Miss Ann Says

Category: kid stuff

• Super Shoppers & Super Storm Sandy

  Posted at 7:43 pm by missannsays, on December 9, 2012

  Yesterday a friend and I delivered a few Christmas gifts to the Tunnel to Tower distribution center for Hurricane Sandy Relief in Staten Island. It was an amazing experience. The looks on the faces of the volunteers when we walked in with 3 large shopping bags full of gifts was awesome. They were so appreciative. I felt guilty because what we did is nothing in comparison to what they are doing each and every day. Last week when I had called to inquire about the feasibility of delivering the gifts the woman on the phone had said “if you come on a Saturday maybe you could volunteer for a couple of hours.” I can tell you that I gained so much more than I gave yesterday. I am awed at the opportunities that the Lord puts before me.  Let me start at the beginning of how this all came to be.

  In the days and weeks since Hurricane Sandy, Warwick Valley Church of the Nazarene, my local church has collected money from all over the nation. Actually my Pastor, PB, has been the main person in this. (He will deny that but it is true) He has a lot of friends – real friends and Facebook friends that wanted to “do something”. One of the many things PB is good at is mobilizing people whether in person or through social media.  So money started arriving at WVCN. “We” used some of that money to purchase blankets, water and flashlights. People within our congregation and community donated more blankets, flashlights and water. And within one week of the storm those supplies went down to the effected areas. Some were also distributed in our local community.

  At the same time the Metro New York District Church of the Nazarene through SDMI started a Christmas gift drive for Hurricane Sandy Families. SDMI stands for Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International. I am the Metro New York District Children’s Ministries Director.  The idea is that local churches/communities will collect Christmas gifts, then deliver them to a mission area collection site and then the gifts will be distributed to Hurricane Sandy families.  WVCN is a mission area collection site for the Northern zone and our gifts will go to Staten Island. We are also collecting in six other locations with those gifts going to Long Island, Far Rockaway and Jersey City. See Metro New York Church of the Nazarene on Facebook for further information. Anyone can contribute – the more, the merrier.

  Anyway, I mentioned the gift drive to PB and he came up with “Keep Calm and Shop with Pastor” event that took place on December 1 at 10:30. Kids from my church shopped at the local toy store and purchased gifts for the gift drive using the money that had been donated from all over the nation. Well, this blossomed into an amazing event. While the kids shopped at the toy store, teens and adults shopped at other local shops to purchase gifts for teens and adults. PB had contacted the store owners ahead of time and the store owners were thrilled with the idea and gave 20% discount as well as a no tax. YES!! The event was wonderful. The kids did a super job shopping. People commented on how well-behaved they were and what great gifts they had picked. I was thrilled when I realized we would be shopping in the local toy store – no electronics. If we had shopped in a big toy store, picking electronics would have been the first choice of many of the children. Shopping at the small local store gave way to the purchase of dolls, puzzles, books, crafts, dress up clothes and games. It was so fun seeing what the kids picked.  J is really into trains so he found a book about trains and two little trains for a kindergarten age boy. E loves dress up and she picked a fuzzy pink boa, gold wings and crown for a kindergarten age girl. It was delightful to watch. After shopping we all headed to church to wrap the gifts in clear cellophane. Thank God for cellophane bags. Because wrapping a hundred gifts with 17 children would have been something. And probably not something good. The adult and teen volunteers were wonderful and patient. Pizza was served for lunch. The gifts were placed under and around the tree and I was home by 2:30. The whole event was energizing but when I got home I needed a nap.

