A Reason to Call Home

My son went to homecoming Saturday night. As we were scrambling rather last minute for something to wear the morning of the dance, it became apparent that I may have to iron. This may sound like simple event but, I have VERY limited ironing experience. My mother paid my grandma to do our family ironing. With 4 kids in private school, her being a nurse and my dad in uniform walking mail, this was a wise use of her money. My dad was probably the most pressed and professional looking mailman in South Sioux City, Nebraska.

Needless to say, the prospect of ironing was a bit of a dilemma so I did what every 21st century woman would do and I lamented on Facebook. The response was great. I had friends offer to iron the shirt for me, a link to a how-to website and a couple step by step instructions. As I laughed about my inability to iron, I decided it would be a good time to call my grandma. Sadly, I don't talk to her nearly enough and after speaking with her recently on her birthday, I made a mental note to call her more often.

Here is a roughly edited version of the phone call:

Grandma: Hello?

Me: Hi grandma, it's Sunshine.

G: Sunner? Oh hello!

M: Hi grandma. I was just thinking about you today and I thought I would call you.

G: Well Sunner, you know your old grandma here thinks about you all the time.

M: Haha. Thanks grandma. Guess what? I have to iron a shirt for Noah today and I don't know how to iron and it's all your fault!

G: (laughs) Ha! Well, you know I always did love to do your ironing. That Barb (my mom) doesn't let me do it anymore.

M: Yeah, well I should have taken a little time to learn because now I'm stuck.

G: Well, I'll teach you next time you are home. You know, that Conrad (her husband) was military and everything had to be pressed right with the 3points on the back. (She then went into a very elaborate description of the military press)

M: Wow! Sounds difficult.

G: No, no. I'll teach ya. Next time you come home. When are you coming home?

M: Soon grandma. I promise. You know, I was teasing Ashley the other day about noodles. (homemade chicken noodles are my grandma's signature dish) I told Ash that she got mom's noodles on her birthday but, when I come home, I'll get YOUR noodles. Right?

G: Oh Sunner, I will always make noodles for you!

M: Haha. Yeah, I told Ash it was because I'm your favorite.

G: Oh yes, you and Shane (oldest boy grandchild) Well, all you kids are special to me but, you and Shane lived with me so, you were different. It was just different, you know.

And without even prompting she went into the story of the day my mom and I moved out. My mom was a single mom when I was born and we lived with my grandma for about 4 years.

G: Oh you know, that day was hard for me. I was mad at Barb. And, when she came to get your bed, I just cried you know. And when I was vacuuming the carpet where your bed was, I just cried and cried.

M: Awww grandma, and I was just moving across town!

G: I know, I know. I just liked having you living with me, that's all.

M: Your too sweet grandma.

G: Well, I sure do miss you. I miss all my grandkids.

M: Miss you too grandma. I'll be home soon. I promise.

G: Ok Sunner. You take care. I'll teach you how to iron when you get home.

M: Ok. And, can I get a German Chocolate cake too.

G: (laugh) Oh, you know you can get a cake too.

M: Love you grandma.

G: Love you too sweetheart.

And, this just makes me think that I need to find more reasons to call home.

A Morning Run

My husband and I have been going on morning runs together. Although I am thankful for our healthy like-mindedness, I sometimes wonder why I didn't politely decline when he invited me the first time. The way Jeremy and I approach a run is SO totally different. As I trailed him again this morning, I realized that our running styles parallel our life together.

I could run for miles on a flat, even road at a steady pace. Jeremy likes hills and rough terrain. No warm-up. Just hit the pavement and go as fast as you can as quickly as you can. I am usually listening to Jack Johnson Radio while he is yelling back to me over whatever is thumping in his headphones.

In our relationship, family life and church Jeremy is the visionary and the do-er. He has absolutely no reservations taking an ultra-last minute trip somewhere. He is famous for tracking a snowstorm and giving us one hour to be packed and in the car. Since I am more of the planner I would like a little more notice than that. But, I have adapted and can usually see the fire in his eyes or measure his speech and know that there is a possible trip underfoot.

There is an illustration that we commonly use on our church staff about Jeremy and I. He is the ship and I am the rudder. Without the ship we would go nowhere. Without the rudder the ship would be unstable and the passengers may fall off.

