Tag: family

Movie night

My brother came over to help shovel dirt and then to watch Top Gun: Maverick. It was pouring rain, and the trailer hadn’t been returned anyway, so the shoveling dirt was cancelled, but the movie was still on. He hadn’t seen it yet, and my man was not going to let that go on for long (we found out on Wednesday night at dinner). We had started A Knight’s Tale just ‘cause after I got home (actually, my man had had in a movie that was too stressful for me, so he switched it to something I could handle, which ended up being A Knight’s Tale), and had left it paused on the first frame when we ran to the store. My brother arrived before us and, once we arrived, commented on that we were watching A Knight’s Tale, which he recognized from the opening frame… as would I, of course.

Well, for whatever reason, we watched A Knight’s Tale. It turns out that my brother and I know just about every line of the film, and it is a favorite of us both. My man hadn’t seen it in a long while, so he actually had to pay attention much more closely than we did. Nonetheless, we watched and enjoyed the film together.

And then, after a short Duolingo and bathroom break, just because it was almost ten-thirty PM on a Friday night, we watched Top Gun: Maverick. And we very much enjoyed that one, too, of course.

And so, now, at 1:30AM, my brother had headed home and we are getting ready for bed, content from our miniature and unanticipated movie marathon. ’Twas a good night. ’Twas a good night.

Thank you, God. Keep us all safe, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Thickheadedness

My brother comments on how he didn’t realize the message I’d sent to the family was a save-the-date for our wedding. Why? As I said to him tonight after dinner, if he ever actually called his sister and had an actual relationship with her, he would have known already all about it, even before the text… I wasn’t mean, of course, but I also wasn’t wrong, and he knew it. 😛 He always stops being a good family member whenever he starts dating someone. As silly as it sounds, that’s okie thing I actually really liked about his wife before – she usually made a clear effort to keep him in touch with us. She didn’t let him disappear, and thereby had a large role of her own in my life, in all our lives…

Anyway… addiction really sucks.

Post-a-day 2023

Segregation

Somehow, it never occurred to me that my parents were there for desegregation. We learned all about it in school, but they never had us ask our parents about it… We once had to ask our grandparents about some event, but I don’t recall what it even was. But why didn’t we use our own family members more with history? They, after all, did live through much of the detailed stuff that is referenced in the classrooms… and it makes things more memorable when we can tie them to something personal.

I remember, actually, doing one interview for school with my dad. Part of it, at least, was about race stuff, but it wasn’t tied as much to all the things we learn about, the events and people and such. It was about how a parent grew up relative to another race. I remember that much. It’s when I learned that the first black person my dad met was his college roommate, in college. Also that his parents didn’t particularly like (or know at all) black people, but, since black people weren’t ever around – remember how he never met one until he left home for college – my dad was exposed to much of an opinion about black people. In a way, the almost-certain racism never got much of a chance to be passed on to him. No, he didn’t get to know people of other races, but he also didn’t have any hostility toward them.

Fast forward to the next generation, and I grew up going to school in the most diverse county in the most diverse city in the country. Several of my best friends and crushes growing up were races other than white. And it never even occurred to me to care. People were just people. Kind folks were kind and mean ones were mean. Race truly never came up as a factor beyond looks.

Kind of cool, really…

Anyway, I’ve gone way off topic here. The point was that history class missed a huge learning opportunity here, and I want to remedy it as best as I can. I’ve already reached out to both my parents for some basic memory sharing, and I’m arranging really sitting and talking with them about it in the near future, too. How cool that my parents were there for so much stuff that we learned about in school… And how bizarre that that never truly occurred to me that they could share with me all about it personally, not just from a learned knowledge base. (Like how my mom was talking to me at Dealey Plaza about JFK’s assassination… but I subconsciously thought she was telling things she had learned in school – she was a great student, after all – not that she was remembering it from the live news reports…)

I have so much to discuss with my parents…and I almost feel a need to bring along a textbook!

I just might…

Post-a-day 2023

Discussion

We started going through some question and answer things together tonight, and actually discussing some of it… and I feel so satisfied by the conversation as a whole, so accomplished, satiated… satisfied not as in proved right, but as in filled, whole. I have been wanting to do just this for so long, and we are finally doing it clearly and intentionally, and it is wonderful. We both are learning, I think, both about each other and about how to discuss different things effectively with one another, and both are extremely valuable in any relationship. So, I go to sleep incredibly grateful tonight.

