17 October 2010

Weather or not . . .
The weatherman explained part of the reason that Sunday, Monday, and
Tuesday – three days in succession – were the hottest in recorded
history for this time of the year: The soil is so dry that there is no
evaporation to cool it down, even after sun down.

I succeeded! I made it rain! Earlier in the day I bought soaker hoses
to water almost like a drip system, and I left the children’s giant
cardboard boxes – their boats, their castles, their make-believe
“whatevers” – out to tempt the clouds - and it rained! (Of course I
don’t pretend to think that I had anything to do with it raining,
except for some prayers, but it was fun to see the rain come on the
same day that I purchased the hoses and left the boxes out. I’ll be
using those hoses to save the plants until they issue a more severe
water cut back request – or the rains come making watering
unnecessary.)

As I left the house to teach a class of beginning computer users, the
drops started falling. If I hadn’t had plans I might have just stood
out in the rain to feel the water until I began to shiver. The
weathermen explained that the precipitation wasn’t near enough to
remove us from the “severe drought” category, but it was good to see a
true rain storm. The okra and tomatoes still come in, and although we
share with the squirrels, there is still food for us. We may even get
some tomatillos if it doesn’t freeze too soon.


The Big Box:
A couple of weeks ago Emilia and her family came by for a visit.
Emilia saw the largest of the boxes and came up with a plan (which she
did not divulge to me.) In a few minutes she said (in Spanish of
course) “Grandpa, I have a present for you. It is in this big box. I
want you to open it and it is a big doll that you can put in any
position. It will do what you tell it to do, and then when you touch
its nose it will come to life and will be a grandson for you.” I
opened the box. Lying inside the box was three-year-old Levi as still
as could be. I lifted his right arm, and it stayed where I left it. I
lifted his right leg. It stayed where I left it. I crossed his arms.
They stayed where I put them. I was incredulous seeing that a
three-year-old, instructed by a five-year-old could be so obedient
without great fore-planning and a lot of practice. Sure enough, when I
touched his nose he hugged me and indeed, he was once again my
grandson! Emilia had a turn being the doll after Levi came to life. He
instructed me with the same information that his sister had provided.
I opened the box again,and she likewise could be put into any
position. I knew that Emilia and Levi had seen a similar demonstration
in the talent show at the Sanchez family reunion in Mexico in July –
but without the box. A box really can be anything they want it to be.
Grandkids are great!

Attention!
In the past I’ve done “Grandpa Days,” but now we can do “Grandma and
Grandpa Days” for all the little ones who are not in school. It is
kind of funny visiting with the three-year-olds, in comparison to the
5 year olds: The other day Grayson said, “Let’s do the Fire Engine
Puzzle.” But in getting the puzzle, he noticed the Elmo book. “First
let’s read this book.” Then he saw another book, then a truck, then a
ball, then the tops, then he was hungry, so we had sandwiches . . . We
never did put the puzzle together. I was reminded that the age in
years is roughly equivalent to the attention span in minutes. Sure
enough, we did about a thousand different things that day. I don’t
know how long the attention span thing should work, but I suppose I
should be able to concentrate for four and a half minutes more than an
hour. Hmmm.

Drought

The drought continues. We did get a splash of rain on conference
Saturday - to assure us that it still can happen . . .

On the way home from church today I saw hedges, mostly dead, around
homes. I saw properties with grey/brown lawns that any other year
would still be green and soft to walk on. The children's soccer field
is so hard and dry that one of the kids playing there fell and broke
his arm. The soil is as hard as concrete - perhaps harder, and the
grass is dry and thin as paper. There is simply no "give" under the
dry grass to absorb a falling child.

Elsewhere roots of trees are sticking up above the shrunken soil. I am
using the rinse water from the kitchen sink to water our skyrocket
junipers and six year old ground-hugging evergreens around the base of
the sugar maple tree in the front yard, but there is no way to rinse
enough vegetables and carry enough water to be sufficient for the
sugar maple. I hope it survives. (I am reminded of the article of
faith, "and we hope to be able to endure all things . . .)

