the first question you always hear is “What about socialization?” Or “How will they learn to relate to people?” As their mother and being with them all the time I see how friendly and social they are. But I feel put on the defensive when I have to try and explain our situation. So today when I read the results of a study I was happy to know that it has been documented.
This study intended to show that children in daycare are more outgoing and sociable than are children that are kept at home. The study consisted of putting children that were all within one month of their 5th birthday in a room with another child that they did not know. They were observed for 20 minutes. The first 10 minutes were given a rating on initial socializing, then the second 10-minute period to see if they could or would sustain the socializing.
The results were definite. Almost to a child, the children that had not been in day care were more open to being with the other child in the initial contact. And then were better sustainers of the “mini relationship”. The researchers were not expecting this result.
Building up a child’s self esteem is such an issue in day cares and in public schools. But it seems to me that if the children were allowed to be with loving parents longer and allowed to feel the security that only comes from being with someone that puts them first, self-esteem would be a natural by product. And with that self-esteem would come a self-confidence that they have something to offer to the people they meet. Therefore, they are not afraid to open themselves up to strangers.
I know I was always outgoing and friendly with strangers. And I think a big part of that was that Mom and Dad always treated me with respect, and always had time for me. So in my eyes if they liked me and respected me then I expected others to like and respect me. Then conversely, if the stranger didn’t seem to like me, it made little difference because my “fan club” was there at home waiting for me. And speaking of my "fan club", the founder and chief was at home too. Paulette thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread. LOL. But don't worry about me getting the big head because Jon was always there to knock me down a notch or two.
8 Apr 2000 - Bees, Bugs, Bats,,,, These Are A Few Of My Least Favorite Things
Cyndi was talking about her fears today. Then I went to a journaling site and one of the questions was about fears. I have the normal fears; pain, death of a loved one, poverty, etc. But one fear that has gotten me attention and made people laugh at me is my fear of bugs.
On the farm where I grew up Daddy raised bees among other things. So I had to contend with the bees. I know they aren’t actually bugs, but they are just as bad. I can remember Daddy robbing the bees and walking to the house so calmly carrying a container of honeycomb, with the bees whizzing around him. If I saw him coming I would run squealing to my bedroom, slam the door, shove a nightgown or something under the crack in the door and stay there for hours. I remember one time after I had my license to drive. I heard that Daddy was going to rob the bees that morning. I called my best friend Terri and asked her if she wanted to go out. I went to the car to go pick her up. The bees were already riled up and one was on my car. It was on the roof closer to the driver’s side than the passenger side. So I got in on the passenger side and crawled over to the driver’s seat. I drove up at Terri’s and beeped for her. She came out got in the car. I drove fast to make sure the bee fell off. When we got to the mall, 10 miles away that “dad- gum” bee was still hanging on. It made me run to the mall. LOL. I sing, I have most of my life. And I have a very strong voice. Terri tells people that it came from all the screaming I did as a child while running from the bees. She lived next door. Although in the country next door can be aways away. But she can remember well hearing me screaming and saying, “A bee must be after Jami again.” Well that covers my bee phobia.
As much as I hate bees I hate bugs even more. I can’t stand them. During our years of renovations we even got a snake in the house once. I didn’t like that, but I could stand it. But if a bug gets in the house I can’t sleep till it’s taken care of. I really really hate them. And poor little Jordy he is the same way. As it turns out it must be genetic. My Grandfather Luther who I only met twice was very afraid of moths. LOL. By the way, I hate moths too, with their fuzzy little bodies.
As far as bugs and creepy crawly creatures go, Hannah is my hero. She will kill them for me, or take them outside. I call her “Hannah, the bug slayer”. LOL. Jamison is brave in that aspect too. Two years ago Calvin caught us a baby bat to study. He put it in a glass container for us to look at and we spent the day looking up things about bats. After Calvin went to work the bat started acting, shall I say batty. I called Calvin at work. He said just take it to the woods and let it go. I was scared to. Jordy screamed and ran to his room when I even looked at him. Hannah wasn’t home at the moment. So Jamison had to step up to bat. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the puns.) He was 5 at the time. I told him to take the container and when he got to the edge of the woods to unscrew the lid but not remove it them throw the container and run. He did. He is still proud that he took care of the bat that Mommy was afraid of. (And I know that a bat isn’t a bug. I feel sure Jon would point that out in a comment. But a bat is a lot like a mouse, which I am also very afraid of. I’d better stop with that I am getting silly.) Y’all have a great weekend. Jami
Cyndi was talking about her fears today. Then I went to a journaling site and one of the questions was about fears. I have the normal fears; pain, death of a loved one, poverty, etc. But one fear that has gotten me attention and made people laugh at me is my fear of bugs.
On the farm where I grew up Daddy raised bees among other things. So I had to contend with the bees. I know they aren’t actually bugs, but they are just as bad. I can remember Daddy robbing the bees and walking to the house so calmly carrying a container of honeycomb, with the bees whizzing around him. If I saw him coming I would run squealing to my bedroom, slam the door, shove a nightgown or something under the crack in the door and stay there for hours. I remember one time after I had my license to drive. I heard that Daddy was going to rob the bees that morning. I called my best friend Terri and asked her if she wanted to go out. I went to the car to go pick her up. The bees were already riled up and one was on my car. It was on the roof closer to the driver’s side than the passenger side. So I got in on the passenger side and crawled over to the driver’s seat. I drove up at Terri’s and beeped for her. She came out got in the car. I drove fast to make sure the bee fell off. When we got to the mall, 10 miles away that “dad- gum” bee was still hanging on. It made me run to the mall. LOL. I sing, I have most of my life. And I have a very strong voice. Terri tells people that it came from all the screaming I did as a child while running from the bees. She lived next door. Although in the country next door can be aways away. But she can remember well hearing me screaming and saying, “A bee must be after Jami again.” Well that covers my bee phobia.
