Busiest weekend EVER

Well. What a weekend we've had.

First there was the C of C graduation, which is always a beautiful event at the cistern. Of course, the moment we were waiting for was when Amanda crossed the stage to get her diploma. Everything else was filler.

Then there was the reception -- a fun party with family and friends. Great food. Great fun. Great champagne.

Then on Sunday -- Mother's Day -- there were tornadoes. For the first time in years we missed our annual Mother's Day hunt for blackberries at Charles Towne Landing. But it was all for the sake of safety. And so we stayed around the house and watched the warnings on TV. (One time we got word that a tornado was moving across the Stono, so we had to rush down to the basement. First time we'd ever been able to take advantage of it for that particular use.)

But Sunday morning there was also another drama unfolding, a bit scary: Addison, Jessica's two-month-old, was rushed to the hospital with problems breathing and some bizarre foaming at the mouth and a slight fever. They started running tests, most of which relieved us (spinal tap came back ok, so no meningitis), but they still weren't sure what it was. They were guessing possibly a seizure, infection or pneumonia. They transferred her to MUSC Children's Hospital midday, where they continued running tests. She'll be there about two days while cultures come back. What a first Mother's Day for Jessica! Made the concern over tornadoes seem like nothing.

But this was also a reminder -- appropriately on Mother's Day -- for all of us to seize all the time we can, every moment possible, with our children.

The other day I mentioned to Holly that I wondered what makes a better gift for Mother's Day -- something to assist you in your mothering role (organizers, etc.) or something to help you escape from it temporarily (spa treatment, etc.). It's an interesting thing to ponder. But then, almost as a postscript to that conversation, on the news this morning I heard a tidbit that raised my eyebrows and caused me to revisit some of those thoughts: The news item said 50% of new mothers wish they could leave their jobs and stay home with their children and that if their husbands made enough money they would gladly quit their jobs to stay home.

I know the working outside the home vs. being a stay-at-home mom is a hot topic, and I'm not going to debate the issue here. As far as I'm concerned, it's a matter of individual priorities -- doing what you think is best and not bowing to pressure to do something else. As for the 50% who wish they could stay home, I hope they can find the means to follow that dream soon (sometimes just cutting out the extras can make it happen) because there won't be a "do-over" later. (Presumably the 50% who do not wish to leave work are already following their dreams of continuing to work.)

In the end, after all that's happened this weekend, my "revisited" thoughts on what makes the best Mother's Day gift led me to this: Whether you're a new mother or a long-time mom like me, I can think of no better gift than time with your children. The whole day to play ... a phone call ... a walk in the park ... a shopping expedition ... even sitting in front of the TV together. Just time. It's what that 50% craves more of. It's what Jessica is terrified she'll lose with Addison. It's what has built beautiful memories for me over the years (the blackberry picking every year is really about spending a day with my girls).

I can go to a spa any old time.
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Happy anniversary!

It's happy anniversary shout-out time for Mom and Dad! It's their ... um ... let's see ... "lots of years" anniversary. Seeing as how it's one more year than how old I am, I'm reluctant to give the number. Let's just say lots of years and let it go at that.

I can't let this moment pass without mentioning how they met. Dad was in the Navy stationed in Norfolk and Mom worked at a drive-in diner as one of those waitresses-on-wheels (think American Graffiti), and Dad used to go there all the time. He would ask for her specifically, and I think it took a long time before Mom agreed to go out with him. But finally she did, and I'm glad, because eventually they ended up married and had a bunch of babies and so here we are. Heh.

Happy "lots of years," you guys!
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What I meant to post yesterday on Earth Day

So I'm a day late. Whatever. None of you will remember this and I'll be able to use it next year. If I remember that it's Earth Day, that is.

Anyway, this is what I meant to post yesterday in honor of Earth Day:

I like the Earth. It's my favorite place. It's where I keep all my stuff.
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Celebration, commemoration day

Today is my baptism birthday. It is also the commemoration date (that is to say the anniversary of his death) of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran pastor who was martyred by the Nazis in WWII for participating in a plot to kill Hitler -- and that alone makes him my hero. There were a lot of others caught up in the plot -- this was part of the July 20 plot that failed -- so he was in good company with the resistance movement. (The photo at the left shows him in the courtyard at Tegel Prison. He was later transferred to Buchenwald, then to Flossenburg, where he was killed.)

