Mother’s Day 2018

It’s 4 days past Mother’s Day. Now I am choosing to go public. Mother’s Day was a full, fun and happy day. Christine & I went to early service @CrossRidge Church, then with MX5 top down we drove to The Glades, rhododendron park to enjoy the way over 20 floral acres & then sat for a String Quartet concert. We cam home & Christine put on a dinner for eleven, our family, 6 adults & five children ages 10-17, roast beef and wines and dessert ... fantastic.

Perhaps what Christine appreciated next to having her family nearby was my written morning tribute to her. Here it is.

Mother's Day 2018

This weekend marks the tenth year that I have not purchased a Mother's Day card for my mother. She is no longer here to accept it or to read my loving and appreciative remarks.  She needs no support from her firstborn son. Having received from the LORD the affirmation given to disciples who have been faithful and have done well, she resides now in paradise. 

I can and will honour you, Christine as the mother of my two children, Cari and Jeff. Christine, you were a stay at home mom through my children's formative years, not because it was the culturally acceptable practice, but because you were committed to their best interests. You were determined to be present with them and for them. Yours was an informed and practical motherhood in the early years, reading, listening, teaching and protecting and always loving. Your appetite for God's Word has always been apparent and served as a model of how God's truth can direct the many decisions for living. You have always been an encourager to your children's aspirations and abilities. You are a disciplined follower of Christ who prays for her children and grandchildren daily, and this has been your routine in all the years we have lived together. You do all that you possibly can to nurture relationships with your five grandchildren, so they know you are always available. You have sought to build trust so they can learn from you. You have helped them whenever and however you can. They know that you care for them. Each of them has a special place in your heart. You love people and touch their lives with genuine interest both in person and through phone calls. You may pop in, or bring a baked item to enjoy, or give a hug. You love to help others. You are hospitable and enjoy the company of friends. You are wise, and speak prudently into people's lives. You honour the LORD in so many ways, not least of which is as a wonderful mother and grandmother.

HARRY & SONS BARBER

I went to Harry and Sons Barber in Cloverdale - Last week Christine scheduled an appointment for me with Troy at Michaud's, her hair salon. Well, not actually Michaud's since Troy has opened his barbershop next door to his ‘Michauds’.We discussed what he would do. Then he did it. Ohhh! Listen, hair cuts pour moi are non-essential. The top is barren soil. I manage the sides with an electric trimmer, as with the beard. But this … this was cloud floating. First, the golf green lawn mowing, short, short all over, head and face. Then hot towels on my face, and fragrant oils, then straight razor smooth as silk, and another hot towel & more delicate razoring, then a cold towel. $54 plus a $10 tip. It's a lavish experience. I will do it again, after I get a few more landscape and portrait commissions. -- Oh, and my daughter, Cari Unruh Locken, created the signage.

Happy 9th Birthday Kailyn

Kailyn is my numero uno grandchild. When our daughter Cari was born my father and mother came to Mississauga Hospital to see their first grandchild. With great pleasure my dad, father of three boys, peered through the window into the nursery at my pinkly bundled girl with the frizzy whitish blonde hair and blue eyes. Years later my daughter gave birth to a girl of her own, a similarly striking little blue eyed blonde that claimed all of our hearts immediately. We have watched with delight as she has grown up in the company of two younger brothers.

Today is her birthday, and she is celebrating nine years.

We are amazed by the passing of time. Every generation is I suppose. I speculate what she may be like in ten or twelve more years, and I wonder whether Christine and I will still be here to watch her marry.



Right now, I love it when Kailyn leans against my shoulder and allows me to casually play my fingers in her hair when we are both relaxed. She and I tease one another and I know she enjoys that familiarity. I wonder what these next few years will bring to her.

I thank you Lord for my granddaughter Kailyn.

Photos:
* 2008 Kailyn looking her best - WOW!
* 2008 Kailyn and her youngest cousin Kadence, another girl in the family
* 2005 Kailyn, Jayden, Ryan lying on the floor
* 2005 Kailyn, Flower Girl

SHE'S 40

A NEW LEARNING
It’s my daughter’s birthday. Today my little girl is forty years old.

We lived in Mississauga forty years ago. While I was completing my pastoral training Christine was great with child. We had nothing. We lived in two rooms of Mrs. Stoll’s rambling large home as payment for a few hours of my service in a church. Graciously, Mrs. Stoll permitted Christine to use her piano and sitting room to teach a few music students. For those months our as yet unborn daughter heard Christine’s music.

If our baby was a girl, her name would be Carinne May. Her middle name a tribute to her maternal Grandma. Then she came. A long difficult coming. Maternity units forty years ago were no place for dads it was believed. I was impounded in the waiting room and ventured only briefly into Christine’s agony. My first glimpse of Cari came as our doctor brought her to me, not to hold, merely to see. She was simply, unforgettable, blue eyes bright, soft white hair. Primal medical sensibilities placed my tightly wrapped girl in a generic container behind a windowed room full of other baby containers. My father stood at the glass for a long time looking at his first grandchild.

During her early years music was a constant in our home. As no surprise, Cari showed interest in the piano. As she grew, her dedication and enjoyment at making music were promises of things to come. We moved to Smiths Falls, to Peterborough and to Scarborough and in each location Cari’s music filled our home. And then she was gone to university in Winnipeg and I was crushed. I wasn’t prepared to be Cari-free. During her studies in Winnipeg and her brother’s studies in BC, Christine and I relocated from Toronto to Cloverdale BC.

Upon graduation Cari joined us in Cloverdale, worked part-time while she earned a Master of Piano Performance degree at Western Washington University. Then this gorgeous gal lived with her mom and dad, year after year, through her twenties until Christine and I were asking ourselves, “What’s wrong with this scene?” And along came Tim. Then along came Tim.

Cari was twenty-nine when she held my arm to walk down the aisle on her wedding day. We walked to a highly emotional song from the movie ‘The Mission.’

And here she is today, a wife and a mother of three children, aged four, six, and eight. My girl. 40. And don’t I feel old, and HAPPY! She has blessed my life. I love her.

She is a published scrapbooking artist and member of the design team for Canadian Scrapbooker. You can see her work on her blog, Me and My Thoughts and various websites:
Scrapvillage
Creative Express
Class Dates and Projects
Creative Imaginations
Pencil Lines