What Time Is It Anyway?

View from our window in Nashville

So here we are one day out on our way to a warm winter after Christmas in Atlanta. We left a day early to avoid an incoming snowstorm so we are taking it slow and easy. (Can you say 4 days to get to Atlanta is slow and easy?) We spent the night in the Eastern Time Zone in Clarksville, In. It was a rather short drive to Nashville from there which allowed us to arrive in the afternoon early enough to find a show to attend that evening and low and behold, my dream come true show was in town.

All my life I longed to see the Radio City Rocketts and secretly fantasized about being one of them. The only reason I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is to get a glimpse of them. We saw them once in Las Vegas at a small night club on a small stage in what I now realized was like seeing the Readers Digest Condensed version.

So I was thrilled that we were able to get decent seats at the last minute. The show was at 7:30 and we were asked to show up by 7:00 to claim our tickets. So we plugged the address for the Grand Ole Oprey into the GPS. An address we found out later was wrong. The ticket agent gave me the address for the motel rather than the theater. We arrived at out destination at 6:52 only to find ourselves in a line of traffic getting into the parking lot which was unbelievably slow and troublesome time wise. After about 10 minutes we were able to talk to a person directing the traffic only to find out we were in line to get onto the motel grounds to ride through and view the Christmas lights. The theater was in an entirely different place. He gave us some very confusing directions and no way were we going to be there by 7:00.

Then a miracle happened. My beloved husband said "we are stopping at a gas station." I had to shake my head to believe my ears. And would you know that the person in the gas station actually knew how to get us there? She even wished me a Merry Christmas on the way out the door.

We arrived at The Grand Ole Oprey which, incidentally, just reopened in November from the flood they had last year well past 7:00 and ran through the parking lot to the ticket booth to the theater doors and landed there about 7:20. Lo and behold the doors were locked and there were no handles on them to get in.. One lovely young couple standing outside told us we had to wait until 6:45 for the doors to open. Say What????

Yes we were back into the Central Time Zone. Who knew? It seems these lovely kids from Alabama had made the same mistake. So the time passed quickly as we had a great time getting to know them.

The show was more spectacular than anything I had ever seen. There is nothing to compare it to as it is a one of a kind experience. The precision dancing, the elaborate and glittery costumes, and the music and singing were amazing at every turn. It was just the thing to ring in the holiday feeling. After all the Santa Clause, toys, and sugar plum fairies were finished, it ended with a splendid depiction of Christmas in its true glory. The whole story of the first Christmas was told through a living nativity scene and traditional Christmas songs.

I am sorry that I don't have any pictures to post as once you go through the doors of the theater there is no photography allowed. So this adventure will have to live on in my memory and it will for a long time.

Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

This year we have been so blessed there is nothing more to ask for. The year started out a bit rocky, but it took a turn for the best almost as soon as it began. We both have clean bills of health. Our family is growing. We had a wonderful celebration of a blissful 40 year marraige (and counting). We have had outpourings of love and loyalty from our extensive web of friendship. We are financially sound in this time of hardship for so many others.

So what I ask for this year is that you give ou share of Christmas to those who have not been so blessed. Encourage others who have so much to reach out to those who don't. Give our share of the goodies both material and emotional to those who need it most and pray to God to inspire us in ways to spread out blessings around to those most in need.

Merry and blessed Christmas to all.

Reflections on Christmas Season

I am a sucker for falalala lifetime and I never met a Hallmark movie that didn't make me cry. I marvel at the life-changing epiphanies the characters experience and find myself in awe at the seemingly perfect Christmas parties and decorations. I realized this week most of those movies take place in the last two weeks or less before Christmas. They manage to buy gifts and trees, decorate the house inside and out, bake cookies, and entertain with the most lavish buffets on Christmas Eve all in that short time and still find time to resolve some live crisis.