As much as I hate bees I hate bugs even more. I can’t stand them. During our years of renovations we even got a snake in the house once. I didn’t like that, but I could stand it. But if a bug gets in the house I can’t sleep till it’s taken care of. I really really hate them. And poor little Jordy he is the same way. As it turns out it must be genetic. My Grandfather Luther who I only met twice was very afraid of moths. LOL. By the way, I hate moths too, with their fuzzy little bodies.
As far as bugs and creepy crawly creatures go, Hannah is my hero. She will kill them for me, or take them outside. I call her “Hannah, the bug slayer”. LOL. Jamison is brave in that aspect too. Two years ago Calvin caught us a baby bat to study. He put it in a glass container for us to look at and we spent the day looking up things about bats. After Calvin went to work the bat started acting, shall I say batty. I called Calvin at work. He said just take it to the woods and let it go. I was scared to. Jordy screamed and ran to his room when I even looked at him. Hannah wasn’t home at the moment. So Jamison had to step up to bat. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the puns.) He was 5 at the time. I told him to take the container and when he got to the edge of the woods to unscrew the lid but not remove it them throw the container and run. He did. He is still proud that he took care of the bat that Mommy was afraid of. (And I know that a bat isn’t a bug. I feel sure Jon would point that out in a comment. But a bat is a lot like a mouse, which I am also very afraid of. I’d better stop with that I am getting silly.) Y’all have a great weekend. Jami
Cyndi was talking about her fears today. Then I went to a journaling site and one of the questions was about fears. I have the normal fears; pain, death of a loved one, poverty, etc. But one fear that has gotten me attention and made people laugh at me is my fear of bugs.
On the farm where I grew up Daddy raised bees among other things. So I had to contend with the bees. I know they aren’t actually bugs, but they are just as bad. I can remember Daddy robbing the bees and walking to the house so calmly carrying a container of honeycomb, with the bees whizzing around him. If I saw him coming I would run squealing to my bedroom, slam the door, shove a nightgown or something under the crack in the door and stay there for hours. I remember one time after I had my license to drive. I heard that Daddy was going to rob the bees that morning. I called my best friend Terri and asked her if she wanted to go out. I went to the car to go pick her up. The bees were already riled up and one was on my car. It was on the roof closer to the driver’s side than the passenger side. So I got in on the passenger side and crawled over to the driver’s seat. I drove up at Terri’s and beeped for her. She came out got in the car. I drove fast to make sure the bee fell off. When we got to the mall, 10 miles away that “dad- gum” bee was still hanging on. It made me run to the mall. LOL. I sing, I have most of my life. And I have a very strong voice. Terri tells people that it came from all the screaming I did as a child while running from the bees. She lived next door. Although in the country next door can be aways away. But she can remember well hearing me screaming and saying, “A bee must be after Jami again.” Well that covers my bee phobia.
As much as I hate bees I hate bugs even more. I can’t stand them. During our years of renovations we even got a snake in the house once. I didn’t like that, but I could stand it. But if a bug gets in the house I can’t sleep till it’s taken care of. I really really hate them. And poor little Jordy he is the same way. As it turns out it must be genetic. My Grandfather Luther who I only met twice was very afraid of moths. LOL. By the way, I hate moths too, with their fuzzy little bodies.
As far as bugs and creepy crawly creatures go, Hannah is my hero. She will kill them for me, or take them outside. I call her “Hannah, the bug slayer”. LOL. Jamison is brave in that aspect too. Two years ago Calvin caught us a baby bat to study. He put it in a glass container for us to look at and we spent the day looking up things about bats. After Calvin went to work the bat started acting, shall I say batty. I called Calvin at work. He said just take it to the woods and let it go. I was scared to. Jordy screamed and ran to his room when I even looked at him. Hannah wasn’t home at the moment. So Jamison had to step up to bat. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the puns.) He was 5 at the time. I told him to take the container and when he got to the edge of the woods to unscrew the lid but not remove it them throw the container and run. He did. He is still proud that he took care of the bat that Mommy was afraid of. (And I know that a bat isn’t a bug. I feel sure Jon would point that out in a comment. But a bat is a lot like a mouse, which I am also very afraid of. I’d better stop with that I am getting silly.) Y’all have a great weekend. Jami
Cyndi was talking about her fears today. Then I went to a journaling site and one of the questions was about fears. I have the normal fears; pain, death of a loved one, poverty, etc. But one fear that has gotten me attention and made people laugh at me is my fear of bugs.
On the farm where I grew up Daddy raised bees among other things. So I had to contend with the bees. I know they aren’t actually bugs, but they are just as bad. I can remember Daddy robbing the bees and walking to the house so calmly carrying a container of honeycomb, with the bees whizzing around him. If I saw him coming I would run squealing to my bedroom, slam the door, shove a nightgown or something under the crack in the door and stay there for hours. I remember one time after I had my license to drive. I heard that Daddy was going to rob the bees that morning. I called my best friend Terri and asked her if she wanted to go out. I went to the car to go pick her up. The bees were already riled up and one was on my car. It was on the roof closer to the driver’s side than the passenger side. So I got in on the passenger side and crawled over to the driver’s seat. I drove up at Terri’s and beeped for her. She came out got in the car. I drove fast to make sure the bee fell off. When we got to the mall, 10 miles away that “dad- gum” bee was still hanging on. It made me run to the mall. LOL. I sing, I have most of my life. And I have a very strong voice. Terri tells people that it came from all the screaming I did as a child while running from the bees. She lived next door. Although in the country next door can be aways away. But she can remember well hearing me screaming and saying, “A bee must be after Jami again.” Well that covers my bee phobia.
As much as I hate bees I hate bugs even more. I can’t stand them. During our years of renovations we even got a snake in the house once. I didn’t like that, but I could stand it. But if a bug gets in the house I can’t sleep till it’s taken care of. I really really hate them. And poor little Jordy he is the same way. As it turns out it must be genetic. My Grandfather Luther who I only met twice was very afraid of moths. LOL. By the way, I hate moths too, with their fuzzy little bodies.
