Looking Back As We Look Forward

It is so hard to realize that Christmas and Thanksgiving have come and gone so quickly.  In the blink of an eye the events that we worked so hard to prepare for have been reduced to a handful of memories.  It seems that if we didn't have the photos to prove that they truly existed we just might deny their very existence.  If someone asks me if our family had a good Christmas, I would have to reply that we did have a great Christmas and really enjoyed it. 

In fact, I think this was one of the most enjoyable and most fun filled Christmas times that I can remember, but that having been said, if I am not careful, I might let the stress and fatigue that came with the days of "getting ready" with the shopping, decorating, cooking, and all the rest (or lack of it) override the joy, beauty, and happiness that should have been paramount during this time. It is so shockingly easy to forget the "reason for the season" and I regret that I let that happen even when I feel so blessed in so many ways. I am not much on resolutions, but in the back of my mind, I resolve to seek ways to make our next Christmas more meaningful, restful, and filled with  joy for our blessings.

With the coming of the New Year, I also, find myself reflecting on some of the events that I will always associate with 2009--both good and bad:

2009 will always be the year we went to Alaska.  One of our Christmas gifts that I consider to be priceless is the wonderful book from Kim, Vince, and Cole that chronicles our trip in photos and comments.

2009 will always be the year that Jordie became a freshman in high school and for the first time since the 5th grade we saw a renewal of appreciation for school instead of dread for each day. New friends, new coaches and sports teams to be a part of along with new teachers and the new school have worked miracles for his attitude toward school.  It was also during 2009 that he became as tall as his Grandad after passing the rest of us much earlier.

2009 is another year in which we with great happiness saw our young Cole, make huge strides in school.  He loves going each day and has a strong love for learning that I have rarely seen in other children.  We are constantly amazed at what he teaches us with his great store of information and his talents.

2009 brought Izzie and Raider, our new grand-puppies, to live with Cole and his family.  

2009 will be remembered as a year for disappointment for our daughter, Jami, who worked so hard to train to run her first marathon, only to find herself in the hospital that day.  We pray for her continued healing both physically and spiritually.  

2009 will always be the year that we were profoundly disappointed that an athlete that we admired for his physical talent and for his seemingly good character, fell so far from  the man we imagined him to be and pray that he will find the strength he needs to put his life in order and to do what it takes to become a true man of character and honor. 

2009 brought a totally unexpected illness to one of our dear friends who just recently celebrated a fiftieth wedding anniversary with his wife who is also a dear friend.  Now we pray for a total recovery from this illness and the patience he will need for all the hard work (pt) that lies ahead.

In 2009 we have seen some of our friendships fade away just as we rejoice that we have felt other friendships strengthen.  

As we see 2010 approaching, we want to take the time to wish each and every one of you true happiness, good health and healing during illness. as well as fun, faith, and friends.  

Happy New Year to one and all!

Jim and Nicki

 

Guilty Pleasures: The Twilight Saga

Written by Driscilla Storrs

I didn't mean to be a part of the Twilight phenomenon.  The Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer spent 102 weeks on the NY Times Best Seller List for Children's Series, have sold 70 million copies worldwide, have been translated into 38 languages, and won the 2009 Kid's Choice Award for favorite book.  They're classified as children's books and young Adult fiction, but I was astonished at how much I enjoyed the books and the lengths I would go to to keep reading them.

It was my daughters who first mentioned Twilight.  "You should read it, Mom.  You'd really like."

"What's It about ?" I asked. 

"Vampires."

"I don't like stories about vampires," I answered.
Too many B movies about vampires when I was
a teenager, I guess.

"But these vampires don't bite people.
They're different.  You'd like the book.

I dismissed it again.  "I don't really read much
fiction.  I read mostly history, biography...I just
don't read fiction very much."  They dropped
the subject and so did I.

Last fall, Twilight, the movie, came out with much anticipation.  I read about it.  Our girls went to see it and reported disappointment.  When the movie came to DVD, we rented and watched it without a lot of enthusiasm.  It was okay but certainly not remarkable.


