Last First Day of Kindergarten

Two of my favorite pics -- Tim's very first day of kindergarten -- and his third day when he refused to let me walk him to the school.





"I can go by myself."

On Birthdays, School, and Books

We've had the last of the summer birthdays, which means in our family, fall is officially here. My birthday is August 25 -- here in Wheaton, school actually started on August 22 -- earlier than I remember it.

For the first time in 26 years, we have no one going to school. No "first-day-of-school" pictures (which I've carefully preserved from kindergarten through senior year of college for all three children), no lunches or lunch money or shopping for going-back-to-school clothes. No backpacks or 3 subject notebooks or new pens or crayons. No after school talks to find out who is in their classes, or which teachers they got, or how much homework there is going to be.

Now with college over for Tim, and no one even in grad school this year, it is truly the end of an era. My office overlooks the street our grade school is on so I get to watch the moms and dads walking their kids to school, and see the older ones go bounding by on their bikes. It's a sight that never fails to stir up memories of my children doing the same thing.

We move on, don't we? And now we are completely empty nesters (is it still considered an empty nest if the last child saves his laundry to do at home after church on Sundays???)

Anyway, my birthday this year it was a BIG ONE. Never mind HOW big. Just know that it was BIG. Has a zero as the second numeral. 'Nuff said.

Torrey, Chris and Tim met up with us at Alfie's. Life would have been perfect if Jill, Derrick and Deven could have been with us too...but part of parenthood is giving up those special occasions. Sigh. They forgot to tell us about that part when we signed on for this parenting stuff. Anyway, I was surprised with a birthday cake and balloon served by the wait staff, and then to Tim's apartment to open gifts. Torrey and Chris gave me a fabulous something something glass necklace in pinks and purples (I can never remember what it is called, but it is stunning). Tim gave me a walkman sort of cassette recorder with earphones so I can indulge in my latest passion -- and Bob gave me the complete set of Narnia books on CD.

Yup -- that's my latest passion -- Audiobooks. I simply can't believe I've lived this long and have JUST NOW discovered them! What a waste of (mumble mumble) years! Actually, Torrey and Chris mentioned they listen to books as they are driving up here from Indiana, but I didn't really think much of it until I realized that as much as I like Michael W Smith, there is only SO MUCH of his music I can listen to as I'm driving back and forth to Indiana for speaking engagements (three times this month alone). So I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Oh.My.Goodness! I'm hooked. Completely and totally hooked. I'm trying to figure out how to work on the computer and listen to them at the same time (I can't manage it -- back to music while I'm working -- XM Classic Pops being my current fave). Right now I have an Elizabeth Peters' Vicki Bliss mystery going in the car, an Agatha Christie on the boom box in the office, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on my cassette recorder. Bob and I listened to an Alistair MacLean on the way to a wedding in Sheboygan WI earlier this month. He really enjoyed it, but was quite annoyed that the book was longer than the trip, thus necessitating sitting out on the deck finishing it when we got home. So he won't listen any more unless it is a LONG trip and a SHORT book.

A trip to the library is in order before I leave for the Outer Banks (Ernesto permitting) on Friday. I need to take a couple with me, and take back the three I've finished -- including To Kill A Mockingbird.

Maybe I'll actually start walking. Wouldn't Dorothy be pleased?

Maybe.

Tim As Server

It's been awhile since we've been up to Weber Grill to see Tim. Last time actually was on Father's Day -- his fourth night of serving. So we decided that my birthday coming up on Friday was good enough reason to go, so we surprised him.

He met up with me at church -- Bob is teaching the 4-year-old Pandas for the summer, so I'm going alone -- then came home with us to do laundry and hang out for a bit (napping on the hammock, checking e-mail) before heading up to the restaurant.

After he left we called for a reservation for one of his tables at 4:30 to make it an early evening.

He's a GREAT server! His four tables were close enough together that I could overhear what he said at the table behind us. Whenever someone said "thank you," he said, "You're welcome." Melody to the ears. Not the dismissive, "no problem" that almost every other server I've ever had says. Puts my teeth on edge. I just hate it.