  The Church of the Nazarene doesn’t have any churches on Staten Island so we began seeking a place to deliver the gifts. A member of our church was born in Staten Island and still has family there so she started “finding” us a place to donate. And that is how I ended up at the “House of Crabs” – Tunnel to Tower collection location yesterday. While I was there another one of the other volunteers asked where we are from and I said Warwick Valley Church of the Nazarene. She mentioned she used to live in Port Jervis, and her husband is a firefighter. Conversation continues and she says “I met you about 10 years ago you are the woman who lives in Greenwood Lake.” Okay that is weird. 🙂

  When my friend and I left the center we drove towards the beach. Oh my!!! It was like we were in a third world country. I know it has been said before but you have to see it, to believe it. And that being said it is unbelievable – house after house boarded up, storefronts being cleaned out, tents distributing supplies, insurance company mobile units, the military, the police, debris, garbage, cars and trucks in the strangest places.  While we were stopped at a traffic light, I looked over and realized that the storefront being cleaned out was the local dancing school and with that I started to cry. The families and businesses affected my Hurricane aka Super Storm Sandy will need our help for a long time. This won’t be better soon. May we not grow weary in doing good. We are heading back to Staten Island next Saturday to deliver more gifts.

                                                                

  Posted in daily life, kid stuff | 0 Comments | Tagged kid stuff, little things

• A beautiful day in the neighborhood

  Posted at 6:52 pm by missannsays, on October 17, 2012

  

  Both yesterday and today the sky has been a wonderful color of blue and there are streaks of white clouds. Blue skies with no clouds no matter how beautiful make me nervous. Definitely goes back to September 11, 2001. But I digress. There is a crispness to the air that is refreshing. A light coat or jacket is needed but probably won’t be later in the day. The leaves are changing colors. Many different shades of orange, yellow and red add splendor to the usually green mountain side. The water of the lake acts as a mirror reflecting the changing landscape. Yes, it is a beautiful day in my neighborhood.

  “A beautiful day in the neighborhood” always makes me think of Mr Rogers. My firstborn loved Mr Rogers. To be honest he made me crazy. The walking in and changing his shoes, putting the sweater on, the puppets just made me nuts.  But E. loved it.  Once when we were out and deciding which fast food restaurant to go to, E. said “can we go to Mr Rogers?”. She thought Roy Rogers was Mr Rogers.  Whenever I think of Roy Rogers, I am reminded of a childhood memory of seeing the real Roy Rogers at the rodeo in Utah. I remember seating in the stands. I was in kindergarten. And Dale Evans and her children rode past in a convertible. They were waving to everyone. And Roy Rogers rode in on Trigger.  It was the first time I had ever seen someone in real life who had been on television. That is all I remember but it was a very exciting moment.

  I have grown to appreciate Fred Roger’s dedication to quality children’s programming and his words of wisdom. I think when my daughter was young he annoyed me so much because he was so calm and I on the other hand was a crazed want to be super mom. I have included some of his words of wisdom to ponder.  Enjoy!

  • Parents are like shuttles on a loom. They join the threads of the past with threads of the future and leave their own bright patterns as they go. Fred Rogers (20th century), U.S. television personality and parenting specialist. Mister Rogers Talks With Parents, ch. 1 (1983).
  • Very early in our children’s lives we will be forced to realize that the “perfect” untroubled life we’d like for them is just a fantasy. In daily living, tears and fights and doing things we don’t want to do are all part of our human ways of developing into adults. Fred Rogers (20th century), U.S. television personality and parenting specialist. Mister Rogers Talks With Parents, ch. 11 (1983).
  • I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending. Fred Rogers (20th century), U.S. children’s TV personality and author. Mister Rogers Talks with Parents, ch. 11 (1983).
  • The presence of a  grandparent confirms that parents were, indeed, little once, too, and that  people who are little can grow to be big, can become parents, and one day even  have grandchildren of their own. So often we think of grandparents as belonging  to the past; but in this important way, grandparents, for young children, belong  to the future.
  • We’ve forgotten  what it’s like not to be able to reach the light switch. We’ve forgotten a lot  of the monsters that seemed to live in our room at night. Nevertheless, those  memories are still there, somewhere inside us, and can sometimes be brought to  the surface by events, sights, sounds, or smells. Children, though, can never  have grown-up feelings until they’ve been allowed to do the growing
    Read more at http://quotes.dictionary.com/author/fred+rogers?page=3#XPl7QXsvyUxqzt4p.99

  Posted in daily life, kid stuff, memories, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged kid stuff, little things

• “what’s in a name?”

