Good Bye Downton Abbey

So what did you do last night? Maybe I'm not the only one going through some sort of withdrawal symptoms from Sunday nights' entertainment by the Crawley family and servants, so I thought I'd have a little farewell blog party right here. Reminiscing on what it may be that has ten million viewers fascinated with a show that takes us back one hundred years, I come up with several of my own reasons.

First of all, what intrigues me most is that, although life is very different for both aristocrats and servants from what any of us know today,  deep down they deal with the same relationship issues and feelings we do today. And I'm attracted to the way they deal with these and each other using manners and respect. It's Granny's poise and honest one liners that had me laughing in disbelief, and yet, you knew that when it came down to it, she just cared enough to speak the truth. I think back to the time when she found out about Edith's out-of-wedlock pregnancy and how she supported her with love and grace. I laughed when she said, "It's a grandmother's job to interfere." With so much of life behind her, she was wise and, in her estimation, never wrong. When accused of hating the feeling of being wrong, she simply stated, "I wouldn't know. I'm not familiar with the sensation." And spoken the way she said it, even that sounded almost friendly. I also loved Anna, the way she served lady Mary, but mostly for her undying love and support for her husband through much hardship. And then Lady Edith, who struggled through so much insecurity and yet came out shining as gold, choosing to be honest, rather than possibly claiming her position and happiness in a deceitful manner.

Another aspect that had me hooked was the aura of splendor in how they dressed and dined as a family. Coming from the era where seafarer jeans, mini skirts and hippie dresses were the style when I was a young lady, I have loved the array of beautiful dresses that I would wish to just try on and wear for an evening. There is a certain feminine aspect that has gone in other directions since that time, but whenever there was some lace to be had, I've been in. . . . even when dresses sported big shoulder pads.

And one more personal draw in watching this family live out life, quite comfortably without our modern day conveniences, made me think about my own grandmother who was born into a wealthy family in 1907. Her family operated a family business that invented and sold farm equipment. They owned several factories and employed hundreds of workers in Russia.  How often, as I watched, I wondered how this show would compare to what she experienced in her early childhood home with servants quarters, a shiny black mahogany piano to play and beautiful cars with leather seats, to say nothing of all that I never thought to ask her about.

Although Downton Abbey is a fictional story, the characters have come to take a place in our hearts as we saw them with all of their flaws and idiosyncrasies become transparent and help us understand and love them for who they are. Something we can apply to all whom we interact with in daily life.

Four Fun

Spending a day with Teddy, I should really have a notepad to record the things she tells me as she has so much of life figured out. Sometimes stating the obvious just makes me laugh, as I see exactly what her little mind is thinking. Like when I told her I'd have to fix the hole in her leggings and she said, "but then I'd be wearing panties!"
Other times I can see what she has learned about waiting for something. I was telling her that this summer we would be going to the baseball game with all the cousins and she said, "But that's still a long time away." Thinking I'd put it into closer perspective for her by telling her that she would still be four years old (like she is now), she responded, "It's still a long time away because when I was three that was a long time."
Obviously I've forgotten how long a year is!

Happy Birthday to our Leap Year Baby!

Dear Makenna,

On this special day we remember your birthday

by way of visiting with you through photos.

What a happy day it was when we got the call that another little girl was here.

Your family was home on furlough and too soon we had to say goodbye.

We visited you on your first birthday

and you gave us the gift of witnessing your first steps.

For your second birthday we were back in Indonesia.

You enjoyed tickles with Papa

and were not going to miss out on Grammy's buns with jam.

We missed your third birthday . . . but made up for it on your fourth back here!

It was your first birthday on your actual day

and the first time you celebrated with cousins and the whole family.

We dubbed you "Spatz" (German name for sparrow.)

On your fifth birthday we took you to Build-a-Bear.

And on your sixth you were still here 

although crates were being packed once more.

These years at home were special bonding times,

playing in the playhouse, baking cookies, trips to the playground 

or the park and trips to the Lakehouse. 

