On Turning 29

I looked so much younger the last time I turned 29. Counting down isn't working quite like it used to...

I picked up a few hours at work yesterday, six actually, to make up for having the day off tomorrow. I was wished a "Happy Birthday" multiple times, and gifted a beautiful orchid and a mylar balloon by our assistant manager. My sister Priscilla came over in the early evening and took me out to dinner., and Hannah and Sergio served up a delicious Tuxedo Cake for dessert. It was a very nice day.

Late this morning I took the boys out to Tops in Ontario, NY to see the Weinermobile. It was a fun experience, and hopefully memorable. This afternoon my kids and grandkids came for a party, which included kids going in and out the front door all afternoon. LOL! Some years it's warm enough for an outside party, and other ones, like this time around, it's much too cold. The girls made Grandpa's Noodle Surprise and afterward we had grape pie with ice cream. (Do I look fatter to you?)

Tomorrow is my hearing for the incident that occurred at the daycare last February. My lawyer has secured the daycare video footage from that morning and my coworker has assured me that it will go well. I'm looking forward to having this chapter behind me. I have no plans to return to employment in a daycare center. Although there are moments in which I still miss my kitchen job, working at Dunkin comes with much less stress and I love my coworkers, at least most of them. Ha ha!

Total Eclipse of the Sun

Things have been ramping up in Rochester, NY for a while now. The total solar eclipse is less than one week away. Our area will have 2 hours and 26 minutes total eclipse time, with 3 minutes and 42.5 seconds of totality. In all honesty, I've been ignoring the event for quite some time. I've been through several partial eclipses and, until just recently, I figured I would be shut up in a room with ten children, unable to experience the phenomenon. I knew I wasn't going to be taking the day off, so I put it out of my mind.

... Let's rewind the clock 46 1/2 years...

Okay, it's the fall of 1978 now. I am a 14 year old high school freshman sitting in my Earth Science class. The teacher is new to the district this year. He is young, just 22 years old, handsome, and very tall. It is said that he wears canoes on his feet rather than shoes. His foot is a size 17, but I digress... On this particular day he is handing out a worksheet titled "Total Solar Eclipses From 1952 through 2030." There is one to which he wants us to pay particularly close attention. It is 46 years in the future and is expected to pass directly over Buffalo, NY. He tells us we will be reuniting in Buffalo for this once in a lifetime event on April 8, 2024 and he wants us to remember this.

I have to admit, I do not have a clear memory of this day in 1978. It was a very long time ago, over 3 of my then 14 year long lifetimes, but there is a tiny ember of a memory, a very faint glow. A lot has happened between then and now.

...

Fast forward to March 23, 2024... I am sitting at the table in my son's Florida house. I am looking at my computer, and as is my every so often custom, I decide to check out the obituary notices in my hometown newspaper. Somehow, rather than going directly to the death notices (Yes, I am rather morbid.), I connect myself with the front page instead. Looking back at me is a picture with a headline that reads,

"50 years ago, Webster teacher asked pupils to reunite for 2024 eclipse. His moment is here"

Interested, because I was a Webster student 50 years ago, I begin to read and find myself suddenly transported back in time. I instantly have a renewed interest in the eclipse that is now closing schools and shuttering area businesses for the day. There on the screen is an aged version of my former Earth Science teacher. I begin to poke around online. I look up his Facebook account, I message friends to inquire as to whether they have been invited. I begin to follow the story a bit more closely. I even ask if I can come to his party. His answer, "Absolutely! Please attend."

This past weekend a new request showed up on Mr. Moriarty's Facebook. NBC Nightly News was coming to interview him, part of Lester Holt's team, and he was looking for former students to attend. Could we bring old yearbooks or anything else from those 9th grade years? I decided to go out on a limb and text my boss to see if there was any way I could get out of work in time to attend. She messaged me back a few minutes later and said yes! That's when I got out my old yearbook and popped it into my car. I wanted to make sure I had it along on Monday afternoon. I wanted to know what kind of grades I received that year and looked for old report cards, but so far I haven't found them.

I arrived at Mr. Moriarty's house yesterday afternoon in time for the news team to film me walking up his driveway, with him coming out to meet me. (Yeah, it was a little bit staged. Ha ha!) Inside I met the father of a coworker (I was wearing my work sweatshirt.), lots of former Earth Science students from various years, and of course, Mrs. Moriarty, who had been my study hall teacher way back in 1978-79. 