As far as bugs and creepy crawly creatures go, Hannah is my hero. She will kill them for me, or take them outside. I call her “Hannah, the bug slayer”. LOL. Jamison is brave in that aspect too. Two years ago Calvin caught us a baby bat to study. He put it in a glass container for us to look at and we spent the day looking up things about bats. After Calvin went to work the bat started acting, shall I say batty. I called Calvin at work. He said just take it to the woods and let it go. I was scared to. Jordy screamed and ran to his room when I even looked at him. Hannah wasn’t home at the moment. So Jamison had to step up to bat. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the puns.) He was 5 at the time. I told him to take the container and when he got to the edge of the woods to unscrew the lid but not remove it them throw the container and run. He did. He is still proud that he took care of the bat that Mommy was afraid of. (And I know that a bat isn’t a bug. I feel sure Jon would point that out in a comment. But a bat is a lot like a mouse, which I am also very afraid of. I’d better stop with that I am getting silly.) Y’all have a great weekend. Jami
Medical Mistakes
7 Apr 2000 - Medical Mistakes
Last night on 20/20 I saw a report on medical mistakes. It was incredible. They showed all manner of things that had been left inside patients after surgery. There were sponges, surgical towels, 7-inch clamps, and a “spreader” that was 13 inches long and 3 inches wide. The man that had the spreader left in him had had ulcer surgery. After the surgery he was in terrible pain but attributed that to the surgery. Then months passed with no relief from the pain. He started going to doctors. He had countless tests and even x-rays. The x-rays showed a strip 13”X3”, but he was told that it was surgical mesh that was put there to hold the incision together. His pain went on for 5 years. He ended up losing his family and his job. He could barely eat. Finally a doctor opened him up and saw the “spreader” and removed it. That took care of his problem.
There were several stories like that one. And also a few stories about people going into the hospital to have one leg removed only to awake and have the good leg taken off instead. It made me remember my second leg surgery.
After the wreck, the doctor put a 15-inch plate in my leg to hold it together. A year later the plate was to be removed. I wasn’t to be at the hospital until about I hour before surgery. So I didn’t see my doctor before hand. I was taken to the operating room by an attendant and placed on the table. The anesestiologist came in to put the IV in. He purposely walked to my left side and put the IV there. A few nurses came in, and said a word or two to me. So far I had seen no one that I knew. The anesestiologist started the IV. I was to be asleep very soon. Then my bone doctor came in. I had all my hair under a cap and no makeup on so I didn’t really look like myself. The doctor walked up and looked down at me. He said, “Jami?,,,, Is that you?” I said, “Yep”. He said, “They have you down as a James Luther and the chart says you are to have your right arm operated on.” Luther was my maiden name, but the doctor had known me as a Sinclair, so the name meant nothing to him. He said, “ We only have the instruments ready for arm surgery. We will have to wait while they “flash” the leg instruments.” (I sure hoped “flashing’ meant cleaning LOL.) It took about 15 minutes. Then the instruments came and they put me to sleep and did the correct surgery. But I have always wondered if I had fallen asleep before the doctor came in, or if he didn’t recognize me, would they have cut into my arm before they realized I was a girl and that my arm was fine? Who knows? But after that report last night I know that stranger things have happened.
Last night on 20/20 I saw a report on medical mistakes. It was incredible. They showed all manner of things that had been left inside patients after surgery. There were sponges, surgical towels, 7-inch clamps, and a “spreader” that was 13 inches long and 3 inches wide. The man that had the spreader left in him had had ulcer surgery. After the surgery he was in terrible pain but attributed that to the surgery. Then months passed with no relief from the pain. He started going to doctors. He had countless tests and even x-rays. The x-rays showed a strip 13”X3”, but he was told that it was surgical mesh that was put there to hold the incision together. His pain went on for 5 years. He ended up losing his family and his job. He could barely eat. Finally a doctor opened him up and saw the “spreader” and removed it. That took care of his problem.
There were several stories like that one. And also a few stories about people going into the hospital to have one leg removed only to awake and have the good leg taken off instead. It made me remember my second leg surgery.
After the wreck, the doctor put a 15-inch plate in my leg to hold it together. A year later the plate was to be removed. I wasn’t to be at the hospital until about I hour before surgery. So I didn’t see my doctor before hand. I was taken to the operating room by an attendant and placed on the table. The anesestiologist came in to put the IV in. He purposely walked to my left side and put the IV there. A few nurses came in, and said a word or two to me. So far I had seen no one that I knew. The anesestiologist started the IV. I was to be asleep very soon. Then my bone doctor came in. I had all my hair under a cap and no makeup on so I didn’t really look like myself. The doctor walked up and looked down at me. He said, “Jami?,,,, Is that you?” I said, “Yep”. He said, “They have you down as a James Luther and the chart says you are to have your right arm operated on.” Luther was my maiden name, but the doctor had known me as a Sinclair, so the name meant nothing to him. He said, “ We only have the instruments ready for arm surgery. We will have to wait while they “flash” the leg instruments.” (I sure hoped “flashing’ meant cleaning LOL.) It took about 15 minutes. Then the instruments came and they put me to sleep and did the correct surgery. But I have always wondered if I had fallen asleep before the doctor came in, or if he didn’t recognize me, would they have cut into my arm before they realized I was a girl and that my arm was fine? Who knows? But after that report last night I know that stranger things have happened.
I Still Hate The ACLU
6 Apr 2000 - I Still Hate the ACLU!
I sparked a little debate with my entry “I Hate the ACLU” yesterday. Debate doesn’t bother me. Actually I enjoy debate.
Now I will have to admit I don’t know a lot about the ACLU. I imagine that in the beginning their motives were pure. What little I do know of their history, they were established to fight for legitimate civil right offenses. And that I applaud. No one should be treated badly because of their race or gender. As Americans we all have the same rights. And I know that in some instances those rights have to be fought for.
