Every morning after a restless night, listening for the trains on the East side of the property, I would awake to the smell of bacon coming from the Grandma Dot's kitchen. Running downstairs, grandmother was in the kitchen, powdered, groomed, wearing a simple dress and nylons, finishing the final touches on breakfast and standing next to a table set with dishes, mats and glasses embossed with "The Great State of Virginia." Those glasses seem to announce what I felt about being in the home. It was great.
We said grace before every meal. Sometime into the breakfast, Anna would knock on the door bringing with her a voice that had a high hollow bell tone in a deep southern dialect difficult to understand. Her voice sang and fluctuated with a cadence and lyrical value beautiful and alluring. She welcomed the day; she welcomed me back into her life. We continued our bacon, eggs, toast and butter breakfast to conversations of what was happening that day and the gentle rhythm of human interaction bound to a place that calls to us, bringing back memories both pleasant and sad. It was like Christmas but the presents were the presence of those around the table. These adults surrounding us were infatuated with our childish aura. They filled our cup with attention and adoration. We were a novelty and something about the way we grew was very important to them.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
So this is a couple and the foundation of a family...
The end of November (28th), Aaron Danielson asked my daughter Marie to marry him. The next day, she was surprised by Stan's and my delighted reaction to the news. We had observed Aaron in groups at our home on numerous occasions and more importantly watched Marie's opinion of Aaron develop based on his behavior in numerous social settings, church and institute attendance. Like many other people, we thought they should date a long time before they actually did, based on their obvious attraction and similarity of goals. It seemed so natural that they would fall in love and want to devote themselves to each other in a marriage. However, watching a couple form a family is both exciting and alarming. So much is at stake when it comes to the happiness of the future family. That happiness is also out of everyone's control except the two individuals.
One night as they were talking about how they made their decision, the conversation was lighthearted and giddy. I stopped in my tracks with the piercing reality that I really didn't know very much about this young man. Questioning them as I did about the wisdom of leaping into such an important decision, Aaron reassured me that he had thought long and hard about it and this was what he wanted and the Lord was okay with it too. His eyes focused on my face responding to my challenge with a demeanor calm and convincing. Marie merely laughed quietly to herself while snuggled in his arms. I surrendered, feeling a deep love for both of them.
The Christmas season came quickly. I found myself frequently reflecting on the lyrics in "Winter Wonderland"; "To face unafraid the plans that we made..." There they were right in front of me forming a family with two little boys in tow. Aaron was patient. He waited for his relationship to develop at the boys' speed. Marie let down boundaries, gradually allowing Aaron more access to their hearts as like all children, they melted into the security of one more adult's love. Together, they bonded to each other while talking out their future, voicing concerns and quelling tides of doubt through maintaining their relationship with Heavenly Father. They struggled, laughed, relaxed, tensed up, and moved forward, molding their affiliation into a problem solving union called a couple, a pair or beloved.
It takes such a leap of faith to trust anyone with your life's happiness let alone the happiness of your children. To face "unafraid" is reflected clearly in a quote from Bishop Richard C. Edgely listed as one of Marie's Facebook posts: "I say choose faith. Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen and choose faith over pessimism. :)" And she ends her post with a smiley face.
One night as they were talking about how they made their decision, the conversation was lighthearted and giddy. I stopped in my tracks with the piercing reality that I really didn't know very much about this young man. Questioning them as I did about the wisdom of leaping into such an important decision, Aaron reassured me that he had thought long and hard about it and this was what he wanted and the Lord was okay with it too. His eyes focused on my face responding to my challenge with a demeanor calm and convincing. Marie merely laughed quietly to herself while snuggled in his arms. I surrendered, feeling a deep love for both of them.
The Christmas season came quickly. I found myself frequently reflecting on the lyrics in "Winter Wonderland"; "To face unafraid the plans that we made..." There they were right in front of me forming a family with two little boys in tow. Aaron was patient. He waited for his relationship to develop at the boys' speed. Marie let down boundaries, gradually allowing Aaron more access to their hearts as like all children, they melted into the security of one more adult's love. Together, they bonded to each other while talking out their future, voicing concerns and quelling tides of doubt through maintaining their relationship with Heavenly Father. They struggled, laughed, relaxed, tensed up, and moved forward, molding their affiliation into a problem solving union called a couple, a pair or beloved.
It takes such a leap of faith to trust anyone with your life's happiness let alone the happiness of your children. To face "unafraid" is reflected clearly in a quote from Bishop Richard C. Edgely listed as one of Marie's Facebook posts: "I say choose faith. Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen and choose faith over pessimism. :)" And she ends her post with a smiley face.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The House in Alberta
Memories of my grandmother's house bring immediate feelings of longing and home sickness.
The house was set far from the road down a dirt lane. We always parked in the back and entered the house through the back porch and into my grandmother's kitchen. Off of that back porch were the entrances to Tine and Anna's study, Anna's bathroom, the back hall entry to the main house and the door into my grandmother's kitchen.
The hall entry opened into a wide hall, probably 10 to 12 feet wide, that ran the length of the home straight to the front door. About four feet in from the back door, the stairs led up to the second floor. Along the South side were doors leading into Tine and Anna's parlor and master bedroom. On the North side were entries into my grandmother's large living room and a small door under the stairs leading to the cellar.
On the second floor were six to seven bedrooms depending on if you were counting before or after the remodel when Dot joined two of the bedrooms on the South side to make a very large master bedroom and if you counted the small laundry room that was my uncle Tommy's bedroom for a while, located on the East end. All the bedrooms shared one large bathroom at the West end of the hall.
A fragrance graced each room; the smell of bacon in the kitchen, Irish Spring soap in the bathroom, the musty, moldy smell of the cellar, my grandfather's pipe smoke in the living room and grandmother's powdered perfumed presence in whatever room she was in.
The house was set far from the road down a dirt lane. We always parked in the back and entered the house through the back porch and into my grandmother's kitchen. Off of that back porch were the entrances to Tine and Anna's study, Anna's bathroom, the back hall entry to the main house and the door into my grandmother's kitchen.
The hall entry opened into a wide hall, probably 10 to 12 feet wide, that ran the length of the home straight to the front door. About four feet in from the back door, the stairs led up to the second floor. Along the South side were doors leading into Tine and Anna's parlor and master bedroom. On the North side were entries into my grandmother's large living room and a small door under the stairs leading to the cellar.
On the second floor were six to seven bedrooms depending on if you were counting before or after the remodel when Dot joined two of the bedrooms on the South side to make a very large master bedroom and if you counted the small laundry room that was my uncle Tommy's bedroom for a while, located on the East end. All the bedrooms shared one large bathroom at the West end of the hall.
A fragrance graced each room; the smell of bacon in the kitchen, Irish Spring soap in the bathroom, the musty, moldy smell of the cellar, my grandfather's pipe smoke in the living room and grandmother's powdered perfumed presence in whatever room she was in.
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