Several months ago at work, in casual conversation with several co-workers, my supervisor asked, "Driscilla, you read, don't you?"  I wondered if it was a trick question. I work in an institution of higher learning:  EVERYONE reads.  "Do you mean something specific?" I asked.


She clarified:  "Have you read Twilight?"


"No I haven't.  I've heard about it.  I just don't read much fiction."


"You really should read it though.  I think you'd really like it.  I'm reading the last book and I've only got 100 pages to go, so I'm reading it very slowly.  I don't want it to end."  That sounded like a great recommendation for a book.

A couple of weeks later another co-worker asked me if I'd read the book, and I told her the same thing, "No...I don't read much fiction..."

"I think you'd really love the books.  I'd let you borrow my copies, but I keep going back and re-reading, and I don't think I could let them go long enough for you to read."

Hmmm.  Another great recommendation.

In August, we went to Colorado on vacation.  All of the family gathered at our daughter's home to celebrate the birthday that our grandson and I share.  (It was a fun
visit, but that's another story.)  One night I noticed the book, Twilight, on the bookshelf and remembered the recurring recommendations.  I asked if I could read it while we were there.  Our days and nights were very busy and I barely opened the book, so when we left, I asked if I could take the book with me.  The girls offered to  let me borrow the other books, too.  "Is is a trilogy?' I asked (ignorantly)."


"No, Mom, there are four books."

"Four?  I don't want to take four books.  I'm not sure I'll even finish this one.  I'll just take it for the trip."  With four adults, two children, and four dogs in the van (that's another story, too), there wasn't much time to read.  About six hours into the trip, things got quiet in the van, so I got the book out and started to read.  I was hooked!  I was surprised at how engrossed I was in the story.  That was Sunday.

When I went to work the next day, I took the book with me so I could read on it during my lunch hour.  Though it was 498 pages long, it was a surprisingly fast read, and I knew I would soon be finished with the first installment of the romance between 108-year-old-but-17-forever vampire Edward and 17-year old-and-normally-aging human Bella.  I talked to my supervisor. "Do you remember when you asked me about Twilight?"  She nodded.  "Well, I'm almost through reading it, and I was wondering if I could borrow the second book from you.  Could you bring it tomorrow?"


"Sure," she said, "I'll try to remember it"  She would TRY to remember?  That meant she might forget!  I needed a more definite answer, some reassurance that she would bring the book, so at the end of the day, I caught her at the elevator and reminded her.


I finished Twilight Monday night.  As a teaser, the book included the first chapter of the second book, New Moon, increasing my anxiety to follow the lives of Edward and Bella.  I went to my supervisor's office the first thing Tuesday morning, and to my relief, she had remembered the book.  I practically snatched it out of her hand before she could change her mind or someone else might come into the office in time to see my desperation.  I took New Moon to my office, very anxious for lunch so I could start reading it during the break.  I read the book at every opportunity that day and night though real life kept intruding and demanding my time.


By Wednesday night, I knew I would be ready for the third book, Eclipse, by Thursday. 
I didn't want to harass my supervisor about the next book, so I checked the library online.  There were numerous copies listed but they were all checked out except one.  It was available in the Young Adult Fiction section at the downtown library, and it probably wouldn't stay on the shelf very long.  Afraid it would be gone by the time I got off work on Thursday evening, I asked my husband to pick it up on Thursday morning as soon as the library opened.  He wasn't sure he even had a library card since we usually to to the library together and put all the books on my card.  He agreed to go to the library and get a card and check out Eclipse.  I casually mentioned the library might have a copy of the Twilight DVD and maybe he could check that out , too..  Later he called me from the library and reported he now had a library card and was searching for the book.The poor unsuspecting man was about to use his new library card to check out a teenage vampire romance.  I said, "If anyone asks you, tell them it's for your granddaughter."  What?   I had just encouraged my preacher-husband to lie!  He called a few minutes later and reported that he had found the book and DVD and no one had made comments about his selection.  That night we watched the movie again; it made more sense after having read the book.

