Category Archives: Aaron

Wednesday remix – the awesome sound of "Mom"

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I wrote this for a MOPS newsletter 10 years ago. Hope you enjoy!
Also, there is still time to enter my first give-away. Just comment on this post or this one and you’ll be entered to win!

I look out the window and in the midst of barren trees and gray roads, I see two figures heading my way. Backpacks loaded with homework, books, notes from teachers; these two little people; one with a FSU baseball cap, the other with a stick in his hand turn onto my street. They head up my driveway, they open my door and they cheerfully say, “Hi, Mom!”

Nate and sister Denise at an FSU game!

This is how I often experience the world around 2:30 PM Monday through Friday. You’d think I’d be used to my boys calling me “Mom,” after all, I’ve been one almost for 11 years. But it still blows me away. I’m still overwhelmed each time my boys put their arms around me, then reluctantly give or receive a kiss. They utter the short mono-syllabic word “Mom” while actually looking at me and I melt like butter.


How’d it happen? The crazy college days, the year in France, they are ancient memories for me. How did it happen that the Lord chose me to be a parent? Surely He’s observed my foolishness. In fact, God could write a book about all the regrettable things I have done. However, in my book of life, the Lord has chosen to erase my mistakes and forgive my sins. In their place, God has filled those pages with infinite memories of these extraordinary creations.

working it in France circa 1982



In His mercy and compassion, He gave me the three greatest sons I could have ever possibly imagined! The big belly housing their tiny lives is gone but they, my boys have remained. Amazing! 

There’s a lot of orange going on up in hur!

And as if that weren’t enough, all I have to do is glance at Isaac’s red hair and my mouth wants to drop open. I never expected a redhead, what a blessing. When God made Isaac, He gave me a delightful surprise and a nifty conversation piece. I can’t tell you how many people have asked us how Ike got that copper mop on his head. 


I’m their mom. I helped create them. The Lord has loaned them to my husband and me with big expectations of leading our sons to love Him. How cool and incredible is that? And in addition, for a season, the Lord has allowed me the honor of sharing these experiences with you. 


I realize that some of you who read this can only dream of the day when your baby with her/his own lips speaks the sweet pronoun “Mommy” while in your arms. Those long, sleepless nights, the ear infections, teething, temper tantrums can be so exhausting but it’s all worth it when you hear that little voice acknowledge you as Mother.

one of their favorite past-times = fishing

The lovely melody of this small word is such a treasure and a gift. Whether your child is cooing and crawling or chatting all the way to pre-school, it’s true, you are a mother. Press that unbelievable title upon your heart and give thanks.

A Gift to Me, A Gift to You – give away!

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He took me by the hand and escorted me to the garage. Tentatively I placed one foot after the other, trusting that whatever I would soon behold was worth the risk. We traipsed through the laundry room, a rather treacherous endeavor and descended a few steps at the entrance of the garage. No bone had been broken, so far so good.

“Open your eyes, Mama,” Aaron granted my eyes permission to do one of their primary jobs. Three plants stood before me, bursting forth with blossoms.
 
“I drive past this garden store every day while going to school and I knew I wanted to buy your Mother’s Day present from there. After I finished mowing a lawn today, I went there and got you these.”
 
I was reminded of the cubic zirconia earrings Aaron gave me one Christmas when he was a little boy. Oh, how he beamed with pride as he handed me the little box. Upon opening the gift, I observed two absolutely HUGE cubic zirconia earrings with an equally flashy matching pendant. Where does a middle class mama wear such bling? Many years later, I still do not know but should I ever need to make a VERY bold statement, those baubles will be put to good use.
 
Thankfully, Aaron’s tastes have matured. Here is proof…
 

The three gifts my middle OS gave me!
Do you know what the plant is called? Tell me in the comment section of my blog
and I’ll enter your name into my giveaway TWICE! 

another rather exotic flower with orange flowers (neither of us remember the name)

I love any shade of purple therefore I love these!

and petunias and fan flowers

When my middle OS approached the clerk at the garden store, he announced he was buying some plants for his mother. The lady was so touched by his kindness, she added additional flowers into the planter.
 