But having rights does not mean that everyone is treated equally. I can relate it to a family. I am sure we would all like for our country to act and feel like a warm loving family. And in a family people aren’t treated equally. I think the term unequal brings to mind mistreatment. But that isn’t what it means. Unequal means different. Different can be bad or can be good. I have 3 children and I love them all differently, unequally. But that inequality/difference isn’t to their detriment. It is very much for their good. Children are different, as are all people. Another way to look at it is “apples and oranges”. If I had an apple tree and an orange tree, I would “love” both. But would I treat them equally. NO! What would make the apple tree flourish could kill the orange tree.
Our society wants to be so fair and treat everyone equally and it could “kill” us. Boys and girls are different. Men and women are different. To act otherwise and try and force the behavior or thoughts and feelings of one or the other could kill that unique essence that God gave us. And it could very well kill us. I don’t think our society will spontaneously combust from this situation. It is more insidious and dangerous than that. It is like cancer eating away at the fiber of our country.
And if the ACLU is so all fire worked up about protecting rights, then what about the rights of my community. The people of this county wanted this. What right did the ACLU have to take away that right? The Supreme Court has, 6 times in the past 100 years, upheld the constitutional right of all citizens to educate their children in any manner they parent sees fit. If the parents of my county see fit to have all boy/all girl classes aren’t our civil rights being violated?
I sparked a little debate with my entry “I Hate the ACLU” yesterday. Debate doesn’t bother me. Actually I enjoy debate.
Now I will have to admit I don’t know a lot about the ACLU. I imagine that in the beginning their motives were pure. What little I do know of their history, they were established to fight for legitimate civil right offenses. And that I applaud. No one should be treated badly because of their race or gender. As Americans we all have the same rights. And I know that in some instances those rights have to be fought for.
But having rights does not mean that everyone is treated equally. I can relate it to a family. I am sure we would all like for our country to act and feel like a warm loving family. And in a family people aren’t treated equally. I think the term unequal brings to mind mistreatment. But that isn’t what it means. Unequal means different. Different can be bad or can be good. I have 3 children and I love them all differently, unequally. But that inequality/difference isn’t to their detriment. It is very much for their good. Children are different, as are all people. Another way to look at it is “apples and oranges”. If I had an apple tree and an orange tree, I would “love” both. But would I treat them equally. NO! What would make the apple tree flourish could kill the orange tree.
Our society wants to be so fair and treat everyone equally and it could “kill” us. Boys and girls are different. Men and women are different. To act otherwise and try and force the behavior or thoughts and feelings of one or the other could kill that unique essence that God gave us. And it could very well kill us. I don’t think our society will spontaneously combust from this situation. It is more insidious and dangerous than that. It is like cancer eating away at the fiber of our country.
And if the ACLU is so all fire worked up about protecting rights, then what about the rights of my community. The people of this county wanted this. What right did the ACLU have to take away that right? The Supreme Court has, 6 times in the past 100 years, upheld the constitutional right of all citizens to educate their children in any manner they parent sees fit. If the parents of my county see fit to have all boy/all girl classes aren’t our civil rights being violated?
I Hate The ACLU
Last year an area middle school here in my town decided to try something new. They had read the stories about how it seems that girls get less attention in science and math classes. According to that study boys in those classes got called on more often and seemed to get more one on one attention from the teachers. There is also evidence to suggest that girls, overall, do better in an all girl class and that boys, overall, do better in boy only classes. So they instituted boy only and girl only math and science classes. Aside from all the evidence, I think it was a good idea because I remember my middle school experience. I can remember day dreaming an entire class away looking at the back of a boys head. And I can remember boys disrupting classes while trying to impress certain girls. I also remember some girls wanting to appear less smart than some boys thinking that boys liked to be the smartest.
Well, they changed the classes. Low and behold, everyone did better. The boy's grades and behavior and grades improved, as did the girl's. It didn't cost anymore to do it this way. It is a win/win situation. So everybody's happy, right? Wrong! In came the ACLU. They said this was violating civil rights and couldn't be done. So they sued our school system. So now next year the classes have to be combined again. It doesn't matter that only good came from this situation. It doesn't matter that children were learning more. It doesn't matter that teachers, and parent were all pleased. All that matters is that some ACLU lawyer got it into his pinhead that someone's civil rights were violated! I HATE THE ACLU!!!
Well, they changed the classes. Low and behold, everyone did better. The boy's grades and behavior and grades improved, as did the girl's. It didn't cost anymore to do it this way. It is a win/win situation. So everybody's happy, right? Wrong! In came the ACLU. They said this was violating civil rights and couldn't be done. So they sued our school system. So now next year the classes have to be combined again. It doesn't matter that only good came from this situation. It doesn't matter that children were learning more. It doesn't matter that teachers, and parent were all pleased. All that matters is that some ACLU lawyer got it into his pinhead that someone's civil rights were violated! I HATE THE ACLU!!!
Uncle Jay & The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
3 Apr 2000 - Uncle Jay And The Most Beautiful Gal In The World
My Mom reminded me this weekend about two stories of my Uncle Jay. Uncle Jay is married to my Mom’s Aunt. This aunt is one of my Grandmother’s sisters. In that family they all have nicknames. Grandmother was called Cootie. One of her brothers is called Golly. (Golly got that nickname because he would sit on his brothers and sisters holding them down until they said “golly”. That was considered a cuss word by their parents and they would get in trouble. ) There are several more nicknames in that family. But the sister that married Uncle Jay was called “Sis”. So his wife is Aunt Sis. LOL.
