Letters to your Great Grandmother

 Oscar, you met my mom, your Great Grandmother several times as a baby and once when you were about 8.  Mom came to stay with us while my sister went to see the Ark in Kentucky.  Bobbie and Uncle Joe brought their grandsons Reid and Jay with them.  This is a picture of you and your brothers with Great Grandmother Janet Carden Watson.  I always like this picture because it is the only time she was with all of her great-grandsons. 

She lives in a nursing home now in Alabama.  She just turned 94.  She is in good health but has Alzheimer's disease that has robbed her of her memories.  When I am able to see her I tell her my favorite stories about her and things I remember she did.  She will laugh and say, I did that?  I haven't been able to visit her in over a year now because of the Covid pandemic.  So these are the heart stories of my memories of her when I was growing up.

Dear Mom,                                                                    January 12, 2021

 

This is your middle daughter Kathy. I am the one who is named after you ...Janet Kathleen. I live in Tennessee with my husband Charlie.  I asked you once when I was growing up why you called me Kathy when my name was Janet.  You told me that you were always going to call me Kathy but  Kathleen Janet didn’t flow like Janet Kathleen.  Your mom, my grandmother, would send me a birthday card every year with Kathleen Janet Watson on it.  It always secretly made me laugh that she didn’t really know my name.

   One childhood memory I have of you, mom is that you would write to your mom every week.  I remember watching you type your letters on an electric typewriter.  So for your birthday, I have decided to follow your example and write you a weekly letter.  Not so much what we are doing but to remember the stories of my heart.  These are the stories I will tell my grandchildren about my     Momma and Daddy.

  Since we just had a New Years' celebration, Bobbie and I were talking about the New Year Celebration we had in Idaho when I was 5 and Bobbie was 8.  You and Dad had a New Year’s adult party the year before so you promised that we girls could have our own party the following year.  I think we just had friends who were our age that lived on the base.  I remember we had Beverly and Cami Nickel and another little girl that Bobbie knew.  We all got dressed up and went to the base movies.  We got to see “There’s No Business Like Show Business” with Ethel Merman. 

Dad got all of us popcorn and drinks and we thought we were so grown up.  The movie ended at 9pm and we got to drive around town with party hats and noisemakers yelling, “Happy New Year”. I am pretty sure we were all home and in our beds long before the New Year’s countdown.  It made me feel really grown up and important.

    Your granddaughter Suzy, my middle child and the one most like her grandmother (YOU), loves to celebrate New Year’s Eve with her boys.  They all get dressed up and she plans special food and games till midnight and she has a balloon drop from her ceiling.  This year they had a confetti cannon in her living room.  She says she is still vacuuming up paper shreds! 

     We miss you, we love you, we pray for you every day.  Much love….Kathy

"

Advent 12 days of Christmas Ribbon

  A Bennetch Christmas Tradition. 12 days of Christmas ribbon

 Years ago when our children were very young and had no sense of time they would get up every morning hoping it was Christmas.  They were so excited and would follow up with the next question such as......" Will it be Christmas tomorrow?"   

 So being a very poor pastor's wife we would make a paper chain with the exact number of links till it would be  Christmas. We would hang it by the table and every day we would cut off one link.  That way they could see how many sleeps till Christmas day.

As they grew older we would write an activity on each link to do for that day.  There were activities such as baking cookies, make Christmas cards, watch a Christmas movie, have a snowball fight, or sing a silly Christmas song.

As the children grew older each one wanted to make his or her own Christmas chain and write their own activity. Of course, they never wanted to do the same thing at the same time so that idea was quickly abandoned.

The next improvement was each child would tell me what colors they wanted their chain to be.  I would cut the strips and number them so one child got to be the leader in an activity, another got to be the one to pick out the book we would read together and the third child got a special message ( either a compliment or a  timed challenge with a reward ).  As you can easily see this led to hurt feelings with 3 preschoolers so this was quickly abandoned for our present-day solution.  

  

Now, Mom wraps candy with a  special note inside for each kid and glues it on a ribbon.   It used to be 25 notes times 3.  Each note had to be heartfelt, funny, or what I admired about them. And yes, they would compare them with each other to see who mom loved best.   