She was not the only one to react to my son’s inquiry. Apparently a rather corpulent young lady also overheard Aaron’s conversation and began following my OS around the store perimeter. Creepy.
 
What I love about Aaron’s efforts is the sincerity of his quest. I love that he did not choose the fancy garden store just down the road, instead he sought the simple, understated establishment. I have also driven by this store and nary given it a second thought. He blessed me and the garden store owner with equal measure. A generosity of heart is one of Aaron’s most lovely qualities.
 
The rain has been gushing for days. I look at my plants in the garden through the large windows in our family room. They are verdant and sturdy, confident and acclimating well to their new environs. I’m in awe at how well they fit into the landscape. I can’t help but think of my boy with each glance at my astilbe and its companion flower. It’s as if they want to blossom with pride at being selected by Aaron and they want to do their job to the best of their ability.
 
If plants had feelings, and some posit that they do, I would have to say Aaron’s selections are utterly joyous in their new home. It’s as if they blossom with pride at being selected by Aaron and they want to do their job to the best of their ability.

Here are several examples of the miniature pillows I create. They are sweet on a window
sill or placed anywhere someone could use a word of encouragement. 

I‘ve been sharing about the gifts I received for Mother‘s Day. Now it‘s your turn to share. What is the best Mother’s Day gift you have given or received? I’d love to know! 
 
I thought it would be fun to offer my first giveaway. Write a comment on my facebook about this post or write it directly this blog and you’ll be entered to win a free homemade encouragement pillow. Also, if you answer the question in my post about the type of flower Aaron gave me, I’ll enter your name twice. We can’t remember the name of it so maybe you can help us figure it out. Deadline will be Friday, May 20 at 5pm EST. 

Do you remember Sunday?

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On a peaceful Sunday night, quietude filled the home and this mama lounged in her pajamas with the Hubs and her mom. The middle OS Aaron and orange haired, freckle face Isaac were asleep; the kitchen was clean, the dehydrator was going strong as usual.

We were watching a television show I refuse to mention for fear that you would think less of me (!) and suddenly there was a major news announcement. I wondered if there was a severe weather warning. A round of deadly tornadoes has swept our state but the interruption wasn’t from our local tv affiliate, it was from the national news network. The President was going to address the country imminently. What was so important that he had to talk to us so close to most people’s bedtime? Why couldn’t it have waited until the morning? Oh Jesus, what are we going to learn?

The three of us remained glued to the flat screen. As we waited, I googled, hoping to get advanced information that would either confirm or deny my worst thoughts. That was to no avail. Were we announcing another war? Did someone super duper important in the administration die? Was there another terrorist attack?

My spirit felt trapped and my feet unsteady. I wondered about the rest of my family. Would I ever see them again? What about my boy? My Soldier? Surely this news was going to effect him! Something was going to change and there was nothing I could do about it.

Then President Obama appeared on our tv screen. He approached the microphone and gave us the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

Although I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next in our country, I knew what we could expect. The phone rang.

It was our boy.”Did you hear the news?” Nate inquired. “Everyone’s going crazy over here, celebrating. We’re pretty pumped.” What else should you expect at West Point? Of course they were ecstatic and rightly so! These cadets are willing to sacrifice their lives for our country and safety, they should rejoice! Hearing Nate’s voice reassured me.

Of all the places to be on this Sunday night, Nate was at a place of historic significance, an institution (albeit imperfect) but nonetheless a place where honor, duty and country mean something.Lord willing, one day my OS will be able to tell his children and his grandchildren about this moment.

He will never forget the time when he and his fellow cadets rejoiced over the news that the sickening mastermind of terrorist attacks on US soil was eliminated from existence. While I sat in my cotton pajamas with my family, my precious child Nate was amidst people willing to die to defend  our way of life.

Among the most epic of all places to be when this man was killed would be at a military academy. Osama bin Laden was found just yards away from Pakistan’s equivalent of West Point.

In only one year, Nate will be graduating from West Point and most likely going to a place of international conflict. I’m not ready to go there yet emotionally and he’s not ready to go there geographically but we’ll need to gear up fairly soon. The Lord has not prepared me for this yet, I’m taking it day by day, not trying to borrow trouble.