Thank you, God, and thank you, my man, for the communication, the willingness, and the love involved in it all. Thank you, God, for this life. Please, make clear our next steps always in pursuing and fulfilling your will. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

P.S. In class today, we started discussing jobs and work and careers and crafts. (This is French class.) At the end of class, we started reading together an article on the Japanese concept of ikigai. (If you don’t know it, look it up, because it is really cool.) Tonight, as I looked at my memories on Facebook, I crossed a post from this day seven years ago talking about how I had just discovered the Japanese term ikigai and that it was an awesome addition to my vocabulary. How fun! 😛

Nicknames

I mentioned something about my brother tonight, and my man wanted to confirm that he was thinking of the right person by that name. My brother has a farm, so he said, “Farmer ——?” No one had ever referred to him that way, so I confirmed myself by saying, “Brother ——-”. And, just for fun, I then gave his various nicknames from childhood. I then listed who used which names. My man said one of them was mean. I said how it was actually an endearing one and that my brother was fine with it, just like how I was called “Nina” by one sister and “Chickadee” by another.

As I typed my next comment of, “The only thing I would brainstorm about how to put on a license plate one day,” referring to Chickadee, my man said, “K nickname overload”, and I promptly stopped the rolling discussion that was developing in my brain. 😛 He has a fair point – five nicknames in thirty seconds just before bed is a lot to take in. Especially for people whom one doesn’t know all that well. It had me realize how many names we all had for each other, though, and how important each one was to us all, including that we had the right to use them… kind of makes for a really cool bond, now that I’m thinking about it. We didn’t make them on purpose. They just happened. Those are the real nicknames, the precious ones.

Anyway, as my brain went on this new route on its own, I then had a follow-up message of my man sending me a screenshot of an available version of “Chickadee” for a license plate. 😛 He’s just perfect for me, and I love him immensely.

Thank you, God. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Happy Thanksgiving

As usual, my family and I celebrated Thanksgiving today, the Friday that follows the official holiday. And, as usual, we had a lovely time together – I very much enjoyed being with those who attended and am very grateful for the time we all spent together.

However, I am absolutely exhausted, and so must sleep. My man is driving to Mexico tonight and then tomorrow for the long haul actually into and through Mexico. As usual, I am scared.

Dear God, thank you for this lovely day and family. Thank you for my man. Please, help him to be safe on his trip. Keep him always safe, happy, healthy, and holy. Help him, please, to follow and pursue your will. Bring him back home to me safely, happy, healthy, holy. Watch over him and guide him, please. And help me to trust in You and Your protection, and to release this fear I am presently carrying. Help me to find comfort and ease in Your promise and love. Keep him and the dog and the car and all the stuff safe, please. Bless his driving. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Musical Evenings

We celebrated my grandma’s 93rd birthday this evening at her building’s happy hour. After a bit, my cousin jumped on the (baby?) grand piano – lid up, of course – and started playing some old favorites for her (and the other folks there), as well as a few for us. I rather especially enjoyed singing “All for the Best” from Godspell with my mom and aunt and cousins… almost like we were mad, but we were truly just having such a great time with the song, we were actually jumping up and down and all as we did it.

It all was just really great. Even the regular Alzheimer’s granny was singing along with enthusiasm and energy I had never seen in her before tonight. That made it all even sweeter.

And then, by happenstance and poor planning, the piano cousin and his friend ended up staying at the house with us tonight. They arrived while I was showering, and it was no surprise to me to hear both the piano and a guitar already being used within minutes of their arrival. Naturally, we had a next few hours filled with music and merriment.

The nerdy bit was when I mentioned the NPR Piano Puzzler, a really cool bit where this pianist composes and performs a popular song in the style of a famous composer (who did not write the song). A listener has to guess the song and the composer, but it is just as fun to play at home or in the car just listening. My cousin hasn’t heard of it. Fortunately, they are all available to hear online, so we pulled up a few and had a grand old time listening to them and guessing together. If you like music and haven’t tried them already, check them out!

Anyway, thank you, God, for such a blessing tonight. Grant us all renewing sleep each night and energy and will to pursue and fulfill your will each day. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Baby steps

I seem to be making progress on various things, though it is heavy-going. I am grateful for the progress, but it isn’t feeling much lighter, likely because I am carrying a lot for a lot of things right now – lots of progress to come, one could say! (Others might say it’s a long way to go yet… so, pick your flavor!)

I asked for something today, too, and not angrily or meanly – just straightly. And the answer was a very decent and respectable one. Nothing firm or final, but a promise to have a back-up option, which is more than I would have had if I hadn’t asked. So, yay for being courageous and asking!

