Janet's Blog

It's that time of year again. Thanksgiving is past, and Christmas is yet to come. Except... Except that some of us choose to celebrate some type of "thanksgiving" all year long. Some of us long to thank God everyday for everything he does for us, because one day' s thanks can't begin to account for all of his blessings. Some blessings are obvious, like food and family. Others are less tangible, but still essential. We take so much for granted, don't we? Yet, without God's love for us, we wouldn't have air to breathe, gravity to hold us down on the ground, or the know-how to fabricate our homes and cars. Without God, we wouldn't have our bodies, so "fearfully and wonderfully made." Without God's grace, we would cease to exist. Now that our national holiday of thankfulness has passed, we look ahead to Christmas. Except... Except that the stores and malls have been looking ahead to Christmas for far too long already. Commercial...

I've been putting off the job for months. The mere thought of cleaning the basement has been overwhelming. Besides the normal clutter, the basement has been crammed full of my teaching supplies, as well as a few boxes of dishes and glassware that belonged to Aunt Ellen. Our basement has been so crowded with extra stuff that we've had a hard time putting things where they belong, so it's become more convenient to just drop things on the closest available surface. But now, I can't put it off any longer. So, for the last few days, with time off for Thanksgiving, Victoria and I have been working in the basement for a couple of hours a day. So far, we have bagged up an overflowing barrel full of old clothes for Goodwill, and we've packed another huge bag of worn towels to donate to the Humane Society. I've found a winter coat and snow boots that will fit Tobin, and Victoria has saved a few "quality items" for future use, when she has a home of her own. ...

A few weeks ago, I received a friend request on Facebook, from a woman I didn't know. That happens occasionally, and I usually just delete the request. But, this time, the last name was one I recognized, so I left the request alone, and decided to wait and see what happened. I didn't have to wait long. One evening, a few days later, Brenda Bullock called me and explained who she was. And, just like that, a wealth of memories came flooding back to me. This story begins about forty-five years ago, when I was in high school. When my new friend, Shari Luehring, was a freshman at Fairbury High School, she boarded in town with her grandma during the week, and drove home for the weekends, because home was more than half an hour away, even when the weather was good, down on the Kansas state line near Hollenberg. That year, Shari and I got together often after school, at her grandma's house, to play guitars and sing together. By the time we were sophomores, Shari's brother, Br...

Our youngest daughter, Victoria, turned 21 today. In honor of the occasion, she drove us the twenty miles south of Gering to the old Hilltop Cafe, now re-imagined as the Double L Country Store and Cafe. We enjoyed a marvelous, diner-style lunch, along with some good conversation, before she drove us home again. Driving hasn't come easily for Victoria. She is finally beginning to be a confident driver, and will soon be ready to graduate from her third learner's permit to a full-fledged driver's license. Victoria's life hasn't always been easy. As a young child, she was shunted from one caregiver to another until she was finally placed with a nurturing foster family when she was almost four years old. The following summer, I spotted her picture on a Nebraska HHS website for adoptable children. Early in our marriage, Bill and I had discussed adoption as a way to expand our family, but it was more than twenty years later before we were able to pursue that possibil...