Pentecost continues...

Composition date: June 12, 2006

“Pentecost continues...”

...read the bulletin insert at our church this Sunday.

During our Pentecost celebration last Sunday, I sat in the midst of our entire congregation holding candles, all attired in the red color of Pentecost. I felt only embers in my heart. Who or what threw sand on the flames~the passion I had for serving my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

Then, within a fragment of time, He began to fan my ashes and the embers began to ignite. As the candles were extinguished, I was invited to serve Him, once again.

Several weeks ago, my husband volunteered to serve as adult leader for our Confirmation campers. Since my husband is a youth group leader and not one of the catechism teachers, he was not the pastor’s first choice to attend. In addition, my husband would only go if our family could join him at camp. With those things in mind, we wrote off the possibility of us serving in this way.

God had flames to fan~

At the conclusion of our Pentecost service, one of our youth volunteers informed us that my husband would be going to be the adult leader at Confirmation camp and our family had been approved to stay at the camp with him. So, next Sunday, my husband, almost three year-old, and myself will be heading back to Stony Lake Lutheran Camp. It will have been 27 years since I had my last Stony Lake adventure and 33 years since my husband last graced her shores.
The picture on the left is my husband when he was on the maintenance staff at Tecumseh Woods Lutheran Camp, the "sister" camp to Stony Lake in 1973 or 1974. I have a picture of him at Stony Lake, but he's holding some "girlfriend's" hand and I can't seem to find it. (Smile)
The picture on the right is me at Stony Lake the summer of 1974. Last night we were laughing at the irony of the fact that my husband was on camp staff the same summer I went the first time. Our church used to alternate between the two camps, and it was just happenstance that I went to Stony Lake instead of Tecumseh Woods in the first place.

But wait, there is more to the story~

I mentioned to the woman making our camp arrangements, that while I am officialy going to camp because my husband is going, I am interested in working with the church's youth as well. She e-mailed me back sharing a "desparate need" for women to work in small groups with middle school and high school girls. They need women who do not have children that age. Like myself, the woman I was speaking with doesn't, but her third baby arrived last Thursday. I fit the bill it sure seemed like God was dropping a bit hint.

Earlier this year our church held a simulcast of "Every Young Woman's Battle". I was unable to attend, but I had expressed an interest in this type of ministry. Apparently, I didn't speak loud enough, since I missed several meetings on the subject. After I talked with our "camp arranger", I spoke to our pastor's wife who is working on establishing this ministry and we met on Monday. We are going to meet with some middle school age girls tonight.

I have a lot of passion for this kind of ministry. I think we are in a spiritual battle today and young women and men need to be equipped. My life experiences have led to this point and I know God can use me...so I release this to Him. But boy, am I getting nerv...I mean excited about tonight!!!!

...Sunday's bulletin insert concluded with Matthew 5:16, my Confirmation verse:
"Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven".

and so I shall~

Donny Osmond

Composition date: June 10, 2006


It has been ten years since I “met” my hero Donny Osmond. The following is a slightly edited version of what I wrote in my journal at the time of the event:

June 11, 1996
[Former husband] took me to “meet” Donny Osmond. I really doubted that I would even get to see him, let alone get an autograph. [Former husband] insisted that I would meet Donny personally. [Former husband] was one of the only men there and is very tall. He used this to his advantage and took some snapshots of Donny signing autographs while I waited at the back of the very long line. He didn’t even stay in line and at one point I gave [former husband] the liner notes from my soundtrack to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and he went up to where Donny was and asked how long he would be able to stay. As [former husband] asked the question, Donny signed the liner notes of my cd. When [former husband] returned, I was so absolutely thrilled, I was ready to leave. [Former husband] insisted that we stay.

While in line, we spent a few minutes talking with a woman holding a photograph of her son with Donny. Her son was in the children’s chorus of Joseph with Donny last fall. [Former husband] went back up and asked Donny to personally autograph the woman's photograph to her son. Along with the woman’s autographed photo, [former husband] returned with a b&w photo of Donny as “Joseph” autographed to me. In my hands, I had much more than I ever dreamed and could have gone home a very happy woman.

We continued to wait...

When I was about to meet this man who kept me straight and inspired and sane all those years, I knew it had to be special. I just spouted out, “I’ve waited 23 years for this" and gave him a hug and he hugged me back. Just then, [former husband] called out my name and snapped the best picture I have ever had taken in my life.