Uncle Jay and Aunt Sis have been married 50+ years. He is a Baptist “hell fire and brimstone” preacher. He grew up in the mountains of NC. He grew up very poor. Most people were poor in the NC Mountains 70 years ago, when he was a child. But Uncle Jay’s family was even poorer. This was probably due to the fact that his father was drunkard and never provided for the family. At one point in his childhood his only shirt got ruined. So he cut the collar area off of another shirt that was a rag but that had a pretty good collar. He put the collar on and then put his coat on. He went to school that day and just intended to wear the coat all day. At some point the teacher noticed that he was still in his coat. She told him to remove it. He of course didn’t want to and said he wanted to keep it on. But the teacher insisted. So in front of the whole class he had to remove his coat revealing the old shirt collar and nothing else. That happened 70+ years ago. He still remembers the embarrassment he felt, and I still cringe when I think about it.
So now here is a happier story about Uncle Jay. He, at almost eighty, is a striking man; a full head of white hair, a square jaw, dark skin. My Mom tells me that he was extremely handsome when he and Aunt Sis met. And everyone has a memory of how beautiful Aunt Sis was.
Uncle Jay was back from WWII. He was in his uniform. He was walking through town. Through the glass of the “Five and Dime” store he saw, in his words, “the most beautiful gal in the world.” He just had to meet her. He says that at that very moment he knew he would marry her. He stood out on the street for a while trying to think of a way to introduce himself. He claims he was very shy at the time. (I guess I believe him, but it is hard to imagine him as shy. For much longer than my lifetime he has been one of the most outspoken preachers I have ever heard.) After several minutes on that street corner he had a plan, he yanked a button off of his uniform. He went in the store and asked “the most beautiful gal in the world” where the needles and thread were kept. She sold him a needle and thread. He stood at her counter and sewed his button back on. They have been madly in love ever since.
As I said before they have been married for over 50 years now. And their life has not been easy. They have 4 biological children, and 3 adopted children. At times money was very tight. Sometimes their children caused trouble. They have had more than their share of sickness. There have been many times during the marriage that Aunt Sis would be ill and Uncle Jay would have to take care of her and do all the work around the house for months on end. But he still to this day says, “she is the most beautiful gal in the world.”
My Mom reminded me this weekend about two stories of my Uncle Jay. Uncle Jay is married to my Mom’s Aunt. This aunt is one of my Grandmother’s sisters. In that family they all have nicknames. Grandmother was called Cootie. One of her brothers is called Golly. (Golly got that nickname because he would sit on his brothers and sisters holding them down until they said “golly”. That was considered a cuss word by their parents and they would get in trouble. ) There are several more nicknames in that family. But the sister that married Uncle Jay was called “Sis”. So his wife is Aunt Sis. LOL.
Uncle Jay and Aunt Sis have been married 50+ years. He is a Baptist “hell fire and brimstone” preacher. He grew up in the mountains of NC. He grew up very poor. Most people were poor in the NC Mountains 70 years ago, when he was a child. But Uncle Jay’s family was even poorer. This was probably due to the fact that his father was drunkard and never provided for the family. At one point in his childhood his only shirt got ruined. So he cut the collar area off of another shirt that was a rag but that had a pretty good collar. He put the collar on and then put his coat on. He went to school that day and just intended to wear the coat all day. At some point the teacher noticed that he was still in his coat. She told him to remove it. He of course didn’t want to and said he wanted to keep it on. But the teacher insisted. So in front of the whole class he had to remove his coat revealing the old shirt collar and nothing else. That happened 70+ years ago. He still remembers the embarrassment he felt, and I still cringe when I think about it.
So now here is a happier story about Uncle Jay. He, at almost eighty, is a striking man; a full head of white hair, a square jaw, dark skin. My Mom tells me that he was extremely handsome when he and Aunt Sis met. And everyone has a memory of how beautiful Aunt Sis was.
Uncle Jay was back from WWII. He was in his uniform. He was walking through town. Through the glass of the “Five and Dime” store he saw, in his words, “the most beautiful gal in the world.” He just had to meet her. He says that at that very moment he knew he would marry her. He stood out on the street for a while trying to think of a way to introduce himself. He claims he was very shy at the time. (I guess I believe him, but it is hard to imagine him as shy. For much longer than my lifetime he has been one of the most outspoken preachers I have ever heard.) After several minutes on that street corner he had a plan, he yanked a button off of his uniform. He went in the store and asked “the most beautiful gal in the world” where the needles and thread were kept. She sold him a needle and thread. He stood at her counter and sewed his button back on. They have been madly in love ever since.
As I said before they have been married for over 50 years now. And their life has not been easy. They have 4 biological children, and 3 adopted children. At times money was very tight. Sometimes their children caused trouble. They have had more than their share of sickness. There have been many times during the marriage that Aunt Sis would be ill and Uncle Jay would have to take care of her and do all the work around the house for months on end. But he still to this day says, “she is the most beautiful gal in the world.”
Census of 2000
1 Apr 2000 - April's Fools
I think it is a little ironic that the census is due in on April 1st. I know that constitutionally we have to be counted. And I really don't mind that part. I think it could be done in a more efficient manner though. And then the fanfare that came with this year's census just turned my stomach. The government, in their wise way (spoken with the tongue firmly held in the cheek), has spent 200 million dollars on the advertisments. 200 MILLION DOLLARS!!! I am so sick of the government making anything they lay their hands on more expensive than it ought to be and harder than it ought to be. When I got the census I considered throwing it away. But like I said before a counting is constitutional, so I put the number in our household down. Then I put a big X on all the other pages.(We got the long form, lucky us.) Then with a black marker I wrote across the front, "I only have to tell you how many people are living here. I am offended by the racial questions and appalled by the fact that 200 million tax dollars were spent for PR!" Well now I am all worked up again. Wish I had another form to send in, or burn, or something!!! LOL.
