Tag Archives: Family

There is a resemblance…

Family, Thoughts,

I was looking back at some old pics I had of various members of the family and I found two that sort of made me double-take.  I had to ask my Mom about it and she straightened me out.  I found an old photo of my Grandma in 1928 when she was 13.  I saw another picture of my Mom in 1952 when she was 6.  Before I knew the dates, I figured they were the same person spaced only by a few years.  They are old pics…I mean really really old pics.  Who could tell?!

Jan Wise ca1952

(My Mom)

Anyhow, even more than the similarities between these pictures, I think both pictures look like my Mom as I remember her when she was younger (but that was a looong time ago).  I don’t really know what my point is other than to say it’s weird to see old pictures of people.  As long as I can remember, my Grandparents were old.  They both had gray hair and wrinkles and all of the old Grandma/Grandpa sorts of things.  I love my Grandma tremendously and miss her indeed.  My Grandpa is 95 and still a riot.  I guess he probably has been old for as long as I can remember.

Florence Gardner 1928

(My Grandma)

But it is strange to look back at these pictures and think that my Grandparents were young and frisky and aggravating to their parents.  They rode scooters and climbed trees and played kickball and talked too much in class.  They became teens and twenty-somethings and parents and went through all of the same things we are going through raising our kids.

Does anyone else have a hard time seeing their elders as…well…regular people?  As I age (but I am still dang young!), I think I am starting to understand.  I see a resemblance between those pictures for sure, but I believe I am beginning to see a resemblance between our lives as well…and it’s a lovely picture.

Now I am experienced

Family, Fun,

Last night was my first time.  I had held out, saving myself I suppose.  Everyone said it would be special.  I wanted it to be magical…something I would never forget.  I had never been to Chuck E. Cheese.  They just didn’t exist anywhere near where I grew up so that wasn’t an option.  Once we had kids, I was busy…every single time somone had a birthday party there.  Last night, Emily’s school had a fund raiser there and she committed me before I had a chance to make other plans.  So, I got protection (hand sanitizer) and headed inside the place.

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At first, I was pretty overwhelmed by the smell of kids and the number of germ-hiding locations.  In fact, the germs were so bold that they didn’t even try to hide.  They seemed to be flying through the air before my eyes in fact.  Anyhow, we ordered some…uh…I guess you’d call it food.  We ate and then started to play.  Now folks, I never have really grown up…or at least I never grew up right.  We played skee-ball and rode on the rides.  Isaac showed me his expertise at a reaction time game and Abigail pedaled herself into the air on a magic bike.

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I tried to ride the rides but I didn’t fit too well.  The manager finally came over and asked me if I wanted a job as Chuck himself.  “I’ll pass I think…I am part elephant and am afraid of mice.”  She just shook her head and walked away.  Don’t grown-ups understand?  I am playing!

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(I wanted to see if the bucket full of tokens we got were gold)

All in all, it was a pretty good time.  A lot of kids from Emily’s school were there and I am sure they raised money.  I had a pretty good time too.  In fact, I wasn’t really ready to leave.  I did need to take 2 showers and I did a dance with a scrub brush and a bucket full of Mr. Clean!

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Well, it is after 4:00

Family, Fun, WV, ,

We took a trip to PA this weekend to visit with family and help with some home winterizing projects.  I used to dread the trip from WV to PA (and even worse when we lived in TN) but as the kids have aged, we have found that a few movies, books and video games save lives.  The kids travel very well and it’s become a non-issue for them to pack up and go.  Emily and I count on a bunch of caffeine though as we always drive at night after we get out of work.  It’s a 6.5 hour drive so that usually puts us in pretty late (especially when you consider that it follows a long work-day).

caffeine moleculeequalsIt's good!

Anyhow, we count on caffeine and the groovy tunes to keep us going and it usually works very well.  We headed up I-79 and drove until we got hungry.  Subway usually agrees with our tummies so we pulled into one and ordered the usual.  Emily ordered an un-sweet tea (she isn’t truly a Southern girl apparently).  The feller at the counter said, “We don’t serve sweet tea after 4:00.”  Emily said, “that’s nice, but I want UN-sweet tea.”  They went back and forth several times saying the exact same thing.  We were still in WV so one would think that we spoke the same language, but it was pretty clear that communication failed early on.  Finally, the guy told her that they don’t serve ANY tea after 4pm.


(We got this one stuck in our heads!)

A lot of places in WV and elsewhere still have blue laws.  I am familiar with them and couldn’t really care less as they don’t affect me.  My wife without caffeine on a trip, however, does endanger my life.  Green (tea) laws in WV must be overturned!  We were in prime dinner time hours so I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t have sold their tea.  And heck, they waste tons of food at Subway (as in all restaurants) so I can’t imagine that throwing out a bit of tea at the end of the day would have caused them much distress.  No, no, I think there must be some moral reason why tea is banned after 4pm!  If anyone can enlighten me on the issue, please feel free.  My life may depend on it!

Ever hula-hoop on a hillside?

