Each Day in Stride

Today it was my turn to bring treats to our cadre seminar. When I signed up in June I knew without a doubt that I would bring my all time favorite treat, kolaches. What more could a group ask for on a Sunday morning? However, it was very interesting the conversation that these delectable treats would spark.

One of the guys from my class lives not too far from Wilbur, the supposed Czech capital of Nebraska. (Apparently they've never been to the Bohemian Alps!) He was commenting on the fact that life in Wilbur (10 miles away from his home) is just completely different from where his family lives. "There's something about that culture," he said. "They work hard, but they don't get too worked up about much of anything. They just seem to take each day in stride."

That got me thinking about the people that inhabit my community. When I look at the members of my community, I think that Casey's statement is a fair assessment. These people know about working hard, one day at a time, and making the best of what they've got. I think of the little old Czech lady who lives next door to my friend. She can barely walk, but she is out there in her floral-print polyester pants in the 100 degree heat picking produce in her garden. One day she asked Lori if she is Czech. When Lori told her that she wasn't, Mary told her she just assumed she was a good Czech girl because she wore an apron all of the time!

To us, when we donn our aprons, we are ready for some serious work. Which is why an apron is so important when baking kolaches....it is serious work! I am beginning to think that maybe kolaches are a Czech pastry because it takes that laid-back, hard-working personality to persevere through the art of perfecting them!

In the Middle

As a child, my Aunt Jean was my absolute favorite person in the world. She spoiled us, she did all of those fun things our mom wouldn't let us do.....eat ice cream at Swenson's for breakfast, 10pm movies, play the music real loud, take us shopping for fun stuff....all that stuff aunts are supposed to do.

When I was a sophomore in high school, my aunt got pregnant with my cousin Molly. I was furious. She didn't need kids....she had us! and how were we going to do all of those fun things that we did with a baby in the way. Not surprisingly, Molly came along and stole everyone's hearts, along with mine. I spent many a weekend driving up to Blair to hang out with Molly and Jean.

As we got older, I always kind of felt stuck in the middle between Jean and Molly. Jean was 14 years older than me, Molly was 16 years younger. I have never really felt like a cousin or an aunt. When I lived with them while student teaching I never knew whether I should be fun or stern.

Time seemed to slip away from us....new husbands and babies took precedence over fostering relationships. But I will forever believe that it was the wisdom and vibrant personality of Molly that brought us all back to where we belong. As I look back over the past 8 years or so, I long for the times lost....but gatherings at Grandma's for Sunday dinner remind me that it is never to late to move forward.

It is absolutely unfathomable to me that Molly might be a senior, let alone looking for a school in Chicago. To me she is still this little girl who wears the brightest, most mismatched outfit in her closet, who loves the Sound of Music, and has soft strawberry blonde curls. And as for Jean....she is still, and always be, my favorite!

Not-So-Sick Day

This morning, Laurel told me that she didn't feel well (after we'd arrived at school). Of course, I put her off, told her to eat some breakfast, and she'd be fine. Not so much! By 9am, she'd lost her breakfast and by 9:30am we were on our way home.

Fortunately for Laurel it was very short-lived. She never really acted sick the rest of the day. It was fortunate for me, too. I tackled the last of my assignments for the 26th, read the 6 chapters for my book review on Sunday, made a cake to be frozen and frosted on Wednesday evening, made cupcakes to be frosted on Thursday evening, dusted and vaccuumed my upstairs, and even put away laundry. Oh, and the nap....don't forget the nap!

Where did it go?

The other night I was looking for something to do (in my free time), and decided I would check out my blog. It had been a long time since I'd been there, so I thought it might be interesting to see what was still there. I about died when I saw that I had not posted in over a year! SERIOUSLY!!!! The picture before my eyes was last year's school photo. It broke my heart to see that I had not taken the time to post about my life for an entire year.

Little did I know that someone had been praying that I would return to this little corner of cyberspace I'd etched out for myself! She knew that I needed this blog to sort out this crazy hectic life I call my own!

So maybe I can attempt to recap what happened in one year and then quit feeling guilty about not posting:

• Lydia enjoyed kindergarten and kept us entertained as always. She have to have her arm set by the orthopedist after breaking it right in the middle of her ulna. That slowed her down for about 30 seconds and she had it off in time for swimming. She spent her summer being best friends with Otto, the old Australian Shepherd at the farm where Laurel's sheep were. She also loved playing with the kittens and splashing around in the puddles in her galoshes.
• Laurel continued taking piano lessons throughout the course of the school year. Practicing still isn't so much fun, but I think deep down she enjoys it. She spent the winter and spring working with her sheep in preparation for her first year at the county fair. She spent most days in June and July walking them, showing them, and also playing with the kittens. By the time the fair rolled around, she was very sick of it; however, winning Junior Champion Showman lit a fire under her feet! She's really like to show sheep and goats next year. Jarod says, "We'll see!"
• Jarod spent the school year as he always does, doing Speech and One Act. The One Act didn't fare so well, but they won another State Speech Title, so that was the highlight of his year! He thoroughly enjoyed getting back into his sheep element this summer. He was a state sheep showman, so he is very excited to be able to have this to share with the girls.
• As for me.....this year probably brought more changes for me than anyone else. Not only did Lori and I continue our sewing for Hippy Chicks, but I also made a huge leap of faith in listening to God's call to head to grad school. I joined a cadre "group" of 19 amazing people in June for a 2 year adventure that has already proven to be life changing. The program is through Doane and focuses on Educational Leadership. In the end I will have my certificate to be a principal; however, I truly have no clue what God has in store for me. He put it on my heart to join this program, so all I can do is my best so that I may serve Him in whatever capacity He desires in the future. It is quite overwhelming at times....trying to balance home, school, grad school, night class, Hippy Chicks....but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13.

That's about it in a nutshell. So now I can move on from here.....