Consider what makes me Happy? Really? Shouldn’t I be more concerned about my Joy? Isn’t Joy more important than my Happiness? Continue Reading
The One Arm Release
My mom fell today. She’s OK. But she fell on her face so her nose looks pretty scary. (I'm not sharing that picture!) We are grateful that her nose wasn’t broken and all other bones are where they should be. But isn’t it ironic. My sisters and nieces—we take turns staying here to take care of her. To help her remember what to do. Make decisions. And so that she doesn’t fall!! Good grief. Continue Reading
I Am Sorry
I was talking to my sister while at the big box store, standing in front of the cell phones that can do everything but cook dinner, apologizing for what seemed to be the zillionth time that week. She had called a few minutes earlier when I was feeling ignorant, overwhelmed, and so behind the technical times. I had been sharp and short. (And I’m not describing my appearance or height.) Continue Reading
Our Practical List of Thanks
I didn’t think my list was right. Mom and I were writing down all the things we were thankful for throughout the day. Opening our eyes to the many good things in our lives. But when I looked at the list of 45 gratitudes after two days, I felt strangely discouraged. Continue Reading
She is Amazing
Several years ago I wrote a tribute to my fabulous Aunt Idelle, encouraging the rest of us to live as she does – living so each moment counts. This week we joined her in celebrating the life of her best friend and husband, my Uncle Roger. Aunt Idelle is entering a new chapter in life without her soul mate, and it seems appropriate to share this tribute again. Aunt Idelle, YOU ARE LOVED. She’s 83. She lives in an apartment for senior citizens. She’s got more life than the energizer bunny. Meet my aunt, Idelle (Nornes) Bagne. Continue Reading
The Flooding That Doesn’t Stop
The water didn’t stop. It kept running. And running. And running. Minnesota has had too much rain, hitting a ground that has too much moisture, and basements are filling up with too much water. My sister’s home was not immune. Continue Reading
What’s the Plan?
What’s the plan? It’s my mom’s favorite question. She asks it during the middle-of-the-night wake-ups, first thing in the morning, and several times throughout the daily routine. It takes me back to summer days long ago. Every morning starting the very first day of summer vacation, my sisters and I would sit on the red upholstered kitchen chairs around the shiny silver Formica table with the aluminum edging. Mom would help us make a list. Our plan for the day. It always included work responsibilities. Things like shell the Continue Reading
Panic During The Biggest Game
Biggest Game of the Year. I’m talking football. Super Bowl. And I take my football quite seriously. My favorite part of The Biggest Game? All the pull-on-the-heart-string background stories we hear in the 63 hours preceding the game. You know, the family vignettes, the tough-times-made-me-the-football-player-I-am-today, the passionate tributes to coaches, mentors, and parents. Absolutely love that kind of stuff. So I was kind of hoping I’d get to see some of these pre-game sentimental stories on Sunday afternoon. But… Since Continue Reading
Biggest Ooftah of 2014 So Far
Ooftah. I mean, really…Big Time Ooftah. It’s a torn ACL, torn MCL, multiple tears in the meniscus, a femur impaction fracture, and a bruised tibia. You could say that her knee is really messed up. You could also say that when my niece, Kelsey, plays basketball, she gives it everything she’s got. Kelsey – the athlete who loves playing basketball, the rhythm-finder who loves to dance and choreograph, the high school senior who is relishing each fun moment with her school buds – is finding her way through the Minnesota ice and snow Continue Reading
The Extraordinary Ordinary
We’re standing in Mom’s kitchen. She’s leaning on the counter making her oatmeal. When her legs start to weaken and her knees start to bend, I remind her, Stand up, Mom. And she starts singing as if on cue… ♫ Stand up, stand up for Jesus. Ye soldiers of the cross. She doesn’t know the words that come after that, so she just hums. And she hums her way through the rest of her morning routine. It’s so…ordinary. We wish for so many things… The weight loss. An organized house. A significant other…or a perfect Continue Reading
Shards of Glass and Socks
Like shards of broken glass… Words puncture. Angry glares cut. Conversations slash. We clean up the bloody mess, stitch the tender wound, and hope the scar won’t show. Broken bodies… Broken minds… Broken hearts… Broken families… Broken dreams… Sons and daughters and moms and dads are forced into the chaos of triage and I wonder what else to pray. What else to do. I move through the day begging God to reach my friends right where they are at. Make the pain go away. Stop the sadness. How do I pray? Pray more? Pray Continue Reading
She is in Charge
I guess she was The One in Charge. Of All Things Important. She relished her role. And I found it…annoying. Mom and I were heading into the eye doctor’s office. We had one focus…one mission…one intention… Get Mom to the bathroom for bladder relief. I knew where the bathroom was and we were moving fast… Until… We scurried past the little sign that said, “Please wait here until someone can assist you.” The One in Charge behind the desk sternly reprimanded us… Stop. You must wait until we ask you to come Continue Reading
Football and My Game of Life
High school football teams are back under the Friday night lights... cheerleaders and pom poms and school colors wave with youthful exuberance. Football moms pray and sweat it out in the stands... proudly displaying their sons' pictures on their mascot sweatshirts. Pep bands and hot dogs and school songs lead us into the weekend. It's football season. I'm in my happy place. (And yes, I am HOPEFUL for my Minnesota Vikings!) A couple years ago I wrote some thoughts after watching my nephew play in his high school Continue Reading
The Bouncy Gym
Really, lady? You think this is a good idea? The teenager supervising the trampoline area was probably weighing his options -- just call 911 right away or wait it out for the stories he could tell. We were at SkyZone. You know. The warehouse with the trampolines that remind us that our bodies aren’t what they used to be. The place where women who have lived 50+ years come to live on the edge and hopefully leave without a stretcher. I gotta’ tell you. Trusting a stretch of buncy rubber to lift you into the air and catch you when Continue Reading