I drove over Silver Creek, and saw that there are puddles - and a
trickle. I guess whatever water there is upstream is being drawn off
into the deep wells and used to provide our drinking water. It never
occurred to me that being so close to a large stream, Silver Creek,
and a major river - the mighty Ohio, 3 miles away - there could ever
be a drought so significant that it would change our landscape to this
extent. I have given water to the tomato plants, but evidence says not
enough, as several have just shriveled and died. Others continue to
thrive, though the squirrels are so thirsty that they open many of the
tomatoes, sometimes even green to get the moisture inside. If it gets
any dryer, even the squirrels will have to use picks and shovels to
bury their winter foods.

Life goes on, and there are plenty of things to bring laughter to our
souls. Even at church we smile as a youth speaker tells us about the
importance of diligence in all our efforts: "Think of Albert Einstein.
What would we know about gravity if he had given up after his first
experiment failed?" ((I suppose that was a "contraction" of Tomas
Edison and Sir Isaac Newton, but whatever it was, it did prompt some
smiles.)

There is an up-side to the drought: There are fewer mosquitoes out
this year than ever before. We have actually sat on the porch and
enjoyed the air without those pestiferous beasts. That works until the
dogs next door begin their howling. Maybe we are just getting older,
as we are bothered by the barking and howling and whining of next
door's two big dogs. But it was so nice for all those years not having
barking dogs close by. I think that we will invest in the more
powerful birdhouse style dog bark stopper system. The little hand-held
ones seem to be effective for about ten feet, as the dogs back away
from the fence to avoid the high pitched noise emitted each time they
bark, but I understand that the birdhouse unit will transmit a
stronger signal. Perhaps it will quiet the dogs even when they are on
the other side of the yard. I think it is worth the investment to find
out.

We are so thankful for good health and happy children and
grandchildren. We are happy that we have a temple so close, and glad
that a new one will be built in Indianapolis. Folks from up that way
must come two and a half hours to get to ours, so it will save them
much time. Friday night there was an accident on Interstate-65, and it
took the baptismal group from Carmel, just north of Indianapolis 4
hours to get (late) to the temple. The youth were able to complete
their ordinances, but that only after a marathon drive.

We enjoy hearing from all of you and always welcome you to stop by if
you are in the area. We still have fun even if there isn't green
grass. Instead of Bocce, we might even get out the good old board
games! (By the way, does anyone have the rules for the board game,
"Adverteasing"? I got the game at Goodwill for fifty cents, but
without the rules. I can download the rules for $4.00, but if anyone
already has a copy and could e-mail the rules to me, I'd love to check
the game to see if it is worth the space it takes on the shelf -
without spending the $4.00!)

Grandchildren Stories 2009

25 April, 2009

Emilia’s Prayer on the Food:
This past Tuesday, "Grandpa Day," I had several of the grandchildren
here. I told them that it was Emilia's (4) turn to offer the prayer on
the food. (Eli (3) prefers to do it himself, as he finishes within 5
seconds flat, and can immediately begin consuming his dinner.)
Emilia asked blessings on everyone - all her cousins and her relatives
in Mexico - by name, her departed ancestor Great, great Grandmother
Emilia “who died and is in heaven with You and with Jesus, and who has
my name” . . ." I believe she even asked a blessing on the food,
though I was into her genealogical resume to such an extent that I am
really not sure . . .

Grandpa’s Ears:
Then, as we drove Emilia and Levi home, Emilia began asking questions:
"Grandpa, why is it that sometimes you don't understand me when I
speak to you in Spanish and sometimes you don't understand when I talk
to you in English?"
Not wanting to admit that my vocabulary doesn't necessarily include
all her vocabulary, I responded, "Because my ears are old."
"Is your nose old too?"
"Yes"
"Is your mouth old?"
"Yes."
"Are your eyes old too?"
"Yes, all my parts are old." (I was laughing so hard under my breath
it was hard to respond.)
"I know some other people that are old: My Grandma Celia is old, and
My Grandpa Rogelio is old, and my great grandma Cresencia and my
Great, great Grandmother Emilia who died and is in heaven with
Heavenly Father and Jesus, and who has my same name, and your mother
and your father that died are old. But my silly Uncle Rogelio is not
old like you . . ."
I was now laughing so hard that it took a minute before I could
translate all this to English for Patti, who was driving. I already
have Emilia pegged as the next generation's genealogist for the Fred
and Pat Romney clan.
The grandchildren all give us joy, and after all, aren't we supposed
to have it abundantly? We are so glad to have grandchildren who know
to fold their arms when someone says, "It is time for prayer." What a
precious thing it is to see the little ones being raised by their
parents to do good things. We love life, and love the whole clan. May
we all have good health and times of laughter!



