Slice of Life and #PB10for10: Storytime with Grandma!

 

I'm a some-of-the-time participant (this is my 7th year) in the 12th annual #PB10for10 event held each year on August 10. My happiest times are spent reading picture books with a grandchild or two in my lap! Here are ten books we've loved and read many times during the past year.

I picked up this one before our visit to Teddy's house last spring. Four year old boys love books about underwear and knights and dragons.

A recent find from the library, this one is perfect for machine loving youngsters and even has an element of guessing as they try to figure out the machine approaching by the lights it shows at night.

When our libraries reopened in July, I made a beeline to the Things that Go section. This one did not disappoint!

Such a sweet tale of a young girl's love for a place through the years. A perfect book to pair with All The Places to Love.

Who says old favorites don't still delight? Two year old Robby loves this die cut book with Little Green Monster's face that emerges and disappears.

 A wonderful book to celebrate the joy and magic of making things!

A lovely wordless picture book to celebrate the adventures of beachcombing. Four delightful end pages of fun facts.

 

Optimistic Sunny shows us how to find silver linings in the darkest clouds.

 

 

I couldn't remember the title of this one, but when I described it to my daughter, four year old grandson Jack recited the title verbatim. It involves three cousins, a spooky encounter at an old house, and the way the young people get to know an older person in their neighborhood.

 

 

 

All of us need a story friend to listen to our stories so that we can find our way and discover our voices. "We can do many things in this world, ... but listening to each other's stories is the most precious of all."  

 

Stop by Cathy Mere's blog, Reflect and Refine, for more #PB10for10 lists.

Here are my lists from previous years:
2019 - One-Day-Late List of Picture Book Favorites

2018 - Favorites Paired

2017 - Picture Books for a Snowstorm
2016 - Picture Books to Sing!

2014 - Memories as Precious as Gold!

2013 - Golden Lines about Night

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Respect

 

Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise 

is hosting our gathering for August. 

She invited us to write about the word respect.

 

I must admit that I was a bit baffled about how to approach the word, respect, chosen by Linda Mitchell for our August posts. I thought about respect for God which links closely to the love I feel for Him. 

 

But then I decided to go in a completely different direction and to write about the newfound respect that I'm gaining for my body. A little over a year ago I decided to walk away from diet culture and the expectation that at some point in the future I would achieve weight loss success. More than five decades ago, I was sucked into diet culture when I joined T.O.P.S. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) with my brother, Karl. I managed to lose a bit of weight (11 pounds) and won the Princess Award in my age group category. And then I joined Weight Watchers when I was in high school. I reached my goal weight when I was a freshman in college. I jokingly say that I was there for about ten minutes, but I was always glad to have reached it (since it meant that I was a Lifetime member who never had to pay a joining fee and did not have to pay for missed meetings either).

And then I spent the next 40+ years in pursuit of my goal weight. That's a lot of time to spend in search of body satisfaction. I explored Intuitive Eating (by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch) last spring when I was prompted by a podcast I followed.  Mid-pandemic, I left diet culture to learn to listen to my body, to respect my body, and to have dignity, health, and happiness regardless of my body size or shape. 

 

It's an ongoing journey, but it's been interesting as I've challenged my long-held notions that my good (or bad) feelings about myself, indeed my personal worth relies on a number on the scale. I'm trying to unlearn habits of judging others based on their size and seeking to acknowledge the worth of every individual I encounter along my path.  

So it's been over a year of slow and steady unlearning and new learning. I've learned that I don't need to weigh myself every day (or even once a week), that I can trust myself, and that I can choose what I want to eat without relying on a specific plan. I want to respect myself and others without the lens of body shape as a determining factor. It's new territory, but it's an exciting and liberating journey.

Slice of Life and Sharing our Stories: Double the Fun in July!

We added two grandchildren in July, bringing us to a grand total of six grandchildren. Lily joined my son and his wife, big brother Teddy and big sis, Ruthie on July 9. Oliver joined my daughter and her husband, and big brothers Jack and Robby on July 14. 

The poems I've included in today's post are paint chip poems. I searched for the colors by searching digital paint chips (mostly at Benjamin Moore). I chose colors that I wanted to incorporate into poems to honor the births of granddaughter Lily and grandson Oliver. While Oliver's paint chip names were all in the blue family, I may have added some other pastels besides pink to Lily's paint chip poem.  

 

TICKLED PINK

  

We head to bed with Baby Dreams

of Newborn Pink knowing that 

with Friday’s Daybreak and Sunrise,

your arrival is imminent.

 

From the first Pink Moment

 Glimmer of your dark hair

and glimpse of your Rosy Glow,

Mom and Dad are Sky High joyful.

 

 Dubbed Lilycakes by big brother Teddy, 

you are as Irrestible as Pink Parfait.

another little sister to love and adore.