Family, Fun, WV, ,

We went to a family reunion this weekend.  It started a few years ago as a pig roast but after Aunt Margaret got into the liquor cabinet and decided the pig needed a drink too, we have toned it down some and now have burgers and similar picnic food.  We always have a great time but it’s never really a reunion until Emily’s cousin and I blow something up or do something stupid.

This year, we opted for stupid…we started off by hula-hooping on a hillside.  See, in WV, there is very little flat land.  Any land that is flat is a flood plain and lately, that land is pretty soggy with all the rain.  So, we decided to hula-hoop on the hillside.  Isaac was the only smart one.  He started off wearing a helmet.

The kid is a genius with a hula-hoop!  He can walk around spinning it.  He can walk and talk and probably could bake a cake while hula-hooping.  It turns out, his sister is similarly gifted.  Me, on the other hand…I am not so blessed.  I got the rhythm and lubricated joints, but I just cannot hula…and especially not on a hillside.

Cousin “D” and I discussed it and we decided hula-hooping on a hillside was no where near stupid enough.  The kids brought their razor scooters.  We stood at the top of the hill and a dim light lit above my head.  A-ha!  I know stupid when I see it.  Both my Mom and wife said at the same time, “He won’t be happy until he hurts himself or someone else.”  Oh how I wish all of you could be known that well by somone.

Anyhow, I jumped on the scooter and headed down the hill.  The first few rides were fine but I quickly discovered that the front wheel bore too much of my weight on the wet ground.  Finally, just like my Mom and wife said, I was able to finally be happy.  I sunk the front wheel in deep and the scooter stopped.  I was not so lucky.  I went head over heels and did a very dramatic roll down the hill.  Now that’s stupid!

(click for a video)


I want you to notice the whole row of adults watching the geniuses ride down the hill. Just like a car wreck, they had to watch!

Tionesta Indian Festival 2009

Family, Fun,

(well…there are some indians)

Every year for the past thousand or so years, my home town has hosted the Indian Festival (feather not a dot) in celebration of the original inhabitants of the area.  Anyone who has ever driven through NW PA has seen the names of rivers and creeks and, no doubt, pondered how on Earth to pronounce them.  I know this isn’t exclusive to PA, but it is definitely a part of the area’s Native American history.

(don’t ask…)

In the past few years, sadly, it has become less about Native Americans and more about…ummm…something else.  Still, it is the town event from my childhood that brings me home every year.  This year, we watched the parade and the fire trucks and cars and twirling teams.  I ate the awesome hot sausage that they sell at the Methodist church and I had a great chance to visit with some folks with whom I went to high school (I’ll probably say more about that another day).

(sausagey goodness!)

(pre-heartburn)

It’s weird I guess how things stick with me, but I love to go back and see the town.  There are so many faces that I am sure I knew 20 years ago.  People who were my age then are now retiring and life is generally moving on..but I see glimmers of my growing up there and it makes me smile a bit on the inside.

(Abigail and Aunt Laura)

(Abigail loved climbing that growth on the huge tree!)

So, Indian Festival isn’t what it once was, but then, I am not sure anything ever is. Still, with a little work and imagination, there are some awesome memories of times long gone…and even better, there are lots of new adventures for my kids!

My girl, the future builder

Family, Fun,

We seem to go to Home Depot about every weekend to get materials for some project or another.  You see, we have an old house on which we are doing all sorts of repairs.  Repairs may be a mild way of putting it.  We are sort of doing a central nervous system replacement on the old girl.  Anyhow, since I am not a professional and do not have one of those nifty trucks that just seems to have one extra of every part  or nut or bolt that I need, I need to make many trips to the home repair place.

(Reading directions?  What?  Huh?)

A few months ago, we just happened to be in the store when Home Depot was offering one of their “let your kids build something on our dime” classes.  For some reason, Isaac was not with us, but Abigail was very interested in the project so we participated in the class.  It turns out that HD offers a kids’ class in the morning on the first Saturday of every month.  We went back again this month and Abigail built a message board for her room.  On this trip, Isaac was with us but had slightly less than no interest in building the project.  Isaac is the sort of kid who likes to do things his own way and his own way never involves reading directions or sitting still.  Anyhow, he had no interest so Emily and Abigail decided to tackle the project.

Luckily for Abigail, her mother is willing to humble herself and actually read directions.  They did a marvelous job of nailing nails and screwing in screws and gluing that which needed gluing.  I knew they were underway as I could hear the hammer strikes as Isaac and I were elsewhere in the store looking at wood and block and other guy stuff.

(Thumbs up!  That’s my girl!)

Abigail does the bulk of the work on these projects and really enjoys getting to do her own work and seeing the finished project.  We are doing a new project at the house on which she and her brother are the main builders.  I surely hope her practice is going to pay off or else my fingers and thumbs will suffer under her hammer swings!

The birds and the bees

Family, Fun,

We were riding in the man-van the other day and, out of the blue, Isaac asked me for the definition of sex.  Well, I knew it was coming but I wasn’t sure when it would present itself.  I am not timid about telling him what I know (which may not take too long) but I didn’t want to tell him anything that was not age-appropriate.

