It's So Pretty!

My two oldest sons called back-to-back late on Mother's Day evening to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. 

That worked out wonderfully as I'd had a very long, very intense working Sunday (I only sent my own mother a Happy Mother's Day text).

I let Joshua know that Leila had a gift coming but it would not arrive until Tuesday (it actually arrived on Wednesday).

Then he said I had one coming, too (also on Tuesday), from Canada of all places.

Well, it did show up in the mail on Tuesday and it was from New York.

But it's not important if the gift came from Canada or New York when it comes from the heart, right?

Anyway, I opened it and cried out, "It's so pretty!" 

As Joshua said, the necklace has the blue as well as the vintage look I like so much.

Scroll through the photos and see.

Especially since the box had a message of its own.

Smidgen of Normalcy

I had a very lovely, quiet day for most of Saturday.

Timothy and Daniel helped Joshua and Amber and the kids move into a new home.

Rebekah played something called a switch.

And I finished the formatting for my werewolf novel Lycanthropic Summer, so Rebekah can send for the proof copy today.

About mid-afternoon, Sarah, who lives in Raleigh, called me. She was on her way to my parents' house. She'd called an ambulance for my father.

And that changed the tone of most of the weekend (He went home yesterday afternoon, and he's doing OK).

Sunday I worked, and I spent a good portion of Monday editing for a client. And that was in addition to helping to manage care for my Dad.

But on Monday morning, I experienced a slight return to normalcy.

Timothy had to paint a room at Joshua's house.

And I went, too, to celebrate the joy of the beautiful new home with family I really haven't seen (except for the surprise visit) since the pandemic began.

Now we all wore masks.

And we stayed six feet or more away from each other. That's why this photo at the end of this blog is slightly blurry.

Riley did sneak a hug around my legs. But she's four. And she did have her mask on.

No one was coughing or sneezing.  And I did spend a portion of those two hours outside in the driveway on the telephone to the hospital.

Still, it was the first testing of the masking and social distancing strategy with anyone outside of where I live.

Hopefully, the experts are right about this.

If they're wrong, well, I might be writing a different sort of post down the road.

Before we went home, we participated in a quick drive-by for Labor Day at the nursing home where Ron lives.

He was "not there" and didn't even respond to his name.

But we got to see him, and we are thankful to staff who arranged the event.

Historically, I have always worked on Labor Day. For me, it's important I honor the day by using the skills God has given me.

My main gift is the ability to communicate.

This weekend, I used it at work, for a client, with my family, and by providing many hours worth of information to Sarah and four different care providers.

No one grilled out. But Sunday night, Daniel surprised everyone by ordering pizza.

So it's all good.

Daniel and the Puzzles

Strange as this sounds, when I was expecting my first child in 1981, I had a dream about all six of my children.

Although I did not dream them with one hundred percent accuracy, the overall details are there.

Except for being blond and not as tall, Christopher, physically, comes pretty close to the way he looked around age ten to twelve.

I dreamed of Sarah with hair down to her waist (which she has), talking animatedly to someone on the phone (which she does) in the kitchen of my parents' home. (All my children live in the Joliet area, except for Sarah, who moved to Raleigh about ten years ago. A few years ago, my parents moved to Raleigh, too).

Joshua looks exactly the same, except I dreamed his face a little longer and his hair curly. He was with Christopher in the small room adjacent to a larger room in my parents' recreation room in their basement.

Today, he and Christopher live near each other, one in Morris and one in Mazon.

Timothy is the most off physically (I dreamed him as a girl), but he is the most sensitive and intuitive of all the kids.

Rebekah's facial features are identical to the dream. In the dream, she and Timothy are sitting across from each other on the basement floor, heads down in deep concentration, playing a board game.

Growing up and still as adults, they've played the same "game" together. They worked together on the newspaper route, more than any other combination of siblings. They work in the same industry (culinary) and collaborated in teaching at Joliet Junior College and special work events at each other's respective work places. Outsiders have commented on how in sync they work.

Daniel was off by himself on the other end of the room, working a puzzle. He looked exactly the same in childhood as I dreamed him.