I still can’t believe I had the guts to hug Donny Osmond, but I’m so glad I did. I owe a lot to him and his family and that was my thanks. [Former husband] said Donny had a big smile on his face when I hugged him and [former husband] thanked Donny for the autographs and posing for the picture.

When we took the pictures in to be developed, the woman printed a ton of copies and started calling me, “The Donny Girl".

June 10, 2006

Whenever I see that picture, which I still keep on a shelf in my home, I remember that young eight-year old girl who had tons of dreams and ideas, along with a big crush on Donny Osmond. A couple months after that day, I became pregnant with my first born daughter and her favorite lullaby was, “Puppy Love”.

I had the opportunity to see Donny Osmond performing in person three times in my life. My dad took me to a free concert at the Michigan State Fair in 1978; I saw him in Joseph and the Amazing Techincolor Dreamcoat in the fall before the picture was taken; and most recently, I saw him perform in concert at Detroit’s Fox Theatre 2001. I still buy anything he records including a song on the soundtrack to Mulan.

While it has been ten long years since that day in June, I still admire Donny Osmond. He's been through life's ups and downs, some in the public eye and yet he's retained his integrity. That’s a lot more than we can say for some of ourselves and certainly the images of popular stars today. Donny Osmond is also a wonderful singer and whether he is performing his old hits, Broadway favorites, Christmas music, or his own material, he makes me feel a hopeful connection between my childhood dreams and my future opportunities.

June 14 update: I just checked out www.donny.com and learned that Donny will play Gaston in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway this fall.

Rotary Phone Calls

I have a fuzzy memory of frantically dialing my boyfriend's phone number to return his long-awaited phone call. Long after most families had a push-button phone, my parents retained the rotary phones, one desk type and one on the wall.

We have a phone very similar to this one in the hall of our home, just in case. Occasionally, we'll pick it up to answer the phone, but as it is corded, I only made a call from it once when the power was out. The other day, however, my daughters and I were upstairs when my eldest decided that she should make a phone call. I told her to go ahead and continued to bathe the little one. A couple minutes later, my nine-year old returned to asked me how to make the phone call. It took me a second to remember that while we routinely talk about dialing the phone, we rarely actually do it anymore! I tried to give her a quick lesson in the art of rotary phone use from the bathroom, but soon realized that she needed hands-on instruction.

I sometimes think about the obsolescence of things like record albums or b&w televisions, but I hadn't yet mused about the passing of the rotary phone!

Small Proportions

"In small proportions we just beauties see and in short measures life may perfect be."
~Ben Jonson

This picture is from a couple of years ago. I made the '50's Girl' skirts per my big girl's request. I didn't plan to make one for my little girl, but since I had extra supplies and a crafty husband who downsized the pattern, both girls enjoyed cats and crinolines at our church's Halloween party.

{I got to practice using our scanner at work since I "fixed" it. It was unplugged!}

Mamma's Mammogram

I got my mammogram results yesterday. It was a routine screening and I wasn't really concerned except when I let myself think about all the women who have abnormal ones. I said a quick prayer of thanks for my own good result. I followed that with prayers for those who have have scary results, for all those survivors, and finally for those who have been lost. Age really has no bearing...I know of more women younger than myself than I know of older women. My aunt was 55 and her two daughters were 39 and 36. To my aunt and older cousin, it was merely a chapter in their life story. Both are over the 5 year mark, almost ten years have passed. My younger cousin completed treatment a year ago and barely told a sole what she was going through. She danced in the Nutcracker a couple weeks after she completed treatment. So far so good for her, too.

Prayers go out to all women for we are all impacted by breast cancer in some way or another.

Young Mom Update

Yesterday, I went in for my mammogram. The first one I had was in the big city at 35 (baseline) and it was a terrible experience as the technicians for snooty and it took a long time. Now that I go in a smaller town, I'm usually done before my appointment time and the technicians are so much more pleasant.

Since I barely fill out an A Cup, I always laugh when they ask if I have implants. This time, however the answers regarding the ages at which my children were born led me to a really great conversation with my technician. She said, "So you were 38 when you had a baby? I'm 37 and I'm 16 weeks pregnant, so that's so good to hear!" I told her about the gossipy girls at the dental office and we both had a great laugh. I left there feeling so good about my age and babies. (Of course, I'm praying for good results from the routine-every-year-over forty mammogram.)