2010 Silver Spokes Christmas Party



Now come back to reality. I have been at so many parties already since Thanksgiving I am feeling tired and bloated and wondering how we got involved in this marathon. After some soul searching I have come up with a very satisfactory answer.  Many of the same people are at these parties and yet I wouldn't miss a single one of them. I just wish I knew how to curb my oral intake a little. We face a celebration almost every day until we depart for Florida in about 10 days. I think this is a reflection of the wonderful circle of friends and family we have around us. Even though we see these people frequently all year round, it is important to share a bit of this wonderful Christmas spirit of love with those who are important to us. It is the sharing of the special times that make the ordinary remarkable. 

Recently I received a lecture from an zealous Christian who does not allow her children the joy of Santa Clause lest they forget the reason for the season. After dealing with the guilt she laid on me for my own overboard Santa Clause spirit over my lifetime, I decided she was wrong. If people have lost the meaning of Christmas it has nothing to do with Santa Clause. After all, had not St. Nick been given the blessing of the Catholic Church by his canonization? The very invention of Santa Clause was born of the spirit of giving gifts  as a way to celebrate the glorious occasion of Jesus birth. The generosity of spirit and the sharing of love it takes to find just the perfect gift for someone is as Christian as anything. So, while I agree that it is important to instill in our children the importance of the holiday season as a religious experience I don't believe we do that by  denying them Santa Clause. We do that by making sure they understand the true nature of Santa Clause. We do that by showing them there is as much joy in finding the perfect gift to give as in receiving the perfect gift. We do that by helping them see the joy in donating to a food pantry or toys for tots program as part of their Christmas giving. We do that by making sure they are in church during advent as well as Christmas and that prayer is a part of their lives, not only at Christmas, but all year. We do that by playing the traditional religious Christmas Carols at home between the "Grandma Got Run Over By the Reindeer"s and  monitoring their TV viewing to be sure there are a few Hallmark movies in the program.

So my advise to you is go overboard with Christmas and celebrate the joy that God intended for us by giving us the greatest gift of all in his only son.

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving, as always, we have so much to be thankful for. It seems the list grows bigger each year. In the past two years we have had the worst of times and the best of times. In fact, the worst was responsible for some of the best. After all it is the storm that teaches us to appreciate the calm.

One of my boys once remarked about the number of pictures we have that were taken through the years around the dining room table. This is one of those things that unconsciously has become a Chilson family tradition. This is how we document the holidays and other special occasions of our life. It was never planned that way, it just happened to be the best opportunity to grab a group picture of those in attendance. Now I realize that I could probably line up all of the pictures taken around that table and make a flip book of the years passing by. The people around the table vary according to the occasion and the era. There are many who are no longer in our lives due to death or distance, but have left indelible footprints upon our hearts and those pictures remind us of those times. These are more than just pictures, they are a history of our lives.

This Thanksgiving, we spent the holiday at home enjoying our traditional turkey dinner with a few relatives in the most wonderful way. We had two nieces and a brother for dinner, and my nephew and his family joined us later for dessert.

  

The next day we all piled in on Don and Amy in Green Bay along with Bob and Gretchen and family from Minnesota. The place was packed and Don continued taking pictures around the dinner table of the next generation. Maybe they will be able to start their own flip book someday.

It's About More Than Just the Football

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. I enjoy the cooling down of the temperatures along with the warm Indian Summer days, and this year we have had a surplus of those. We were on the golf course three times last week and here it is the middle of November. There is no more beautiful season than when the changing colors of the deciduous trees appears in stark contrast to the green of the evergreen trees and the leaves on the ground crunch under your feet.

Last Saturday was the last Illini home game. Our season tickets were a real treat again this year. Our team did better than expected but it is about so much more that just the football. The tailgate parties with the family and friends added the best season ever. It is the time of the year when we connect with the Illini loving Pattersons and occasionally old friends. Recently in a sermon at church, the minister used sports and especially football as an example of something that brings people together. He was so right.