I’m not naive enough to think that all of our world’s problems ended on Sunday when that man was felled but y’all, I’m glad, really glad he’s gone. 

For my next post, I’m going to share a story I wrote nine years ago about something Isaac asked me after September 11th.

What kind of question was THAT?

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Contemplate your road

Earlier in the week my friend Michele asked my middle OS a question. She did this in front of me and it wasn’t the sort of question most well-behaved women pose…


Not only was the question unusual but so were Aaron’s and my reaction. 

Ok, so this was her question –

“Aaron, did you write your obituary today?”

What would you think if your bestie asked your kid that question?

With nary a hint of awkwardness, Aaron smiled and said that yes, he had indeed written his obituary. It was almost as if she had asked my OS if he was going to play his guitar, nothing shocking entered his response.

And if it’s possible to be an outside observer of yourself, I was surprised by my own reaction to that question. I didn’t smack Michele upside the head nor did I burst into tears, something I can do with the greatest of ease. I just listened to their verbal exchange.

How strange it is that two of my three OS’s have written their obituaries. How peculiar that I am telling you. How not surprising that I am NOW crying as I continue to type this post. 

During their junior years in high school, it has been a standard assignment at our sons’ school. In British Literature class, students  pen their own obituary. Neither of my OS would have set out to do this independently but I’m glad they did. Trust me, you learn a lot about your kids with this type of homework.

So by now, you’re wondering, “Well, what did they write? What did you learn?”

Nate’s senior pic 2008
Nate was 85 and he died on a Thursday after saving his grandson from oncoming traffic. (Ok, I find that part funny, I mean, how old is his grandson???) “Nathan lived an exciting life that was marked by service to his country and service to the Lord.” My OS achieved a measure of political stature in his lifetime and was well respected in his community. He was married and had a quiver of children.

Aaron was a nonogenerian, just three years shy of being 100. He enjoyed a long marriage and was blessed with six kids, 17 grandkids and ten great-grandkids. He had been a pastor for 41 years.

I love that face. I love that boy. 
Oh how I long for these to be their true stories. Long lives, fruitful, productive, reproductive men who loved their families and the Lord. My heart’s cry is for them to breathe their last completely satisfied with what they gave to others, praising God for every page in their book of life. And while the thought of them actually having an obituary is more than this mama can handle right now, I appreciate the exercise of them consciously thinking about how they are living. 



In my next blog post, I am going to share with you my obituary. It is of a different sort and I’ve been waiting for the right time to put it out there. Since I strive to be honest and don’t want to string it along just in the hopes of getting a few more “hits” on my blog, I do not have a terminal disease. 


Have you ever thought about your children’s legacy? How do you think you would react to this assignment? I’d love to hear!

Dehydrating the days away

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I hesitate to even write this post lest some of you become envious of my exciting life.

Going hither and yon as I do, one minute I’m dropping a cylinder of salt on someone’s head at Trader Joe’s, the next I’m waiting for my stepfather to finish his colonoscopy.  Oh, the thrilling pace of my life!

So if you must, depart from this post immediately. I will understand.

But yesterday was a Red Letter, adrenaline pumping day for me because…

I became a food dehydrator owner!

About an hour after establishing a location for my new toy, two bunches of bananas were sliced, spritzed with lemon juice and ready to christen my Excalibur Model 3926T. Btw, the “T” stands for the 26, yes, 26 hour timer, an outstanding feature, if I do say so myself. 🙂

Now my first batch of dried bananas sit in the pantry. They look and sound like wooden nickels but taste much better. My orange hair, freckle face OS isn’t completely enamoured with them but I’m not giving up. I’m going to make this work in my family. My OS and the Hubs will appreciate my efforts at conservation and nutrition or face my wrath.

My new appliance murmurs away the kitchen and today, the trays are loaded with apple slices, strawberries and carrots. The apples were going to spoil soon, it is pleasing to put them to good use and not be wasteful. Don’t you admire people that can put things together simply? They use everything and don’t squander the smallest morsel. They also don’t hoard and that to me, seems to be a challenge. I want to be the kind of woman who is a faithful steward of the things she is given yet I also desire a clutter-free, welcoming home. Striking the right balance requires skill.

As silly as getting a new food dehydrator may sound to some, trivial though it might be to a person who pities the stay-at-home mom for the supposed drudgery of her life, I am thrilled with my new purchase. The thought of caring for my family, feeding them healthy things and learning new homemaking techniques brings me contentment.

According to Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook, why in no time, I will be making Backpacker Tuna a la King and Fancy Tomato Leather Chips. Yes, my OS’s lunch bags will be filled with beet leather and homemade crackers and friends shall crowd around them begging for a mere taste of these delicacies! My West Point OS will plead and beg for boodle loaded with Backpacker Fancy Macaroni and Cheese or pineapple sliced seasoned with cardamom. I can see it now!

While reading the recipes to Ike, I prophesied a future father/son camping trip complete with Backpacker Rice Balls Wrapped in Nori and kayaking adventures energized thanks to Tom’s Red Wine-Marinated Dried Fish. My comments were met with an impish grin and rolling of the eyes.

Ain’t she a beauty?
Um, maybe this isn’t the right technique???
Bananas full of hydration – not for long, you guys!
A not so wonderful reaction to braised daikon radishes
This is the expression I anticipate in the future from my orange hair, freckle face OS!
I’ll be sure to capture their noteworthy reactions as my dehydrating repertoire continues! Let the drying begin!

Spirit Week 2011 begins

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Oh how I love Spirit Week!

I love it so much, if it were up to me, every school would have a Spirit Week just for parents.

There was no Spirit Week when I was in middle school or high school so I live through the SW of my OS. Yes, according them, I’m kind of like a stage mom when it comes to Spirit Week.

images1With Aaron’s medical struggles, there was less parental involvement in Ike’s SW this year. This resulted in my orange hair, freckle face OS wearing a pair of store-bought pajamas on Pajama Day. We had even picked out special material six months ago for me to make just for him. Alas, Ike decided he wanted to show off these pajamas. He won a gift certificate because of his footed sleepwear.img_20110214_155457

But now that my middle OS is feeling so much better, nearly all of my parental energy pours into Spirit Week 2011.

Monday morning, Aaron pranced into school wearing his designer-made sea turtle pajama pants. I wanted to create a sea turtle applique for the t-shirt but he sternly spurned my suggestion.

photo 24Tuesday was Animal Kingdom Day. Last year my middle OS was a pupa. We twirled yards of brown toile around Aaron to encase him.

It was truly hilarious to see the perplexed looks of students and teachers. They asked Aaron what he was and he confidently stated “a chrysalis in a cocoon.”

Then in the middle of Mrs. Davis’ Spanish Class, Aaron asked if he could go to the restroom.

Let the changes begin!

When Aaron returned he had metamorphosed into a beautiful, extremely large butterfly ~ He wore his grandpa’s really yellow golf pants and custom-made wings.

Truly breathtaking!

We thought this was an apt description of adolescence and doesn’t every teenager want to be reminded of puberty on Animal Kingdom Day? I thought so!

So how do you top being a pupa?carpenter-ant-illustration_530x349

p1160061

Well, we’re not sure but staying in the insect world, this year Aaron was a carpenter ant.

My middle OS donned a hard hat with antennae, an electric drill and drill bit along with a tool belt. He also “grew” an extra pair of legs which I sewed last night.

p11600282Here is proof that I am a great mother – making carpenter ant legs just before bedtime.

There were many creative animal costumes. For example, Zack, Aaron’s best friend was a swan complete with a feathery behind that wiggled back and forth as he walked. p1160052

Aaron will be a senior in high school next year. I’m already thinking of ideas.

p1160055Just wait, the rest of the week is quite creative and unique also!

PS. I just learned that Aaron and the science teacher were the only invertebrates in the school today! Wow, I’m even prouder now!

Dads

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My husband didn’t really know what he wanted to be when he grew up. As a young boy, aside from aspiring to be like Jacques Cousteau, he didn’t have a dream profession. 

One of my all-time fave pics of the Hubs

But the one thing the Hubs says he always wanted was to be a dad. 