 

Sister Ruthie shows her Heartfelt adoration

in the Delightful way she hovers

 and explores your tiny features.

 

Welcome, sweet Lily to the Behnke family!

 We are Tickled Pink that you are here.

 

 

                                     - Grandma Ramona Behnke

 

LITTLE BOY BLUE

We longed for you.   

You took your sweet time.

Rest Assured in Mama's womb,  

it was past time for you

to unfurl your Topsail,

shed your Gossamer Veil,

and Bluebird Feather 

your way to earth.  

 

Wednesday began with Meander Blue,

a morning stroll near the library.

Your mama was intent on 

the quicker pace of Resolute Blue.

Walk finished, back home,

no talking from Mama.

I glance at her, phone in hand, 

timing contractions.  

    

We head to Kirkland,

as Secure Blue settles,

this would be your

White Heron day.

You slide into my welcoming hands,

our First Star, arriving well before dusk.

 

Welcome to the world,

Oliver William Passey!

Our Star Dew, Loveable Marshmallow

filling our hearts with Rapture Blue.

 

- Grandma Ramona Behnke  

 

Spiritual Journey Thursday, Sharing Our Stories, and Poetry Friday: Nurturing Our Summer Souls

Carol at Beyond Literacy Link is hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday this month with the theme of Nurturing Our Summer Souls. We would love to have you join us. 

When Carol asked us to write about nurturing our summer souls for Spiritual Journey Thursday, my first idea was to take the theme and create an acrostic poem. But I found that structure too constraining. Then I tried to collect my ideas into prose, but that wasn't right either. It didn't take long for me to decide that a list poem was the perfect vehicle for my summer musings on how to savor summer and nurture our souls.

Savor Summer

Sip lemonade

Rock on the porch

Sit in the shade

Cheer the children in the neighborhood parade 

Throw candy for the marchers

Salute Old Glory

Chat with the neighbors  

Cool off with a popsicle

Rescue ice cream from the spoon & return it to the cone

Indulge in a shaved ice

Build a sandcastle

Bury my feet in the sand

Swim in the ocean or the lake or a pool

Hike in the woods 

Picnic with friends 

Play at the park

Swing until my toes touch the sky

Vacation with family in my hometown

Saunter the library stacks (when it opens)

Read outside, read inside, read on the road, read at home

Attend outdoor theater

Stroll the farmer's market

Collect shells or rocks or pine cones or memories

Embrace the new (food, flavor, trail, experience)

Listen to the birds 

Celebrate fireflies 

 

Revel in the flowers

Water my garden barefoot

Talk to my tomatoes

Stop at roadside stands

Buy the berries and the melons and the peaches

Showcase summer in my best dishes

Gaze at the night sky

Take my quiet time outside

Ponder God's word

Listen for His voice 

Feel His love

Embrace the miracle of today

Journal the wonder

Nurture my soul

Sharing Our Stories and Slice of Life: A Seventeen Day Road Trip!

The year was 1984 and I was almost six months into my first pregnancy. The trip was punctuated by hot weather, nights at Motel 6, and long days of car travel. So why would I consider it one of my favorite trips?

We made meticulous plans. Our in-advance research yielded a brown manila envelope for each destination. Each night we would pull out the envelope for the next day and decide which of the many possibilities to pursue on the next day.

We ate out of our ice chest and a cardboard box in the back seat. I’m sure we had an occasional restaurant meal, but those meals haven’t lingered. Instead I remember the box of cereal, the loaf of bread, the jar of peanut butter, the carrot sticks (prepped the night before), and fruit purchased from grocery stores or roadside stands along the way. I remember a very delicious cantaloupe ripened to perfection and cut using a knife carefully wrapped in a dishtowel and secured with a rubber band (a travel technique learned from my mama). I remember picnicking in parks in small towns and a hillside picnic in New Mexico where we carefully gathered pine cones that I still decorate with each Christmas (despite the fact that we now live where pine cones are ubiquitous).

I remember one particularly unfavorable restroom stop after Lance had ignored my suggestions for more favorable stops, and I had reached the point of absolutely having to stop “right now.” A pregnant woman’s bladder can be very insistent! By the time we returned home seventeen days after beginning, I knew that we had taken this trip at the perfect time. My pregnant body was finding riding in the car for hours-on-end less than desirable.

I remember the book that I was reading, The Clan of the Cave Bear, enjoyed after I scanned the envelope for information about our next day's destination. I remember enjoying magic mattress massages available for a quarter at some of our Motel 6 lodgings. I remember a leisurely float trip down a river in Idaho. I remember visiting Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Yellowstone, Salt Lake City, and the crown jewel of the trip for me, Grand Teton National Park. We may have even splurged with an overnight stay at the lodge and enjoyed a meal there.