This year we were delighted to have our friends Grace and Dick join us for a game which doubled our pleasure. Grace and I have been friends for 40 plus years. We met at a time before Don and Dick came into our lives and  we dreamed of being cruise directors on a European bound ocean liner. Does anyone remember "O Susanna"? (not the song but the television show). Maybe it was called "The Gale Storm Show". At any rate it was about cruising long before the "Love Boat" arrived on the scene. Grace and I splurged our senior year on a trip to California ( does anyone remember student stand-by half priced air fare?) Right after that we became engaged about the same time, got married a month apart from each other, and started having babies about the same time with the same obstetrician. After a few more years our lives took  diverse paths when she moved to St. Louis. Over the years raising families left very little time in our separate lives for each other, but we never lost touch. Now that our families are on their own and we are concentrating on grandchildren we are able to take up where we left off with one of the world's great friendships. It is like the years never passed. I am so happy to have her back in my life again.

Can Life Get Any Sweeter?

It doesn't get any better.  We finally made it up to Green Bay for a week-end. We arrived on Friday with Papa's Pizza in hand; double decker for Don, cheese for Jack, Pepperoni for Ella, and cheese and sausage for Grandpa. The children each greeted us with gusto, especially Ella with her abundance of hugs and kisses. They presented us with a joint birthday gift which they had obviously been anxiously anticipating. They seemed to get as much joy out of presenting gifts to us than any I have seen them receive. It was a new coffee pot and they had to set it up for us, teach us how to use it,  and make coffee from it for us all week-end.

Saturday we saw Jack play in two hockey games and we had a bit of a Wii tournament and then it was family movie night.



Jack's also not crazy about posing for pictures

 Jack is at the age of like. It is embarrassing to him to use or hear the word love. Little does he understand that like is actually more of a compliment than love. Love between family members is absolute and unconditional. That is why it is so beautiful. It is safe. It says one can be oneself and always know that they are loved.  It comes with the blood bond. Even when families treat each other horribly somehow the love persists.

Like has to be earned. We don't necessarily like everyone we love. Christ chastened us to love our neighbor. He never said you have to like them. So when I hear the words "I like you" coming from a 9 year old boy, that is as good as it gets.

So there I was on movie night reclining in Jack's bean bag chair with a grandson who considers himself to old for cuddling, trying his best to get comfy on the edge of it and a granddaughter who would rather be with her mommy than anyone else in the world, making her nest with her pillow and blanket on the other side. This is their version of cuddling; the former considering himself too old to sit on your lap getting as close as he can, and the latter trying to do the same while pleading with her mommy to join her. I felt like they were liking me an awful lot that evening.

We stayed over Sunday just to spend a little more time with the crew. Amy and I took a bike ride with the children  through some of the wooded trails with an extended stop at a park and we had a Packer's Party in the evening.

The week-end was filled with simple activities and just spending time with the people we like.

Birthday Celebrations

I have always believed that birthdays are something special and certainly something to celebrate. It is a time not only for the individual having the birthday but a time for all those whose lives he touches to celebrate his life.

No one celebrates more than I the birthdays of my own children. The anniversary of their births represents the anniversary of the most memorable and life changing events of my life - mostly for the better. Why wouldn't they be cause for me to celebrate?

The absolute first and most significant life changing event of my life was my wedding day. I often think how different my life would have been if I had not married Don. The scenarios are amazing and none of them as beautiful as the one I have lived.

Today was Don's birthday and from beginning to end I helped him celebrate his life. We have all seen "It's a Wonderful Life" or one of the many imitation programs based on the same premise. What would the world be like if one had never been born?

Without Don for sure there would be no Bob, Don, or Mike. Then of course the seven grandchildren would have never been. I like to think the world is a better place because we created three good citizens for it who, in turn, are well on the way to creating more.

I'm not quite sure how I myself would have been redefined. I kind of think I would have led a single life. That in itself would probably not necessarily be a bad thing. I'm sure I would have had a distinguished career as a nurse. The one I had was pretty significant, but with more time to devote to it I may have expanded my accomplishments tremendously.