Our kids are grown now with kids of their own. I still make them ribbons every year as well as for each grandchild. The tradition is now the 12 days of Christmas. 

I also decorate and make some ribbons for extended family and friends.  Of course the older I get the more friends I've made.  So if you receive an Advent ribbon from me know that you are holding a special piece of my heart.

Charlie's 10th birthday

 

This boy. Today he turns ten and I celebrate him and the joy he brings to all who know him. Charlie has a tender heart and such a willingness to share, whether that is making sure dad buys a special pink donut for mom for his birthday morning breakfast or letting his brother “help him” build a favorite lego kit. He is the first to show love when everyone else is frustrated. He gives the best cuddles when he sees my hurt. He is a good listener and he LOVES to tell you the plot lines of a story. He is smart and patient and kind. I love who he is and I can’t wait to see what big things he will do in this world. I can’t be more proud of my sweet Charlie Bear. ❤️

Charlie this is a post your Mom wrote about you on Facebook for the whole world to see.  We are so glad you are a part of our family and you have a special place in our hearts.  Happy Birthday.  Diva and Poppa

Christmas 2020

 It snowed Christmas Eve, so Christmas Day started later for Diva and Poppa.  We waited till about 10 0'clock before we started our trek to spend Christmas with you and your brothers.  We kept a count of how many cars and trucks we saw in the ditch on our normal 10-minute drive to your house.  We told you that whoever got the closest would be able to open their gifts first.  Oz guessed 5, Charlie guessed 7 and Henry guessed 12.  Henry was the closest.  

We actuallycounted 16 cars and trucks in the ditch.

It was a fun day because all of you were so excited.  Every gift was better than the last and watching you boys really made Christmas special for us.

We especially liked the gift your Mom made for Poppa.  It was a tic-tac box with coins that had been cut up into quarter pieces.  She labeled it BitCoins.   It really made Poppa laugh.  I liked it because it was clever and homemade.  Poppa keeps it in his desk drawer.

Your Dad got an empty bottle with a label on it that said, Big bottle of Nothing.   He laughed and laughed and said it was the perfect gift.  When your mom asked your dad what he wanted for Christmas he said "Nothing"  so that's what she got him.  Clever Mom.

My favorite gift was from your parents and your Aunts and Uncles.  It is our family tree burned into a real slice of wood.  It has everyone's names and birthdays.  Our family tree is complete for a very long time.

Thank you for letting us spend the day with you.  It was a fun day.  We love you.

Your Diva and Poppa

The power of observation and the right tool.

Oscar, your Dad took this picture of you at the city commission meeting.  You got up and went to the podium to share a grievance about a sign that was crooked and needed to be "fixed".  After the meeting, you had a conversation with the city manager who was quite impressed with you.

Your Poppa was not surprised at all.  He was remembering you as a toddler watching "Handy Manny" .  You have always been very observant of details. 




 When you were 2, we went shopping with you and your Mom at an Old Navy store.  The store display had neon stars and lights.  Several of the lights had burned out and were very high in the ceiling. You looked very troubled and grabbed Poppa's hand and took him to the spot directly below the burned-out bulbs. You pointed at the bulbs and said, "Wick-it Poppa, wick-it."  Translation: Fix it, Poppa, fix it!  Your Poppa, who would do anything for you but had to tell you he didn't bring any tools with him and he would also need a very high ladder.  You did not like that answer at all. You told him, he should always have his tools with him as tools were important. He finally distracted you by buying you a small toy and whispered over to me to hurry up and finish so we could go home!

Just know that your Poppa and I love you very much and marvel at your wonderful mind.  You love to read and always impress me with your knowledge of everything from cars to computers.  Know that we pray for you every day.  Thank you for all your hugs.   Your  Cheerleader ....Diva

How I met your Poppa

 I met your Poppa at church in a Sunday School class for College and Career.  I was new to the church and had seen him singing in the church choir.  I liked him instantly and decided to meet him.