The best parts of our 1984 road trip? 

• It was taken before Lance had a laptop or cellphone to keep him tethered to the office. 
• We visited some of the most beautiful and memorable places I’ve ever been. 
• It lasted for seventeen days, the longest vacation we’ve ever taken!

Slice of Life: A Birthday to Remember!

 I wasn't sure that I wanted to be away from home for my birthday, but I decided that being with my sister for a birthday would make it special. We've not shared many birthdays in person as adults. So I booked a flight for early June to visit my sister in Bryan, Texas, my first visit in two years. Little did I know at the time that it would turn out to be one of the memorable birthdays in my life. 

First of all, my nephew and his family live in College Station, so of course they would join us for birthday cake and ice cream.

I invited my niece who lives in Texas (about three hours away) and my sister-in-law who lives in Oklahoma (almost seven hours away) to join us. And was thrilled when both responded that they could come! We loved attending church together on Sunday. 

 

My sis, me, my sister-in-law, and my niece

 

The biggest surprise came when my nephew and family (who live in OK, seven hours away) decided to join us! I failed to get a family pic while they were here, but here's one they took for me on their return trip home. 

The first cousins!

The second cousins

 

 The birthday girl!

The birthday girl's view!

At some point during the evening's festivities, I escaped to the bedroom for a little peace and quiet. Only it was filled with five cousins playing together. Some of them didn't even notice that I was in the room at first. I began questioning each in turn about their grade in school (funny how teachers prefer knowing that to knowing ages). And that's when we discovered that we had a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grader in the house! I insisted they line up by grade for a fun pic. And yes, those are my toes in the pic!

 

 

And that's how we ended up with sixteen people at my 66th birthday party. Thanks to everyone who joined the celebration. Because of the pandemic, and because we lost two siblings in 2020, and because I'm one of the elders in our far flung family, this gathering was a dear occasion and a birthday celebration that I'll hold forever in my heart.

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Comfort

 

Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town 

is hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday this month 

with a call to revisit our One Little Word for 2021. 

I putter about my blog, search for posts that include the word comfort, and seek to come up with a way to revisit my One Little Word for this Spiritual Journey Thursday post that will do double duty with the Sharing Our Stories community. 

I chose to approach my OLW for 2021 through the lens of these three phrases: Snuggle into comfort, reach out to comfort, and step out of my comfort zone. I've probably snuggled into comfort long enough. This quote by Kay Arthur that I shared in my January post reminds me that the Lord is beside us and willing to comfort us in our daily walks and trials: "Snuggle in God's arms when you are hurting, when you feel lonely, when you feel left out. Let Him cradle you, comfort you, reassure you of His all sufficient power and love."               

I'm relieved that vaccinations have enabled me to actually reach out to comfort and embrace dear friends. I've resumed walking with friends and our church congregation has slowly moved back  to "in person" gatherings. This week will mark the first Sunday that we will gather in person for two hours of worship instead of one hour church followed by Zoom gatherings for second hour classes that has been our schedule for the past two months. I'm looking forward to hosting our first in person book club in June. 

But the comfort that I'm leaning into is the comfort of being with friends and family for the next week. I traveled to Austin, Texas yesterday (traveling is one way that I'm stepping out of my comfort zone). My good friend, Mallory, picked me up at the airport and will drive me to my sister's home in Bryan, Texas today. It's been almost two years since I've seen Mallory's family. We shared a pew with them on Sundays for almost ten years and they shared their children with us. We were so sad when they decided to move to Texas. Here are pics taken from their last visit to our home in July 2019 and one of the family taken just yesterday.

And today I'm off to see my sis in Texas. It's been two years since we've been together. I can't wait to see her. Her son and family, my sister-in-law, my niece, and my nephew and his family are joining us for a family weekend together. It's a sure bet that we'll be doing a bit of embracing and comforting. It's our first time together since my brother's death. Covid-19 has stolen so much from us. We are looking forward to this time together to share our love, remember those we lost (a sister and a brother in December 2020), and comfort each other. These words from 2 Corinthians 1: 3 & 4 remind us that as we are comforted by God, we have a responsibility to reach out to comfort others: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."             

Finally, it's time to step out of my comfort zone and get to work on some projects at home. I've been gentle with myself and spent a lot of time snuggling into comfort and giving comfort. When I get home from this trip, I'll make hay while the sun shines (and while the garage is not cold and dark) to join husband in his efforts to declutter the garage and our home in preparation for downsizing at some point in the future. (I welcome all helpful hints from friends who have already walked this path.) The words of this quote will help me remember that outside my comfort zone is real growth. "Be comfortable with being outside your comfort zone. That's the only way to grow."

I look forward to reading your posts about your 2021 journey with your OLW!

To savor the magic of story, link your post at Sharing Our Stories.