My friendships would be based on the nurses I worked with (of course I have those friends anyway) rather than on people we share a common bond with through our faith.

The Peace Corps lost out as that was in my ultimate plan, but I have had a couple of opportunities to exercise my missionary ambitions in different ways. 

The Navy also lost out because when we started dating, I was dieting to make the weight requirement to join the navy during my final year of college. I possibly would be a Vietnam vet today with a lot of the angst that goes along with that.

Most of all, I would never have found my soul mate. The person who is not only my husband, but the best friend in all the world. He always sees me as beautiful, smart, clever, intelligent, good, etc. He has never seen my warts. As long as I have him I know that I can count on support from him whether I am right or wrong. I always know that someone loves me unconditionally. Most of all I always have someone to play with and this is from the girl who was always picked last for the baseball team.

Without him there would be no travels, camping, nightly dinner conversation, bike rides, and certainly no Grammy's Adventures.

So tonight, here's to the guy who broke the mold and set the bar when it comes to being a husband, a father,and a friend. And I celebrate his birthday because that is to celebrate his life.

There are still adventures to be had at home

Now that the camping season is at an end and the cool weather is setting in it is time to shift into a different kind of fun and adventure.

A week or so ago we went on our annual pumpkin ride with the Silver Spokes. The destination was fun but the real adventure is the getting there and the fellowship of friends. After the ride  along the I & M trail with the fall colors just  beginning to show, we gathered at the home of one of our fellow riders and enjoyed chili, hot dogs, campfire, and more than a few laughs. I have been reading a lot lately about how a good belly laugh daily is one of the best things for heart health. Our little circle of friends should have a long history of healthy hearts.

Yesterday was probably the last of our Indian summer days. I took a long walk in the morning around the Village Center Lakes in Woodridge and marveled at the great  town we live in. We can walk or ride our bikes along beautiful trails that bypass numerous parks and lakes accentuated by scenic bridges. We can go off into the forest preserves in two different directions or stay in our own neighborhood. http://www.woodridgeparks.org/park_lake-harriet.htm

We first moved here 40 years ago on the day of our wedding. When we outgrew that house we determined that we wanted to stay in the village and Parish and that was the best decision of our lives.

Today I spent the whole day playing housewife. What a novelty! I did all the laundry in one day including the sheets and towels and got the whole shebang folded and put away without leaving the last load in the drier.
Then I spent the whole afternoon cooking a fabulous meal for my roommates. Years ago when we were both working and still had kids at home Don and I used to joke about hiring a wife. He even went so far as to threaten to turn the stove into a planter once we got a microwave. He retired in 2000 just as I was starting a new career and he took over the housekeeping completely. The girls I worked with were so jealous because I  had a wife, and a very good one too. When I decided to follow him into retirement, neither one of us really assumed the role again. The scary thing is, I kind of enjoyed the last few days of cleaning and cooking. I don't expect it will last though.

What a Summer

This has been one of the busiest summers I can ever recall. We decided not to take a long trip but just to stay home and enjoy all the things there are here to enjoy. Well in the long run, we have probably spent more time on the road than any other summer in our history.

With so many wonderful grandchildren to spend time with, all of whom live worlds apart from each other we have been to Minneapolis three times, Atlanta twice, and Green Bay once.  We also have been to Elkhart In., Forest City, Ia., Springfield, Il., Door County, Marseilles Il., Lanesbo, Mn., Petoki Wi., Lafayette In., and on a week long cruise to New England.

All that and we were honored to have the whole gang here for a week-end in June.

In our spare time we have been golfing, helping out at the local food pantry, and keeping up with our small christian community and Silver Spokes bikers.

For awhile I was getting overwhelmed trying to keep track of where we were supposed to be. It seemed like we were home just long enough to do the laundry and cut the grass. The dust bunnies have invaded the house and there was no point evicting them until we planned to stay put for more than a few days.