(This is getting to be a lengthy post...)

There were interviews, pictures by the news team, and lots of sharing with former classmates. There were just three "vintage" students, as Hallie Jackson referred to Barb, Ric, and me. I don't watch the news much so I wouldn't have known her if not for others who said, "There she is!" when she came out the back door of the house. She seemed like a normal, regular person, and was very nice. I couldn't be star struck because I hardly knew I should be. Honestly, I mostly live under a rock. LOL!

It was a very fun couple of hours. Like Mr. Moriarty said, "It isn't about the eclipse anymore. It's about the people. It's about the connections." I am very much looking forward to the actual event on Monday, April 8, 2024, the one Mr. Moriarty was so looking forward to back in 1978 when he was a brand new teacher and we were 14 year old Earth Science students.

PS. We're not just vintage, we're first class.

From Mr. Moriarty- "Hi Friends, the interview from NBC Nightly News with Hallie Jackson will air on Sunday, April 7 at 6:30. I believe the spot will be near the end of the program."

This is Your Life (or mine)

I went to my high school reunion looking not only for connection, but to come clean as well. I've woken up thinking about Frank telling me he couldn't find my picture in the yearbook, wondering if perhaps I'd missed some bit of rudeness or an intentional jab, but all I can come up with is an unintentional compliment. For some reason unknown to me, he was expecting me to be there this weekend and had actually looked for me in the yearbook. This is one of the guys that 90% of the girls had a mad crush on 41 years ago. He was nice looking, but not one of my crushes. To the best of my recollection, he never acknowledged me, until the reunion (He was a somewhat quiet kind of guy.) , so the fact that he sought me out and asked the question is accepted as complimentary. Now I'm finding myself more concerned about the friend who, in her effort to protect me from prying questions, may have inadvertently steered people away from me. I wanted them to ask questions, but hardly anyone did.

After the reunion was over, I posted this on their Facebook page. For those who wondered and didn't ask. For those who asked someone other than me, for those who didn't ask but were told something anyway, for those who have known all along, and for those who didn't even remember me. It's not "water under the bridge" as one friend put it. It is my story and it deserves to be told.

 

Although I started kindergarten in Webster (I was part of the group who walked to Spry from Indian Village for a week or so when the school budget didn't pass in 1969) and attended Webster School for all of that time, I ended up not graduating with the Class of 1982. It's one of those things I've grieved silently for years. When the Class of 1981 was graduating on June 20, I was getting married. Our first son was born in Albuquerque, NM that September. We would go on to be married for well over 30 years. In that time we had seven beautiful children. I received my GED after our third child was born, not quite the same as a regular diploma but it brought a small sense of closure at the time.

 

Today I am back in Indian Village, living in the tiny ranch my parents called home my entire childhood, looking out the front window at one lonely Webster water tank where there used to be two. Our children are grown and we have more grandchildren than most of you could imagine. (I have a hard time imagining it myself...) 

 

I am so grateful to have been included in last night's gathering of the Class of 1982. The sixteen year old Martha thanks you. (And the 17 year old one too.) Thank you to each one who signed my 40 year old yearbook. It's no longer completely empty. I'm looking forward to seeing last night's pictures and meeting up with some of you for lunch or coffee in the future.

Martha

 

The mind is still settling. It was quite the weekend in more ways than one.

Good Friday

Yesterday was Good Friday. Morning brought snow and wild wind, afternoon brought sunshine and blustery gusts. I stayed home and inside aside from an after dinner walk around the block with my family. It was still cold and windy, but tolerable. (I am a wimp.) 

I'd debated about going, partly because of the cold, and partly because of our Good Friday church service, but Hannah assured me our last walk had taken only twenty minutes and that would put me home on time. It was close, and I felt better for having gotten out to walk.

The Good Friday Experience was sweet. I sat alone with my computer at the dining room table, a dinner napkin in front of me holding a few crackers and a small glass of juice. It was different, but uniting in a fresh, new way. I'd rather have been therein the crowded auditorium, able to stand and sing next to a fellow worshiper, free to hug a friend, but I often don't attend a Good Friday service anyway, and I was there. Death could not hold Jesus down, and a pandemic can't keep Him from us either. Even separated we are untied in Christ.

Valentine Tea

My favorite Leta hosted a fabulous Valentine Tea this afternoon. Hannah was able to be there for a short time before going to work.

Bethany was not able to make it, so I took Jilly. She was very excited.

Leta is a natural when it comes to hosting parties. Everything was beautiful!

I may have cheated on my diet. Ha ha!

The Wedding

I came to Minnesota because my son lives here, but the gentle nudge to follow through and actually book a flight came from my son's childhood buddy Dan. He called me back in April or May and said, "I'm giving you a verbal invitation to my wedding." An actual wedding invitation followed a few months later, but by then I'd already made the decision to be here. Dan has called me "Mom" for years now, and as much as he loves me, I am also grateful for his parents who stepped in to be family for my son when he first moved here twelve years ago.

The wedding was incredibly beautiful, and fun. I put my camera down for the ceremony. Actually, I left it in the care of my beautiful daughter in law who was sitting several rows behind me. I did not want the temptation in my hands because I knew there would be moments I wanted to capture, and there was a photographer for that. Instead, I sat in the front row with Dan's parents and another couple close to his heart. What an honor bestowed on me! I am humbled and grateful, and I love that boy!  (I stole a photo online.)

No pictures of the horses that carried the groom and bride to the ceremony. No shots of the dogs who came in with the bridesmaids. And no photos of the pooch turned ring bearer either. I took it in without distractions. This wedding, like those of my own children, had my full attention.

Congratulations, Dan and Rachel! I wish you every happiness!

Dress Up Day

Two posts because the other one was really last night's.

There was a lot of excitement at the daycare center today... and a little too much sugar, even though we tried to be healthy. The other baby teachers and I were a team today; the Three Blind Mice and the Farmer's Wife. It was simple. And I found out most of today's kids haven't a clue who the three blind mice are. Ha ha!

We had a very cute and cuddly dinosaur in the baby room. I left his tail intact, because I'm nice like that. :)

Back to Work Now

Back to work this morning after a long weekend. Funny how "long weekends" always feel too short. Ha ha! I had to shuffle this week's menu around a bit. Can't serve potatoes or cantaloupe if the produce man hasn't made a delivery yet. The children all got fed. I made sure of that.

One of the sweetest things at work is to hear last year's babies say my name. Little Charlie walked by on his way outside this afternoon, stopped when he saw me in the baby room, and said, "Hi, Martha."  (Oh, my heart!) It always catches me by surprise the first time they say it. And the babies, who gaze into our faces and smile. When I am struggling to smile, nothing brings relief like a hug from one of our little people.

We didn't have a big family picnic for the holiday weekend this time. All these changes are hard for my mind and emotions to handle. I keep thinking someone will pick up the slack when it comes to these occasions... but really I need to adjust my own thought patterns.

Learning and growing are hard. I'm working on that 4th step. The one that talks about a making a "searching and fearless moral inventory." I need to remember, while searching out my flaws and foibles, that God has also woven into my character strengths and talents. If I fail to do so life can feel too big to carry. But the little ones. The little ones who climb into my arms and wrap themselves around my heart.

Goodbye to 2017

I woke up this morning in a Winter Wonderland. Before leaving for church I brushed the snow off my car into the street so Sergio didn't have to clean that shovelful (or two or three) off the driveway, 'cause I'm nice like that, and drove through a Christmas Card world. On the way home the snow fell off wires and branches in huge fluffy clumps. It was glorious!

On the way home I stopped to get gas, and then ran in Barnes and Nobel to pick up a couple of books that didn't come in time for the holidays. I meant to buy only the two books I'd ordered, but the fifty percent off Christmas sale sucked me in. I found a nice holiday puzzle, and a picture book to give my grandkids next year (I bought five copies.) and then I saw these really cool Advent calendars with no chocolate involved. (I bought six. One for me because it feels like I've lost the excitement of Jesus' birth in the commercialism.) I'm hoping to recapture some of the wonder I felt as a small child as the birth of Christ drew near, and hopefully pass some of it on to my grandchildren.

Rachel and I took our brother out for a ride through the frozen countryside this afternoon. She has good snow tires and it's a good thing. We drove down snowy back roads past snow covered bison and the Brantling Ski Slope where die-hard skiers were braving frigid wind chills. Brave souls! Tim was treated to his "small chocolate Frosty, please"before we returned him to the house. I am blessed to hear him speak short words and phrases, and grace us with hugs when it's time to go. He watches out the window as we get in the car and drive away.

