She’s just playing
We knew early on she belonged on a stage. In fact, by the time she was two she was known as our little drama queen. She was unbelievably cute, she knew how to bat her eyelashes , smile, and even say things like ” oh daddy” in a patronizing voice. Oh yes, early on we knew this one would be trouble. Tracy figured that dance class may be a place for her use up her charm. She was right. Alli took to it like me to cheesecake, she devoured it. And as good as she was in class, she was even better on stage. She had the smile, the charm, the confidence, she had it all and she knew how to bring it all together to stand out on the stage. Things were going great, dance four days a week, performances 4-5 times a year, and a lot of driving and costume money from dad. But the important thing is that she had to have somewhere to put her creative energy. That all came to a crippling halt last year when her meniscus said ” I need a break“, or perhaps even more proper, I need a tear, as documented in this very blog.
- I really should be out there “acting”
looking beautiful
The three banditos.....
.... and the three princes
So she sat around the house for months with nothing to do, no way to release her creative energy except on her parents. It was politely suggested to her that perhaps the stage was calling her once again, alas not in dance but in drama. Her eyes lit up a little and it seemed as if something so obvious should not have been such a surprise to any of us. Of course she took to it like a rainbow trout to roe.
After a semester of drama she tried out for the school play and actually got two roles. Neither was a lead, but both were scattered throughout the play, and she was critical to the start of the plot and the closing scene. The whole family got to enjoy the play, and the consensus was: She must love sword fighting because she smiled the whole time, Jeremy loved the sword fights but was disappointed she didn’t die on stage, she looked beautiful and did a fantastic job. We are so proud and maybe its time for her one woman show, just as long as she leaves the drama on the stage.
Short video clip of a couple of scenes from the play
The Cast
Our hope is in uhmorrow
I wish I could say it was like she never left, but it wouldn’t be true. She swoops back into our life and we savor every minute of it, not taking it for granted, but enjoying the moments that the Lord has blessed us with. Perhaps these unexpected visits are to bolster our faith, perhaps they are to encourage, perhaps they are just to bring us joy, or perhaps they are for Jo’s sake. She has been the one that has initiated the visits, she is the one that asks to come over and doesn’t want to leave. If we drive by the road she now lives on she whispers “don’t take me there”. When she comes over she asks to spend the night, and when we drop her off she asks to come back again “uhmorrow”.
Jo's funny camera face
her favorite thing in the whole world is dress up, and she does it well
the instant she comes home, the clothes come out!
and she doesn't have to look far to find accomplices
Maybe God knows that she needs t0 interact with her brother and sisters and her mom and dad, and maybe she needs it just as much as we need it. Whatever it is I don’t want to question it, I just want to accept it and enjoy it. I want to pretend that it is forever, I want to pretend that she never left, that she isn’t going to leave, that she will spend the night every night and be with us every uhmorrow. But it is different because I know, for now, that her time with us temporary and fleeting and I believe that as much as we want her to stay, she yearns for it just as much. For she has asked “why do I have to leave” she has said ” I don’t want to go” with her lip curling and her eyes moist. It is almost unbearable. As “adults” we at least understand what is going on, we don’t like it, we don’t agree with it and we understand that this is a spiritual battle, not a physical one. But Jo, Jo doesn’t get it. All she knows is that we love for her to come and visit and we love to play with her and cuddle with her. Then we take her back and we don’t let her stay forever, we don’t let her stay the night, we don’t let her stay until uhmorrow. “We” don’t do it, that is what she knows.
the fluffier the better
So you see I can’t say it is like she never left because she has left. She knows it, we know it and it is always there. We love, absolutely love having her here and we will take her every day we can. We will never say no and we will pray without ceasing that she will be home, here with us ,where she belongs and soon. But until then, that feeling will be there, until, as we believe, she will be with us every day and more importantly every uhmorrow.
sunshine dancer
100% Girl
She will always be our girl
Cool Hand Cole and Bad Boy Ben vs. Jail Breaker Jerms
Pillow fights, finger guns, even Nerf guns are old school. Now sleep overs are ruled by Xbox and all out Airsoft war. Instead of scary stories and flashlights it is now laser sights and screams of war as tiny plastic bullets fly across the yard, rarely hitting their intended target. The combatants are all under 65 inches tall, but well protected in stylish glasses, heavy winter coats and gloves. Their strategies are antiquated and brazen, yelling and charging and then yelling and running away. There are screams of anger when time-outs are ignored for reloads, because when you are not ready those tiny hard rubber pellets sting a little, especially in the cold of winter. Tactics are thrown out the window when, much like the Civil War, brother battles brother, friend battles friend all in the name of…. fun?
Now I know some people will tell me that I shouldn’t let my boys play games like this. That guns are not good, that pretending to shoot each other with real looking guns is not healthy. To them I say, at least they are getting exercise. Shoot, I wish we had these things when I was a kid. I played for hours with my finger, or a stick that looked something like a crippled gun with arthritis. The problem with those guns is that everyone could miraculously dodge those bullets. “You missed” ” No I didn’t” was 95% of the dialog in the battles in our day. Now a days you can hear the scream of pain upon the sting of the rubber pellet, and you have the satisfaction of knowing you had a hit.
There is no blood, no serious injury, a little excitement, a lot of heart patter, and tons of fun. So other than the toys used, nothing has changed. The games are the same, the goals are the same. Instead of using pillows to pummel each other until their heads ache, they use little colorful rubber pellets to show their brotherly love. Instead of shooting at each other with fingers and sticks, they use plastic guns. Instead of arguing…. Well, some things will never change, no matter how advanced the technology gets.
For those of you not opposed to such things, here is a short video of the recent epic battle involving Cool Hand Cole, Jail Breaker Jerms, and Bad Boy Ben ( aka the screamer). I was going to put it to cool music, but I rather enjoy the sounds of a battle in the early afternoon.
It’s a safety dance
This post is in honor of my wife, as it is almost her birthday. To me, she is as perfect as a woman could be. She does, however, have one flaw that I am going to share with God and our blog followers. This flaw is not that big of deal, most of the time, but it can make me angry sometimes, and embarrass me other times. I don’t think she will ever get over it, and I love her in spite of it. It rears its ugly head at the most inopportune times, and yet I think it is pretty much uncontrollable. Have you guessed? Her flaw is that she loves to laugh at other peoples pain. Now I am not talking about kidney stone, root canal type pain. I am talking about people trying to be cool, or just minding their own business and falling, or getting hurt unexpectedly type of pain. When she sees it, she bursts out in laughter.
I get angry when it is me she is laughing at. I get embarrassed when it is others she is laughing at in my presence. Kids are not immune, in fact if they are our kids, it is somehow even just a little bit funnier. The best thing about this flaw, she uses it on herself. Now I won’t say that she is clumsy, but she gets to laugh at herself a lot. So these two videos, oldies but goodies, are for my giggling gal and I hope that any time she needs a laugh she can log on and look. Then maybe she won’t be following me around when I have a hammer in my hand.
So if you are a compassionate, kind, caring person, you may not want to watch the following videos. And if that is true, then you have probably been reading the wrong blog. For the rest of you, those of you that maybe chuckle just a little when someone experiences just a teensy weensy bit O’ pain, then click on, and just remember, we are all fair game.