I think it is a little ironic that the census is due in on April 1st. I know that constitutionally we have to be counted. And I really don't mind that part. I think it could be done in a more efficient manner though. And then the fanfare that came with this year's census just turned my stomach. The government, in their wise way (spoken with the tongue firmly held in the cheek), has spent 200 million dollars on the advertisments. 200 MILLION DOLLARS!!! I am so sick of the government making anything they lay their hands on more expensive than it ought to be and harder than it ought to be. When I got the census I considered throwing it away. But like I said before a counting is constitutional, so I put the number in our household down. Then I put a big X on all the other pages.(We got the long form, lucky us.) Then with a black marker I wrote across the front, "I only have to tell you how many people are living here. I am offended by the racial questions and appalled by the fact that 200 million tax dollars were spent for PR!" Well now I am all worked up again. Wish I had another form to send in, or burn, or something!!! LOL.
Hannah Spelled Backwards Is hannaH
31 Mar 2000 - Hannah Spelled Backwards Is hannaH
It was always obvious that Hannah was very bright. As a baby she started saying a few words at 7 months. She was potty trained by 2. It seemed that I told her she was supposed to pee pee in the potty, so she did. She could draw cute little pictures before she was 3. She could carry on very intelligent conversations with anyone. She could memorize songs and little sayings almost immediately. So I really had no worries at the thought of teaching Hannah.
It came time to teach her all of the letters and numbers. It took longer than I had anticipated. She would get very frustrated, and seemed to hate writing. It didn’t make sense to me, she loved to draw I thought she would enjoy writing. But she basically hated it. When she got the letters memorized we worked on phonics. She could tell me when we were talking about it what sounds letters made, and even verbally spell some words. But when she was asked to “read” it was if none of the letters meant anything to her. She would read the word hat after much sounding out and then on the next line see the word hat and have to start over. I was baffled. I started researching reading methods. And questioned some experts at the homeschool conference. One way that homeschoolers differ from institutionalized learning is that we don’t have to stick to a schedule. One of the reading teachers at the conference that I questioned told me that if Hannah was having trouble reading that I should “drop it like a hot potato”. I read some more research on delayed/student directed learning. I was fearful that I wasn’t making the right decision, but I decided to “drop it”. We focused on what Hannah enjoyed, history, science, social studies. We were judged by a lot of people. We heard lot of negative comments and got lots of advice. As the time passed I continued to study and realized that Hannah was dyslexic. As it turned out most of the Sinclair grandchildren are dyslexic. Hannah is the oldest of a new set of grandchildren the closest one to her age is 10 years older than she. So no one thought to mention the dyslexia to us because they had already dealt with it and had moved on. So I studied dyslexia. I learned that a dyslexic person just doesn’t see things backwards, which is the common notion. They may see things backward one time sideways the next or occasionally they see letters as they are. Another thing that is common, and I believe was Hannah’s main problem, is that the letters tend to shake and move on the page. She would try to focus on a word, read that word, then have to adjust her eyes and start over to read the next word. That made what reading she did very slow and laborious. I found that the contrast between white paper and black letters was harder for her to read and that by placing colored plastic sheets over her books made it easier to a degree. But she was still not reading to grade level. But I held back from pushing. We taught her other things. We talked about dyslexia with her explaining it as best we could. And I also found the names of famous people that had it. For example Thomas Edison was dyslexic. He was thrown out of school. His mother was told he was “addlebrained” meaning he was retarded. His mother homeschooled him. We also told Hannah that dyslexic people seemed to see the world differently. And that difference could be a benefit or a hindrance depending on the way she approached her life. I think she kept confidence in her ability pretty well. She was anxious to read and didn’t want it made too obvious that she was struggling. But over all she understood that reading would come with time. Well, just like the books said if you can keep a child from getting the self image that they are dumb, and if you can keep them from hating reading they will eventually “out grow” dyslexia. It never goes away, but they learn to compensate. Hannah reached that point when she was 10. It was as if she woke up one morning and was reading up to speed. She loves reading. She is proud of her accomplishment. I am so glad that I took that teacher’s advice to “drop it like a hot potato”.
It was always obvious that Hannah was very bright. As a baby she started saying a few words at 7 months. She was potty trained by 2. It seemed that I told her she was supposed to pee pee in the potty, so she did. She could draw cute little pictures before she was 3. She could carry on very intelligent conversations with anyone. She could memorize songs and little sayings almost immediately. So I really had no worries at the thought of teaching Hannah.
It came time to teach her all of the letters and numbers. It took longer than I had anticipated. She would get very frustrated, and seemed to hate writing. It didn’t make sense to me, she loved to draw I thought she would enjoy writing. But she basically hated it. When she got the letters memorized we worked on phonics. She could tell me when we were talking about it what sounds letters made, and even verbally spell some words. But when she was asked to “read” it was if none of the letters meant anything to her. She would read the word hat after much sounding out and then on the next line see the word hat and have to start over. I was baffled. I started researching reading methods. And questioned some experts at the homeschool conference. One way that homeschoolers differ from institutionalized learning is that we don’t have to stick to a schedule. One of the reading teachers at the conference that I questioned told me that if Hannah was having trouble reading that I should “drop it like a hot potato”. I read some more research on delayed/student directed learning. I was fearful that I wasn’t making the right decision, but I decided to “drop it”. We focused on what Hannah enjoyed, history, science, social studies. We were judged by a lot of people. We heard lot of negative comments and got lots of advice. As the time passed I continued to study and realized that Hannah was dyslexic. As it turned out most of the Sinclair grandchildren are dyslexic. Hannah is the oldest of a new set of grandchildren the closest one to her age is 10 years older than she. So no one thought to mention the dyslexia to us because they had already dealt with it and had moved on. So I studied dyslexia. I learned that a dyslexic person just doesn’t see things backwards, which is the common notion. They may see things backward one time sideways the next or occasionally they see letters as they are. Another thing that is common, and I believe was Hannah’s main problem, is that the letters tend to shake and move on the page. She would try to focus on a word, read that word, then have to adjust her eyes and start over to read the next word. That made what reading she did very slow and laborious. I found that the contrast between white paper and black letters was harder for her to read and that by placing colored plastic sheets over her books made it easier to a degree. But she was still not reading to grade level. But I held back from pushing. We taught her other things. We talked about dyslexia with her explaining it as best we could. And I also found the names of famous people that had it. For example Thomas Edison was dyslexic. He was thrown out of school. His mother was told he was “addlebrained” meaning he was retarded. His mother homeschooled him. We also told Hannah that dyslexic people seemed to see the world differently. And that difference could be a benefit or a hindrance depending on the way she approached her life. I think she kept confidence in her ability pretty well. She was anxious to read and didn’t want it made too obvious that she was struggling. But over all she understood that reading would come with time. Well, just like the books said if you can keep a child from getting the self image that they are dumb, and if you can keep them from hating reading they will eventually “out grow” dyslexia. It never goes away, but they learn to compensate. Hannah reached that point when she was 10. It was as if she woke up one morning and was reading up to speed. She loves reading. She is proud of her accomplishment. I am so glad that I took that teacher’s advice to “drop it like a hot potato”.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Jamison The Worm Boy
21 Sep 2000 - Jamison, The Worm Boy
My children have been watching the "Survivor" reruns this week. (Don't ask me why,,,I didn't think it was that interesting the first time around.) Anyway a topic of conversation here at our house has been what a worm might taste like, or feel like. Anyway, Jamison, full of bravado, said he would eat a worm. Hannah and Jordy said he wouldn't do it. Well apparently you don't tell Jamison he won't do something. He went right out and started looking for a worm.