I started by asking where he heard the word.  He said, “I think I heard it at summer camp from some of my friends.”  Dang, I wanted my kid to be the one to share stuff with friends so that they had to talk with their parents.  “Well, Isaac, sex can mean boy or girl.”  He replied, “Yeah Dad, I know that one.”

He has started to hear boys talk about girls being cute or hot so I tried that route, “Sometimes, when people get older, they say that someone who is cute is sexy.”  Of course, he was familiar with that one too.  I guess now is the time to spill my guts.

“Isaac, sex can also mean when a mom and a dad get together and make a baby.”  We went into a number of age-appropriate details and he seemed genuinely interested.  At the end however, he said, “That’s interesting Dad, but that’s not the definition I needed either.  I guess I’ll just go look it up in the dictionary.”  I tried my very hardest not to laugh out loud but that’s good stuff!

It turns out that we were listening to a station on xm radio, our satellite radio provider.  For some reason, one of the DJs said something like, “…and next on sex-m radio…” Isaac heard that and thought there must be another definition for sex.  And I signed up for xm originally because there were no DJs…

A Member of the Club

Adventure, Family, Fun, ,

We harvested honey this weekend (more about that later this week) at Emily’s grandparents’ house.  I keep 4 hives at their place and they have a perfect setup in their garage for our honey extraction.  Emily and the kids and I were joined by Emily’s parents and her grandparents to make the extraction a family affair.  We started around 9 in the morning and finished by 6 in the evening.  So, we had an all day affair.

The kids were super well behaved in spite of the work and the heat (we finally had a hot day among all the rainy days) and the apparent boredom.  Under Emily’s grandparents’ house is a crawlspace in which an adult can almost stand upright.  The kids discovered that and found that it made a perfect hide-out.  The best part is that their hide-out was naturally air-conditioned.  The coolness was a great escape for them and they loved playing under there.

In time, they decided that their club needed to be a little more exclusive than it was when the started it (an hour earlier).  Isaac and Abigail were, of course, members and they decided to invite their great-grandmother to be the first non-founding member.  She happily obliged and helped them move in a table and chairs and met with them in their first members’ meeting…yes, Emily’s 82 year old grandmother crawled under the house and sat around a tiny table with the kids.  She is definitely a member of the club!

Though her birth certificate says she is 82, she certainly doesn’t look or act like it.  Both of Emily’s grandparents are built that way.  It’s so much fun to hang out with them and watch as nothing slows them down!  That’s a club I want to be in!

An evening…shot

Adventure, Family, Fun, ,

The kids have been involved in an archery instruction program at their grandparents’ church all summer.  Last night was the final night of the program for the summer (but it restarts in September).  The church uses the Centershot curriculum which is pretty neat.  The kids love to shoot and have improved imensely.

Isaac has advanced into using heavier bows and shooting the full length of the range.  He hits mostly in the colored part of the target and really, most are very near the center.  Abigail, who is smaller of course, shoots at a softer and closer target and has improved in her ability to stick the arrows.  They love shooting and will definitely continue in the fall.  I think that we also plan to buy them bows so we can shoot during the off-season (whenever that is)

Since last night was the end for this round, we went to see how everything works and the instructors let us shoot as well.  I shot first and did ok.  It’s been a long time since I shot a bow (25 years?) so I was pretty pleased.  Emily shot next (her first time ever) and shot ok.  We went again and Emily shot much better than me the second round.  In fact, she shot the only bullseye of the evening at the range.  That’s pretty typical of us which is pretty funny.  I am a pretty good shot with a rifle and pistol but she is even better.  But hey, I am thrilled.  If the times ever get tough, I am sending her out to hunt and gather!

Anyhow, I think we have found a new family hobby as all of us enjoy shooting and there are plenty of opportunities  to practice.  A few weeks ago, Abigail said she wanted to hunt with me.  Last night, she recognized what hunting was…”Dad, why can’t we just leave the animals alone?”  It was a good opportunity to talk about the source of our food.  Still, I think we’ll be a target shooting family more than a hunting family initially…

All I want…

Family

Abigail has had a loose tooth for several months.  Her top left tooth has been “wiggly” since the beginning of June but she could never work up the courage to work it so it would come out.  I have been wiggling it every day for the last week or so hoping to challenge its flexion.  Finally, last night I was able to get a finger around the top of the tooth so I yanked it.

She had a look of horror on her face as I held the offending tooth before her eyes.  She didn’t really realize I had pulled it until she saw it.  As soon as she saw it, she licked a little in her mouth as she tasted the tiny bit of blood that resulted.  Of course, it stopped almost immediately but her gagging continued for a few more minutes.  She is fairly dramatic about tastes and smells so this was par for the course.  It was sort of funny I guess and, thankfully for her parents, we know she will never be a good vampire.

(still in shock after waking up this morning)

Once her drama ended, she really got into discovering which words no longer came out the same way without her tooth (Click here to hear her talking).  She was overjoyed!  She bounced around singing and talking and having a great time sounding funny.  Immediately Abigail starting singing, “All I want for Christmas is my one front tooth.”  It was so much fun to see her excitement after she realized that losing teeth isn’t so bad, and maybe even fun!

So, do you ever help your kids’ teeth along?