  Posted at 7:46 pm by missannsays, on September 24, 2012

      “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
  By any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet in Romeo and Juliet

  some random thoughts on “names”

  As I was heading to the parking garage yesterday, I noticed signs announcing that the Battery Tunnel is being renamed the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. I hope that is a wonderful remembrance of Mr Carey’s public service. But I do  wonder how long it will take people to refer to it as the Carey Tunnel instead of the Battery Tunnel. In the past year or so, the Triboro Bridge has been renamed the RFK Bridge. Does anyone call it that?  I have noticed on some highway signs it has the exit number and then there is a little sign that says “old exit #___”. I have often wondered how long do you keep the old exit # signs up. At what point do you have to start using the new number.

  When Bruce and I were picking names for our children. There were a few names I couldn’t even consider because through the years I had students with those names. We had three girl’s names picked but neither of our daughters looked like a Sarah so no Sarahs in our family. I have had students who I always called the wrong name because they didn’t look like that name. To be honest I am a little confused by some of the names parents especially celebrities pick for their children. I don’t think some parents think through that the child is going to have that name forever (unless they change it). And some names are hard to spell and will be very long on that lined paper in kindergarten.

  One of my favorite stories about “names” happened when I was a kindergarten aide at a Christian School. The teacher had asked “who remembers the names of the young men in our story yesterday?” The day before the teacher had read the story from Daniel 3 about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. At the time there was a poplar Veggie Tales video about the same story.  A few little hands waved in the air and Miss B. picked a one of the eager students to answer. The child said “Shack, Rack and Benny” – the names from the Veggie Tales video. We tried not to laugh and Miss B. said “Almost what are their real names?” More little hands waving. She calls on another student who says “Larry, Bob and Junior”. In case you aren’t familiar those are the Veggie Tale’s character’s names. It was too funny. And the whole time I am thinking Shadrach, Meshach and “to bed we go”.

  The Bible is full of stories of God giving people new names – Abram and Sarai will become Abraham and Sarah, Jacob will become Israel, Saul will become Paul. They will each receive a new name and a new task. I am reminded of a time  when I was teaching the story of Jacob’s name change and a student says “He was named after a country that is weird!” ‘No, the country was named after him.”  And then another student chimes in “your cousin is named Aja (prononuced asia) and that is a continent.” Don’t you just love 5th graders. 🙂

   My favorite name story is when Moses asks “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me,”What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” “God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites:’I am has sent me to you'”

  Posted in daily life, faith, kid stuff | 0 Comments | Tagged kid stuff, little things

• a dollar crown

  Posted at 6:44 pm by missannsays, on September 21, 2012

  When I had related the following story to my mom she had said “$1 and a dream” – the lottery slogan. Anyway this week I saw how  a simple $1 purchase could excite a child and give me a sense of delight. I had ventured into Target to get some things I needed to replenish  my mother’s assisted living stash – toothpaste, shampoo. I was also looking for “labeling tape” to be able to label the new shirts I had purchased for my dad. I didn’t find “labeling tape”. I actually ended up writing his name on his collar using a Sharpie. With a graying population and so many people in assisted living or nursing homes, I think there is a market for “labeling tape” but what do I know. When you enter  most Targets they have those $1 bins which I am sure are the bane of every mom’s existence but if you need to restock the treasure  box at church they are great. I found a package of glow in the dark insects and another package of glow in the dark snakes. Perfect for the treasure box. And then I saw it. The things little girl’s dreams are made of “a crown headband with little diamonds.”  But it wasn’t your average crown it was made of a plush, soft material, a little understated but with enough blink to shine. The minute I saw it I knew there was a child at church who would just love it. The crown headband was available in a couple of colors – pink, purple. I knew the child I had in mind would love purple.