After about 30 minutes of looking Calvin went out and helped him. Soon they came in with a worm. My guess would be it was 2 inches long. Hannah screamed at him, "If you are going to eat that thing wash it first!" He looked at Hannah with the most condescending face and said, "Duh,,,,I know to wash it first."
I was just watching. I honestly didn't think he'd do it. I figured it would be some big production where we all had to watch and he would have a few false starts then give up. We were all sitting in the kitchen. Jamison stood where we all could see. With only a few seconds hesitation he popped it in his mouth and ate it. LOL. He chewed and swallowed. Then drank some Coke. Then he raised his fist in victory and yelled "I am the worm man!!!"
Hannah with the disdain and irritation that only an older sister can muster told him, "You're only 7 you can only be a worm boy."
Well the excitement is past now. But I can hear Calvin telling Jamison now that he could make money with that trick,,,,,,,,,,
My children have been watching the "Survivor" reruns this week. (Don't ask me why,,,I didn't think it was that interesting the first time around.) Anyway a topic of conversation here at our house has been what a worm might taste like, or feel like. Anyway, Jamison, full of bravado, said he would eat a worm. Hannah and Jordy said he wouldn't do it. Well apparently you don't tell Jamison he won't do something. He went right out and started looking for a worm.
After about 30 minutes of looking Calvin went out and helped him. Soon they came in with a worm. My guess would be it was 2 inches long. Hannah screamed at him, "If you are going to eat that thing wash it first!" He looked at Hannah with the most condescending face and said, "Duh,,,,I know to wash it first."
I was just watching. I honestly didn't think he'd do it. I figured it would be some big production where we all had to watch and he would have a few false starts then give up. We were all sitting in the kitchen. Jamison stood where we all could see. With only a few seconds hesitation he popped it in his mouth and ate it. LOL. He chewed and swallowed. Then drank some Coke. Then he raised his fist in victory and yelled "I am the worm man!!!"
Hannah with the disdain and irritation that only an older sister can muster told him, "You're only 7 you can only be a worm boy."
Well the excitement is past now. But I can hear Calvin telling Jamison now that he could make money with that trick,,,,,,,,,,
The Little Black Shoe
7 Feb 2000 - The Little Black Shoe
Hi, This is another true story I wrote eariler and thought you might like.
As with most young parents, money was tight. And the very real possibility of it getting tighter was looming imminent. Former renters were suing us. I worried. I knew it was wrong. I tried not to, but when I least expected it anxiety over the situation gripped me. I would pray and hand the situation over to God only to take the burden back again and again. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God could fix it. But would He? Maybe this was one of those times of testing and trials that come to everyone. Even that, I knew God could get us through. Was that His plan? Was He going to walk us through the fiery furnace? I explained to Him that although it might be necessary to teach others lessons in that manner, I was a quick study. No need to go to extremes here God. So I continued to worry. I wrote worse case scenarios in my head. Prepared contingency plans. I wanted to have a written plan of what God planned for this situation and how would he watch over us.
Right in the middle of all this internal turmoil, Calvin received an unexpected gift. $1,000.00 came from an unexpected source. Calvin, ever the practical one, sat down and contemplated how this money should be spent. Among other things he decided to buy us all new shoes. We did something we had never done before. We bought the children name brand shoes, more than twice what we would normally spend. It was fun and exciting to just go and pick out shoes that we liked and not consider how much they cost.
Our son, Jordy, was 3 at the time. He got the cutest little pair of black leather Converse “running” shoes. They were $30.00, a major amount for us to spend on a child’s shoe that would be outgrown in 6 months or less. He was proud of his new shoes, as were we. Of course we all had to wear our new shoes that very day. And Jordy’s only other pair of shoes was so worn and tattered I threw them away. It was Saturday, and we were big spenders for the day, so we went to Sonic for supper. Hannah and Jordy were much more interested in playing in the ball pit than eating. So they removed their shoes and jumped in. Jamison was only 6 months old at the time and stayed with my mother during this outing. Too soon, or so Jordy thought, it was time to go. Like most 3 year olds “he did not go quietly into that good night.” So he was carried, crying to the car. Calvin had him in one arm and the new shoes in the other. When we got to the car Calvin put the shoes on top of the car while he buckled, a very out of sorts, Jordy into the car seat. And we drove away.
