Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Only Family Gets the Food!

This week, we sadly laid to rest my great-aunt.  She was 97 years old, born in Scotland, and was sharp as a pin until the end.  She could talk about politics, sports, and movies, and she possessed a cosmopolitan energy that made you feel inspired.  My favorite question was when she asked me, "Amy, do you watch, 'The Sopranos'?"  Most people would be surprised to hear my Aunt Minnie, at the age of 83 when the series began, was following a show on HBO about a mafia crime family.  How many times per show did they drop the F-bomb or shoot someone in the head?  If you knew Aunt Minnie, it was not a shock.  ("Ooooo, I love that Tony Soprano!  He's so bad!")  My daughters referred to her as, "that little grandma lady who isn't actually our grandma."  She was a strong, feisty woman that will be missed by her family and loved ones. 

Family provides security, a support system, laughter and tears, and a sense of belonging.  Those of us lucky enough to be raised in my immediate and extended family know we give each other every one of these things.  We have also provided each other with not only aunts, uncles, and cousins, but also friends, role models, and partners-in-crime.  We should always be there to build each other up, to give constructive criticism, and to help when we can.  Our family wants only the best for each other, so if a comment or suggestion seems hurtful, we need to realize that maybe they are trying to show us something we do not want to see.  Harmful words and grudges have no place in our family tree.  Our roots are planted in love and our branches reach to Heaven.  Every time I am in the same room as my kin, I want to lock the doors and keep everyone close.  Part of me is six years old, remembering my siblings and cousins (eight of us, in all) playing in the spare bedroom at our grandparents' house.  Were we really all little enough to fit in that room at one time?  There were no expensive toys to play with, and we had the best time together that all I remember is the laughter.

Being, "family," does have its privileges, too. We get to joke with each other about things that an outsider would get punched in the face for bringing up in conversation.  There is a protective bond that holds us tight to each other.  Constructive criticism is at times given too freely because we think the underlying love will convey the underlying message of concern.  Regardless of the delivery, if the intent is positive and well intended, it will show...eventually.  Family - you can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em.  If you piss 'em off, you're out of the will!

AND, according to my daughters, I learned of another, "privilege," that comes from being family:

A few months ago, my best friend lost her grandmother.  My daughters and I had been at the funeral home for about twenty minutes.  My nine year old came up to me and said, "Mom, there is food here!  Can we eat?"  I replied, "No, sweetie.  That food is for the family."  This week, I informed the girls that Aunt Minnie had passed away.  They were sad and said they would miss her very much.  The following day, my girls asked, "So, Aunt Minnie was family, right?"  Thinking they wanted a mini-geneology lesson, I explained how they were related to Aunt Minnie.  Their faces lit up and they said, "So, if there is food there, we get to eat it?!?!"  All I could do was laugh and say, "Yes, girls, you can because we are family."

God bless Aunt Minnie. May she be reunited with her dear husband, my sweet Uncle Harry.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

State Fair time!!!!!!

My husband and I took our daughters to the Indiana State Fair last week.  We try to go every year.  I guess it has become a tradition of sort for us to ride the rides, view the livestock, and consume 4,000 calories each in one afternoon.  This year's fair trip was especially nice because it was not 103 degrees with 85% humidity (which is not uncommon for Indiana in August).  It was cloudy for most of the day, but we had no more than a few raindrops before the skies started to clear.  And, since the public and township schools had already started back, the crowds did not show up until nearly 5:00 p.m.  Comfortable weather, little waiting in lines, and food on a stick...could it get any better?  The answer was, "Yes."  It was also,"$2 day," so admission was just $2 each and the fair was full of food specials for only $2 each.  Great day for all.

For those of you who may not live in Indiana, we do not all own a pig or live on a farm.  I am aware that Indiana is viewed by most as a corn-growing, cow-milking, tractor-driving kind of place.  If you want to grow corn, milk a cow, or drive a tractor, that can easily be accommodated.  But, I do not know the first thing about being a farmer.  I am happy that I have picked four tomatoes out of my garden this year.  When I walk through the fair, especially the livestock barns, I am jealous of those that do live that stereotypical, "Indiana life."

My daughters love animals, and I admit that I, too, adore the animals at the fair.  Every barn we walked through, my daughters could be heard gasping then saying, "It's sooooo cute!"  It could have been a cow, a goat, a donkey, anything with fur, feathers, or wool.  Looking at the sheep and goats, I got to thinking, "How hard would it be to own a goat?  That one over there is no bigger than my dog!"  It could walk around my back yard, eat the grass so we wouldn't have to mow it, and I could learn how to make goat's milk cheese.  If not a goat, maybe I could raise some chicken.  We could convert the mini-barn into a chicken coop.  Fresh eggs every day and fried chicken when they quit laying.  I can just see myself churning butter, plucking chicken carcasses, scooping goat poop off my shoes....maybe not.  The lifestyle of a farmer is hard.  Those of us who are really only exposed to it at the fair cannot grasp the real blood, sweat, and tears these people give to live this, "simple life."  Raising cows and pigs is not a hobby.  I have been known to tell a bird to, "Shut up!" because it was outside chirping before my alarm had gone off.  I do appreciate the people at the fair that answer the silly questions we ask and let my daughters pet their animals.  The sight that always shows me the commitment these people have to their lifestyle is when you see a person sleeping in a stall meant for an animal.  Early mornings, long days, cold nights, sore muscles, and manure.  I'm not embarassed to say I could not hack it.

If you have not visited the fair, try to get out there before it is gone.  After you take a ride on the ferris wheel, eat a deep fried Oreo, and try to win a goldfish, show your kids how the other half lives.  Teach them to appreciate and respect the people that still live the, "easy life."

I still want a goat.