My youngest three have lived together the longest "in the same room" than any other combination of siblings. Meaning, they have lived together as a unit together longer than any other combination of their siblings.

One of Daniel's favorite childhood occupations was working puzzles.

And that is true today.

Actually, except for the fact he is sitting at the kitchen table, he was in this same position when I dreamed of a four-year-old Daniel almost fifteen years before he came to be.

Change of Plans

Yesterday in my post titled Balance, I wrote "And when prioritized correctly, plans do come together, even if the coming together is not the way I visualized or wanted it.'

Yesterday, I also had the opportunity to practice those words.

A couple weeks ago, my Uncle Carl, whom I've not seen in nearly a decade (although we talk on the phone a couple times a month), said he was driving through Illinois the week after Labor Day; would I like to have lunch or dinner?

Of course, I agreed. But I did ask for a day's heads-up (if possible) so I could rearrange my schedule and meet deadlines.

He never called.

So I had him on my "morning phone call list" for yesterday to find out what happened. And when the early morning because late mid-morning, and I had run out of time, I moved my uncle to my Tuesday call list.

I had no sooner done this when my uncle called: Would I like to have lunch at 1:30?

Of course, I agreed. What day?

Well, in three hours.

That was a game-changer of a Monday.

Somehow, I meet the most immediate of deadlines and was ready to leave when he arrived at the office. He was able to meet our managing editor, and I silently reminded myself to ask the waitress to take a photo of my uncle and me before we left (I take terrible selfies, all five I've probably snapped in my life).

Well, the time was so engaging, ninety minutes sped away. I enjoyed myself so much, it never occurred to me to chronicle the time. I simply lived it.

Not until after I was back in the office working on round two of deadlines, and my uncle was well on his way west, did I remember the photo.

He's supposed to drive back through Illinois, on his way east, in mid-October. Plenty of time to get the photo, then.

So I'll just have to share this one of Uncle Carl and my three oldest children: Christopher, Sarah, and Joshua. My uncle, who worked for ATandT at the time (the blog will mess up the ampersand) stopped by one evening for a lovely two hours of conversation.

It was shortly before Christmas 1985, and my husband was in the hospital (a ten-day stay) for double pneumonia. The kids were 3, 18 months, and almost 4 months.

So I didn't everything done on my life yesterday. And I probably won't today either.

But guess what?

It will all get done.

Most likely.

Holiday Round-Up and Social Me-dia

No story round-up today. I'll catch up on briefs and stories in a week or so. This week, I'm using up the last couple days of vacation time in strategic ways.

Although I still have work to do, I'm structuring it in a way that I'm enjoying the time, a little time out, if you will, since I have lots of great plans for 2019.

I've hung out with family and watched one episode of Futurama with Daniel as we very sloooooowly pick off the last season. And it's the only TV I've watched. (I'm a social watcher).

Timothy and I went for coffee and saw the tree light up and play music at The Promenade in Bolingbrook.

I've done some reading and hope to get some more done. (I have two books right beside my bed).

I've met with Colleen Robbins at the Joliet Public Library over Book and Bean Cafe coffee and incorporated most of her edits into the second manuscript of Before the Blood.

Rebekah has reworked the cover for the first BTB book a couple of times. We're crossing our fingers KDP will approve the book today.

I've walked, not as much as normally but I also don't feel I've gained weight from overreating (I've indulged in a few treats but very minimally). Yoga and weights need to be picked back up (get it?).

I've worked on character development and loose structure for the werewolf story while enjoying a dark roast Dunkin Donuts coffee Timothy brought me. I even found my notes from 2010 when I started playing with it. And BTW, it's called Lycanthropic Summer.

Timothy surprised me with a list of 50 more titles and story premises for The Adventures of Cornell Dyer series. If I live long enough to write them, I will use up all 100 ISBNs we ordered. I'm excited to begin working on the next one.

Rebekah and I spent a lovely Christmas afternoon working on my Christmas gift for my children when we have our Christmas celebration on Jan. 7, also Rebekah's birthday, which she gets to spend in Raleigh with her one and only sister (Sarah Stegall),  so thrilled for both of them.