My friend teased and called me 'stable Mabel'. She's right, I am way too content just keeping things steady. So, as I literally ate my husbands dust this morning, I had to thank God for his pushing me and keeping us moving ever forward. Relationships are no easy task and it is truly a gift when you find the strengths and weaknesses in your spouse and you help to glorify them rather than fight them.

P.S. I still fantasize about running in circles around the lake at a comfortable pace.

An Interesting Summer

Wow! It has been quite an interesting summer. This calendar season and this season of my life has been quite challenging. I have attempted to write one big blog post upon my return after a wordless summer but, have failed on 3 attempts. So, I am going to settle on short and sweet.

I say wordless summer because that really is what it felt like. Nothing was making much sense for a couple of months as a lot of life got turned upside down. And, you know what it is like when things are upside down. You still look at things from your former right side up perspective which just causes a bit more confusion and frustration.

So, here I am taking a deep breath on the other side of a phase of life and looking back. Isn't it always so interesting how things can be so irritating and miserable when you are amidst them but, when you get through it you look back and think 'gee, I am really glad I went through that,'?
Well, maybe that statement is made with clenched teeth and a bit reluctantly and with a different word other than the chipper 'gee'. But, you probably get my point.

Needless to say, life is always full of lessons and I got quite a "schooling" recently so, it is time to get writing. Feel free to follow my blog, comment or e-mail me anytime...
sunshine@themovement.org

I will be posting again soon!

Another Mouse in the House

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

This was the original story last year...they are back

I had a sneaking suspicion there was a mouse in my house. My dogs had been fairly skittish off and on and my daughter had spotted one peeking out from below our deck out back. My fears were confirmed when I found some mouse poop behind the trash can under the sink. Yuck.

I promptly headed to the store for some mousetraps. I purchased some fancy traps that were advertised as "Black Cats". Safe and effective. Safe for whom? And, if my neighbor's cat had been effective in the first place I wouldn't be in this pickle. I was a bit skeptical, so along with the Black Cats, I purchased 2 good old fashioned wooden traps. The kind that make you tense just trying to set them and make you wince as you gently lay them on the ground.

I placed one fancy "Black Cat" trap outside, one behind the trash and the back-up, cheese loaded, old school trap beside it and felt prepared. With the traps in place, I turned down the lights last night and headed to my room to watch a little television.

Less than 20 minutes later, my dogs began going nuts out in the kitchen. I sent Jeremy out to investigate and he quickly summoned me to the kitchen. "I think you caught your mouse." It is funny how he attached ownership of this mouse to me. It is probably because I was so bent on catching it and was taking the invasion very personal. I am totally fine with mice living OUTSIDE where they belong. But, once you invade my home, just know that I will win. However, I had no idea how far off my eventual victory was.

Standing in the kitchen, it was clear that the mouse was caught but, not dead. Squeaks and the clanking sound of the metal from the wooden trap was an early indicator that this mouse was up for a fight. So, I let it fight for a few minutes thinking it would surely end quick. Well, I was wrong. And, with my adrenaline through the roof at this point and the ick factor in full force, Jeremy and I realized we needed to take action.

So, Jeremy headed out to the garage and retrieved a broom and a box. His plan: sweep the mouse into the box and let it die outside and out of earshot. He then hands ME the broom and gives me the go ahead. And, like most normal women I batted and swatted and swept that mouse into the box while myself squealing and hopping and freaking out. It was classic late night drama at its best.

With the mouse in the box and hopefully on the brink of death, we headed out to the trash bin. But, after putting it in the trash and hearing it's flopping around suddenly amplified by the enclosed space; Jeremy decides that it is not only annoying it is also unsafe. After all, this is a super mouse and everyone knows a mouse can flatten itself to the size of a quarter or something like that. So, he takes the boxed mouse out of the trash and out front to die in the driveway. End of story? End of mouse?

As I head to spin at 5:30 am this morning, I peek in the box and the mouse is still. Since I am in a hurry I decide to just throw it away when I get back. Well, I came home with 2 coffees in my hands and a list of things to do before I take the kids to school and head to work so, I assign Jeremy the disposal of the mouse duty. He says he will get to it in a minute. (lots of football re-caps to go over, I am sure)

As I leave for work at 8:20, I hear the mouse flopping around in the box. You have got to be joking me! Incredulous, I run back in the house and tell Jeremy to drown it before I get back home. When I come home an hour later, I peek in the box and yes, the mouse is still there but, now it is not moving. So, even though he hadn't drown it yet, I felt relieved that is was finally dead.

