Role Changes

So back to the circle theme - my family is poised for some drastic role changes. We're going to have new aunts, new parents and new grandparents in the next few weeks. We'll layer these roles over our current roles of children and parents. I suppose there is already a script of sorts, the new parts we'll play have been played by others before us and we'll surely draw from the previous productions. But, we'll be playing out this version in a new setting and the new dad brings experiences that the other players don't know about. That should shake things up a bit!

I was thinking about all of this as I was driving back from a visit with my daughter and son-in-law. They will be parents the next time I see them. I have a lot of confidence in their parenting abilities. They are level-headed young people who come from supportive homes and have a strong marriage. They'll have a great time with this baby. I'm not as confident of my ability to play the grandmother role.

I see the grandmother position as one of advisor, supporter, cheerleader. I believe in raising independent children and I think I've done a good job of that. So, have I left myself room for the grandmother part I want to play? Will the new mom and dad ask for the advice I'll want to give? And if they don't ask, will I feel compelled to offer that advice anyway? I didn't ask for advice from my children's grandparents; did I hurt their feelings? Did they want to be more included in their children's lives as parents?

I'll just wait for the moment. The baby will arrive, the new aunts and the new grandparents will congratulate the new parents and we'll all get to see the circle rotate a little as we live in the circle game.

The picture shows Megan holding the quilt Aunt Kathy made from fabric purchased by Grandma F. who died before Megan and Kristopher got married. So there's a circle within a circle, Grandma F.'s influence is here. And with her presence, a role model for new grandmothers. I am grateful.

Ahhhhhh, home for Christmas!

It's Friday, December 22 and...

...school's out!!!!!!!!!! The last little darling was picked up from the school office where I work by his very late mom at 4:20. I have been gifted with enough cake and cookies to stock the church coffee hour for a good 2 or 3 months, and some Starbucks cards to go with the baked goods. My NCAA football bowl pool sheet has been submitted - that would be $20 worth of entertainment 'cause I surely won't win. We'll be at the 10:15 service for Christmas Eve. I've got my food assignments for Christmas dinner - breads, red jello mold (we've got those Midwestern roots, remember?), pecan tassies and a chocolate Buche de Noel.

After I hit send on this blog post I'm going to make a cup of tea in my new giant snowman cup and watch my daughter make dinner. Ahhhhhhh. It's the holidays! Did I mention that someone gave me Irish Cream liqueur and butterscotch schnapps? She says to mix them together. I'll let you know.

Bah & The Humbugs

This group has made me laugh over the last several days. I hit their podcast during a search on Christmas. It's pretty irreverent, occasionally needs to be censored from children and should be shared with others. Hang onto your seat, tune into WCOMMERCIAL, "All-Commercial Radio."

The Nuns Have a Podcast!

The Carmelites of Indianapolis have a terrific website called Pray the News. Each week they offer a reflection about some current event. A couple years ago I joined their mailing list and I get an email newsletter several times a year. Through the newsletter I've met the convent dog Lucy. What fun it was to see in the latest issue of the newsletter a link to the nuns' podcast! It's great to hear the nuns' voices. And, it's so much fun to hear Lucy speak out, too. Enjoy the website - get there by clicking on the title of this post. Light a candle. Pray the news, it can only help.

T Minus 5

I'm writing this as I watch and listen to the Space Shuttle Discovery's final preparations for launch. The launch is currently on hold because of thick cloud cover "at the launch facility." The astronauts are loaded, the "Orbiter Access Arm" has been moved aside. The planes are up and making last second weather assessments.

Time is ticking away.

The clouds aren't thinning.

The launch window is closing.

And now comes the announcement that the launch is scrubbed.

The astronauts will have to climb out of the seats they had fastened themselves into with such anticipation. Five of them have never been in orbit. They had toasted each other (with water) at dinner tonight. Good byes and good lucks had been said all around. But tonight the launch sequence was held at -5 minutes.

There was a man standing on a Florida hotel balcony with a clear view of the launch pad. It was going to be a spectacular sight. Smoke and fire and a deafening roar would accompany the lift-off. Breath would be held until the shuttle went past the point where the Challenger exploded. But no, none of that will happen tonight.

The balcony has cleared by now. The man is back in his hotel room, disappointed. He'll be home tomorrow and we'll talk of the missed opportunity. Was it a once-in-a-lifetime chance missed? Maybe. It would have been fun to compare notes - the balcony view and the internet view. Multi-camera angles vs. multi-sensory experience.

From the official NASA launch blog:

9:34 p.m. - 1 minute, 30 seconds of window remaining. We're still waiting on the weather.

9:36 p.m. - We have exceeded our launch window for today, and without clear, convincing evidence of favorable weather, tonight's launch attempt has been scrubbed.

9:37 p.m. - Space Shuttle Discovery is being safed. There's no word just yet on when the next launch attempt might be; weather at Kennedy tomorrow is expected to be worse than today, with little improvement Saturday.

9:45 p.m. - The team is still discussing the best options for another launch date. Please check the Space Shuttle Web site for the very latest.


Wow. Launch blog. This 51-yr-old has come a long way from the 7-yr-old who watched black and white TV coverage of Friendship 7!

Wait, Don't Panic

It's December. November gave us a full week after Thanksgiving this year. It was glorious! There has been time to mentally adjust to the roller coaster ride into secular Christmas without the ominous post office warnings of "mail by ... to get your package to ... on time." Ahhhhh, but now it's really December!

Advent will start tomorrow. There is a funeral in my church today. The nave is full of flowers, pink ones and white ones to celebrate the life of a strong Liberian woman. How wonderful that this matriarch loved pink! So, there are more than 4 dozen pink roses in the flower arrangements that the flower guild ladies (that includes me) put together for her funeral. The casket spray is beautiful. It has orchids in it and is just perfect. More flowers will be set around the nave, the narthex (a church word for lobby) and the fellowship hall. They will all be gone tomorrow. Tomorrow we begin waiting.

Amid the cultural hustle and bustle of malls and concerts and Nutcracker performances is the message of Advent. Wait. The One you're looking for is coming. Wait. Be watchful. The One you're looking for is coming in a manner different than you're expecting. Look next to you, look behind you. The One you're expecting to lead you will arrive among you, not in front of you. Wait. Listen. The One who can change everything for you will arrive with the groans of childbirth, the fragile cry of a newborn, the relieved sigh of a watchful spouse. Eventually there will be crowds, a parade, pageantry. For now, wait.