Mustang Mamma

Here is a list of some of the things I end up doing in my car, aka Mamma's Mustang. I do them in my car because I can't seem to get them done in my house for a variety of reasons. These are NOT things I do while driving:

*I put on my make-up. The light is better and the vanity mirror is closer than my bathroom mirror. The kids are secured in the back and not running around making last minute messes or putting on my make-up themselves. (This is ususally done in our driveway on the way to school, church, or work.)

*I make phone calls. Sometimes after an outing in the car, my toddler falls asleep. Since she will wake-up when I move her and my cell phone reception is best in my driveway, the car can make a great office from which to make appointments or check in with my husband, chat with my mom, or make plans with friends.

*I clip and clean up my kid's finger nails (and toenails, if exposed). Little kiddie clippings are easily ignored or vacumed out (I know to some this is very gross, but there are bugs crawling around that are bigger!)

*I style my kids' hair. A wiggly toddler cooperates better in the car seat! Even my nine-year old who hates to comb her hair manages to get it done in there (in her case, usually enroute).

*I file and polish my nails. I have hereditarily ugly nails and just feel better with a good coat of clear or pale polish on them. When I became a mom, I learned that I couldn't predict when I could paint my nails and not get them all smeared, even late at night. (I would inevitably fall asleep and end of with sheet marks.) So, since I have a 20-30 minute commute to work or church, I get them ready ahead of time and apply 2-three coats of polish when I'm ready to leave, carefully put the car into reverse, and by the time I'm at work, they're good to go.

*I knit. Whenever I'm early somewhere, I relish the minutes I can work on a project. My knitting is always with me, just in case. If the kids are with me, we just keep talking and my hands keep moving.

*I do my Devotions. When the weather is nice, I enjoy spending my lunchtime in my car. I can focus better in there than a lot of places. When my daughter was really little, I would take her sister to school, pick up some coffee, and park while she slept a little and I would do my devotions. Those days are over, but it was a nice little respite.

*My favorite thing to do at lunchtime in good weather is to knit and listen to talk radio or knit and read a good novel. I usually listen to Rush and I'm currently reading "The Kite Runner", although I rarely read fiction. It is a great book and my sweater is almost done.

*I have breastfed both babies in my car on many occasions...in parking lots when I can't find a nice woman's lounge, or on the road to my brother's graduation from Vanderbilt. I covered up with a nursing "cape" so I doubt that anyone but baby knew what I was doing!

*I used a breastpump in my car once or twice. Most of the time, I could do my pumping at work, but a couple times I had to be at a conference. So, I got a car adapter for the pump and one of those windshield covers. I donned my nursing cape and I doubt if anyone was the wiser.

***For the record: While I have done a lot of child care activities, I never did anything in my car to create a baby;)

Summer Camp

One day in the Spring of 1974, when I was nine, I came home from Girl Scouts begging to go to camp with the Girl Scouts for two weeks during the summer. My mom informed me that I could not go, but she wanted to send me to church camp with two other girls from my church. It was only for one week and I did not really like the girls who were going to go with me. They were a year older and had never been very nice to me, so I cried and begged and begged and cried over this decision.

After a summer of swimming and sunshine, the second week of August had finally arrived. By then, I was looking forward to my new adventure. My mom had been a camp cook at Camp Minwanna, a Lutheran Camp in Ohio and assured me that I would have a lot of fun. Now that I have a nine-year old, I can't believe she sent me off so far away for so long!

The first day was horrible, but by day two, I was in love: with Jesus, with the out doors, with the cute guy counselors...I spent one week every summer from 1974-1979 and can't remember anything bad after that first day when I accidently kicked my friend-from-my-home-church-that-never-liked-me and gave her a bloody nose.

During those five weeks, there were many, many highlights...praising God with song morning, noon, and night..."I am the Resurrection-Hey-and the Life!"; sleeping out on the shores of Lake Michigan, hiking the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, "levitating" our pastor on a confirmation camp overnight; a sunset kiss on the 89 (?) steps down to Stony Lake proper (I know, I know, it was Church Camp...and ninth grade!)...

The funniest Stony Lake Lutheran Camp memory of all however, happened in the fall of 2001. The man who would become my husband had called to arrange a time for the two of us to get together and practice music for our Sunday School's music team. We met at a Presbyterian church and I was telling him that I was really Lutheran. He said that he was too. The Lutheran Church he attended was a "mission church" of my childhood church home. When I mentioned where I went to church growing up, I also mentioned that I had met a lot of kids from his church at Stony Lake and the Bass Lake Music Festival. To this, my husband-to-be excitedly replied, "you went to Stony Lake and Bass Lake??? I went to Stony Lake for two weeks of Confirmation Camp, one week Sail Camp, and one of Leadership Training. Then I worked at the (former) Tecumseh Woods Lutheran Camp as the maintenance guy for two summers, when I was 16 and 17." He was part of the camp ministry a few years before I started going there, but he still has the same songbook we used and knew a lot of the same people. One of his closests friends, whom he met at Tecumseh Woods Lutheran Camp, went to high school with my first camp counselor at Stony. This shared background turned out to be our initial bond as friends.

Stony Lake Lutheran Camp is still an active part of "Living Water Ministries", a mission shared with Lower Michigan Synods and the ELCA. Tecumseh Woods was sold when the ALC merged with the LCA and acquired Michi-Lu-Ca Conference Center and Camp (where my ex-husband went to church retreats). The Bass Lake Music Festival, originally held at Pleasant Hill, another ALC camp, is now held at Michi-Lu-Ca each August.

This spring, our confirmation kids were scheduled to attend Michi-Lu-Ca for camp, but plans had to be changed. They are now attending Stony Lake Lutheran Camp this summer, just as we did many years ago. My husband volunteered us as adult leaders for the trip, but we needed some special considerations and I don't think we will be going. However, it was sure fun to dream of a return!

As for the Girl Scout camp...I did get there for a weekend winter camp and as a strange twist, we now live a short distance from that very same camp!

Why I Don't Blog Like I'd Like

I want to share a bit of the reason that I don't blog as much as I would like.

We do not have internet access at home any longer. The reason for that is for another post to come. As for my blogging, this means I have to write my blog at home, save it to a disk and download it at the library in order to post. In addition, my 2 3/4 year old likes to contribute to my computer work and that limits me to short spurts of creativity and not so much time for proofing the content. (Not to mention that I have a jillion other interests and my brain power is easily strained...I tend to sit and knit mindlessly when I have a minute to myself.)

I am going to continue to try to post during my work breaks and aim for one night a week of writing at home for a real posting. We'll see.

Another big thanks to Norma who continually encourages me in the endeavor and inspires many of my postings...particularly related to LIBRARIES/OHIO/LUTHERANS/MUSIC/ARCHITECTURE, etc.

Another note: My "other" blog is presently just a name. I plan to get started with it this weekend, so maybe Tuesday, it will be activated:)