Tonight, although I was invited for chicken soup at the house in Williamson, I am here in my attic room. It's cold and blustery, and I've been fighting that sinus pressure again this weekend. I decided to toast the New Year with a capful of Nyquil and tuck myself into bed. 2017 will soon be a memory. It was a year full of joys and challenges, laughter and tears. I can't say I'm glad to see it go... Some people are always bidding good riddance to the past year, as if it was some kind of plague... The New Year will come bringing its own blessings and sorrow. There will be pain and celebration, just like always, and many reason to smile and be grateful.

Sunny Sunday Afternoon

I am equally amused at and frightened by children. I love their silly ways and childish antics, appreciate their zest for life and sense of adventure, and am terrified at what kind of trouble they might conjure up while we aren't looking.

Yesterday afternoon these five kept me looking out the window to see where they were and what they were getting into. They'd found a sleepy toad and made him a home in an old flower pot and then put it inside the wash pot. They even made him a "bed" of cattail fluff. He probably wished he'd stayed in hibernation.

Poor Spencer is too little to go outside and run with the cousins. He had to settle for looking out the window and waiting for his mom and dad to go for a walk after dinner. He didn't seem to mind too very much.



I was naughty at dinner and played with my food. But I couldn't help it. The opportunity was too great to pass up. I mean, how often do we have mashed sweet potatoes? They made perfect hair for the cute little plate I bought at the thrift shop a couple months ago. (I have both the boy and girl faces.) My husband looked more embarrassed than amused which made it all the funnier. I was surrounded by family and I think most of them love me in spite of my regression back into childhood.

The bald princess came to play and kept us entertained with her smiles. I don't see enough of this little granddaughter but am happy to see she loves the little dolly I got for her back at her mommy's baby shower a little less than a year ago. I didn't even get to hold her. Either I was busy or she was enjoying the company of her aunts and uncles, or Grandpa. Ah, maybe I shall snatch her up before anyone else next time.

Apparently Easter clothes are overrated. The weather was warm enough that the boys threw clothing to the wind while running about the yard. They confiscated an empty tub by the back porch, discovered Grandpa's garden dirt pile, hoisted a white, Sunday shirt flag, and declared the newly discovered territory their own. It all looked like wonderful fun.

Now that the sun is shining, I guess I should go out, reclaim, and put away the casualties.

He Lives!

Happy Resurrection Day!

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. John 13:14–17

Ten Years and Counting

Tuesday, January 17, 2006
 Getting Started 

 My name is Martha and I was born and raised in upstate NY. I live out in the country and am surrounded by apple orchards and farmland, no where near New York City, in fact I've never even been there. I have a wonderful husband and a whole bunch of great kids! I've never tried a Blog before and I'm not quite sure exactly how this will turn out. It looked like it might be fun, so here I am. 

Happy Bloggerversary to me!

A lot has happened in the past ten years. For one thing, I've actually been to NY City. (Hannah and I took that trip back in 2011.)

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by for a cup of coffee, to those who have lent listening ears, and to those who have prayed me through rough times. Some of you are old friends, some are new friends, and some of you I have never met face to face.

I've found that God can put blog friends directly in my path with no help form either of us (like Kristina living 4 miles from the farm in Minnesota where my son got married almost 4 years ago).

Thanks to Blogger I have friends as far away as Australia and as close to home as Cato, NY. (Or even right here in town.) I am so blessed by your friendships.
:0)

We Had a Wedding (part 2)

Each wedding has it's own unique flavor. This one was Mexican.
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We ate Mexican food brought by the groom's family and a few close friends. The bride's father also contributed a very large pot of green chile stew. (He's still got a little bit of New Mexican in him.) It was all so yummy, but the best part was the cake.

If you have never enjoyed the pleasure of Tres Leches Cake, you are missing out. It is quite possible I have gained back every ounce I lost in the past three weeks of watching my eating habits. I think I could gain weight just thinking about that cake!

Whipped cream frosting, moist, light cake in both vanilla and chocolate with pieces of pineapple hiding here and there. Oy vey! (ha ha!) It would have been easy for the bridal couple to make an absolute mess with cake like that, but they were tame and civil with only a hint of possible mischief on the second forkful. Even those were empty threats. Besides, that cake was much too good to waste. (I had chocolate the first time around and vanilla the second... but I shared... and that makes it all good.)