I have always loved Bonhoeffer, and it wasn't until long after I had read most of his work that I found out I was baptized on his commemoration date. (The date wasn't selected for that reason ... just a happy coincidence.) I was looking back through the church records and saw the entry and the date. Since then, when I think of my baptism, I think about Bonhoeffer and his works.

There are a lot of famous quotes of his -- he was a prolific writer, an articulate speaker and a brilliant theologian -- and here are a few of my favorites:

To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward events. It is to perceive the essential nature of things. The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential. But on the other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible to see into the depth of things. And so the wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.

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And:

I am still discovering up to this very moment that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to believe. One must attempt to abandon every attempt to make something of oneself, whether it be a saint, a churchman (the priestly type, so called!) a righteous man or an unrighteous one, a sick man or a healthy one. This is what I mean by worldliness - taking life in one's stride, with all its duties and problems, its successes and failures, its experiences and helplessness. It is in such a life that we throw ourselves into the arms of God and participate in his sufferings in the world and watch with Christ in Gethsemane. That is faith, that is metonoia and that is what makes a man and a Christian. How can success make us arrogant or failure lead us astray, when we participate in the sufferings of God by living in this world?

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The world lost a great soul when he was killed. Thank God his written work survived to enlighten, comfort and inspire us.

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Happy birthday, Alexis!

Today is actually Alexis' birthday (we celebrated her party last week because she was here; she's in Oklahoma now, where her daddy is attending some kind of Marine weapons school), and I have to say I give thanks for her all the time. She's such a happy, content little baby, and I attribute much of that to how wonderful her mommy and daddy take care of her. She obviously sees life as this wonderful, exciting place to be -- you can tell by how she giggles and laughs and smiles all the time.


Here's a photo of her right after she was born (grabbed this photo from her mommy's blog -- thanks Connie!). Note the "daddy doll" in the corner of the bassinet. All the nurses made much of that doll. I was so honored to be there when she was born, and I'm so glad she and Connie will be back here with us when Josh is deployed this summer.

Thank you, God, for this beautiful bright light in our lives. Alexis, happy birthday, little girl!

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Party time!

I was sick when we had Alexis' birthday party. Not too sick to come (it was at our house, after all), but too sick to post about it. So here are a couple of my favorite shots:







Here she is having a grand old time.



















You know it's a good birthday party when the gifts are bigger than you are.

This is one of my favorite shots -- Connie and Alexis blowing out the candle. Connie made the cake for her. (This is the one she got to mess up; there was another cake for the rest of us.) It was a great party!

Belated "Kat-urday" post

Holly of Venti Chocolate Mocha had her baby the other day -- on Saturday, February 2, to be exact, and had I known at the time, that would have been my post, as in: "It's 'caturday': introducing Katherine 'Katie-Cat' Fisher."

Here's a link to the official all-things-Katie-Cat site. Seeing as how it was groundhog day, I'm hoping Holly didn't have to go through childbirth hundreds of times -- a la the excellent movie with Bill Murray.

(It also occurred to me today that I'm grateful that there wasn't an Internet back when I had my babies, because I was not at my best, photo-wise, after popping those kids out, and only the family and friends who visited in person, as opposed to the World Wide Web, could see just how not-at-best I was.)

Holly and baby look like they're doing well. And from the look of that little girl's full head of hair, I'm thinking Holly will have to invest heavily in scuncis. Looking forward to seeing tons of photos of Kate on the site.

Congrats, Fisher family! :D

Double-twos!

Hey! Amanda is 22 today! Except for her first birthday and until this year, she and Connie always shared a birthday party. (In fact, her second birthday present was a baby sister.) Nevertheless, she's always been an individual.

Happy birthday, girl! It's all about you today!

(Still hunting up the right baby photo. Will post that later.)

Happy birthday, baby girl!

My "baby" turns 20 today! At one time I thought saying that would make me feel old, but it doesn't. I just feel incredibly lucky to have such wonderful daughters.

Happy birthday, Connie!