Mother's Day Digest

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The video says it all. My kids love me. It's been quite a day. (Thanks for the video, Ben. We know you'd never exaggerate...)

Mother's Day wasn't high on my list of potential happy occasions this year. Losing Jeremiah still weighs heavily on me, and the thought of my daughter-in-law having her first childless Mother's Day, one that should have been celebrated with a baby ready to turn six months old, took most of the steam from my sails.

None of our three sons would be here in Colorado for the day, and I won't get to see my Mom for two more weeks. I knew that there would be phone calls but other than that—a regular Sunday.

It's been said before: Oh, ye of little faith. It was still dark outside, and John was in the shower when I walked through the living room toward the coffee maker. The oversized square envelope on my recliner startled me. A card from my husband? He just doesn't do that on Mother's Day. John has always assured me, "You're not my mother." I sat and read one of the most touching cards I've ever received.

We arrived at church a little more than two hours early. That sounds hard to do, but once a month our church combines services, skipping our regular early service to meet at the late service. Today it ended up taking almost twice as long. It was moving, and we enjoy it, but came out starving. John and I went to lunch, forgetting that we'd wait in long lines on Mother's Day. So we left for church at 7:30 and got home at 3:30, eight hours later.

I do have to add one little thing from Ruth, my daughter-in-law in The Netherlands. Today on her blog she entertained us all with another funny story about her 4-year old daughter. Now that Ruth and Ben are the proud parents of three little ones, with a 2 year old daughter and 2 month old son, we get a lot of funny stories. Today Ruth wrote:

Ashley just said she wants me to have another boy again when my body heals. We asked if she likes boys better. She said, "No. Because girl, girl, boy, boy. And then girl, girl, boy, boy again until Mommy's an old lady!"

So now I'll either be up late doing the homework I had planned to catch up on for my online class, or I'll be up in the wee hours doing it. Does it matter? From John's card, to the calls from all three boys, and the unexpected email from Tighe with the book store gift card in it (he knows me so well) this has been a Mother's Day to write about. I wasn't expecting that.

For Jeremiah, in Memory

The Christmas season is a time when families gather together, and those who are no longer with us are painfully missed. As most of you know, we have just returned from welcoming our first Grandson into the world.

Jeremiah True Harrell was born November 17th with a bright spirit, but too little blood to sustain life. Heroic measures failed, and he passed from his earthly father's arms into his Heavenly Father's arms after just ninety minutes of life.

His parents, Jeremy and Elisha, have asked me to thank you for all your prayers, and I hope you will continue with that. They also request that anyone so inclined will donate blood in Jeremiah's memory. You may save another little one's life.

I sing this song in his honor, and in memory of all those whom we miss during this holiday season and beyond.

Christmas Eve 2009

It's been a wonderful Christmas eve today, and a great visit so far with Pat and Betty. I wanted to say Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all my far away friends and family, and send this little video slide show as a simple gift of photos and music. Pastor Stan—this song's for you.

Saying Goodbye, Returning Home

How can we stand to say goodbye to our children and grandchildren when the visits are so sweet and too infrequent? I've often said that I'm easier to love when I don't live too close. Is it really a joke? Probably not. Like most people, I have more than my share of quirks. Our visits might be short, but they're poignant and blessed, and saying goodbye is always hard.

We worked hard to give them wings, and although we still worry at times and keep them close in prayer and phone calls, some days the miles seem endless. So how exactly can we handle the goodbyes? The last few photos of this slide show pretty much say it all. When you see what we come home to after a visit, you'll understand our contentment with home and hearth. Our roots have been transplanted deeply into this good Colorado soil, and the foothills welcome us home with the deer and the sunsets. I wouldn't choose to live anywhere else.

Fair and Balanced—Well, Almost

My son Tighe introduced me to The Daily Show. I've added it to my little battery of daily (no pun intended) political media to watch in order to know just what these crazy politicians are doing to our country. I'm having a hard time right now actually trusting anyone who would run for office. It takes a considerable amount of time and fortitude to sift through what's being broadcast in order to have an informed opinion these days.

I'm not sure Jon Stewart would appreciate my choice of media professionals. I consider Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly necessary. Most people who don't like them really don't watch them, so I'm not concerned with their opinions. Sometimes I think O'Reilly is too concerned with being fair, but that's not really fair of me. It's just that I get stressed out hearing the ultra-liberal point of view so often. It just doesn't compute to me, no matter how they word it. With all the mainstream media ignoring the traditional point of view, I don't know why the only traditional media coverage available to us, Fox News, has to give any time at all to the Secular Progressives, but I guess fair is fair. I'm sure the balance helps build character—somehow. Of course, the SPs don't see the fairness or the balance, so it's certainly not building their character.

At any rate, here's a seven minute segment from one of the Daily Show programs that I particularly appreciated. The gentleman being interviewed was familiar to me. He's been a guest speaker on The Factor and the Glenn Beck Show. I loved this interview. After hearing it, I programmed our DVR to tape The Daily Show. If I'm going to see interviews like this, and I'll admit the humor helps, then I'll learn something without adding too much to the stress I already endure to be politically astute. I do hope I get some comments on this one.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Peter Schiff
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran