Monday, May 14, 2012
Cemetery Hopping and Other Fun Mother's Day Activities
On Saturday, my oldest daughter, Sarah Stegall, Bryony's online administrator, her five year old son Lucas, and I visited three cemeteries and paid homage to several grandmothers and great-grandmothers, the perfect Mother's Day activity for people caught up in vampire stories.
While Sarah was inside a memorial shop trying to replace a stolen, graveside vase, Lucas, who obviously had one or two things on his mind, said to me, "Will we see ghosts?"
I assured him otherwise.
Then Lucas said, "My mother is afraid of ghosts."
Considering Sarah was nearly drooling over the notion of spending the night in the reputedly haunted P. Seth Magosky Museum of Victorian Life and Joliet History (where we filmed Bryony's book trailer and music video), I doubted it.
"She's not afraid of ghosts, Lucas."
Lucas considered this. "Well, she is afraid of werewolves."
Next, we discussed our two dogs that had gone to heaven: Peenut (his) and Scooter (mine) until Sarah returned. Among our various stops, we had lunch courtesy of McDonald's dollar menu (Sarah's treat) and a post-festivities coffee (Sarah's act of mercy), since I had a writer's workshop to attend that evening.
Of course, I thanked her for treating me to a very nice Mother's Day dinner, and no, I wasn't being snarky. We had a wonderful time, but anyone who knows me is no stranger to the fact that, when I'm not writing, I'd rather spend time with family and a few good friends; the activity is unimportant. But then, I have a REALLY fun family.
Other Mother's Day doings:
* I talked to Joshua Baran (my number three child) off and on through the night (Saturday into Sunday) because his newborn son was having nursing difficulties and kept his mommy and daddy up with his crying.
* I attended brunch at my church, St. Nicholas Orthodox in Homewood, with Rebekah Baran, my youngest daughter and assistant to Sarah.
* I covered a really awesome Mother's Day event and brought Rebekah with me. A local stylist, in honor of her deceased mother, hosted a spa day for women living in homeless shelters and halfway houses. I can't give details now, but when that story runs, I'll post a link.
* Afterwards, Rebekah and I bought cat food and a potted, miniature pink rose plant for the newest mother. Rebekah then treated me to ice cream.
* Daniel cleaned the entire house and pushed laundry.
* Timothy came home tired from working a Mother's Day buffet at the Renaissance Center in Joliet, but he still wanted to meet Joshua's new baby. While there, Rebekah moved several loads of laundry, Timothy and Daniel took Amber grocery shopping, and Joshua (who is battling bronchitis) settled down for a much-needed nap.
* When they returned, Rebekah put away groceries; Timothy cooked them Amber and Joshua and a couple of "instant" meals (including soup) for tomorrow; and Daniel washed dishes. I fed the baby, kept him quiet, and flipped through some magazines (something I hadn't done in years, literally).
* We returned home about ten-thirty. Rebekah and Daniel headed straight for bed, and I cooked a quick dinner for Timothy. As he ate, we talked about his day.
All in all, a perfect Mother's Day! :)
While Sarah was inside a memorial shop trying to replace a stolen, graveside vase, Lucas, who obviously had one or two things on his mind, said to me, "Will we see ghosts?"
I assured him otherwise.
Then Lucas said, "My mother is afraid of ghosts."
Considering Sarah was nearly drooling over the notion of spending the night in the reputedly haunted P. Seth Magosky Museum of Victorian Life and Joliet History (where we filmed Bryony's book trailer and music video), I doubted it.
"She's not afraid of ghosts, Lucas."
Lucas considered this. "Well, she is afraid of werewolves."
Next, we discussed our two dogs that had gone to heaven: Peenut (his) and Scooter (mine) until Sarah returned. Among our various stops, we had lunch courtesy of McDonald's dollar menu (Sarah's treat) and a post-festivities coffee (Sarah's act of mercy), since I had a writer's workshop to attend that evening.
Of course, I thanked her for treating me to a very nice Mother's Day dinner, and no, I wasn't being snarky. We had a wonderful time, but anyone who knows me is no stranger to the fact that, when I'm not writing, I'd rather spend time with family and a few good friends; the activity is unimportant. But then, I have a REALLY fun family.
Other Mother's Day doings:
* I talked to Joshua Baran (my number three child) off and on through the night (Saturday into Sunday) because his newborn son was having nursing difficulties and kept his mommy and daddy up with his crying.
* I attended brunch at my church, St. Nicholas Orthodox in Homewood, with Rebekah Baran, my youngest daughter and assistant to Sarah.
* I covered a really awesome Mother's Day event and brought Rebekah with me. A local stylist, in honor of her deceased mother, hosted a spa day for women living in homeless shelters and halfway houses. I can't give details now, but when that story runs, I'll post a link.
* Afterwards, Rebekah and I bought cat food and a potted, miniature pink rose plant for the newest mother. Rebekah then treated me to ice cream.
* Daniel cleaned the entire house and pushed laundry.
* Timothy came home tired from working a Mother's Day buffet at the Renaissance Center in Joliet, but he still wanted to meet Joshua's new baby. While there, Rebekah moved several loads of laundry, Timothy and Daniel took Amber grocery shopping, and Joshua (who is battling bronchitis) settled down for a much-needed nap.
* When they returned, Rebekah put away groceries; Timothy cooked them Amber and Joshua and a couple of "instant" meals (including soup) for tomorrow; and Daniel washed dishes. I fed the baby, kept him quiet, and flipped through some magazines (something I hadn't done in years, literally).
* We returned home about ten-thirty. Rebekah and Daniel headed straight for bed, and I cooked a quick dinner for Timothy. As he ate, we talked about his day.
All in all, a perfect Mother's Day! :)
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