  To encourage the kiddos  to bring their supplies, do their assignments and behave at quizzing on Wednesday nights I have a point system. The children get 1 point each for attendance, bringing your student book, bringing your Bible, bringing your scripture booklet and just because. Just because is when for no particular reason Miss Ann gives you a point. You get 2 points each for doing your homework, bringing a friend and memorizing the Bible verse. The children can’t actually ever lose their points because they have earned them but their points can be frozen. Frozen points mean you have “stepped over the line.” That doesn’t happen very often but it could 🙂  Anyway at the end of each weekly class we “do points.” After the points for that week have been tallied, the children have a choice to spend or save their points.  The save or spend choice teaches another life lesson but don’t tell my kiddos.  You can spend your points as follows: 5 points for the candy bag, 10 points for the treasure box, 15 for the scripture cd, 20 for the dog tags, 25 for the memory verse poster, 50 or 100 points are some kind of super treat – a trip for ice cream or bowling, something we do together.   We still need to spend their 50/100 points from last year. There has been much discussion about where to go, etc. Unfortunately busy schedules this summer didn’t allow us to spend those points.

  This week was the second week of quizzing. I hadn’t been there the first week because of my surgery so points didn’t start until this week. I gave everyone 5 points for the first week  just because. I reminded them that we would be spending our leftover points from the last school year in the near future. And we were starting points over for this year. And then we did points for this week. Everyone decided to save their points except for my youngest student. She wanted to spend 10 of her 12 points on the treasure box. So I placed the treasure box on the table in front of her and she opened it. And her face said it all “a crown” – it was the perfect reaction. It was the reaction I had known I would see when I spotted that $1 crown in Target. She was so excited. I cut the tags off of the crown and placed it on her head and I think she was suddenly standing straighter and walking taller. I know her smile was infectious.  It was an absolutely delightful moment for all of us.

  It makes me smile to think about how spending $1 made a little girl’s day. I hope I remember her squeals of delight for a long time.  I also hope I never forget that even in today’s world you can wow a 6-year-old girl with a dollar crown. It was fabulous.

  Posted in daily life, kid stuff | 0 Comments | Tagged kid stuff, little things

• A little bit of this & a little bit of that

  Posted at 4:07 pm by missannsays, on August 1, 2012

  Recently heard:

       “It isn’t about design” spoken by a 10-year-old boy during a “timed tower building challenge” at church.

  “Just because it is hard, it doesn’t mean it is interesting.” spoken by my son-in-law while watching Olympic men’s gymnastics.

  After circling the parking area in Rehoboth Beach more than once, a car pulls out. “Yes” – me “It is a handicapped spot” – my daughter, “I have nanny’s permit in the glove compartment” – me,  A gasp of  total disbelief from both of my daughters, “desperate times, call for desperate measures” –  me.  Luckily it wasn’t actually a handicapped spot. It was so funny how shocked my girls were that I said that. 🙂

  “bats in the belfry or the bedroom”

  While unpacking from vacation, I walked into my daughter’s bedroom and notice a large bug above the closet door. Wait, that is not a bug, it is a bat. I promptly scream, throw the bag I was putting away and slam the bedroom door. My daughter asks what’s wrong. I tell her about the bat and she puts a rolled up towel at the foot of the door. I momentarily thing about using the colander to push the bat to the floor and then maneuver it outside. I realize that probably won’t work and decide to call a friend’s husband, who so very graciously drives over and gets the bat out of the house. Thank you, thank you.

  I am reminded of a couple of previous bat adventures. Camp is famous for having bats which is fine as long as the campers don’t freak out. My brain and many camper/counselor brains understand that in theory bats are good because they eat insects but when they are flying around – not so much. Each night at light’s out I would need to go with my co director to check that the campers were settled down for the night. Some of the camping areas had Adirondack shelters aka “bus shelters”. An Adirondack shelter  is a three-sided shelter with a canvas tarp on the front. Inside there are two bunk beds and a dresser. Anyway as we walk up towards the camping area, we see a bat circling around the light catching bugs. We were expecting to see frighten campers but  instead the girls are just getting ready for bed. Quietly we ask the counselor if she has noticed the bat. “Yes, we have and his name is Henry” For some reason naming the bat, made it okay for the campers – that was a smart counselor.