I also hate it at the end of the meal when the server says, "Do you need change?" or worse yet, "Do you want your change?" At that point, I'm generally tempted to tell them yes, bring it back, and leave them a dime. I don't, but...

Tim says, "I'll be right back with your change."

Ahhhhh......

The food was really good. I got some skirt steak with a ginger-soy marinade, and Bob got the rib combo with brisket which was also delicious. Tim helped with a wine pairing (he took Wine 104 on Saturday -- he's missed 102 and 103, but has to take the test nevertheless so I asked him for some recommendations). He was able to tell me that the grapes for the Californian merlot I chose were grown at the same latitude as those grown in Bordeaux, France from whence cometh a lot of merlot.

I'm sure that was very nice. And I THINK I got it right.

We'll see how he does on his Wine Test, coming up this week.

We got a free dessert because of my birthday -- apple pie with cinnamon ice cream and a candle. Bob's choice. And delicious. No large grouping of servers singing an off key rendition of "happy happy happy birthday to you...."

Thank goodness.

Yes, we left him a nice tip -- AND -- $25 in cash so he could get another Weber Grill shirt.

Amazing how penurious the boy has gotten since he is now living on his own and having to face the realities of paying rent and utilities!!

Wheaton's French Market

Bob and I have just returned from the French Market which is an integral part of downtown Wheaton on Saturdays from 8:00 to 2:00, May through October.

It's just delightful. All sorts of vendors, from vegetables to jewelry to flowers to pottery to cheese to baked goods -- and a few other odds and ends. Today we came home with our usual two bunches of mini-carnations (cheap date, only $3/bunch, and they last nearly 2 weeks), a cranberry scone to split, a small jade plant which Bob hopes to nourish along (we are great at killing jade plants) and an inexpensive black leather fanny pack that I hope to use to house a walkman in order listen to audiobooks -- but that's for another post.

It's also a great place to run into friends -- today we saw Sean and Jenn (Jenn was Jill & Torrey's wonderful wedding coordinator, and Sean made the wedding slide show into something more than a powerpoint presentation! And our wedding video into a treasure).

It's always crowded -- even when it rains. Sometimes I see moms who proudly reintroduce me to their babies; fat, sassy, and often still breastfeeding. Sometimes it's folks from church, and sometimes a neighbor or two.

As we drove home, I commented to Bob, "Have I mentioned this week how much I just love living in Wheaton?"

Not ready to move yet.

Nope, not yet.

Tim's "God-Sighting"

It's really fun to watch for "God-sightings." Sometimes they are little -- sometimes they are big. Sometimes they are those co-incidences that leave you shaking your head....

Tim just told us about one of those. We went over to the apartment to give him the rest of his birthday presents, a vase of mini carnations to brighten the place up, and to see how he and Grant had fixed it up -- all with "Early Mom's Attic" (or basement, as the case may be). Grant's parents provided a couch and chair, Bob and I gave a smallish entertainment center, a dining room table with two chairs, and a computer desk. And we both gave a lot of other odds and ends -- dishes, pots and pans, tupperware, flatware, and the like. Grant's mom loaded them up with some things from Costco, including a HUGE tin of nacho cheese dip -- unfortunately, nothing to dip in it, but I'm sure they'll find something. But I digress.

Back to Tim's God-sighting.

Friday night when he was working he had the patio and a party of 7. Most people don't pay much attention to the server other than to make sure he gets their order right and serves them swiftly and competently. This group, however, took some time to chat with him and asked him what he wanted to do other than work as a server. He told them about his plan to go to the mission field for a couple of years after candidate school. They asked him where he was thinking of going, and he told them either Northern Africa or the Middle East.

One of the people in the party was a young lady about Tim's age who had just gotten back from 6 months in one of the countries Tim is considering -- and who had been with the very team Tim has been communicating with -- the team Tim will stay with on his visit in October or November!!

They didn't have too much time to talk, but did exchange e-mail addresses so they can communicate further. The group was from the big conference of 15,000 attendees that was being held at Willow Creek this weekend....

What a God-sighting! It gave us goose bumps...