Friday, I started reading the third book.  I thought I would read it during the weekend, then call my supervisor to bring the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, on Monday. By Saturday, I was nearly through with the third book and was almost embarrassed that I was reading the books so fast.  An online check of the libraries showed no copies of the fourth book were available.  Perhaps it would be more discreet simply to buy the book, so a trip to Barnes and Noble seemed to be the best option.  I searched through B&N and finally found a complete display of the Stephenie Meyer books, again the Young Adult section.  The first three books were available in paperback, but the most recent was available only in hardback at $25.  I couldn't justify spending $25 on the last book when I hadn't purchased the first three so I swallowed my pride and called my supervisor's cell phone number.  Standing in the Barnes and Noble vestibule, I made the call. "Hi B.  How are you?  Are you at home?"


"No, I'm at United doing my grocery shopping."


"When will you be home?  I tried not to sound desperate.  There were other people entering and leaving the store.

"Well, I'm about halfway through my list, so it'll probably be another 30-40 minutes.  Why?"

"Will you call me when you get home?  I'd like to pick up Breaking Dawn."  She laughed and assured me she would hurry.

I waited around Barnes and Noble until she called, then went to pick up the last book.


I finished it Sunday.  Though the last part of the last book was not as engrossing as the rest had been, by then Edward, Bella, Jacob, Carlisle, Alice, the vampires and werewolves were friends to me, and I was at a loss when the story was ended.  Maybe I should read all the books again-except I didn't own them and I didn't think I could go through the runaround of borrowing them again.  My reputation at work was already damaged.  I heard my supervisor recommending the books to some else and she added.  "Just ask Driscilla.  She read all of them in a week."


Fortunately, one of our daughters came to my rescue.  She told me about an incomplete book, Midnight Sun, which was available online.  It was a retelling of the first book but from a different perspective.  When an unauthorized draft was posted on the internet, the author stopped work on the book  but made the draft available on her web site.  I read Midnight Sun on Monday night.  After that, I'd read all of the Twilight but I continued to spend time with vampires and were-woves by watching trailers of the upcoming movie, New Moon,  based on the second book of the series.


I'm not sure exactly in the Young Adult demographic, but there is abundant evidence that the appeal of the books has reached all ages.  A couple of weeks ago, we went to Rosa's for Taco Tuesday, always a busy day for the restaurant.  A middle-aged cashier had a copy of Eclipse sitting to side of her register apparently hoping to read during a break in the customer line. A friend of mine--in her early 40's and mother of two young adults--told me of her obsession with the Twilight saga;  she had joined and online group called Twilight Moms, has two Twilight charm bracelets, bought tickets to the second movie as soon as they were available, took a vacation day so she could attend.  On the Today Show, a tour bus guide told the interviewer that visitors to Forks, Washington, (population 3000), the location of the story, included not just teenage girls but even their grandparents.  There is more evidence that I'm not the only senior citizen in the Twilight fan base: one of the sponsors for the New Moon movie trailers is Polident!

The Blessings of November Fell Gently Around Us

A few days after Halloween what originally had been subtle changes in the weather and our landscape become obvious harbingers of the changing season.

While the grass was still green the ornamental grass lost its pale green color and became golden straw in the flower beds.  The chrysanthemum struggled to survive a bit longer.

One afternoon in the blink of an eye the rains came, turned, to sleet, and suddenly covered the ground in a very light snowfall.

The following days the trees in our yard turned first a bright yellow and then to orange and very quickly the ground was flooded with great piles of leaves.

"Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils."    Cyril Connolly in Country Living Magazine

The rocks in the rock garden  almost disappeared under the blanket of leaves.

 

When we sat in our chairs which had previously been our refuge for reading and relaxing, we discovered that the leaves tried to fill our drinks and our hair, but Chloe our cat spent hours chasing the mysterious playthings that were falling from the trees.

"Autumn--a second spring when every leaf's a flower."  Albert Camus

By November 29, we could no long pretend that it was still autumn.  With between 2 and 4 inches of snow covering the ground, we knew winter had arrived no matter what the calendar says. 

As the weather changed the birds flocked in in even greater numbers to enjoy the feeding stations in the yard.

 

November brought 2 new grandpuppies, Izzie and Raider, to live with our grandson, Cole.

 

 

Grandson, Jordie, made the Randall Freshman Basketball team in November.

To read about our Thanksgiving, click on "read more" below.