On April 12, 1990, I assisted him in achieving this dream, thank you very much, when Nate was born. Our baby had a cone-head but to us, he was gorgeous. Four years later, the Hubs’ prayers were answered again this time with Aaron. Our middle OS was a juicy butterball, we were smitten. Lastly, in 1996, the Hubs became the father of a ginger. Ike is our orange hair, freckle face child who routinely makes life interesting. The Hubs is the youngest of three sons. He knows what it’s like to live with brothers and now he can speak with authority about raising sons. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. 

Look at that snappy dresser rockin’ the red tie!



I surveyed the long list of prospective suitors and husbands fancying me nearly 25 years ago. 🙂 Trust me when I say that the field of eligible men was miles long.  Seriously! ;% I considered each man’s potential spousal and parental qualifications and compiled graphs and charts or at least that’s how I’m choosing to remember things! Finally out of a field of many (ahem), I picked the Hubs. God has reminded me that I chose well. 

There ain’t nothing wimpy about needing your dad

Observation of the Hubs‘ impressive skills as a father have come to light during our recent health concerns with Aaron. Per Aaron’s request, the Hubs was often upstairs by his side. Our 16 year old OS wanted his daddy to rub his head. When teenage guy is reduced to saying, “Daddy,” you know he’s in pain.  


I can attest to Mark’s talents. When the Hubs and I were first married, he would rub my head and gently tug on my hair when my head felt like it was going to burst due to migraines. 


Our bedroom was clothed in darkness, the Hubs sat next to his sweet boy and rubbed his head with just the right amount of pressure. Then on Saturday night, we sat by Aaron’s bedside at the hospital. Aaron could barely utter a word. The pain was so great. With it being the third hospital visit in days, the Hubs and I were worried and exhausted. As desperate and tired parents, we felt helpless but I heard Mark when he said aloud by the bed rail, “give this to me.” 

Three year old Nate with a fractured skull, don’t recommend it

Without a second thought, the Hubs would have traded brains with our son. If he could have assumed Aaron’s excruciating pain, he would have done it. I felt that way when Nate was three years old and he fell out of our second-story bedroom window. Our oldest OS suffered a fractured skull and as we waited for the test results in the waiting room, I told the doctor that if Nate needed any body part, any part at all, the doctor could take it from me and I would die, no questions asked. I gave him permission without hesitation. My hope is that everyone who reads this post has no idea what I’m writing about but if you’re a parent, you probably get it. 


Through all of this I too, have cried out for my Father. My Heavenly Father listened to my pleas and sustained me. I have sensed His presence and leaned on Him for strength. 


The Hubs wasn’t saying “give this to me” to anyone but the Lord. Such is the father’s love for his son. As I hear the sweet sounds of my middle OS strumming on his guitar, this Wednesday night is especially lovely. 

Diagnosis

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Results are in and the diagnosis is status migrainosus. I’m not clapping for joy but I’m praising the Lord we aren’t dealing with a brain tumor. My father died of brain cancer and I’d be lying if I said that a pervasive fear of those words hadn’t swept over me the last week.


Aaron was not thrilled to learn that he might be out of school for another 2-3 more weeks. As we begin this new medicine protocol, I pray he can return to school sooner. My middle OS has started a course of steroids and although we have been getting along famously, I suspect that prednisone is going to jeopardize that a bit. 

what a beautiful sight seeing Aaron upright and being goofy!

Today we ventured out for sushi. My OS has lost weight since falling ill and if that boy wanted sushi and our new budget could handle it, for goodness’ sake, he was going to get sushi. 


We, well, at least me, I take so much for granted. Lord, forgive me for the times when I just assume my kids are going to remain healthy. I overlook that my OSs will rebound from an illness and don’t always recognize that as a true blessing from you. Father, I’m sorry for all the times when I don’t give you praise for my own body functioning as it should.


We have gone from this….

wow, i hate this picture

to this…

Aaron + food = optimism
Confucious say contemplation over a fortune cookie is better than contemplation over a sick child

















He still is gaunt and not 100% but I see glimpses of my boy returning. When he is back to his “normal” self, here is how we’re going to celebrate.

feel free to borrow this recipe for your next celebration

Nothing says fiesta more than Party Lentil Soup, right?