Oh -- and there was a God-gift too. Besides an appropriate tip when they paid the bill, they left a note on a plate -- "This is a small gift to put toward your missions adventure" along with $75.

Of all the restaurants in the Woodfield area -- of all the people to come into Weber Grill that night -- of all the servers there are at Weber Grill -- these folks hooked up with our Tim.

Truly a coincidence that could have only come from God.

Happy B-Day to my Jilly!

My eldest is 32 today. Wow. Just looking at that sentence makes me feel old.

Hey -- I AM old! And two weeks from today the numbers will shout it out. But meanwhile, it's Jill's day to shine.

I hope it is shining...I talked to her on Tim's birthday; Deven had gone back to day care one day and picked up another virus -- this one a particularly virulent and nasty strain of hand, foot & mouth disease. Brother Rick wanted to know if you get it from putting your foot in your mouth...

Not this kind, unfortunately. It's a lot nastier -- blisters and sores all over his poor little mouth, tongue, soft palate and tonsils. It hurts to swallow, so he's drooling. And he's beginning to lose weight. The "foot IN mouth" disease would be a lot easier to take!

So I don't know how wonderfully Jill's birthday is going. They were planning a trip to Shark Beach today, but with Deven feeling as awful as he is I suspect they are just going to stay home.

Just talked to her -- her present is that all the permits have been turned into the builders and ground on their home will actually be broken by the end of the month! Deven is still pretty miserable, but he's able to eat and drink a little so he's at least staying hydrated. I'm sorry they aren't here so we can help out a bit.

Meanwhile, the weather is cool and clear here in the Windy City suburbs. I'm on the front porch just enjoying not being hot for once, appreciating the music of AOL XM Classic Pops, and thinking of and praying for my beautiful daughter whom I miss so very much.

Happy birthday, sweetie!

My "Baby" is 22!

Timothy, at 6-4 is hardly a baby, but as a mom I reserve the right to call him that. Sorry Tim.

I'm in Indy, having finished up another Building Bridges group of talks -- given four times at three hospitals. So I'm at our "Ray of Sunshine Motel" for the night rather than being home celebrating with the boy.

Actually, we already celebrated by going out to dinner at a really nifty Brazillian sort of steakhouse. Tim's choice -- we had never been there, and it was sort of the last moment as it was just about the only day we knew we were going to be able to see him before Michael's wedding, his move into the apartment, my trip to Indy, and his working schedule...

Anyway, the restaurant had THE most amazing salad bar I've ever had the pleasure of perusing. The problem was that the main course is 14 different cuts of meat that the waiters bring on skewers, and slice bits of them off onto your plate. You have a little cardboard tag that you put on the green side if you want more meat, and on the red side if they are to slow down. It's all you can eat for both salad and meast, but... You don't want to eat too much salad as there is some amazing meat out there. Definately a treat for the Atkins crowd. Anyway, one price per person which they don't bother to tell you ahead of time. And, of course, we also had to have dessert. Bob DOES like his desserts....

Let me just say that we didn't realize we were going to be doing it, but we also celebrated my birthday dinner that night as soon as we saw the bill. Quite possibly my birthday for the next couple of years!

So anyway, I called The Timster on his cell phone (he's most likely at work), and Tobi & I sang him a rousing rendition of slightly off key Happy Birthday. Now that he has moved into his first apartment, I'm not sure how much or when I'm going to see him, but I rather pathetically offered the use of our laundry facilities if necessary -- both he and Grant are welcome to come to the Old Folks Home and do their laundry for free if necessary. Anything to see him periodically.

But Torrey has a gift for him, we have a couple of little things, Jill said she put something in the mail which should be there this weekend -- so perhaps we'll get him home for a bit.

For some reason this feels quite different than when he was off at Taylor.

I wonder if it has something to do with the sense that he really IS growing up.

I was, of course, amazingly grown up at 22.

Yeah, right.

But anyway, Happy Birthday Timothy -- Love you!!

Wedding Bells...