  My other bat story involves a bat that had made a couple of appearances in our home. One Wednesday evening when Bruce and I returned home from prayer meeting, the girls weren’t home which was upsetting because where were they? They were at my neighbor’s house. In the hour and a half Bruce and I had been gone, a bat had been in the house. My daughters had been watching television and a bat was flying around the living room. They had run next door to our neighbors. Anyway, Bruce does a through sweep of the house and can’t find it. He states with some authority that “it must have flown out”. So we go to bed and in the middle of the night, I can feel the air above my head pulsating – swosh, swosh. I don’t open my eyes because I know the bat is right there. I elbow my husband many times, as I whisper “Bruce, Bruce” and finally he wakes up. I don’t remember how he finally got the bat but I can vividly remember the air swishing above my head. It freaks me out just to think about it. I guess two bats in my house in 28 years isn’t bad but no bats would have been better.

  Posted in daily life, kid stuff, memories | 1 Comment | Tagged kid stuff, little things

• Epic fail or was it???

  Posted at 3:47 pm by missannsays, on July 16, 2012

  I taught Sunday School yesterday and near the end of the class one of the 4th grade boys commented “is this story about the same  Abraham who helped settle things with the black and white people?” At first I wasn’t sure what he meant and then I realized he was talking about Abraham Lincoln. What?? Really I just taught this lesson on Abraham and Lot. I made sure we found the “story” in the Bible – “Genesis  chapter 13- big number 13, verses 1- 18 –  little numbers 1-18” I commented that I was reading it in story form but the same story is in the Bible. After the class was over, I thought the whole class was an epic fail. I mean I read the story, we acted it out, we did this fun through the soda can game, we threw marshmallows and we had lively discussion about each part of the lesson. A fun time was had by all but he thinks the story is about Abraham Lincoln. The more I tried to figure out where I went wrong, I realized something. He got the lesson. According to the curriculum, the lesson aim is “to help kids learn that God wants us to be peacemakers”. I also had another thought I have no idea what the kids are learning. My responsibility is to be prepared, to faithfully present the lesson to the best of my ability, to love my students and enjoy our time together.  So as a word of encouragement to parents and teachers, don’t give up because they may miss the facts but they may be learning the lesson.

  Posted in faith, kid stuff | 2 Comments | Tagged kid stuff, telling the next generation

• somewhere between Mary Poppins and Mrs Doubtfire

  Posted at 1:02 am by missannsays, on June 13, 2012

  I spend quite a bit of time with children.  Of course when I was teaching dance I spent more time than now. Even now between children’s ministries in my local church or district events or at the Tribute Center, I have at least a “weekly dose” of children. But that is different that spending 24/7.This past week I have been helping to care for my 3 grand-nieces and 1 grand-nephew all under the age of 6.  And I have been reminded of things I forgotten about life with little kids. I had forgotten how long bath time, bedtime and getting in the car can take.

  I had forgotten that little kids have no sense of personal space. Years ago I went to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. They had this very interesting display of footprints showing how in different cultures people stand different distances apart. The display explained where it is culturally correct to stand. I was reminded of that display this week as I was saying “could you move back a little”, “please don’t stand on my feet”, “you are too close to me”.  Of course the plus side to that is a 3-year-old crawling into your lap and giving you a hug. Or a 2-year-old saying they want to sit next to you at the dinner table.

  I had forgotten that little kids wear more clothes in one day than grown ups wear in a week.  Not because they have gotten dirty but because they change their clothes constantly.  This may be just a girl thing.  I remember my girls doing this especially if they were playing dress up. This week we had daily “fashion shows”  complete with music and many wardrobe changes. Also sizing of children’s clothing is weird.  How can one child wear – 24 months, 2T and 3T.  It makes sorting laundry tricky for visiting aunts.

