Tonight Mom and I are watching the 25th annual PBS Memorial Day Concert. Great music is interspersed with powerful stories honoring those who have served our country, especially those who are lost to us through death or physical, mental, emotional and other injuries. They have all sacrificed so much for our nation. It is good that we remember their stories. It is the least that we can do to show our gratitude for what they have endured, and continue to endure. We salute the military and their families.
While Megan Hilty was doing her 40s medley of songs to commemorate WW2 (tonight we were reminded that it's been 70 years since D-Day), Mom was singing along with Megan--these were her songs in high school. She remembered that bandleader Glenn Miller was presumed killed in a plane crash over the English Channel on December 15, 1944, while he was on his way to entertain the troops. Her uncles Roy, Henry and Bill all served in the military in that war--all came home alive. We don't really know how much they sacrificed--those who served and returned don't talk a lot about their service.
My uncles and cousins who have served more recently in the military don't talk alot about the fighting either, although they sometimes talk about the everyday life. It is like a brotherhood and sisterhood. If you haven't been there, you can't really understand. That is probably the main reason that you see those who have been there talking more to each other.
What we can do is honor them for their service. We can listen when they want to talk. We can comfort them when they grieve for those they have lost. Most of all, we can show our love for them.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
My FGPC-Dad's Longer-Than-Expected Life
Dad passed away in 1998 at the age of 65. He lived a full life, marrying Mom in 1952, co-parenting their five kids, working over 35 years for the same company before retiring at age 59 when his company was closed down by the parent company, then volunteering for his church and community, when he wasn't traveling or otherwise enjoying life.
The thing is, he wasn't supposed to live to be thirty. When he was six years old, he contracted rheumatic fever, which had him in hospital for two weeks, and left him with a heart condition. That medical condition kept him from realizing his dream to be a veterinarian working with large animals. When he took his army physical during the Korean War, he was declared 4F, and the doctors told him he wouldn't live to see thirty.
He must have been somewhat uncertain about what he wanted to do with his life by then, so he took up an offer to drive an elderly cousin of his mom from Minnesota to Oregon. Once there, he spent the next year working different jobs, from bellboy at the Umpqua Hotel in Roseburg, Oregon, to psych tech at the VA Hospital there, where he met Mom. They were married three months later.
When his kids were small, the young family began attending the First Christian Church, and he accepted Christ as his Savior. After that, everything came into focus for him. He worked hard to support his family, and took good care of himself physically. He ultimately defied all early expectations of his doctors, and lived more than twice as long as they predicted. He was a wonderful husband and father, and a greatly admired Christian servant of God.
The thing is, he wasn't supposed to live to be thirty. When he was six years old, he contracted rheumatic fever, which had him in hospital for two weeks, and left him with a heart condition. That medical condition kept him from realizing his dream to be a veterinarian working with large animals. When he took his army physical during the Korean War, he was declared 4F, and the doctors told him he wouldn't live to see thirty.
He must have been somewhat uncertain about what he wanted to do with his life by then, so he took up an offer to drive an elderly cousin of his mom from Minnesota to Oregon. Once there, he spent the next year working different jobs, from bellboy at the Umpqua Hotel in Roseburg, Oregon, to psych tech at the VA Hospital there, where he met Mom. They were married three months later.
When his kids were small, the young family began attending the First Christian Church, and he accepted Christ as his Savior. After that, everything came into focus for him. He worked hard to support his family, and took good care of himself physically. He ultimately defied all early expectations of his doctors, and lived more than twice as long as they predicted. He was a wonderful husband and father, and a greatly admired Christian servant of God.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Celebrating Mom
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the implementation of the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day in America. While it has become as commercialized as most holidays, at the root of the holiday is the use of this day to honor our moms.
I will be having Sunday brunch today with Mom and some of my siblings. There will be gifts and cards and good food and fellowship--in other words, all of those things which make up a family celebration of Mother's Day.
The interesting thing is that Mom doesn't remember childhood celebrations of Mother's Day. In Depression & WW2 era Missouri, they didn't make a big deal of the day. Grandma still cooked dinner. Cards, candy, flowers and other gifts were not a part of life. Grandma was loved, but the words were not said very often. It was a different time.
I remember making cards and small gifts in school. It was something all the kids did. We didn't go out to eat much as kids. At church, moms were celebrated with individual category honors--oldest, youngest, most kids, newest mom, etc. There was generally a sermon geared to the day. Mostly we just loved our moms. As adults there are more flowers and restaurants involved, so we can focus more on time with Mom.
Don't be afraid to say "I love you" to your mom. You never know how long she will be with you.
I will be having Sunday brunch today with Mom and some of my siblings. There will be gifts and cards and good food and fellowship--in other words, all of those things which make up a family celebration of Mother's Day.
The interesting thing is that Mom doesn't remember childhood celebrations of Mother's Day. In Depression & WW2 era Missouri, they didn't make a big deal of the day. Grandma still cooked dinner. Cards, candy, flowers and other gifts were not a part of life. Grandma was loved, but the words were not said very often. It was a different time.
I remember making cards and small gifts in school. It was something all the kids did. We didn't go out to eat much as kids. At church, moms were celebrated with individual category honors--oldest, youngest, most kids, newest mom, etc. There was generally a sermon geared to the day. Mostly we just loved our moms. As adults there are more flowers and restaurants involved, so we can focus more on time with Mom.
Don't be afraid to say "I love you" to your mom. You never know how long she will be with you.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
My FGPC-Mom's Life Journey
Mom started life in Depression Era Missouri. She was a small town girl, who moved to a tiny town by the time she was twelve. Many aunts and uncles lived close by, but she still had responsibilities as the oldest child to look out for her younger sister and brothers.