Thirty minutes ago, I stepped outside to let my dogs run around and finally dispose of the vermin. And, believe it or not it was still alive! I just cannot tell you how much I am freaking out at this point. On one hand, I feel kinda bad for the poor thing. On the other hand, what is a girl to do? So, I take the drowning of the mouse into my own hands.

I fill the bucket and turning my head, I dump the mouse into the water and without looking put the box on top. Chewie (my dog) and I stand there for a few moments and I am trying to calm down. Dumping a mouse into a bucket is a bit overwhelming. As we are standing there, Chewie's ears perk up and I seriously hear this mouse start to cry. (well, it was technically squeaking but, at this point I am about to cry so we might as well cry together) At this point I am fairly confident that I am being punked by this mouse.

I carefully lift the box off the bucket and shockingly this doggone, super mouse is using the trap as a flotation device! Oh my Lord! I am thinking this can't last long so, I put the box back on top of the bucket and honestly pray it ends quick.

Wouldn't you know that I not only trapped the sturdiest mouse in the world but, it is also an excellent doggie paddler. It would do a few barrel rolls on the trap and land right side up every time. Stressed out and needing a little help, I called my mom to tell her of the darma. After laughing, she suggested the rock which now sits on the head of the mouse in the bottom of the bucket. Alas, I won.

But, I am not really happy about it. In fact, I do feel kind of bad. But, the reality of the situation is that mice don't belong in the house and in my house we play by the rules. As an addendum for all of you fellow animal lover/PETA people out there, I am sure there were other options. But, at this point I don't really care. If you had a mouse in your house you would probably do the same.

A Footrace

Monday night I was chatting with my husband about my softball game. I play on a coed team so, the men and women alternate batting. I was telling Jeremy how twice that night, I got a single and this guy Mike was up to bat right after me. Quite often, Mike hits home runs and he is usually stepping on the heels of the girl in front of him as they cross home plate. I am a bit competitive so, I made it a personal goal to not allow Mike to get even close to me. His first at bat was a home run and we joked in the dugout because he admitted he was trying to catch me and failed. The second time he batted after me, I made it home and he was left on second. Victory number two.

So as I sat on the couch very excitedly telling my husband this story, Jeremy looks at me and says, "I would beat you to home plate if you started on first and I was in the batters box."

Seriously.

"Are you kidding me?" I laughed. "No way." And then he extended his hand and I shook it.

As we laughed and stared at each other I said, "I feel very peacocky right now. If you could see my feathers they are standing up tall." He chuckled and then added, "I could beat you if I started at the backstop."

I am being completely honest when I say we were half tempted to go to the fields right at that moment and race but, it was 11:30 at night and the kids were in bed. So the bets are on and our friends are choosing sides. One thing is for sure, I used to race the boys on the playground when I was in grade school and I don't go down easily.

A Homeboy

Today was a "family day". The first day of this spring break with no friends, just family. Since the weather is so beautiful and we live in a vacation destination, we decided to head downtown for a little lunch and a walk around Horton Plaza.

After a short walk through downtown, my son emphatically expressed his distaste. Too many transients, too many sirens, too much looking over your shoulder and just plain "sketchy". He could not wait to get back to the car.

As we were walking through the parking garage, I joked to Jeremy about us never having to worry about him running away and living on the streets. Noah responded, "If you can't ever find me, I have been kidnapped. I would never leave home."

I have raised a suburban homeboy.


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A Reputation

Last week, my family ordered some Pei Wei takeout. Grace and I are the fortune cookie gals. We take the selection of them very seriously.

(for all the uber-Christians out there, we don't take the fortune as truth but, we have a lot of fun with it)

Grace and I carefully selected our cookies. After opening hers, she turned to me and said: 'mom, I got yours.'



I guess I have some sort of a reputation. Most people would argue that I probably refuse dessert fairly often.

Seconds later, she said: 'since when did fortunes become suggestions?'. Gosh I love her. She cracks me up.

In case you are concerned about my dietetic limitations, I indulged in some amazing homemade chocolate soufflé Saturday night. AND, I purchased brownies for Grace to bake this week and have taken a nibble or two. Also, I am sure my self serve yogurt obession doesn't really count but, I do frequent FroYo enough times in one week to fulfill my fortune.