Our latest escapades have been back to back with our Fox Valley Winnies outing to the Feast of the Hunters Moon immediately after returning home from the cruise, and a wonderful long week-end in Alpharetta for the occasion of Ollie's baptism.

The Feast of the Hunters Moon is all about celebrating the European colonists who braved the hardships to settle this part of the country. Fife and Drum corps from all over the country converge in Lafayette on this week-end dressed in the uniforms of the brigades they represent; starting with the US Army Colonial Fife and Drum Corps, followed by French, English, American Colonial, Scottish and German reenactors. Each raised the flags that were representative of their countries at the time of their occupation of that particular part of the country and in particular Fort Quintenot. I got a little misty eyed watching them all march into the arena in perfect step.

The arrival of the Voyageurs is particularly exciting. These represent the fur traders who traveled all the way from Montreal via the waterways in canoes. Of course this was before the birth of locks and dams along the way.

The booths were filled with the food and wares representative of the era. Such as pork and beans, roasted sweet corn, venison, and squirrel stew.

We returned home to do the laundry and pack our bags for a fun-filled trip to Atlanta the home of Drew and Ollie Chilson; oh yes, Mike and Elizabeth live there too.

In the midst of all this we have a new roommate who joined us at the end of September. Niece Lindsay moved in for the winter as she is currently between homes and now enjoys the five minute commute to work. She joined us for "A Blast From the Past" dancing to the music of the 50s to 80s. What a great sport she is.

So she made the trip to Georgia us and it was a sheer pleasure having that third driver along for the long haul.

Drew has developed such a joyful personality. He is now old enough to remember who we are and welcomes us with open arms. Ollie is a happy-go-lucky little chap; yes, in spite of his significant girth he is still just a little chap. He has a Patterson snort, inside out laugh which  makes everyone around him join in the fun. Both of them made it up to the top of Stone Mountain. Drew under his own power and Ollie with the help of his Lindsay.

 By the way Lindsay also made it to the top under her own power and only asked to be carried once.

The highlight of the week-end was Ollie's Baptism. All of his favorite people were there to act as god parents and I think Don and I were the proudest of them all. Such a wonderful treasure; he is truly a gift from God. 

I guess I have to say it has been a pretty good summer. We are at such a great place in our lives right now. As I like to say on a beautiful day on the golf course, "God's in his heaven and all's right with the world."

So now it is time to settle into fall, which is one of my favorite times of the year. Golf continues as long as the weather allows and the cool weather and  almost deserted courses make it all the sweeter. We have a few Illini football games to look forward to along with the tailgate parties and family camaraderie. It would be nice if Illinois could win a few but if that's as bad as it gets for now we can all rest easy.

Cruising New England

We have just returned from another wonderful adventure. This time we went on a Princess Cruise with my brother and his wife. The destinations were terrific, but the real story and memories are about spending significant time with  family members in small numbers. It is the time to bond, create shared memories, and just get to know each other without the interference of great hordes of people around. Well actually, on a ship that hold 3100 passengers, you are not exactly alone with anyone but none of those people are competing for our attention.

 

Our first destination was Brooklyn Harbor and I never realized that Brooklyn could look so beautiful. It looks a lot better as you are leaving it than driving through it on a bus.

We were afraid we might not make the clearance under the Verazano bridge. Everyone watched with baited breath, but she cleared without a scratch. I'm sure the people on top of the bridge appreciated that.

There is no greater thrill than viewing Lady Liberty the way many of our immigrant ancestors first saw her. I got a shiver just thinking of the implications this statue holds for all who see her.

Our first port of call was Newport Rhode Island. I had no idea that Newport had such a significant role in the early history of our country. The streets are dotted with many restored buildings dated in the 1700s.

We took a short hike along the Newport cliff walk which is a path that runs through many of the backyards of the mansions of the rich and famous from the previous century.

 


We contemplated buying this one but it was not for sale.



Did you enjoy that walk as much as we did?