But I also cleaned house on Christmas Day. And not again since (note to self: should do that today).

I'm having dinner with a friend on Sunday.

I ran around to most of my health providers yesterday with my new insurance card, trying to figure out who will and will not accept it. Overall, it seems to be fine (HURRAY!).

I've talked to Joshua on the phone a lot off and on. And two and half hours with my mother.

I've spent minimal time on social media.

Which leads me to why I posted this link about "tech fatigue."

People today either love or hate social media or what I often term "social me-dia," because a lot of the social has gone out of the usage, with the tool becoming all about "me" and hardly anything about "you."

I still like the sharing aspect of social media, the reason why I still use it for reasons other than my job.

Social media allows me to share my interests with people who are interested (or who may be potentially interested) and others can do the same with me. And then I can share certain aspects of their interests with others who also may be interested.

If social media does not widen a sense of community, it has failed. If one feels isolated in a crowd (and social media is a very large crowd), social media has failed.

Maybe this is way, except for a couple Facebook ads after I released my first book in 2011, I've not bought another.

I've not bought a Twitter ad. I've not "boosted" a post, not even when blog views dramatically declined after Facebook's last algoroithim update thing (which I don't understand) since Facebook was the main entry for readers.

I'm really not good at taking selfies and have no desire to learn. But I'm glad I figured out the basics of Goodreads last month since I'll be reading more this year.

Social media, for me, does not replace phone calls or face-to-face meetings. In fact, I stayed awake into the very wee hours while my oldest son Christopher was in the ER with dangerously high blood sugar. (He texted funny memes, and I sent back emojis and gifs).

But different tools are useful for different forms of communication. And different people prefer different mediums, so using a variety helps me connect with others by way of their preferences.

For instance, my grandkids get excited by my little monthly letters. When the post office doesn't screw up the mailings.

Here's the link.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/23/the-year-social-networks-were-no-longer-social/

With that, I'll sign off. My coffee is cold and I do have a little work to do.

Have a most blessed day readers, writers, and vampire fans! :)

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

Three Good Reasons to Take a Three-Day Break: Ezekiel, Jessica, and Riley

The downside to working many hours as a newspaper features editor and writer, as well as having a solitary hobby I love (writing fiction), coupled with the current inability to afford a car poses a distinct challenge when it comes to spending time with family that doesn't live nearby.

So with some leftover vacation time that needs using up before the end of 2016, I decided to spend some of it with family.

I spent the last three days about an hour away from home at my son Joshua's and his wife Amber's home being mother and mother-in-law and as well as grandmother to Ezekiel (4), Jessica (2) and Riley (4 months and born this year on my birthday).

Timothy hung out with me on Friday and played uncle. Rebekah hung out with me on Saturday and Sunday and played aunt.

And what did we do?

I colored and played with stickers and sticker book with Jessica, browsed through Spiderman comic books with Ezekiel, danced to Colby's Missing Memory with Jessica and Riley, played Candyland (Joshua, Rebekah, Ezekiel, and Jessica, with Amber and Riley looking on), watched bad stand-up comedians with Timothy, introduced Joshua to Galavant, and watched Koran dramas with Rebekah.

I ate pizza from Aurelios twice, compliments of Joshua managing the local venue. I taught my monthly writer's workshop (and I have a new student) on Friday night, hardly missed a beat on exercise, read some, and slept full night's sleep on Friday and Saturday , luxury in and of itself. 

On Sunday, we all attended the church of Amber's choice. This brought the double blessing into running into an old friend (guitar player in the worship band) and a great message of dying to self.

I changed plenty of diapers and even mixed up two batches of formula, a first for this former nursing mom (Amber's breast pump broke).

In short, I had a fantastic weekend!

Today it's back to work for just three days, a marathon feat since five days will have to be crammed into these three.  But first, a few photos of some of the most important people in my life.

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Baran Toga Party

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Baran Toga Party, 1994

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Cemetery-Hopping and Other Fun Mother's Day Activities

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! :)

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Grandma, Can I Have a Blessing?

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Grandma, Can I Have a Blessing?

