50th birthday

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

/ middlesisterkathleen / 1 Comment

Is it the most wonderful time of the year? That depends.

It depends on who you are are, what you do to celebrate, what your Christmas memories are, what your hopes and dreams are, or maybe what you believe.

Or maybe it is where you are in your life at this time, this year, this week, this moment.

Maybe it is a faith-filled, magical season of wonder, or maybe it is the saddest time of the year.

Maybe it is all the above.

Maybe it is a sample, a capsule of life in general, which means it is indeed a wide-range of feelings and emotions. Good and bad. Dark and light. Hopeful and despairing. Sad and happy.

So this is your Christmas. What have you done? Whatever it is, I hope it has brought you peace.

We’ve done a few fun things in 2023…The Sisters of The Sister Lode made more great memories, as shown in this photo montage from previous posts throughout the year:

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Our family gathered Friday night to celebrate the best gift we all got collectively on Christmas Eve 1973: our youngest sibling, our brother Ryan was born. It was the big 5-0, and it was time to throw a party.

Almost all of Mom’s Magnificent Seven were present:

Sometimes, we all need to lighten up a bit…

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When the days seem so short and the nights seem so long, we must remember that Mother Nature is always there to remind us of the beauty all around us. She continues to show off with her splendid Kansas sunrises,

and her magnificent Kansas sunsets.

Now that the winter solstice passed just three days ago, there will be more daylight between these dawns and dusks. This, perhaps, is one of the greatest gifts of the Christmas season for me.

There is another bright light shining in my life. My son, Jude, is home from the other side of the world, and he brought a huge bonus along: our delightful future daughter-in-law, Olivia.

We took a field trip to my beloved Abilene, Kansas last week. We toured the regionally famous Seelye Mansion and the world-famous Eisenhower Museum. Jude had seen them, but Olivia hadn’t. They are both local treasures almost in our backyard, so they were must-sees. However, the original purpose of our trip was for another reason.

Brandon, the tattoo artist extraordinaire, is there. Jude’s overseas work visa requires that he leaves the country every six months. Twice, he and his traveling buddies celebrated their freedom while traveling over July 4th: they all got tattoos with the equivalent of “liberty” first in Arabic, then the next year in Thai.

It was time to get it here in the local language:

And what kind of mother would I be if I didn’t get one with the same message?

I am both free and anchored.

Olivia, in her beautiful, flowery way, got this on her forearm:

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It may perhaps be the most wonderful time of the year. It may, however, take some work to overcome the trials and struggles of the year, but the certainty of a new dawn is always there; Mother Nature has yet to renege on that promise. And the daylight always increases after December 21st. Always.

Birthdays–big and small–come every year, and they are gifts, too.

Happy memories of the past year are there for the taking, focusing on those versus the sadness is always a good prescription.

We all have a certain degree of both freedom and being anchored, so make the best of both.

The beauty of a flower, whether it is from Mother Nature’s art or on Olivia’s arm from Brandon’s art, is always a gift.

May this indeed be the most wonderful time of the year for you.

Merry Christmas from the Sisters of The Sister Lode

AREA 51

/ middlesisterkathleen / 4 Comments

AREA 51

Tomorrow, August 16th, is a very special day. I recall it vividly when history was made. I was a child, but something this monumental will never leave my memory: Elvis Presley died in 1977.

No, wait. Bigger than that, on that same day seven years before that, Suzanne was born. Let’s get our historical events ranked in order of importance here; sorry Suzanne.

If you recall a post last year at this time, I shared that while COVID had taken away any chance of Suzanne celebrating her 50th birthday in the grand fashion she had hoped, we would hope for brighter days ahead with a postponed celebration.

Our modified beach birthday party for Suzanne’s 50th last year.

While those days aren’t as bright as we had hoped, they are bright enough to allow us to have that grand 50th birthday party. And have it, we will. The only downer at this point is that Gail cannot join us. Gail, in her keenly developed work ethic and work obligations, has too many plates spinning in the air right now, and cannot escape with us. She has, however, had other reasons to travel lately.

She is now a grandmother to three grandsons, as her firstborn had her firstborn.

Myles is the big news in Gail’s life I alluded to in a recent post, and they are all over the moon with joy at this new addition to their family. According to his parents, he sleeps and eats, with little fussing in between.

Lucky Mom and Dad. Lucky Grandma.

We have, however, been able to enjoy some sister time together the last two weekends. Today, Gail came through our small city on her way back to her small town after spending the weekend with Myles and family.

Last weekend, we spent Saturday afternoon/early evening together in our hometown, partaking in the annual celebration. It didn’t happen last year, but this year’s 75th anniversary celebration was enjoyed by hundreds–young and old from near and far. It is the annual fundraiser for our hometown’s private Catholic high school, and without fail, human generosity prevails. Our hometown truly is the small town that could–and does (The Little Town That Could, June 2nd, 2019).

Suzanne had made a visit earlier in the day, so Gail and I strolled down to the cemetery to bring our parents their annual church picnic burger and beer. They didn’t say so, but we know they appreciated it.

They are still with us in our hearts, no matter where we may be–near or far.

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In just two days, Suzanne and I will commence her 50th birthday celebration–just a year late. And, much like the mysterious, top-secret no-fly zone in the Nevada desert north of Las Vegas known as Area 51, we aren’t giving out a lot of information. Much like the country song states, we will be going to “some beach, somewhere.” We may post from the land of blue water and white sand, so stay tuned. We are driving, so the adventure will begin as soon as I pick her up early Tuesday morning.

The journey will be half the fun.

Happy Birthday to Suzanne on Monday. Area 51 can be mysterious and exciting; having just been there recently, I feel am qualified to show her how to make it that way. Of course, I will learn from her as well. She is much more adept at throwing caution to the wind than I am, so I will take notes. She is much more skilled at letting troubles roll off her back, so I will try harder to do just that. She has a stronger knack for finding the humor in things that others may not be able to, so I will hone that skill as well.

She is my little sister by over four years, but I look up to her in so many ways. She is a beacon of strength and spirit, just like our older sister is. In our family, I am so lucky to be sandwiched between these two amazing women.

Congratulations, Grandma Gail.

Happy Birthday, Sister Suzanne.

Thank you, Mom and Dad.