Thank you gentle readers for your support and prayers!


aaron’s mom

The soul of MY soup

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“To possess a cook who makes perfect soups is to possess a jewel of great price. 
A woman who cannot make soup 
should not be allowed to marry.”

P. Mortan Shand, A Book of Food, 1928
Um, that seems a little harsh but when the going gets tough, I do what most women do…
I make vegetable broth. 

This is some serious broth action


As a foodie and mama of three OS, it’s my attempt, I guess, to put things together and make something good. Into the kettle, I put celery, scallions, garlic, half a red onion, a tomato and two cooked potatoes that were lounging in the refrigerator doing nothing. I then threw in some radish leaves, carrots, a stalk of frozen corn I bought in the summer at the farmers’ market. Half a red pepper, a handful of frozen leeks, kosher salt, bay leaf and spices bubble and mix with the other ingredients. The amber broth is flavorful. I have a sick child upstairs, I feel so confused. But this homemade broth imbues a sense of peace and accomplishment within me.

Dramatic, slightly forced vegetable broth smile



In some ways, I think this is like the Scripture found in

Romans 8:28 (English Standard Version)


And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Aaron is eating next to nothing. He needs nutrition and hydration. I picture my OS sipping on this broth. Not sure that’s going to happen but wow, if it did, that would be the best. I’d feel like I did something significant. 
better than the boxed stuff, fo’ shur!
God is going to use this trial in our lives. He is more resourceful than I’ll ever be. My simple efforts at gathering things together to make a hearty broth pale to what Jesus does with our lives. He uses ALL things together for good for those who believe in Him. I believe, Lord. Aaron believes too. Let it be. 

ambulance

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When Aaron woke up from another nap this evening, his headache was terrible. We have tried many things and the remedies available to us at home aren’t working. The doctors do not believe he has meningitis because if it were bacterial, he wouldn’t be alive.

droplet precaution – not a good look on me but it’s ok

I have been hesitant for him to have a spinal tap because he doesn’t have a fever, can move his neck up and down and back and forth. If he has viral meningitis, they can’t treat it with antibiotics and if he doesn’t need to endure any painful medical procedure, I do not wish to make him feel even worse. If you think this is stupid, please keep that to yourself. You might have chosen differently and that’s ok but you’re not the mama of this OS. 


Right now we are in the ER. I called the ambulance, so thankful that the Hubs and I didn’t have a fight over this. He trusted me. 


So as my middle OS winced in pain and we awaited a doctor to prescribe stronger meds or do something, I prayed. Scripture verses came to me and I couldn’t tell you where to find them in the Bible but they are there. Sometimes Aaron would fill in the pauses. When I goofed up a verse, he corrected me. We both kinda laughed. 


As hours passed, as they are apt to do in an Emergency Room, we rubbed Aaron’s head, covered his eyes and assured him it was going to be ok.


Friends from church came by and prayed in the waiting room. Facebook messages flooded my phone. In this time of feeling so powerless, I noticed that Aaron, true to his nature, seemed to calm down a bit when I claimed who the Lord is in alphabetical order…


A…Abba
B…Bright Morning Star
C…Chief Cornerstone
D…Deliverer
E…Everlasting 
F…Father
G…God
H…Holy
I…(ok, I forgot an “I” attribute at the time but nonetheless He is Immanuel)
J…Joy
K…King
L…Love
M…Majestic
N…Noble
O…Omnipotent, Omnipresent
P…Provider
etc., etc., 


Then the pain meds arrived. He is sleeping. How could he not? Dilaudid, Toradol, Ativan pumped into his IV. We are resting not only because Aaron is not in agony but because of whom we are trusting. No one should do this without Jesus. Not a 16 year old child. Not a 40 something 🙂 mama or daddy. Not a 14 year old brother or a 20 year brother/Soldier. It’s just too hard to do this alone and although it is far from easy right now, I’m choosing to give this burden to the One who can carry it. 


Perhaps the reason I had such an epic birthday was because God knew I was going to need the boost for this week. 


Thanks for checking in, caring and praying…


Aaron’s mama