Sad Day

Tom’s paternal grandmother, Beverly “Bubbi” Besser, passed away this week.  She will be missed by all her knew her.  She never got to meet our daughter or the little one due in June, and for that I am truly sorry.  The last time I saw her was 2006, and she spent a couple hours showing me old photo albums of the family and telling me stories, relating family health history, and generally being sweet and enjoyable to be around.  She experienced plenty of adversity in her life, but she always seemed to bounce back.  Her husband, Harold, passed away at the young age of 54, when Tom was only two or three years old.  She survived multiple medical issues and just kept fighting her way back to health.  In a way, I was surprised she succumbed to the latest bout of problems.  She had a great attitude and was the kind of person you expected to outlive everyone.  Rest in peace, Bubbi.

Running Commentary

Having a toddler can be, as my sister-in-law puts it, “a riot.”  Jocelyn is learning all sorts of new words and stringing them together in improbable ways.  Here are a few examples of her latest babblings:

When somebody let out a loud gaseous emission: “POO POO!  YAAAYYYY!”

When she’s digging into something she shouldn’t: “Mommy purse, Mommy purse.”

When she goes with me into a public restroom:  “Potty.  Yucky.”  (She learned that one on our recent road trip, since we were in an awful lot of disgusting restrooms!)

Begging for more blackberries: “Back dee-do!  Back dee-do!”  (Dee-do is “berries,” for some odd reason.)

When Tom is sleeping in on a weekend (looking at our bedroom door): “Daddy night-night.” 

When she sneaks into our room while Tom is sleeping in: “Daddy!  Night night!” (Grabbing his foot) “TOES!”

Before she (intentionally) throws something off her dinner tray: “UH-OH!”  Then, giving her hand a spanking, “NOOO!”

Looking at God’s beautiful nighttime sky: “Moon.  Up!”

Waiting for her bath to run: “Bwoo watew.  Bwoo watew.” (We bought some blue dissolving tablets that make the water taste bitter to cure her of her love for bubble-bath flavored cocktails.)

Begging for more yummy stuff to be put into her little container: “Fwoot!  Cup!”

Looking at the recently-used toilet: “Yellow!” 

When Mommy is busy getting ready for the move Saturday: “Bock.  PACK!”

Upon being forced to wear outdoor garments: “Coke!” (Coat) “BRRRRRRRR!”

Another favorite: “Yow-gut.  YUMMY!”

And my favorite…butt stuck straight towards the ceiling: “UP UP!!!”

Life According to Jocelyn

Jocelyn recently reached 22 months of age, and I was reflecting on what her short life experience could teach me, an adult, about being a better person, dealing with problems, and generally having more fun.  Here are 10 lessons Jocelyn has taught me.

1.  Wear your heart on your sleeve. Jocelyn doesn’t hold in her feelings. She doesn’t waste energy hiding her emotions or trying to calculate how things make her feel; she just lets it all out.  I’m sure her blood pressure is terrific!  (Picture from when she was 12 months old)
	2.  Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. Cry, say “PEEEEEZ!”, or just stand on their feet if they won’t let you have something.  If all else fails, pilfer it when they’re not looking.  Here’s Jocelyn sucking on a bottle of mustard, her favorite thing to steal from the pantry.
3.  To really have fun, you may need to make a mess. Grownups can be so dull…keep your hands clean, don’t pick that dirty thing up, what are you eating?!?  Babies know the secret to having fun in life is to get nice and messy.
	4.  Say “I love you” and give lots of hugs. Jocelyn always surprises us when she busts out with a “Wuv woo!” in the middle of the day for no apparent reason.  We need to be like a little child and remember to say “I love you” more often.  It’s a great way to melt some hearts!  She also loves to “hug-hug-hug.”  It’s so therapeutic. ; )
5.  Help in any way you can. I have been packing for our upcoming move, and Jocelyn is always right there, doing her best to “help.”  Whether she’s flinging shoes to the four winds while chanting “clean up, clean up” or disemboweling a Kleenex box, we can always count on her to “help” in some way.
	6. Take time to enjoy the little things in life. Jocelyn and I spent some time enjoying the sunshine at a park near our new house today.  As an adult, I am always stressing out about my schedule, what comes next on my to-do list, etc. Not her.  She is content to spend 15 minutes sifting gravel, picking miniscule flowers and examining each one, or just commenting on the ducks that walk by.  I need to learn how to slow down and enjoy the simple things in life.
7.  You can never have too many shoes. As the oldest of 5 children, I never had a really nice pair of new shoes…or if I did, I beat them to a bloody pulp in a few days.  For some reason, Jocelyn has been the recipient of many free pairs of hand-me-down shoes in perfect condition.  She loves shoes, and if she can’t find any of her own, she will try on some of mine or Tom’s.  Here she is in my running shoes. The moral of the story?  Enjoy your possessions, but don’t let them possess you.  As soon as the shoes are put away, Jocelyn forgets all about them.  I love that simplicity.
	8.  Don’t take yourself too seriously. Jocelyn has no sense of self-consciousness.  She is who she is, with no apologies to anyone.  She never compares herself to other people or worries that she won’t be cool enough to fit in.  She’s much too busy enjoying life!
9. Take risks. As adults, we are so leery of trying new things.  I hardly order anything new off the menu, let alone trying to connect with people who aren’t like me or attempting a task I’m not very good at. Jocelyn is a wonder..she tries something new every 5 to 10 seconds! This particular thing (climbing out of the crib) yielded a toddler bed!
	10.  Always remember your roots. Jocelyn says so many new words every day, but her favorite words are still “Mommy,” “Daddy,” and “baby.”  She remembers what’s really important…family.  Although I am an adult now, it would do me good every so often to remember where I came from.  I can learn so many lessons from my upbringing and my family.

