Monday, November 22, 2004
THE SUMMER OF 1984....
The following days in April provided weather as unsettled as the events in my life. There were unusually heavy snows to the north of us, tornados to the south and west, and rain for us. The days following the robbery in Springfield were busy. Becky needed me to fill in at Fas-Serv and I worked different shifts to cover for her.
Mom and aunt Beulah both had their 80th birthdays in May. I fixed a nice supper for mom and a few days later we drove to aunt Beulah’s for hers. Dale, her sister Mildred and LaDonn, a friend, helped make her day special. We always enjoyed our visits to aunt Beulah’s and the birthday gals exchanged their gifts with each other.
My birthday followed the end of the month and I spent the day at Ava, working with the DE crew. The guys took me to lunch and later in the afternoon a lady delivered a beautiful Home Interior wall piece….a spray of brass butterflies. I was overcome with their surprise ….you just never know what a few guys will come up with.
I confess…my birthday is the one day of the year I allow myself to just hog all of the love and affection any one wants to throw my way. The day you part company from your mother and begin your journey from life to death to life again….should be special for everyone. To me it is very special. As I sit here and think about it…I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a birthday as much as Becky enjoyed her last one. Miss Becky left the French Quarter reeling on it’s toes after her last birthday…the big 50. I think ‘John and company’ were satisfied with their efforts to make it unforgettable.
I filled in a lot of days for Becky and finally began working a 4-day shift for her again. Warren and I headed for Illinois to visit with John and Barb a few days the end of July. We went to their church and heard John preach on Sunday morning and in the afternoon we drove across the river to shop at a Craft Fair on the banks of the Mississippi. Rock Island is across the river from Davenport, Iowa. The weather was pleasant and we enjoyed looking at all of the hand made items. In the evening we went back to church and then to John and Barb’s apartment.
It is a family joke about how much I love ice-cream. It makes up half of my intake of food many days. I’m a displaced ‘soda-jerk’ who never got over the fun of dishing up ice-cream for folks and watching their pleasure as they enjoyed my creations. Knowing this, full well, John had a new ice-cream place in mind with a new innovative menu. It was before ‘Blizzard’s’ were invented and this concoction was called an Oreo cookie milkshake. Oh my goodness!! Heaven in a plastic cup! It was amazing. There were also other items on the menu….all kinds of candy bars and flavorings. The rest of our visit we ended up at ‘Whitey’s’ for one of his shakes.
Our time ran out and once again we were on our way home. I went back to work for Becky and the Patrol….Warren had a physical and it was discovered that he had Type 2 diabetes. He took classes at Fort Leonard Wood with a dietician and came home with a lot of information. It seemed pretty complicated and clinical but we both began working on the diet. On the last day of August we received a cute announcement from John that they were expecting a baby in April. He and Barbara were very happy about it and I began working on a special order that John requested.
He had liked a baby afghan he watched me make for Jennifer when she was on the way. He asked if I would make one for their April arrival and of course, I said yes. In typical ‘John’ fashion he began reading up on parenting and child bearing….this son of mine always wanted to be well informed on any immediate need. I remember him telling me how he sat on a stool one time, reading directions to Barbara, as they attempted making bread. Between them, it was accomplished and they both enjoyed their experience.
From bread to babies was a bigger jump…..but I knew they would both come through, informed, and making terrific parents. It is nice, these many years later to say….I was right.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
Mom and aunt Beulah both had their 80th birthdays in May. I fixed a nice supper for mom and a few days later we drove to aunt Beulah’s for hers. Dale, her sister Mildred and LaDonn, a friend, helped make her day special. We always enjoyed our visits to aunt Beulah’s and the birthday gals exchanged their gifts with each other.
My birthday followed the end of the month and I spent the day at Ava, working with the DE crew. The guys took me to lunch and later in the afternoon a lady delivered a beautiful Home Interior wall piece….a spray of brass butterflies. I was overcome with their surprise ….you just never know what a few guys will come up with.
I confess…my birthday is the one day of the year I allow myself to just hog all of the love and affection any one wants to throw my way. The day you part company from your mother and begin your journey from life to death to life again….should be special for everyone. To me it is very special. As I sit here and think about it…I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a birthday as much as Becky enjoyed her last one. Miss Becky left the French Quarter reeling on it’s toes after her last birthday…the big 50. I think ‘John and company’ were satisfied with their efforts to make it unforgettable.
I filled in a lot of days for Becky and finally began working a 4-day shift for her again. Warren and I headed for Illinois to visit with John and Barb a few days the end of July. We went to their church and heard John preach on Sunday morning and in the afternoon we drove across the river to shop at a Craft Fair on the banks of the Mississippi. Rock Island is across the river from Davenport, Iowa. The weather was pleasant and we enjoyed looking at all of the hand made items. In the evening we went back to church and then to John and Barb’s apartment.
It is a family joke about how much I love ice-cream. It makes up half of my intake of food many days. I’m a displaced ‘soda-jerk’ who never got over the fun of dishing up ice-cream for folks and watching their pleasure as they enjoyed my creations. Knowing this, full well, John had a new ice-cream place in mind with a new innovative menu. It was before ‘Blizzard’s’ were invented and this concoction was called an Oreo cookie milkshake. Oh my goodness!! Heaven in a plastic cup! It was amazing. There were also other items on the menu….all kinds of candy bars and flavorings. The rest of our visit we ended up at ‘Whitey’s’ for one of his shakes.
Our time ran out and once again we were on our way home. I went back to work for Becky and the Patrol….Warren had a physical and it was discovered that he had Type 2 diabetes. He took classes at Fort Leonard Wood with a dietician and came home with a lot of information. It seemed pretty complicated and clinical but we both began working on the diet. On the last day of August we received a cute announcement from John that they were expecting a baby in April. He and Barbara were very happy about it and I began working on a special order that John requested.
He had liked a baby afghan he watched me make for Jennifer when she was on the way. He asked if I would make one for their April arrival and of course, I said yes. In typical ‘John’ fashion he began reading up on parenting and child bearing….this son of mine always wanted to be well informed on any immediate need. I remember him telling me how he sat on a stool one time, reading directions to Barbara, as they attempted making bread. Between them, it was accomplished and they both enjoyed their experience.
From bread to babies was a bigger jump…..but I knew they would both come through, informed, and making terrific parents. It is nice, these many years later to say….I was right.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