  I had forgotten that little kids “lie”. Bill Cosby has a great bit about this. You can probably find it on YouTube. Anyway I love how they look you in the face and say what they want to hear. Then when you call them on it, they play the “my mom or my dad said” card.  Which is just their way of trying to pull rank on you. I usually counter with “okay, I will just go ask them”. Wow, I am no fun.

  On Sunday, I joined my niece and her 4 kids at a Bar be que for her MOPS (mother of preschoolers) group.  I was the oldest person there by at least 20 years. Anyway this 4-year-old boy is climbing on the backyard fort/jungle gym and is starting to climb on the top (where kids aren’t suppose to go). I comment to him that maybe that isn’t a good idea and he looks me straight in the face and says “my dad says I can”. So I respond “really maybe you should go confirm that with him.” – he didn’t appreciate that comment.

  At this same party, there was supposed to be a kiddie pool. Since we weren’t sure how the pool thing was going to work, I brought my swimsuit since my niece just had a baby and can’t go in a pool.  My thought was I can put my suit on with my coverup, sit on the side and watch my 3 grand-nieces. Surprise, it is a 4 foot deep above ground pool. There are kids everywhere but no parents in the pool. There is no way the grand-nieces can swim unless Aunt Ann goes in. So I put on my suit and went in. Of course an above ground pool means going up the little ladder, turning around at the top and getting in. Thankfully the water was warm and only 2 out of 3 grand nieces wanted to go in. I was the oldest adult there and the only one in a swimsuit and in the pool.  I felt like I was perceived as somewhere between Mary Poppins and Mrs Doubtfire. I will admit that a couple of the moms asked if I wanted to come and watch their kids for a few days. I can’t believe the situations I get myself into.

  This past week has been terrific. I have snuggled with a newborn, sat next to a 2-year-old at every meal, been delighted to hear a 3-year-old sing VBS songs and taught an almost 6-year-old to play War. I have chuckled under my breath, exchanged “knowing” looks with my niece and felt totally blessed to spend time in Minnesota with family. I have also been reminded of an essay that was poplar in the early 90’s.  I have included it for you. Enjoy!!

  All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

  by Robert Fulghum – an excerpt from the book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten

  All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten. ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:

  Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die. So do we. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – LOOK.

  Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living. Take any of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if all – the whole world – had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had a basic policy to always put thing back where they found them and to clean up their own mess. And it is still true, no matter how old you are – when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

  © Robert Fulghum, 1990. Found in Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, Villard Books: New York, 1990, page 6-7.

  Posted in daily life, kid stuff, relationships | 2 Comments | Tagged kid stuff, little things

• all in the family

  Posted at 1:09 am by missannsays, on June 9, 2012

  I am spending a few days with my nephew and his family. Well, he isn’t really my nephew because he isn’t the child of one of my siblings.  He is my husband’s nephew but to be honest I don’t distinguish that way. In the family tree he is a nephew and he and his amazing wife just had their fourth child. They had a son to add to their beautiful family of three daughters. My nephew is in the National Guard and his two weeks of active duty is falling right after they have added this fourth bundle of joy to their family.  They had asked if I would be willing to spend a few days helping out with the kids while he is away.  I said yes and actually came a couple of days early so I could see him.

  Even though I didn’t have the luxury of spending hours and hours with him and his siblings as they grew up, I am receiving the priceless gift of a “grown up” relationship. My sister-in-law and her family have always lived half way across the country. They were in Kansas and we were in New York.  We made a two “treks” to Kansas and they would travel to NJ to visit my husband’s parents.  There were always Christmas  and birthday cards and gifts exchanged and telephone calls every now and then.  Unfortunately distance and the expense of travel, raising children and working doesn’t make frequent visits some thing that happens as often as you would.

