What about the Flying Cars?

I was sitting in traffic today. I was on my way to get Maggie from Brownies and the traffic was slow going. It made me think about the Jetsons and how the people at Hanna-Barbara imagined the 21st century to be. And to think, we have actually exceeded all of those wacky inventions they dreamed up. No, I don't have a robotic maid, but the luxuries I do have...it's crazy! Who could have imagined? Most of the time I think about how lucky we are; then I also realize how spoiled, impatient and intolerant we have become.

Example. Remember records? We saved our babysitting and/or lawn mowing money to buy albums. We lovingly cleaned them with special clothes and replaced the needle on the turn table when it wore out. It would take days to create a mix tape. The agonizing over the tracks to put on it; the perfect timing of the release of the pause button so there would be a smooth transition between songs, no awkward pause or jarring jump to the next tune. My kids? They quickly click on a list (a mile long) of songs to make a playlist. They sure don't have to clean their i-pods, and I don't remember them saving up for weeks to buy songs, either. It takes about five minutes, start to finish.

Remember letters? Getting stationary as a gift? Hand writing a letter and sending it, typos and all? Then waiting (and waiting and waiting) for a reply. Oh, and how exciting it was to get a letter in the mail! Now, we dash off e-mails and get kind of pissy if we don't get a reply that very same day. Sometimes it only takes an hour or so for me to think, "Come on, people!" I have gotten so impatient!

Remember when seeing certain movies on tv was an event? Like, The Wizard of Oz. When that came on, ONCE A YEAR (!) it was serious movie time. No talking, no horsing around. We watched that movie start to finish without moving from our spots. And we had to wait for 60 Minutes to end before it came on. That tick tick tick used to really get on my nerves. Then we went to VHS and even those seem crazily inconvenient compared to DVD's. I mean, who has time to rewind a movie? Or to fast forward looking for the good parts?

Remember when, if someone wanted to talk to you on the phone, they had to catch you at home? And back then you didn't know who was calling you. Answering the phone was a leap of faith. You could even prank someone and they couldn't *69 you.

I think I'm ready for science and technology to slow down. We take so much for granted now. I want my kids to feel what it's like to earn something, to wait for something, to anticipate something. I want them to appreciate this life and to linger on the good stuff. But before I wish for all new inventions made to simplify our lives be put on hold, I'd really like to wish for one of those flying cars...

Goodness and Kindness

I think we all want to be thought of as good. As kind. I do, and I certainly want my children to be thought of in that way, too.

I'm pretty sure most people like to be remembered well. Haven't we all thought about what people say in our absence? What people will say if we were to die?

I know a man who was so good. So kind. He called his wife "beautiful" a lot. Such romance! He treated her like a precious pearl. His children? He was hopelessly devoted. So in love with his family. He did fun, crazy things to make them laugh and to make sure they knew....

This man taught at his church. He was beloved. He was a teacher, a role model. My children? He taught them how to launch many many paper airplanes at a dance studio and smiled like a boy when the dance instructor demanded "WHO DID THIS?". She laughed. I picked up airplanes at my house for a bit...found behind furniture and atop the fridge.

We will miss him at the studio. He will be missed at his church, at his work place, by anyone who knew him. His family will ache with the loss. But, you know what? They have such faith. They know that they will be with him again some day. They are brave and strong. And good. And kind.

Benefiting the Summers Family

Duane Summers passed away on Monday. I don't feel particularly "bloggy" at this moment, but I wanted to share this information. If anyone is willing to help out, I can think of no more deserving family. These are his children: Ben, Hannah, Molly holding Emma, Katie, Grace and Jack.
Here are some details of how you can help.

SUMMERS’ BENEFIT GARAGE SALE/BAKE SALE All proceeds will go to the Summers Family. Saturday, November 15, 20087:00AM- 3:00 PM1701 Hickory Ave, Broken Arrow Please donate baked goods and gently used items to sell. All unsold items will be donated to Goodwill after sale. Drop off items Saturday morning or contact Heidi Roberts for further info: toddandheidiroberts@hotmail.com--Summers’ Benefit Silent Online Auction. All proceeds will go to the Summers family. December 1-3, 2008Monday-Wednesday. Please donate new items or a service to be auctioned.(example items: handmade items; event tickets; gift baskets; craft items; services i.e.: baked/cooked goods, babysitting, yard work, home maintenance, floral arrangements; Professional Services i.e.: painting, haircuts, carpet cleaning, haircuts; 72 hour kits; cookbooks; etc.)To bid on items go to: www.sallyrollins.blogspot.com. To donate & participate, please contact:Sally Rollins at mailto:sally.rolllins@gmail.com Danielle Olaveson at daosunshine@hotmail.com-The Summers Family Fund has been established to help this wonderful family with the trials ahead. If anyone would like to help, please inquire at any Bank of Oklahoma or mail donations directly to:The Summers Family Fund Bank of Oklahoma PO Box 2300 Tulsa, OK 74192. Read about Duane and Becky Summers here and here.