We missed your seventh birthday and now this one,

But our memories of Hawaii linger on and

bring joy every time we think about them.

Your smiles, your words that I wanted to store up forever,

your laughter and honest expressions

have warmed our hearts, whether near or far away.

We wish you a very happy 8th Birthday 

and God's favor to rest on you always.

Sending hugs and kisses,

Love, Papa and Grammy

Mom's Recipes

She is frustrated with her old notebooks of recipes,
some re-written into new ones -

a project she began before she knew she was getting forgetful.
With pages falling out of order and recipes not where they used to be,
she calls me, because she can't find what she's looking for.
It can be even more complicated when the name eludes her.

.

I've never paid much attention to her notebooks,

but for some reason, on this particular day,

I got out my phone

because . . . even these old recipes tell a story.

Pages of instructions carefully written out.

Love poured out to serve through these . . .

 the muffins, cookies, fancy pastries and soups . . .

a wealth of unwritten knowledge attached to each.

As I talk to her about her life

I realize cooking has been a big part,

from being the eldest of eight kids, helping her mom,

to nanny days as a teen, to working in a hotel 

to the MCC Kitchen in the city

and serving as a cook to a wealthy lady

while I was in diapers.

And then there are the years that I remember! 

Oh the things she has exemplified and taught me!

No wonder she is frustrated.

I've cried tears for her . . . for me

slowly realizing the implications of what is happening.

Maybe I had this idea that losing your memory had to do with

forgetting facts, such as the name of your newest great-grandchild, 

the doctor's appointment or garbage day.

But there is so much more about the intricacies of our memory and

how wonderfully we are made to do things without realizing how we do them.

The things we never write down.

The everyday routines. 

How to cut up a cake, how to store it . . .

simple things we do not think we need a memory for

suddenly are realized as such. 

Hours . . . days . . . weeks . . . months,

take on meaning in our minds as we grow.

They affect how we do life and plan -

yet slowly she is confined to a muddle of time undefined,
be it the clock or the calendar.

I've seen seniors in homes in that different world

when it does not seem to matter any more to them,

but I've never considered the process, the cost,
to loved ones and themselves,
of getting to that place.

The good and the hard is that it still matters to her

and it's us who are confused or being irrational.

Maybe that is true.
What I know is that she has the recipe for a life well lived - 

a beautiful mind I wish to explore and treasure while I can.

Coloring Class

 Have you  noticed the coloring books for adults?

A friend gave me one for Christmas, along with a set of pencil crayons.

So I had to think about Lacey, who - I'm sure has colored way more pictures than

I have in my lifetime. She loves coloring.

The other day we spent an hour and a half just sitting and coloring.

"When you color, you talk," she said.

A six-year-old's way of saying," this is a nice way to visit."

She's right. I had no idea it could be so much fun! 

And . . . well, we did not quite get done,

but I had to play with it on Picassa.

That was fun too.

Spring Promise

The first blooms to open in our yard this year happen to be a hellebore species, 

called the Lenten Rose. 

I think these are my favorite of all the early perennials to come up.

The Lenten rose derives it's name from the fact that it blooms during Lent.

Not growing up with the practice of Lent, 

my curiosity led me to find out that Lent begins with Ash Wednesday.

That sounded like a more familiar term,

although I did not know it's significance either.

So I found out that Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent 

40 days before Easter, remembered as a time to fast and repent of sin.

Something interesting I found out is that 

Ash Wednesday refers to ashes used by Jews and Christians

as a sign of repentance.

In Bible times people repented in dust and ashes, possibly to remind 

them of the consequences of sin, which is death.

Covering themselves with ashes was a way of showing deep remorse.

There are various ways that we can remember this season

leading up to the holy day we celebrate as Easter,

the ultimate celebration of life after death.

First of all, we can think of the ashes resembling repentance

and ask God what new work He would want to do in us.

We can practice a fast from something that takes our attention from listening to God.

We can set aside time to serve, time to pray or

time to reflect on what the promise of new life means for us.

Jesus, said, 

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 5 :24