  When we got married, Bruce and I decided that Thanksgiving would be spent with “his side” one year and “my side” the next year. I have continued to alternate that way ever since we started that tradition.  The great thing about that is I have never cooked a turkey.  Even when my mom stopped hosting, my sister started hosting and her husband started cooking the turkey.  Four years ago I did host Thanksgiving at my home but my brother-in-law cooked the turkey. Two years ago I hosted at the Barn but my brother-in-law cooked the turkey again.

  This past Thanksgiving was a Van Hine year.  As I started thinking on that I realized I couldn’t expect by 93-year-old mother-in-law to cook and I probably couldn’t get her to come to my house.  As I pondered the situation, I had a little thought that would become an amazing blessing.  I asked my mother-in-law if she would like to travel with me to Kansas to have Thanksgiving in her daughter’s home. First I mentioned this idea to my sister-in-law and she stated “mom will never travel to Kansas”.  I just had a thought that she would.  Last September my sister-in-law was in NJ and we went out to lunch with my mother-in-law.  And I asked my mother-in-law “Do you want to go to Kansas with me for Thanksgiving?” And without hesitation she said “Yes”. Wow – okay, road trip with mom. So I made our travel plans. Keep it simple was my goal. Non-stop, don’t fly too early, easy parking, request a wheelchair. After the plans were set, I explained to mom that I would drive to her home in South Jersey, spend the night and then we would drive to the Philadelphia Airport.  We would use a parking service that I had used before so it was simple.  Go to parking place, they drive you to the airport in your car so you don’t have to get out or move your luggage. And it worked.  But it more that worked because my sister-in-law and her hubby arranged with their kids and their families to all show up in Kansas over Thanksgiving weekend.

  The day after Thanksgiving my mother-in-law got to see her 3 grandchildren, 2 of their spouses, 5 great granddaughters and 2 great grandsons.  It was busy and loud and wonderful.  And I got to reconnect  and spend time with my nieces and nephews and thus the trip to Minnesota this week. So today I taught little girls ballet, played with playdoh, washed dishes, folded clothes, encouraged a tired mom and held a 2 week ago baby – it doesn’t get better than that.

  One of the things on my bucket list is to take a train across country and visit family, friends and acquaintances along the way.  But I think I might just have to get on a plane in the next year to visit a niece and her family in Chicago, a nephew and his family in Fort Collins, and another new baby – my brother’s grandson due in a few weeks in South Carolina.  The great thing about family is those bonds that bind you together can always be strengthened by spending more time to together.  Airline ticket – $$$, first piece of luggage -$$, food on the plane – $, spending time with family – worth every penny.

  Posted in daily life, kid stuff, relationships, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged friendship, little things

• 130 lb pound lap dog

  Posted at 11:02 pm by missannsays, on May 9, 2012

  Recently I was organizing one of the closets at the Barn when I came across Buster’s old dog bowls.  And I smiled to myself as I remembered Buster Brown the biggest lap dog in the world.  He wasn’t a lap dog but he thought he was. He was a very tall, 130 pound Rottweiler and a great dog.  When my daughters were very young, they said they wanted a dog and I told them when you are 7 and 10 we will talk about it.  They must have been really young because 7 and 10 years old seemed a long way off. Well, when they were 8 and 11 years old they really started bugging us about a dog. They remembered my comment as “when you are 7 and 10 we can get a dog” – really, my girls didn’t remember when I asked them to put their toys away but they remembered that off-handed statement about getting a dog.