Letter to Cynthia Schultz, author of the Courier Journal’s Grand Times column
May 20, 2009

Dear Grandmother Schultz,

As I approached retirement several years ago, I planted blackberries,
raspberries, and strawberries so that the grandchildren, yet to be
born, would be able to pick berries with me. After the grandchildren
began to appear, we invited them to gather the fruits of the garden.

Abuelo Moras:
My little 2-year-old bi-lingual granddaughter Emilia, on arriving at
Grandpa's house would call "Abuelo Moras!" (Grandpa Blackberries!)
We would go to the back yard and pick berries and eat them together.

Picking Strawberries:
When my (then) three-year-old grandson Parker was in a full body cast
while recuperating from a spiral fracture in his leg, I held him up
over the strawberries and had him pick berries. He pulled on one
enormous berry and the entire plant came up. I remember thinking, "Had
this been my child, I probably would have instructed him on how you
have to hold the stem with one hand and pull the berry with the
other." But this was my grandson. "Pull up another plant if you need
to. It's OK," I thought. Amazing how perspective changes with
grandchildren!

Grandpa Days – in Spanish:
One daughter-in-law wanted to finish her college work at the
University of Louisville at the same time that I retired, so I began
to hold "Grandpa Days." Each Tuesday and every Thursday I invite all
the little grandchildren to come to Grandma and Grandpa's house while
their moms have a little time to attend classes, work, clean house, or
relax. Grandpa and his little team eat, read books, play games, sing
songs, go for walks, make up stories, blow bubbles, catch balls, munch
on berries, and generally have fun. It is a bonding time with the
little ones. Much of the time I speak Spanish to them. It was
especially gratifying when Monica called to tell me that when she
asked Eli (three years old) to do something, and he responded, "Un
momento, por favor!" I see that not only are they learning turn-taking
and sharing, but a second language is coming along as well!

I, like you, look forward to the summer with the grandkids. Outdoor
exploring is such fun, as the little ones notice the bugs and birds
and creatures of every sort. I enjoy your down-to-earth columns and
appreciate the opportunity to participate. Thanks for the invitation
to share some ideas. I will write again, as I am perhaps one of
the happiest grandpas around!




Dear Grandmother Schultz,
Thank you for your sweet message in reply to my emails, and for
printing the story . . . What fun it is to see some of my
grandchildren's names and experiences in print!

Invitation:
I wanted to invite you to drop on by if ever you are in the
Clarksville area. The grandkids are usually here on Thursdays from
about 9:00 AM till mid afternoon. They are all invited for the day. On
Tuesdays for the summer, I schedule by appointment so that I can take
the little ones on excursions more easily. (I have two car seats in my
car, not four or five or six . . .) This next Tuesday I'll take Emilia
and Levi to the Bass Pro Shop where we will see the stuffed animals
and where we'll watch the fish in the morning. We'll return for the
afternoon, I imagine.

Talking Catfish:
A couple of years ago, I took Parker (still three at the time, but out
of his body cast) to watch the fish. Within a few minutes a large
catfish came to the window and twice opened and closed its enormous
mouth. Parker turned to me with a startling realization: "Grandpa!
That fish knows my name! It said, PAAARRRKERRRR!

I don't know what Levi's discoveries will be at the Bass Pro Shop, but
I am excited to watch him there. Emilia (4) will probably tell him all
about the animals and give him a guided tour. I'll be the engine that pushes the
two of them around (and listens to their conversations and
discoveries.) I'll be watching for your next article. It is fun to see
your perspective on life as a grandparent.

Sincerely,
Fred Romney

Cynthia Schultz's Grand Times column for grandparents appears
occasionally. To suggest ideas, call (502) 582-4202, send a fax to
(502) 582-7080 or send e-mail to neighborhoods@courier-journal.com.

June 20, 2009
Invitation to Contribute:

A couple weeks ago Cynthia Schultz, who does the GRANDTIMES column in
the Louisville Courier Journal newspaper invited readers to contribute
1) their "plans for summertime with grandchildren," and 2) "touching
thoughts my grandchildren have said." I contributed in both
categories, and she published the summertime submission as
"Clarksville Man Savors Sweet Times."