Her love of music and history had her considering careers in singing or teaching, but she finally chose to become a nurse. She earned her RN after three years at a teaching hospital in Southern Missouri, before moving West with her friend Eva Lou to work in a VA hospital in Oregon. It was there that she met Dad, who had moved from Minnesota, and was working at the same hospital. It was a psych hospital, and the family joke was that they both carried keys.
Mom and Dad were married three months after they met, and would have celebrated their golden anniversary if Dad hadn't died before their forty-sixth anniversary. Nevertheless, it was a good marriage, spent in California, where they moved before I was born. Mom's various nursing jobs were sandwiched between kids, and viewed as secondary to raising her family. She began attending church with her young family, and saw her husband and kids grow as Christians, to her great joy.
She loved traveling--moreso after the kids were grown. Visiting relatives around the country also provided opportunities to see much of the country. There were also trips to British Columbia, Great Britain, Europe and the Holy Land over the years. Medical issues have curtailed her travels in recent years, but she still lives vicariously through the travels of her kids and grandkids.
Her love of music and history had her considering careers in singing or teaching, but she finally chose to become a nurse. She earned her RN after three years at a teaching hospital in Southern Missouri, before moving West with her friend Eva Lou to work in a VA hospital in Oregon. It was there that she met Dad, who had moved from Minnesota, and was working at the same hospital. It was a psych hospital, and the family joke was that they both carried keys.
Mom and Dad were married three months after they met, and would have celebrated their golden anniversary if Dad hadn't died before their forty-sixth anniversary. Nevertheless, it was a good marriage, spent in California, where they moved before I was born. Mom's various nursing jobs were sandwiched between kids, and viewed as secondary to raising her family. She began attending church with her young family, and saw her husband and kids grow as Christians, to her great joy.
She loved traveling--moreso after the kids were grown. Visiting relatives around the country also provided opportunities to see much of the country. There were also trips to British Columbia, Great Britain, Europe and the Holy Land over the years. Medical issues have curtailed her travels in recent years, but she still lives vicariously through the travels of her kids and grandkids.
Friday, May 2, 2014
My Four Generation Pedigree Chart--It's all about Me
This is the first in a series of posts about recent ancestors. Since I'm the first generation on my chart, it only makes sense to start with myself.
I'm a California girl, born and bred. The first of five kids, I was born after Mom and Dad moved to Southern California to be near to family members who had previously moved there. She won't admit to it, but I suspect there was also a desire on Mom's part to move to warmer weather in winter. They had married in Oregon after Mom had moved from Missouri and met transplanted Minnesotan Dad. They quit their jobs and went on a cross country journey to visit each other's families--in February! The snow followed them to the Midwest, doubtless confirming Betty's desire to live in sunny Southern California!
They eventually settled in and found jobs to support their growing family. The also found a church to grow their family in other ways. As I recall, I accepted Christ as my savior on Easter Sunday, when I was ten years old. I'm certain that my parents' happiest moments were watching their kids grow as Christians.
I enjoyed music and drama in school, ultimately obtaining my BA in Communications. As with many people, my work ended in other fields. I spent many years with SCE, and many years with Micron Environmental Labs, among other places. The work I most enjoyed was my volunteer work with Meals on Wheels, which is a story for another post.
I've traveled a lot over the years, first on family vacations, then in college, and on into adulthood. I've seen much of this great country on or west of the Mississippi River, and have been blessed to see many other countries as well. I hope to see more of the world in this life.
Well, enough about me. Next up will be my mom.
I'm a California girl, born and bred. The first of five kids, I was born after Mom and Dad moved to Southern California to be near to family members who had previously moved there. She won't admit to it, but I suspect there was also a desire on Mom's part to move to warmer weather in winter. They had married in Oregon after Mom had moved from Missouri and met transplanted Minnesotan Dad. They quit their jobs and went on a cross country journey to visit each other's families--in February! The snow followed them to the Midwest, doubtless confirming Betty's desire to live in sunny Southern California!
They eventually settled in and found jobs to support their growing family. The also found a church to grow their family in other ways. As I recall, I accepted Christ as my savior on Easter Sunday, when I was ten years old. I'm certain that my parents' happiest moments were watching their kids grow as Christians.
I enjoyed music and drama in school, ultimately obtaining my BA in Communications. As with many people, my work ended in other fields. I spent many years with SCE, and many years with Micron Environmental Labs, among other places. The work I most enjoyed was my volunteer work with Meals on Wheels, which is a story for another post.
I've traveled a lot over the years, first on family vacations, then in college, and on into adulthood. I've seen much of this great country on or west of the Mississippi River, and have been blessed to see many other countries as well. I hope to see more of the world in this life.
Well, enough about me. Next up will be my mom.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
May Day
May Day wasn't always a workers holiday. Before it was co-opted as International Workers Day in the 20th century, it had been celebrated for millenia as the beginning of summer--June's summer solstice thus becoming midsummer. Many European traditions made their way to America and into our celebrations.
Mom remembers May Day festivities growing up in small town Missouri. The kids would make May baskets from woven strips of construction paper, fill them with picked flowers, and leave them all over town. There was also maypole dancing in the schools. Poles with attached ribbons were set up, and classes would compete for the most intricately woven poles.
I don't remember a lot of May Day activities beyond worker parades. A nicer event is the national prayer breakfasts held around the country for the National Day of Prayer.
Mom remembers May Day festivities growing up in small town Missouri. The kids would make May baskets from woven strips of construction paper, fill them with picked flowers, and leave them all over town. There was also maypole dancing in the schools. Poles with attached ribbons were set up, and classes would compete for the most intricately woven poles.
I don't remember a lot of May Day activities beyond worker parades. A nicer event is the national prayer breakfasts held around the country for the National Day of Prayer.
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