That question (minus "the grandma") is a common refrain in our household at bedtime, and one that has been resounding since my oldest child--almost thirty-one and standing nearly six-ten--was eighteen months old and wearing one-piece, zippered sleeper pyjamas with plastic feet.

That's when I was reading a series of child rearing books by 1950's Catholic mother of seven Mary Reed Newland, the best source of mothering wisdom I've ever encountered. In one of her books, Newland briefly mentioned how, after witnessing another family use the custom, she and her husband began giving her children "blessings:" at bedtime, before special events, etc.

The concept appealed to me, so I began adding this blessing prayer with the goodnight kiss:Christopher David, may the blessing of the Lord be upon you always, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. While doing so, I traced a little cross on his forehead. Christopher, although non-verbal at the time, was soon babbling back to me and tracing marks on my forehead with his tiny index finger.

As Christopher's siblings arrived, bedtime blessings lengthened and included Sarah Catherine, Joshua Paul, Timothy Michael, Rebekah Anne, and Daniel John. Most of the adult children living in my household still request blessings at bedtime, and I still receive them in return. If our schedules cross, we text them to each other.

As my children began having children, some of most of them continued the tradition, too, which was soooooo cool for me to experience. And of course, when I see my grandchildren, the goodbyes always include a blessing.

Friday evening, as I was walking out the door for the night, my five year old grandson stopped me with a, "Grandma, can I have a blessing?" After I happily bestowed that upon him, I asked him for one in return. I bent low; Ronnie placed his little hand on my forehead and recited the sweetest prayer. Then he gave me a quick hug and dashed away to find Uncle Daniel.

It's such a simple practice, and yet...think of the many, many decades of prayers we have raised heavenward on each other's behalf. The custom has created more than a family legacy, but a treasure whose value we'll realize only in eternity.

Mary Reed Newland, I owe you.

Nice One, God!

So the original forecast for Christmas Day (December 25, not the upcoming January 7), was several feet of snow.

For some, this is welcome. For others, less so. This year, we belonged to the latter camp. We currently own two old and creaky blazers, with Timothy's being the newer and more reliable one. He has a second job now, abotu thirty miles away, and he did fine in yesterday's snow and cold.

Still...

Forty miles one way in crummy weather in a crummy vehicle during a time when other holiday drivers are on the road and back again and then another fifteen to twenty miiles in the opposite direction wasn't anyone's good time.

On Thanksgiving Day, we were the only ones that showed up to Divine Liturgy (our church has a small elderly population). We arrived about fiftteen minutes late (Timothy had worked late and overslept; plus our pastor had bumped up liturgy time), and our priest had already begun the complicated ninety-minute service, alone. Timothy said after he and Daniel had vested and made it onto the altar, Fr. Boris only turned to them and said, "We are on page so and so, if you care for join me."

Ouch!

The only other person to arrive was our cantor, about ten minutes after that. What if Christmas Day was a no-show repeat? (And thankfully, it wasn't).

Furthermore, our January 7 celebration will be in Mendota this year. Joshua, Amber, Ezekiel, and Jessica won't be joining us because of work schedules. Because of Joshua's health issues and the fact he just returned to work after being off for two years, they couldn't afford to buy either a tree (Ours had seen better years, and he had discareded it) or presents (We didn't buy any presents either).To not see them during Christmas was unthinkable.

So after Divine Liturgy, we want to spend the rest of the day with them. As the manager of a local pizzeria, Joshua is allowed to make free pizzas for himself anytime he wishes. Consequently, our dinner plans for Christmas was pizza at Joshua's. And we didn't need recalcitrant weather to get in our way.

We felt those were good reasons why God should hold back the snow. And so we prayed. And He did. And we had one of the loveliest Christmases ever.

Yes, we made Divine Liturgy and a wonderful Christmas dinner at Joshua's apartment. We even had one bonus, but that's for another post. The humor, however, was on Christmas Eve.

Our photographer was checking out the weather forecast, as he was flying out on Christmas Day. He announced that it appeared the bad weather would miss us and then added, "They're calling for snow in Hawaii."

Nice one, God!