Janet's Blog

I don't have a cute picture of my grandchildren sitting on Santa's lap. I don't know if I ever will. It seems that they are both terrified of Santa Claus. Tobin, who is almost four, doesn't want to get close to Santa at all. He clings to whichever parent or teacher is available, or hides behind a trusted adult when Santa tries to talk to him. He won't approach Santa even to get a candy cane, although he is happy to accept Santa's candy from a willing go-between. Evelyn, who just turned two, keeps her distance from Santa, pointing at him across the room while loudly accusing him of being a monster. Even toy Santas and book illustrations of that jolly old elf are called "monster" by our sweet little Evie. Meagan, their mom, blames Andy's vintage Santa doll for her children's aversion to Santa. That doll, which first belonged to some older relative, is not exactly cute and cuddly. Andy loves it, probably for sentimental reasons, but...

Christmas will soon be here. If you are like me, you may feel like you are drowning in the flurry of activity that accompanies the season. So much shopping to finish, wrapping, decorating, Christmas programs and parties, baking and meal preparation. I love it all! But it is too easy to get wrapped up in the outward trappings of Christmas.  We mustn't forget why we celebrate. Even the very word, Christmas, tells the story: Christmas is the time that people assemble together to celebrate the birth of Christ. Like all people everywhere, Jesus did not stay a baby. He grew up to fulfill his purpose on Earth. He was born to die in our place, take away our sins, and rise again in triumph so that those who trust in him can live with him forever. It's just a few days until we will get together with family and friends to celebrate Jesus' birthday. What a joyous time it will be! But as we wait, as we complete our preparations, we might need to slow down a little, and just be stil...

Levi was livid when he burst into the house after school yesterday. He started yelling at me immediately. "It's a freakin' blizzard out there! Why didn't you pick me up after school? I was the only kid who had to walk home in the snow! I'm freezing! What the **** were you thinking?!" After I let him know, very clearly, exactly what I was thinking, I sent Levi to his room to calm down. I called him downstairs a little while later, insisted on an apology for his disrespectful behavior, and fixed him a cup of hot cocoa. I even unlocked the safe to get a handful of precious marshmallows to add to his hot drink. (Marshmallows in the safe? That's a story for another time.) Then, as Levi sipped his cocoa, we discussed his frustrations a little more calmly. First, I made sure that he understood the meaning of the word, blizzard : a lot of snow, frigid temperatures, and high winds, which can lead to poor visibility, disorientation, frostbite, and deeply...

It's December. Christmas is coming!  It's time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior. Now, I know that's not exactly new news, but it's still the best news ever. God sent a Savior!  He was born, he lived and died, and he lives again. Merry Christmas!  That being said, the fact that I'm attempting to write a real, actual Christmas letter before Christmas is not typical for me. Let's just blame it on retirement, and the fact that I have a few extra daytime minutes to accomplish things without distractions. It's been a busy year. That's life in the twenty-first century, I guess. Everyone seems to be too busy. I don't want to bore you with our family's busyness this year, but I do want to touch on the most memorable events of our year. So, here goes. It was just one year ago that Aunt Ellen died. It wasn't unexpected, since her health had been failing for quite some time. Since then, we've been working tog...

It was a young girl's dream--a whole room full of dolls. And, not just any dolls. No, the walls in that room were lined with shelf after shelf, each one filled with breakable, keepsake dolls, beautifully dressed, rarely touched except to be dusted, never played with, but obviously treasured. I'm talking about Mary Thurber's dolls.   Miss Thurber was my Girl Scout leader during my late elementary and Junior High years. She lived, with her mother, in a small, yellow house just a block or so away from the Episcopal church where our Girl Scout troop met every week. Miss Thurber had some sort of health problem that made walking difficult, so that she sometimes had to resort to using a wheelchair. I still don't know how she made it up and down those steep stairs that led to our basement meeting room in the church. Mary Thurber was a dedicated, creative scout leader. I remember singing folk songs at every meeting, and trying out new recipes in the church kitchen, an...

I've been feeling a lot like the peanut butter in the middle of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Or, maybe I'm the jelly. Either way, I'm beginning to understand the meaning of the phrase, "sandwich generation." The sandwich generation is so named because we are effectively "sandwiched" between the need to care for our aging parents and our children, who may all require physical, emotional, and financial support. Everyone who lives a relatively normal life will get to be the bread, as well as the filling, in the sandwich of life. The oldest and youngest generations, the bread, naturally need support from the middle generation, the peanut butter and jelly. Just as bread comes in many varieties--wheat, rye, sourdough, vitamin enriched, flat or raised--we all come with assorted needs and personalities. Each family is unique, with its own mix of people to love and care for. Think about a pbj sandwich for a minute. The sticky peanut butter is the glu...

I didn't need a coat when I was working in the yard today.  The grass is still green and growing, even though a small patch of snow was melting in the shade.  My rose bushes still have leaves and slightly faded blossoms.  The parsley, oregano, and thyme are lush and green, just waiting for me to pick it all, and dry it tomorrow  The purple petunias in my barrel are still blooming beautifully. It's the middle of November!  Yes, we've had frost.  It even snowed a couple of inches on Wednesday.  But, for the most part, we've enjoyed a beautiful fall, with balmy daytime temperatures and little wind.  It's been quite a contrast to last year, when the snowy, bitter weather began in early September, and continued into mid-May. I've heard that we can thank El Nino for our temperate fall and the predicted mild, wet winter yet to come.  It's hard to believe that warmer-than-usual water in the Pacific Ocean can effect the weather here in the midd...