I was working as a night nurse (11 to 7) shift at a hospital in Virginia Beach.  I had every other weekend off but decided I couldn't wait for a weekend that I was off so the following Sunday (after working all night) I went home and prepared "to meet HIM".  Yes, dear children, I stalked your Poppa!  I showered, curled my hair, wore my best dress, sprayed on Shalamar perfume, grabbed my Bible, and headed out the door on my quest to meet my Mr. Wonderful.

I arrived early and eagerly waited for him to show up.  He was late. Class started and after a preliminary welcome, we were encouraged to mingle and meet newcomers.  At last, my moment had come and I started my quest to meet him only to be stopped 4 times by people wanting to meet me.  My momma did not raise me to be rude so I missed my opportunity to meet him.

It was a big class (about 25 people) so we were divided into groups by counting off into groups of four.  I listen to whatever number he said and went directly to his group as soon as we broke up. I sat next to him and marveled at how smart and articulate he was.  (I should add that your Diva is attracted to Nerds.)

After class, I asked him if he was going to go to church so I could sit next to him.  He smiled sweetly and said "Yes, I am, I sing in the choir!  ( Rats!  I forgot about that.)   I gave him my best smile but it didn't persuade him to skip choir and sit with me.  So I sat by myself and dozed off and on through the sermon since I had been up all night long.  Hopefully, it looked like I was in deep meditation or prayer!

After church," I lingered longer" in hopes of accidentally bumping into him.  When that didn't happen I decided to give up and go home to bed defeated in my purpose.  When I got to my car, guess who was parked behind me?  Yes, dear children, it was your future Poppa.  God is good!

We talked, I flirted, and then he asked me to join him for lunch!  I forgot how tired I was and instantly agreed.  We went out for pizza and it felt very comfortable talking with him.  We laughed, and conversation seemed to flow in both directions. 

 When the bill arrived he discovered the restaurant didn't take credit cards and he only had a dollar in his pocket.  So yes dear children, I ended up paying for our first date and as I like to remind him....I've been paying for it ever since! 

 We met in March, got engaged in April, and were married in July. So you can see that even though your Poppa was shy and quiet when we met he definitely was just waiting for me.  We just celebrated our 46th anniversary this year.  

summer recap

 

Hello, long-forgotten blog... I'm back!

I always have such good intentions!  However, my follow-through has a lot to be desired.

I love the fall.  I love the cooler weather, the fall foliage, apples cider, pumpkin everything, warm sweaters, mums, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

This summer was busy with a long-anticipated visit to Texas to meet our newest grandchild Lexi, and love on her big sisters Lyra and Lucy.  We came home with an unexpected blessing...Lady, our granddog, now our dog.  We flew to Texas but drove back in a rental car with Lady and all her belongings.  Our cats were not very receptive to the new family member but gradually realized she was not going anywhere so finally tolerated her.  

We loved having Becky, Emma, and Danny for two weeks in June and July.  It was an action-packed time with lots of activities, games, side trips, Diva Camp, 4th of July fireworks, and yes, the traditional family photo.  We miss them so much so have to get a year's worth of fun in the two weeks we have together.  Emma is 12, she is so tall and a real beauty.  She loves cats, art, girl guides, acting, and animals.

Suzy turned 40 this year.  How can that be?  My children are middle age!  I turn 70 this November!!  Yikes!  Becky starts her work on her  Doctorate this month.  She hopes to finish by the time Emma graduates.  Emma is entering 7th grade. 

The grandboys seem to grow every night.  Oz started 5th grade, Charlie 3rd grade and Henry is in first grade.  I love that they come running to give me hugs whenever we see them at church.  I know to soak it up now because there will come a day when they will be occupied with cars and girlfriends.


We no longer have our two cats JJ and Lucy.  Lucy was having many seizures each day and JJ had some serious intestinal issues and was losing weight.  They were littermates and lifelong companions.  They slept huddled together every night and neither would have done well without the other.  They were almost 18 years old and are missed daily.


My desire is to write more.  I need to get back to water aerobics at the senior center and fill my days with adventures.