In the evening I was talking to my neighbor and she made a comment that it was time for my husband and I to have another baby. I laughed and said that was not likely. I told that my hands were full and reminded her of my husband's pending 50th in July. As this neighbor works at my dentist and referred me there, I shared the story of the gossipers. She told me that the woman bragging about having her baby young didn't plan it that way either...

On this same subject, please join me in praying for a couple who is hoping for a baby to love. The mom-in-hoping is 36 and had breast cancer at 28. She was told that it is possible for her to conceive, but she has now had four miscarriages. They are looking into adoption, but may proceed with an in-vitro attempt also. However they are blessed, that child will truly be loved.

Young Mom's Gossip

Today I took my nine year old to have some dental work. As I sat alone in the waiting room, tending to my knitting, I listened in on the chatty office staff. The subject soon turned to the benefits of having children at a young age.

One young woman told the other that even though she knows that 27 isn't old to become a mom, it seems old to her because she had her baby at a much younger age. (I'm guessing from her looks and conversations that she has an infant and is about 20-23 years old). Then she went on to blab about how she'll only be 38 when her kid graduates high school and on and on about being young and having fun blab, blab, blab...I wanted to scream and being impulsive by nature, I'm very proud that I kept my dignity!

I wanted to have a baby while I was still in high school (I also wanted to marry my boyfriend before I had a baby while I was in high school!) I didn't intend to have my babies at such an OLD AGE (32 and 38, which isn't all that OLD!), but that is when my blessings were born.

In my case, I made choices...some bad, some good. I married the wrong men...men who weren't meant to be fathers. I finally had my first baby (after a miscarriage at 30)because I figured I wasn't going to leave my second marriage and I dearly wanted to be a mom and we thought we were going to make it work. I was 32 and we separated when she was two months old and divorced thereafter. I did not put motherhood on hold for a career or have a couple abortions to postpone it, I became a mom when I was meant to become a mom!!!!

Following my divorce, I still hoped for another child, but mostly wanted to be in God's will. God's will was for me to wait on HIM!

When I married my husband at 37, we were ready for whatever God wanted for us. Then we started to figure it wasn't meant to be. But, after nine months of marriage we became pregnant. I was almost 38 and he was 47. My husband always wanted kids too, but after an early marriage to an unfaithful woman, he was single for 19 years and parenthood was on hold, too.

It was not for my own situation that I was so angry, but for all those couples who desperately hope to become parents and are finally blessed at a later age. Many of them have gone through a lot of pain and struggle and hope. It is not always about putting off parenthood for a career or financial stability, etc. Sometimes, it is just God's timing and not ours.

Lately I have been struggling with my age and the ages of my kids. I'm the oldest mom in my nine-year old's class...I can't wait until my baby starts school. My mom had my little brother at 38 and went through some of this, I'm sure. I just remind myself that this is God's will. God blessed me with two very easy preganancies and a strong body to raise my very healthy babies and I'm happy to be in HIS WILL. HE knew what He was doing.

I heard an ad for AAA insurance the other day. In it the narrator talks about a person buying a convertable to haul golf clubs in. It says something like this: Now you don't have to worry about squabbles in the back seat or animal crackers between the cushions...you are fifty and it is your turn...Oh, boy!!! Oh, brother!!!

I asked my husband, who will turn fifty the same month his daughter turns three about this. It doesn't even phase him...he is confident in his youthful spirit and heart and great love for his dear darling daughter (and step-daughter!!!).

Please, just remember to think before you judge. If one becomes a parent at a younger age because they choose to, that is usually acceptable, especially when they are married. If someone becomes a parent at a younger age and didn't intend to, it is usually because they made a decision of some sort(like to have sex and/or not use birth control). In the case of older parents, it isn't so obvious as to why they have babies later. Becoming a parent at an older age may include some drawbacks and problems and having babies at a younger age may be best. Keep in mind, however, "older" parents don't always choose the birthdates of their babies. And, they aren't always "accidents", as some occassionally refer to babies born later in life. Some parents intended to have babies when they were younger for the same reasons young parents had their babies when they did.

I almost wish I would have walked up to those chatty cathy's at the dentist with my white hair and toddler in tow and given them a piece of my mind! Maybe if my toddler were with me, I would have. But then they could blame my age on the fact that I was mad at them...they've seem me wrestle with her in the office and probably attribute it to having her at my age!