In the end several leftover pieces went into the trash. They were already on plates. So sad. (I actually heard myself say, "Goodbye, cake...") However, the story ended on a happy note. We left a good sized piece of cake for the park caretaker and took almost half a vanilla cake home. Oh, my! I had almost as hard a time sharing that as I did sharing my camera. Maybe even harder.
:0)

PS. Don't miss part 1 below.

We Had a Wedding (part 1)

*sigh*

I found the wedding beautiful. Not quite sure how to put it into words...

We were blessed by friends and family who stepped up to help put things in place at the park, to decorate, do hair and make up, and put together a bridal bouquet and corsages. In spite of not knowing what in the world we were doing, everything fell into place and I have a few new heroes on my favorite list.

Every wedding is unique. Rather than a long gown, Hannah chose a simple knee length dress and it was adorable. We were blessed with summer temperatures, a calm lake, and a quiet, all but deserted park. The guests were wonderfully varied and I smiled when after the ceremony the bride and groom were introduced first in English by my son Ben, and then in Spanish by Sergio's brother Carlos.


Rather than a unity candle, the new couple decided to symbolize their union by pouring sands of different colors into a picture box. Hannah had tried to find something suitable in the store, but in the end her dad ended up building one and that was pretty special in and of itself. I'd not yet seen this done at a wedding, but Hannah and Sergio had been to one last year where the bride and groom did this but that couple added a third color of sand poured by the bride's young child.

Ben's girlfriend Morgan took these ceremony photos and I was blessed to watch and listen without being distracted, but I have to admit, I had a hard time sharing my camera.
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Labor Day

I have to work this Labor Day, but we had a very nice picnic last night and I am happy with that. The yard was full of children, the table full of food, and the faces full of smiles and laughter. Who could ask for anything more?

Almost everyone showed up (that was pretty cool) and my dear, sweet Bethany went over and above by coming out to bless her sister and share her new baby. There is no ice breaker (not that there was ice to begin with) quite like a brand new baby. Aunt Leta had a turn first, and then Bethany set the little one in the arms of Sergio's mother. It was sweet. His niece J. was especially thrilled to hold baby Jillian (Yes! She has a name!!!). I'd purposely left my camera inside for this occasion, but couldn't resist a few photos of the baby with this sweet little girl.

I learned that four year old girls and boys eat dessert in totally different manners. (No pun intended...) T. literally inhaled his, I think his bottom scarcely graced the bench before he was finished, while Aubrey took nice little bites. We all laughed later when T. pointed at Aubry and said she had something on her face. They had identical chocolate marks surrounding their lips.

The boys finished of the pink lemonade with T. fighting his cousin (in the blue) and his uncle (in the gray) for the last little bit in the drink cooler. Between our own grandchildren and the five others who came, there was a lot of activity on the trampoline, swing set, and sandbox. They ran in and out of Hannah's Place, all over the yard, and all the way down to the drainage ditch. No one got hurt, which is always a plus. Everyone got along and I think everyone had a nice time.

The kitchen was amazingly clean this morning thanks to the barefoot Lumberjack and his helpers. (Now for a shower and my work clothes...)

Resurrection Sunday and a Day-Early Birthday

We had a very nice weekend with lots of fun and activity. We gathered to remember Christ's resurrection and to celebrate the birthday of the family patriarch. (I wonder how he'll like that title?) There was a bit of wrestling on the living room floor, some childish giggles, and some yummy desserts after the holiday dinner. A few bags of Easter candy even appeared. I didn't eat much. (I tasted a purple "perfume flavored" jelly bean. It kind of killed my desire for any more. :P)

I noticed a few family members checking their phones or playing games. Even the little guys got in on the fun.

Someone had a time out, but he made the best of it while Hannah and I snapped a few pictures. He's covering up a nice looking bruise between his eyes. I heard he learned why it's not a good idea to swing a belt around your head when he smacked himself between the eyes.

When everyone packed up and went home, the house still felt warm and lovely, albeit much quieter. I found a monster hat had been left on the floor by a small boy (he probably wonders where he left it...) and a lamp that looked rather haphazard in the aftermath. I found myself smiling and thinking what a wonderful afternoon it had been.

Happy Birthday, My Darling. I love you. I hope you enjoy being just as "old" as me.