When we got out of the car at my mother’s house 10 miles down the road one shoe was still on the roof but the other one was gone. I was sick and discouraged. Calvin said, “We will go right now before it gets dark and drive slowly back to town. I bet we will find it.” As we drove back to town straining our eye so as not to miss a spot, I was praying (and whining) to God. “Please Heavenly Father let us find that shoe. Let it be in good shape. Watch over it for just a few more minutes.” Well we drove the road to town and back twice not a sign of a little black shoe anywhere. I was crushed. Looking back now I know how silly it was to care so much about a shoe. But it was like that shoe represented something. I guess it made me think along the lines of getting used to losing things. So I couldn’t help but think about the lawsuit and what we were possibly about to lose. So guess what, I worried even more.
My mother knew about the shoe and I told my sister Vicki. Other than those two no one else knew anything about it. For a few days after losing the shoe I had hopes it might turn up, but after 10 days or so I gave up any hope of finding it, and after 20 days I had forgotten about it. Now most of the people in my family are packrats, not me I am a tosser. I sometimes get so zealous in my purging that Mother and Calvin at times have gone through the trash and pulled things back out. So why I didn’t throw away that one shoe I’ll never know. But I kept it. The morning of the 20th day my sister, Vicki, called from the office. Vicki, one of only two people that even knew we had lost a shoe. On the way to work that morning she had seen a black shoe in the road and remembered that we had lost one so she stopped and picked it up. I drove over to the office that morning, and there in perfect condition was the missing shoe!
It had rained several times during those 20 days; the shoe had no water damage. One could assume a dog carried it off, but it had no tooth marks. As a matter of fact the lace was still tied. I don’t know where that shoe was for those 20 days. But what came flooding to my mind that morning was that God knew where it was. God never lost track of that little black shoe, he protected it, sheltered it, and saw to it that it was in the road at 9AM that morning when Vicki drove past. I knew right then and there that since God cared enough to keep that shoe safe and get it back to me, in answer to that prayer I prayed that night when we lost it, that he could and would look after me and my family.
Hi, This is another true story I wrote eariler and thought you might like.
As with most young parents, money was tight. And the very real possibility of it getting tighter was looming imminent. Former renters were suing us. I worried. I knew it was wrong. I tried not to, but when I least expected it anxiety over the situation gripped me. I would pray and hand the situation over to God only to take the burden back again and again. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God could fix it. But would He? Maybe this was one of those times of testing and trials that come to everyone. Even that, I knew God could get us through. Was that His plan? Was He going to walk us through the fiery furnace? I explained to Him that although it might be necessary to teach others lessons in that manner, I was a quick study. No need to go to extremes here God. So I continued to worry. I wrote worse case scenarios in my head. Prepared contingency plans. I wanted to have a written plan of what God planned for this situation and how would he watch over us.
Right in the middle of all this internal turmoil, Calvin received an unexpected gift. $1,000.00 came from an unexpected source. Calvin, ever the practical one, sat down and contemplated how this money should be spent. Among other things he decided to buy us all new shoes. We did something we had never done before. We bought the children name brand shoes, more than twice what we would normally spend. It was fun and exciting to just go and pick out shoes that we liked and not consider how much they cost.
Our son, Jordy, was 3 at the time. He got the cutest little pair of black leather Converse “running” shoes. They were $30.00, a major amount for us to spend on a child’s shoe that would be outgrown in 6 months or less. He was proud of his new shoes, as were we. Of course we all had to wear our new shoes that very day. And Jordy’s only other pair of shoes was so worn and tattered I threw them away. It was Saturday, and we were big spenders for the day, so we went to Sonic for supper. Hannah and Jordy were much more interested in playing in the ball pit than eating. So they removed their shoes and jumped in. Jamison was only 6 months old at the time and stayed with my mother during this outing. Too soon, or so Jordy thought, it was time to go. Like most 3 year olds “he did not go quietly into that good night.” So he was carried, crying to the car. Calvin had him in one arm and the new shoes in the other. When we got to the car Calvin put the shoes on top of the car while he buckled, a very out of sorts, Jordy into the car seat. And we drove away.
When we got out of the car at my mother’s house 10 miles down the road one shoe was still on the roof but the other one was gone. I was sick and discouraged. Calvin said, “We will go right now before it gets dark and drive slowly back to town. I bet we will find it.” As we drove back to town straining our eye so as not to miss a spot, I was praying (and whining) to God. “Please Heavenly Father let us find that shoe. Let it be in good shape. Watch over it for just a few more minutes.” Well we drove the road to town and back twice not a sign of a little black shoe anywhere. I was crushed. Looking back now I know how silly it was to care so much about a shoe. But it was like that shoe represented something. I guess it made me think along the lines of getting used to losing things. So I couldn’t help but think about the lawsuit and what we were possibly about to lose. So guess what, I worried even more.
My mother knew about the shoe and I told my sister Vicki. Other than those two no one else knew anything about it. For a few days after losing the shoe I had hopes it might turn up, but after 10 days or so I gave up any hope of finding it, and after 20 days I had forgotten about it. Now most of the people in my family are packrats, not me I am a tosser. I sometimes get so zealous in my purging that Mother and Calvin at times have gone through the trash and pulled things back out. So why I didn’t throw away that one shoe I’ll never know. But I kept it. The morning of the 20th day my sister, Vicki, called from the office. Vicki, one of only two people that even knew we had lost a shoe. On the way to work that morning she had seen a black shoe in the road and remembered that we had lost one so she stopped and picked it up. I drove over to the office that morning, and there in perfect condition was the missing shoe!
It had rained several times during those 20 days; the shoe had no water damage. One could assume a dog carried it off, but it had no tooth marks. As a matter of fact the lace was still tied. I don’t know where that shoe was for those 20 days. But what came flooding to my mind that morning was that God knew where it was. God never lost track of that little black shoe, he protected it, sheltered it, and saw to it that it was in the road at 9AM that morning when Vicki drove past. I knew right then and there that since God cared enough to keep that shoe safe and get it back to me, in answer to that prayer I prayed that night when we lost it, that he could and would look after me and my family.
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