Needless to say, there are blessings and curses in all our habits and activity.

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An Invitation

Last week, my son thrust a yellow permission slip before me and rather eagerly invited me to be a chaperone on his field trip. Needless to say, I was quite honored.

Since both he and his sister are in the same school and a grade apart, this was a field trip she would be attending too. He cornered me in the kitchen and essentially called "dibs" on me driving HIS classmates. (ironically though, my daughter and one of her friends ended up in my car)

The field trip to Hotel Del Coronado sounded exciting however; the day of the week the trip was scheduled for did not since I lead a small group in my bible study on Wednesday's. I hesitated for a moment until I looked to my 14 year old son and realized I may be holding a precious and possibly limited invitation. I certainly would hope not, but realistically, I know that my "coolness" may wear off at any moment.

So, one commitment was passed to another while I attended to one if my most valuable commitments and accepted my son's invitation.







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A Test

I am absolutely horrible at frequent blogging. I am pretty sure I over think myself. So, in an attempt to write down my thoughts/observations more often, I pulled the trigger and spent a whopping $2.99 on an App that allows me to blog from my iPhone.

This allows convenience and a caveat. The convenience is that I always have my phone with me. The caveat is that I ALWAYS have my phone with me.

I have quite a few drafts of blog ideas I need to finish up. Those must be done on my actual computer since this thumb typing thing must be kept short.

In the meantime, feel free to post a comment or ask me a question. I was somewhat curious about that formspring thing since I thought I had the "pastor wife" thing going. (as a clarification for some, formspring is a forum where people ask you anything). Anyway, I was promptly informed by my 14 year old that I was much too old for formspring.

Haha. So, as I re-attempt to blog something worthy of attention, comment or ask me anything.


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A Trip Down Memory Lane

In my previous post, I wrote about my memories with my Grandma Delores. Based on the responses to my post, it is quite obvious how loved she is. And, how many funny, quirky and endearing things she has imparted to the ones she loved. Since most of the comments were made on my Facebook link to the blog, I wanted to repost them here. My side comments are contained in these: { }

Ashley Black {my sister}: LOL. Davenport and fingernail polish in the fridge. {yeah, the fridge is where we Nebraskans put out "pop" aka soda} I would also like to add the GIANT mountain in her yard that we would go sledding on. Although now it looks rather small! {I would agree. I had the privilege to take my kids sledding on the hill and it seemed a little less intimidating. But, the hours of fun on that hill are innumerable.}

Bridget Grant {Grandma's daughter and caretaker for many years}: Very nice. I am still crying.

Brie Grant {Daughter of Bridget and granddaughter of Grandma}: Beautifully put Sunny! Made me remember how close we all were. :) I miss grandma.

Cain Grant {Son of Bridget and grandson of Grandma}: Nice thoughts, Sunny. I loved that darn clock too.

Seth Black {my brother}: Are you trying to make me cry? I can still remember the smell of her bed sheets...sometimes you could find one of those cologne samples she would tear out of a magazine and hide under the mattress pad! When you were sick you either got brandy or ice cream...I want my stocking too! {My mom says she is saving it until he "settles down". His argument would probably be that he has been living in Oregon for 3 years.} They didn't call me grandma's little b***h for nothing. {Seth's words, not mine :)} My favorite was that she never answered the phone "hello", it was always "yeah" and I find myself doing that now. And you would never get a goodbye, she would just hang up the phone right away!

Tony Moravek {Ashley's husband}: That was pretty good Sunny. She would have really enjoyed that "kid". {My grandma called everyone kid} Her and Ashley are the same in that you go to give them a hug, and it was like nobody was there to hug back, like you were hugging a body with no return hug...just the way they are I have eventually learned to figure out. She told me that Ashley was sure lucky to meet that "Polish guy cuz he's sure SWELL..." (Apparently I am Polish) My personal favorite was the answering machine, "BLACKS AND GRANTS, LEAVE A MESSAGE!!!" {Cain and Brie lived with grandma during high school and the caps are because she really did yell} I ate a piece of popcorn off the table at BA's {a bar} right before the wedding 5 years ago and she nudged me and said, "Kid, don't be doing that. We don't want you to be getting syphilis before the wedding." I still laugh about that to this day.

Bridget Grant: Thanks to all of you for writing your thoughts about grandma. I have really enjoyed reading them. Yes Tony, she did think you were swell.