Thank you, God, for all the encouragement and progress of today. Please, help me continue to pursue and fulfill your will by my life. Help me to achieve the goals you have granted me and placed before me. Thank you for this life. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Halloween

Tonight, we got to join my friend and her husband and two little girls to go trick-or-treating. It was the first time for real for the three-year-old.

When we pulled up, they were all out front, and another friend of my friend was with them. As we set out, we realized that we were three different families present for the two children of only one of those families. It cracked us up, at least. The one family was dressed to theme together as characters from the movie “Encanto”. The mom was Luisa and the baby was a donkey, dad was Bruno, and the three-year-old, of course, was Mirabel. And yes, she wore the glasses. We actually had to stop at one point, because her glasses were falling down, and she had to fix them. (Of course, my man actually fixed them for her, because they’d popped out of socket on one side, but she was the one who was adamant that they had to be fixed before we could continue walking.)

Nonetheless, she would hold one of our hands while we walked, then would climb onto the front walkway of a house, run up to the door or table with her (meaning our) pumpkin, usually say, and adorably, “Trick or treat!”, receive or grab candy, often say even more adorably, “Thank you!”, run back down to us waiting adults (with the baby), grab ahold of a hand again, and then jump off the curb. For the first several times, she also then would add, “I got candy! I got candy!” Then, as we continued onward, she would declare, “I wanna go to Mimi and Pawpaw’s house! I wanna go to Mimi and Pawpaw’s house!” (Keep in mind, she is excited and adorable, not whiney and annoying. Just to be clear here, because that matters.)

Once we finally got to Mimi and Pawpaw’s house, they came along with us for a bit before going back home. At that point, the declaration from the street, after getting candy, had become, “I wanna do another one… I wanna go to someBODY’s house! I wanna go to someBODY’s house!” Why was she emphasizing the “body” part of the word? I genuinely have no idea. But it was stupidly cute, and she was just so excited to be trick-or-treating, which she also occasionally declared that she was doing, none of us minded about correcting her emphasis.

When we got back to the house, she immediately took off her shoes and then told us she wanted to eat a piece of chocolate. So, I had her pick one, and then I opened it for her. When she was ready for another piece, I showed her how to bring the bucket to the floor, and to sit down and dump it out with us, making that glorious candy waterfall and then pile. She clearly enjoyed both the dumping and the shoving her hands through it all to see what all was there. Right move!

And she actually had a surprising spread. I made her parents both feel how heavy her bucket was before we dumped it out, because no one understood how strong this kid had been. She was adamant about carrying it herself the whole time. But that thing was genuinely heavy, and she’s only three years old. Her commitment and success were impressive, to be sure. We were all both surprised and proud of her.

And we were proud of her for all of it, really. She had gone up to most houses all on her own. She’d remembered her lines almost every time. When she forgot the “Trick or treat” part, and my man asked her, “What do you say?”, she quickly then said to the ladies, “Thank you!” Not the direction he was aiming, but also not a bad line to pick(!). She did a really good job and clearly had a blast, and we were proud of her.

And we had a good time, too. It was fun being all together just hanging out, while also providing for this both adorable for us and fun for her time for the three-year-old. It was great.

Oh, and she also occasionally would declare, “I’m Mirabeeel!” Everyone enjoyed that one, too.

It was just a lovely night, and I am grateful for it. I’m sorry my man and I both felt kind of unwell afterward, and that we didn’t hand out any of the candy we’d purchased specifically to hand out this year, but I think we both are glad we went with my friend and them all, nonetheless. It was a surprisingly lovely time.

Thank you, God, for these friends, big and small. Thank you for tonight. Please, help us to sleep well tonight and to pursue and fulfill your will in all we do. Help my friend A-J to experience the love we have for her and the gratitude so many have toward her. Help her to feel your love and the love and gratitude she so well creates and inspires. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Calling and Stressing

Sometimes, it feels like God is calling me in a certain direction, yet the world seems to be setting itself against my going in that direction. And sometimes, it feels like I am being offered a choice between two seemingly similar yet extremely different directions, and I truly cannot tell which is the one God is asking, recommending, calling me to pursue.

And sometimes, it’s both at the same time.

God, help me, please, to see clearly your will for me and my family and our life. Help me to see this next step clearly and to pursue and fulfill it with comfort, ease, and confidence in your guidance and will and love. Thank you for this life. Please, help me to live it at my best possible. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023