  Late one Sunday afternoon our phone rang and it was Bill.  Bill had a wonderful dog named Bo who was the “dad” for a litter of Rottweiler puppies. We had been at a party together earlier in the day and I guess there had been discussion about puppies. He wanted to stop by and show us one of the new puppies. Bruce said “sure, come on by”. I gave him a weird look and he said “no problem when Bill mentions how much the puppy is we will just say we can’t afford it” which was the truth.  Great, we have a plan. Well either God has a sense of humor (which I believe He does) or my kids had really been praying because what happened next was amazing and only God. Bill stops by with this adorable pure bred puppy with very big feet.  He tells my kids that they can name the puppy.  My girls pick  Buster Brown.  And then Bruce says “So how much does a puppy like this go for?” and Bill says “Free to a good home”  Bruce mentions “we are going on vacation”. “No problem, we will keep him at our house until you get back.” Really!?!  what just happened here. And that is how at 8 and 11 years old my girls got a dog.

  When my kids told my mom we got a dog, my mom thought I was having some kind of mid-life crisis because growing up I didn’t like big dogs. I told her if I was having a mid life crisis it won’t involve getting a big dog maybe a fancy car but not a dog.  My dad loved Buster right a way but didn’t let on in front of my mom. My dad would say “most people don’t keep a small horse in their house”. My mom did eventually love Buster.

  When Buster was a year old, we went on a 5 week camping trip – our National Parks tour as we affectionately called.  We were a family of 4 traveling in a Ford F-150 with a cap, pulling a pop-up trailer with New York license plates and we had a Rottweiler.  We were sure most people thought we were drug dealers. There are many stories from that trip that I will share at another time.  I would like to share one Buster story from that trip.  We visited Bruce’s sister in Kansas. She has a built-in pool. I was out by the pool watching the girls swim and Buster was pacing back and forth.  He really didn’t like that they were in the pool. He looked like “oh no, if something happens I am going to have to jump in.”  When they got out he won’t let them get back in. He kept herding them away from the pool. We finally had to hold him by his collar so the girls could get back in the pool.

  One year a few days before Christmas, Buster pulled down the Christmas tree.  The girls were watching television with Bruce and I was taking a relaxing bath and I heard “boom”. The Christmas tree had fallen over. At first we didn’t realize how it had happened but then we figured it out Buster had walked up to the tree to take an ornament off – he did that when you weren’t paying attention to him. Anyway, his collar got caught on the tree and as he pulled away the tree fell.

  After September 11, when there were so many different people stopping by the house to see if we needed anything or to bring food, Buster would stand between me and the other person.  But if the girls walked into the room, he would go stand between them and the person. Buster took his job of being “the man of the house” very seriously.  Buster died 5 years ago.  He was 11 years old which is actually kind of old for such a big dog. He was a wonderful dog and a “priceless” gift to our family.

  Posted in kid stuff, memories | 1 Comment | Tagged little things

• Kid moments

  Posted at 9:48 am by missannsays, on April 26, 2012

  Today is my niece’s fifth birthday. My sister posted a great photo of her on Facebook.  My sister also commented that one of my niece’s gifts was a cape and she is afraid that my niece thinks super hero powers are included. This reminded me of a couple of funny kid moments. The first being a little boy from church who many times wore his underwear on the outside of his long johns and wore a cape.  Great, quirky kid – he grew up to serve his country and become a real hero as a member of our military.

  My sister’s superhero powers  comment also reminded me of a student of mine.  There is a song I used many times while teaching dance – Monday is a Marching Day.  The song names the days of the week and each day has a different movement attached.  It is a fun way to teach skipping and galloping and  the different ways we can move.  In your typical pre kindergarten and kindergarten class as the year goes on the children master hopping, marching and even skipping.  Well, one day towards the end of the year we are doing Monday is a Marching Day – did  I mention this a favorite song among this age group.  Anyway in the song Friday is a flying day. As the children are “going around the mat” and a little voice says “Miss Ann, why aren’t I flying?”  I get a puzzled look on my face and say “Gravity” and when the song is over give a brief explanation of gravity.  Later I thought about this exchange and really to a child why shouldn’t I fly.  At the beginning of the year, I couldn’t skip and now I can so shouldn’t flying be the same.

  Happy Birthday Lady Bug – may you defy gravity 🙂

  Posted in kid stuff | 3 Comments | Tagged kid stuff, little things

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