Volunteering is for Woosies

The next time someone asks me to volunteer for something, I think I'm gonna say no. If any of you out there hear me agree to doing something, you know, FOR THE KIDS, please slap me. I mean it. I need one of you to slap me HARD! Any volunteers?

Sometimes There Are No Words...

I have learned a lot in my time here on earth. Sure, I have a lot more to learn, but the early days of learning to ride a bike, conjugate a verb, change a poopy diaper....those days have passed. The things we need to learn as adults are hard. And they suck. We have to learn how to let our kids decide their own fate and find their own way. We have to learn how to say good-bye to a grandparent or beloved friend. We have to learn how to help our children learn how to deal with loss and disappointment.

We also have to learn how to help our friends deal with grief. Today I stood in a hospital room with a friend whose husband is seriously ill, fighting the battle of his life with cancer. As we chatted and laughed about our kids, the room phone rang. Her husband's doctor was calling to tell her that, though her husband made it out of surgery, more cancer was found in him. Being in that room, right in the instant that her very tenuous hold onto hope flew out the door... it was the worst thing ever. Her heart is breaking. Her mind reeling....what to tell the children, how to continue to pray. I have never felt so useless. I didn't know what to say or to do. I am very bad at grief and even worse at knowing the right thing to say. Luckily I was not alone with her and others did and said the best things they could do/say. I know it's not about me, but I want to help. I can't. All I can do is pray, and I'm not very good at that, either. Why isn't there a manual for things like this?

Please help me pray for this family. I wish you all knew them. They are some of the finest people I know. God broke the mold when he created Duane. And Becky is the person I want to be when I grow up (and she's about ten years younger than I am). Go to her blogs and see for yourself. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. And it will make you hope.....

www.sevensupersummers.blogspot.com
www.mysupermanskryptonite.blogspot.com

Fall Fun at Robbers Cave

We had a dance/sports activity free weekend, believe it or not, so we decided to cram as much family fun into the two days as humanly possible. It was a lot of fun, but by Sunday evening, Mike kind of reminded me of the dad in National Lampoon's Vacation where he demands that they will have so much fun they will be whisteling zippidy- do- da out of their....you know where's. We went to Lowe's on Saturday and bought a fire pit, so Saturday night, we had a wienie roast and had the neighbors over to make S'mores. We all enjoyed sitting by the fire and talking. Up for early church on Sunday, then off to Robber's Cave State Park for a day of hiking and rock climbing. (and whining and complaining...) I forgot my camera and the pictures I took are being held captive inside of my cell phone, so here you see a two year old picture of the kids on a rock. See all the smiling faces? That is how they looked BEFORE the three hour hike up and down rocky trails. Honestly, the kids enjoyed the caves and climbing up the steep rocks, but the hike stopped being fun about an hour in. We did it anyway, and we were richly rewarded by Mike taking us out to a famous Italian restaurant called Pete's. We carb loaded big time. The two and a half hour car ride home was nap time for all but the driver (me), but I did enjoy the quiet time. I listened to some NPR and enjoyed driving through the Oklahoma hills, which are quite beautiful. We should go that way more often.

Next week, we go back to our regular activities...running to and from Nutcracker rehearsals, late night high school football games, basketball practice, ballet practice, scouts...and hopefully my bottom will no longer be sore from that VERY steep rock I had to slide down because I am way too claustrophobic to go through the caves. Hopefully the memories of having fun together will last longer than our aching legs!

Oktoberfest!

Nothing says "German" like Oktoberfest! Wiener schnitzel, beer tents, the chicken dance and The Dance Pointe dance company, En Vidette. WHAT?! That's right, our dance company performs at Oktoberfest each year. The dancers get much needed practice in front of an audience before heading to competitions. The funny thing is, they are not on a stage, but on a large(ish) piece of plywood sitting on some concrete blocks in the grass under a tent. Hey, it works....kinda. It kind of reminds me of trying to fit our full drum corps show on the race track at the Illinois State Fair year after year. I can't tell you how many colorguard flags I took to the head back then...Oh, well. The old guy running the show is a sweet heart and the audience is typically made up of sweet senior citizens. Ms. Cara has the good sense to schedule us before the beer tents get rockin'. We did get to see a dude dressed up like a lady last year, with a floral skirt and head scarf on; and another highlight was the pregnant lady who fainted while getting a piece of pizza. Some kind of excitement! Above is a picture of Mary (on the left) with her friend Anastasia getting ready to dance last year. I'll add a couple of more pictures from last year, including the guy in charge in his lederhosen leading everyone in the chicken dance. I can't wait until next week. I'll let you know how it goes!

CHICKEN DANCE!!!!

Ms Cara with Lyric and some crazy characters!