....rang yesterday for Michael and Kelli. Michael is one of Tim's best friends -- they've known each other kindergarten and been close friends since middle school. Living down the street from us, I think Tim might have spent nearly as much time at Michael's house as he spent at home!

Tim was one of the two best men. Sam was the other one -- Sam is another best friend -- the three of them made up a triumverate named by Michael as the "Nine-Day" Club. Michael is oldest of the three -- his birthday is July 31, nine days older than Tim whose birthday on August 9. Sam comes in as the youngest (and tallest at 6-7) with a birthday on August 18.



The 9-day club -- Samuel, Timothy & Michael.



It was great fun watching Tim and Sam in action -- they made up a good portion of the entertainment during the dancing. Tim said his goal was to make sure Michael had a good time -- I'm sure he did!

Although the wedding was in Litchfield, southern IL (about 60 miles from St. Louis), several lifetime friends were there -- kids who have been together in school together since kindergarten. It was amazing to see them with Mrs. Andrews, the then principal of Longfellow Elementary School. She started with the children in kindergarten and left when they did at the end of 5th grade.

In a mobile society such as ours, this was a particularly heart-warming picture.



God's blessings on you, Michael and Kelli as you begin your new life together!

Who's destined to be next????

Deven is TWO!

Yesterday was The Grand-boy's second birthday. In some ways it seems as though these two years have just sped by....in other ways, it feels like time slowed down just a little bit. When you are watching every single milestone -- it's slower than when you look back on the whole process.

It's really hard not seeing him every week -- it's been nearly three months, and the changes, especially in vocabulary, are remarkable at this age.

Jill called last night so Deven could say thank you to Grammie and Papa for his birthday presents -- heavy on Thomas the Train, a bit lighter on the Elmo & Dora side -- about all she was able to elicit from him was "Hi Grammie!" but that was wonderful to hear.

Shore do miss my baby!

On the Road Again

The last trip to Indiana was on July 10 to speak in Batesville (home of the famous coffin-makers) on the 11th. It poured BUCKETS. One of those white-knuckle-praying-all-the-way drives on the assorted expressways. Apropro of nothing, the Beast's "check engine" light came on. It does that every one in a while, but it's a bit nerve wracking to continue to drive with that staring at you.

The lovely part about a trip to Indiana is that I get to spend the night with Torrey and Chris at the Dumpling -- hereby and henceforth renamed (for the time being) as the "Ray of Sunshine Motel".

"Beamer's Bungalow" also works, but I think I'll stick with the motel motif for as long as I'm guesting there on a semi-regular basis.

Our friends at J&C checked the Beast after I got home and pronounced her just fine -- reset the "check engine" light, and I was good to go.

Just got back from another trip to Indiana this morning -- this one started in New Castle where I stopped for gas and the -- yup -- you guessed -- check engine light came on again. What IS it about Indiana?

Also spoke in Anderson, Marion and Muncie. Fun being in Marion -- we ate at Applebee's in honor of Torrey & Timothy who both worked there. Joe says hi, Tim!

Once again we had an absolute deluge of rain -- twice -- once on the way from Marion to Muncie, and then again as I was getting off I69 to head to my favorite motel. Another white knuckling experience and this time it was raining so hard I missed the entrance to the subdivision.

Jill and Derrick gave me a GPS system for Christmas last year. I LOVE it! It's sorta like having a friend in the car telling me that in 1 mile I am to exit on the right onto I69 Souse. Or I65 Norse. Of course, occasionally she gets upset with me when I don't go the way she is suggesting. "As soon as possible, make a U-turn." "In 500 feet turn right." "Turn right."

I keep expecting her to say something along the lines of, "You idiot, I'm telling you the best way to go. If you aren't going to follow my directions, then I quit!" But she very patiently tries to readjust her "thinking" and get me back on track.

Too bad I'm not always as patient and flexible in my thinking as the nice lady that lives in my GPS system.

And I've dropped the Beast off at J&C who will, I hope, reassure me that the check engine light doesn't mean anything and we can take JanzLmo to southern IL tomorrow for the wedding of one of Tim's best friends, then back to IN on Monday -- where I will again get to stay at the best motel in IN on Wednesday night.