The Woman I Honor Most
In honor of Mother’s Day and My Mom’s 86th birthday… With love to My Mom, Joyce Nornes. Memories from our early years together… Seeing her in that ankle-length light blue dressing gown with the thin ribbon that tied at the neckline. The first time I saw her in it she was walking into our living room carrying my new little baby sister, Lori. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Loving how she’d snuggle into dad’s arms when he got home from a meeting. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, being Continue Reading
Let the Muffins Go
I do not claim to be a cook. Nor a baker. Nor a candlestick maker. Kitchen and craft activities make my heart panic and my palms sweat. I don’t remember a time when cooking seemed “fun.” So when I found my family’s evaluation of my junior high muffin baking project…I smiled. Their comments: My Mom: Delicious! They beat the ones she made from powdered milk!! Home Ec has really helped her. Julie (The Home Ec major in college): Good. Lori: They were good with lots of butter. My Dad: Excellent. Moist (Is that Continue Reading
Miss America
A special treat: A chapter from "God, Girlfriends & Chocolate!" As little girls, my sisters and I loved watching the Miss America pageant. We’d pick out our favorite gowns, use our homemade score cards to judge the talent competitions, and cry when Bert Parks would sing, “There She Is, Miss America.” (If you don’t remember Bert Parks, my apologies. Parks was emcee for the pageant from 1955-1979.) We dreamed of the day when we would look like, act like, and be Miss America We still enjoy the tradition of experiencing the Continue Reading
My Mom
Her toes looked like mini sausages; only these sausages were white. They peeked out from swollen feet that had lost their shape. Feet that resembled white baggies stretched tightly with fluid or whatever settles under the skin when your body is a little weary. My Mom was not well, and her feet were making sure we got the message. Besides looking like they belonged to the Pillsbury Dough Boy, they were very dry and cracked. I was afraid the skin would split on the outside from the pressure inside. I gently rubbed her feet with Continue Reading
My Dad
Yesterday was My Dad’s birthday. He would have been 87 years old. His death nine years ago changed our lives forever. I still miss him terribly. On days like yesterday, when his presence is missed so much, I look for ways to connect with him. I look for his fingerprints in my life…May I share some of these thoughts with you? -- My hands remind me of his. Mine are strong with short, square fingers—just like his, but his were rougher, from farming. (My mom and sisters have the long fingers with pretty nails.) -- My Dad Continue Reading
A second-grader’s prayer
From the heart and pencil of a second-grader... “Dear Lord, help me change help me meet all the kinder gardeners and give them my kindness and my love and for all my sins to be washed as white as snow and I just want to thank you for offering to forgive me and thanks for watching me and help me express my feeling on paper and help me love you and I could go longer but I can’t I’ll write more later. -- Julia.” My favorite youngest niece, Julia Charron, wrote this just before starting second grade. (She is now fifteen.) Her prayer has Continue Reading
Visiting Dental Heaven
When Jennifer went to work last Friday, she probably thought it would be a regular workday. As a dental hygienist, she would check people’s teeth and get them ready to see the Endodontist. She didn't know that on this ordinary Friday, she would create an extraordinary Friday for someone else. My mom was having a root canal. And she was anxious and afraid. That combination doesn’t always set up a great environment for the endodontics team! Jennifer greeted mom and helped her into the dental chair. I liked her right away. She was Continue Reading
Wanted: Peace and quiet
When my sisters and I were young, we’d ask mom and dad each December what they wanted for Christmas. Mom’s response for several years was, “Peace and quiet.” (What does that tell you about my sisters and me?) So one year we decided to give mom peace and quiet. (It never dawned on us to actually give her a home with a little less energy and noise in it!) We cut two life-size people out of cardboard, colored them in clothes, and provided each with a name tag. One was named Peace. The other, Quiet. We thought it was hilarious; not sure Continue Reading
God is always available
My mom has a neat way of keeping visual reminders of God’s goodness in front of her. My nieces made posters of Bible verses and prayers and posted them on her apartment walls. Mom looks at those colorful blessings and finds strength from God’s Word. (And of course, she always smiles as she remembers Kelsey and Julia creating the posters!) What about you? Are you looking for a little extra “oomph” in your life? Do you need renewed energy? Do you want to reconnect to God’s presence? Surround yourself with the things that connect Continue Reading
I Will Give you Rest
The months, weeks, and days between July 10, 2003 and April 12, 2005 had an imbalance of sadness and happiness, and weariness and rest for my sisters and me. We experienced dad’s brain hemorrhage, his home-going, mom’s heart attack and strokes, the sale of their home in Climax, and mom’s move to St. Paul, leaving the place they’d lived in for 50+ years. The dates of those events are no longer just squares on a calendar. They represent moments that changed our lives. There were, of course, also times of joy and good things happening Continue Reading
God and My Game of Life
Last Friday night was one of the best nights ever. Our family cheered, screamed, yelled, high-fived, and laughed as we watched our favorite quarterback, Scottie Benedict, lead the Minnetonka Skippers to a homecoming victory. Scottie, aka My Favorite Youngest Nephew, played his heart out. (He is really, really good!) We couldn’t have been more excited when his passes were complete and the touchdowns were made. And when he got sacked…we stopped breathing. We were so focused on what Scottie was doing. Nothing was more important Continue Reading