We finished up with lunch at the White Horse Tavern where we discovered that Newport has a rich history of piracy.

 

This is where the "two if by sea" lanterns were hung aloft



Our next port of call was Boston. We revisited the Freedom trail which is a great red brick path down the center of the sidewalks leading to the famous sites marking the beginning of our country. We recreated Paul revere's ride at both the Old North Church, and his home and at the Green Dragon Restaurant where we discussed colonial politics over bowls of clam chowder.

Paul Revere's home. I believe only the wooden structure was there in 1776

Boston would not be complete without a stroll down Beacon Hill and a beer at Cheers.

Bar Harbor Maine, home of Acadia National Park, and we chose to go whale watching.

Well, the whales were not up to entertaining tourists this day and I only saw one rather lazy old guy who was out to take in some sun.

St. John, New Brunswick was next. This is the gateway to Fundy Bay where the tides rise and fall as much as 48 feet daily. We chose to go to Hopewell Rocks where the tide changes are most dramatic around the awesome rock formations. It was a three hour bus ride out to the rocks and as luck would have it, we arrived at exactly high tide and were unable to stay long enough to see any significant change. I had a wonderful dish of seafood chowder which was loaded with lobster meat. After all a great part of travelling is sampling local quisine!

The drive along the bay was lovely. The difficult thing about seeing exotic places from a cruise is the limited amount of time  give to each port. On a Bahama Island this never seemed important, but we would have liked to spend much more time in New Brunswick, if only to experience the changing tides.

The Citadel

Halifax Nova Scotia was a pleasant surprise. Again this colonial town has a rich history dating back to when British soldiers were quartered here on their route to put down the rebellion in the south.

This is the town which came to the rescue of the Titanic Survivors, burying more than 300 unclaimed bodies in their own tiny cemeteries.

Shortly after the Titanic there was an explosion in the harbor involving a munitions ship which blew up a major part of the city. After visiting the Citadel, a small seaport museum, and a victorian garden, we were driven out to Peggy's Cove.





Peggy's Cove is a small fishing village which epitomizes my image of Nova Scotia. Can you guess that it was my favorite stop?

Labor of Love

We were on the road again for Labor Day week-end. This time, to visit our kids in Minneapolis and two of our newest grandchildren, Robbie and Jacob.

We Babysat on Friday giving us free reign to spoil them rotten. The rest of the days were spent just enjoying the company of their parents, Bob and Gretchen, and feeding, changing diapers, entertaining babies, and doing the Grammy dance. Some would think this a lot of work but when tempered with an astonishing love it is pure enjoyment. However, we needed some serious recupe time on our return home.

It is amazing how two babies can consume every waking minute of 4 adults. I found myself wondering how Gretchen has managed the most difficult first six months alone.

I had two babies my first time out of the gate and then two years later had another one making three babies well under three years of age and seriously don't ever remember feeling overwhelmed and definitely never sorry for myself but I don't remember it being so much work. I used to see moms on the TV news who had four babies and thought they had it made. Once you hit the four mark it seems like help comes oozing out of the woodwork but with two you were on your own.

That isn't necessarily the whole truth. We didn't know we were going to have two when it happened and as soon as word got out it was amazing how people we hardly knew came forward with gifts, especially with needed equipment such as another swing, crib and infant seat. My brother even returned the stroller they had given us as a shower gift to the store. When asked why he was returning it, he told the clerk it didn't work -- She had twins. Also, my mother lived near enough to offer occasional respite and I had a wonderful neighbor who was always there at the drop of a feather when I was in trouble. We didn't realize so early in our family life how important our community was already becoming to us.

Gretchen never complains about the burden of having two babies. For the most part it is twice as nice. On those days when it seems like the world is caving in it is good to remember that moms with only one baby probably experience just as many of those days.

My hat is off to Gretchen and Bob and their ability to tolerate the effort it takes to make a wonderful home for their growing family and to always see the awesome beauty of their situation.

How could this be anything but pure joy.