 

 

Road Trip, Last Day (Or, the Tupperware that Wouldn’t Go Away)

We cut our road trip short by driving all the way from Georgia to Seabrook, TX in one shot. It was more than 12 hours’ worth of driving, but it paid off, because we had two days to recover (and boy, did we ever need it!).

On the way home, I met an old friend in Mobile, AL for a few minutes. She attended Tom’s birthday party a couple years ago, and I still had a plastic container she had left at my house. Now, I am probably the only one who has a home like this, but my husband really likes all his Tupperware to match, so this particular container was doomed for the recycle bin, or we needed to return it to its rightful owner. Well, wouldn’t you know it…we left that dumb plastic bowl in the car? Oh yes. That Tupperware went 3000+ miles with us, and never once did it leave our trunk. Figures. Now Tom says we have to mail it to her…*stifled scream*

Road Trip, Day Fifteen

Wow! It’s hard to believe we have been on the road 15 days. We caught a quick brunch with Tom’s mom and stepdad in Pineville, reclaimed our child, and headed west towards Atlanta. Tom has a friend from his grade school days who lives in Smyrna, GA with her husband and 5 kids. We enjoyed a late dinner with them and stayed even later talking about parenting issues, eating habits, and all things toddler.

While the adults were catching up, Jocelyn decided she needed a better place to sit. She disappeared into another room, then triumphantly appesared a minute later dragging a child’s chair…a POTTY chair. She plunked herself right down on it in the middle of the living room as if to say, “OK, I’m ready to chat.” I busted a gut laughing, and of course I had to take a picture before the newfound treasure was returned to its rightful place.

In the continuing saga of amazing deals on hotel rooms, we landed a suite with a full-size fridge and kitchenette for only $39.00/night. It was dark, quiet, and comfortable, and that’s all we really care about at this point in the game…but of course, saving money helps, too!

We have really been blessed by all the people who gave time, food, accomodations, and attention to our little vagabond family during the trip. We love and appreciate “all y’all” very much!

Road Trip, Days Eleven Through Fourteen

Day 11 was the first day of our trip that we “slept in” (definition: staying in bed past 7:15 a.m.).  The hotel had a wonderful breakfast buffet, yummy and totally free, so all the crankies from the night before were utterly dissolved in a nice plate of deliciousness.  : )  As a second-trimester pregnant lady, I relish a nice, hot plate of eggs, and they had plenty.  I even heard some German-speaking tourists commenting on the fresh food with big smiles on their faces (all the Deutsch I learned in high school finally paid off!  Ha ha).

We took a leisurely 3-hour drive into Charlotte, NC, and stayed on the Charlotte outskirts with Tom’s mom and stepdad.  Jocelyn had fun tormenting their three cats, and Mommy enjoyed a full afternoon nap.  (And everyone said: thanks be to God!)

Days 12 through 14 were spent at Morningstar Ministries in Fort Mill, SC at their annual New Year’s conference.  It’s a time of spiritual retreat with great worship music, excellent speakers, and…absolutely no child care.  I ended up hiding with Jocelyn in the nursing mothers’ room most of the time.  I did meet some really nice mothers, although I have to say I was pretty sad that I had to miss so much of the other activities.  One girl I met was also at a conference 3 years ago at the same location, and I was interested to get to know her better last time, but we just never got a chance to talk.  She has a daughter the same age as Jocelyn, so we spent a good chunk of time together during this conference.  My new friend is returning to her home in Israel soon, but through the miracle of the Internet, we will always be able to keep in touch.  : )

The highlight of the whole conference is the New Year’s Eve service, of course, and Tom’s mom and stepdad generously offered to watch Jocelyn for the night.  I know God really wanted my undivided attention that night, and it was so refreshing to be able to pray, worship and meditate on the new year without having to wrestle a toddler the whole time.  What a huge blessing!