Blog Back Thursdays - 4 Favorite Annual Events

So I have been following Lola over at Lola's Diner and I decided to play along.. If you want to join in on the fun make sure and go see Lola's Diner and sign up..

Today's Topic is Favorite Annual Events

I guess my absolute favorite family event from when I was a child was the family reunion. We would all get together on or around my great grandmother's birthday. All of my Grandma's kids, grandkids etc and all of my Aunt Margie's kids, grandkids etc would get together and spend one fun day together.

Everyone would bring a dish and each had something that they were known for, my mom's marshmellow salad, someone brought burritos (which were always good) and Uncle Johnny always brought the beer (He worked for Busch Beer or one of them wait maybe pabst? whatever)

I got to see all the relatives that lived within driving distance but we didnt see regularly which of course now we would think nothing of driving off to see them but back then they lived too far away. The best part was the chance to see my cousins Charlene and Irene, they were the only cousins in the entire family who were my age. It was hard being in the middle like I was.. with my close family I had my brother who was my age. My cousins were either way older (closer to my mom's age) or over 5 years younger and as a child that is a lifetime. So each year I would count the days until I got to see Charlene and Irene. The reunion was always held at the park we lovingly called Denace the Menace Park (I dont know why) and they had a public pool.

My parents rarely let us go to public pools, well we had one in our backyard as did well over half our friends so why go to a public one but for the reunion we were allowed. So for many hours Charlene, Irene and I would swim and cavort and just have fun. The magic of summer. To this day those two hold a very special place in my heart and I look forward to seeing them at any family event. Which I must say Charlene manages to attend way more than either Irene or myself.

It is funny how much of our lives are created by single days... one day each summer I spent with these two cousins, that is it. and yet they remain two of my most precious meomories..

Again Lola thank you for helping me to remember these moments

The Women Who Formed Me - The Couron Ladies

I had decided to pepper my blogs talking about the women who helped me become the woman I am today. Strong, independent, loyal, insane and not afraid to jump right in. Now I have several members of my family who should come before the Couron ladies but it is Halloween and one of my favorite memories is of the Couron house and a certain Halloween party.

Mrs Couron was my cadette girl scout leader and a sweeter, kinder, velvet glove kind of woman you have never met. She handled that group of about 30 junior high girls with grace, tolerance and just a bit of steel. She was the one who would push us when we needed to be pushed, taught us that we were a unit not a group of individuals and came down on us when we needed it. She was what one would call a girly girl, a mary kay rep back before it was quite the industry it is now, and yet she held this tomboys loyalty in the palm of her hand. Still does for that matter.

Colleen, now really Colleen deserves an entire blog of her own but tonight she is getting an honorable mention in this one. Colleen was my sidekick.. my partner in crime, the troublemaker (I was the good girl-yeah Colleen I know...). We ran that troop like any good general would and had a blast doing it. Colleen was a year younger than me in school and as any true member of the junior high social set knows.. the higher the grade the cooler the kid, so of course Colleen got a lot of cool points from her friends.. Years later she told me, whenever she was asked how we knew each other she would mutter, oh we go to this thing with my mom and hang out with some other people.. well face it back in the day girl scouts was not cool.

Now that is all well and good but why do they get the Halloween blog? Quite simply, the mummy.. A more spine tingling experience I have yet to have and as I sit here writing I laugh.. Our girl scout troop was having a party at the Couron house, now they lived in a gated community at the top of a rather nice hill, their yard once you passed the terrace declined swiftly. So we had it all planned. Towards the end of the evening I would tell a mummy story, one of those standard "One night long ago on the very land this house was built on stories" I was to enthrall those younger girls, captivate them.. then when I got to the word mummy, Colleen who was upstairs was to flick a light and her brother in law to be was to arise from below the terrace in all his mummy splendor and come after the girls. Giving them all a spectacular Halloween scare. The problem was, I was just a tad too good in the story department.. As planned I said the word mummy, as planned Colleen flicked the switch and up arose Steve in all his mummy finery.. over the fence onto the terrace he stalked.. Looking out the window appropriately afraid I stopped in mid sentence stuttered and valiantly tried to continue. Of course all of the girls turned to see what had me, their fearless leader so terrified.. and before I could say another word.. en mass they arose, screaming (as only girls can do) and ran for the stairs in fear of the mummy coming to attack them. Pushing me along with them I rode the wave caught up in the frenzy and laughing so hard I swear I am lucky I did not pee my pants.

And that is why the Couron ladies, Mrs Couron, Colleen and the wonderful big sis Bonnie (fiance of the mummy Steve) get this mention today.. I hope they are all living the lives they deserve

Just One Theme Today

It's my baby's 17th birthday!! Well not "the" baby.. but my special baby! She is wacky and wonderful, strong and determined, independent and needy, moody, broody and full of life! a daily challenge. A joy to have in my life.. Happy Birthday Ashley-Frances

The Women Who Formed Me.. Grandma

Throughout my life I have been blessed to be surrounded by some of the most amazing women in the world. They were mother, sister, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, teachers, girl scout leaders, friends and sometimes even a bit of an enemy. They were strong, creative, opinionated, wicked, willful, arrogant, smart, funny, quirky, talented and just plain amazing.

I mentioned my grandma in a previous post, this woman was truly amazing, brilliant and oh so far ahead of her time. She spoke with me when I was a child but never did she treat me as one. Rather as a woman whom she already had enormous expectations for. As a child I didn't quite understand that and often felt that something inside me was missing. It wasn't and she didn't feel that way. She just expected me to be all that I could be. She wanted me to be strong, and brave, a leader among men.. better yet a leader among women. She in all her wonder helped to make me who I am.

Now don't get me wrong, this woman was not perfect she was eclectic. She had opinions and didn't worry about expressing them. As a child I remember she would put her phone in the refrigerator so she couldn't hear it and the family would eventually worry enough to come check on her. The thought of actually initiating the call was beyond her. She could be petty and just a tad manipulative but she never faltered from her convictions. And she expected that you never would either.

I spent much of my free time with her and yet most of my memories are of doing.. she was not the type of grandma that one would expect to cook brownies for them. In all honesty I don't ever remember her cooking anything. As a matter of fact one time I asked her to show me how to bake a cake (I was about 8 or 9). She looked at me very carefully handed me a box of cake mix and said "if you can read you can cook" and then she left the room. Another time I asked if she could teach me how to make orange juice, now my grandma had two gorgeous fruit bearing orange trees in her back yard, once again she looked down her nose and gave me that oh so regal look that only she could manage... handed me a can of frozen orange juice and said "if you can read... you can make orange juice" obviously she was big on reading.

When I was very small she would make all of my dresses, up into at least first grade maybe second. These were simple ordinary dresses but her coupe de gras was she would take the material over to the van's (yes we had a van's shoe factory in my hometown) factory and have a pair of gym shoes made to match. How cool was that. She often attended us on our weekend jaunts to the nearby mountains and one of my favorite pictures of her is of her flying down the hill in an innertube. No One Else's grandma did that.

As I got older (ok 8) she needed a traveling companion.. this started several years of trips, Hawaii, the west coast, the east coast. Each would be a 3 week to a month adventure. I discovered the beauty of Hawaii, the amazing history of our country and the true beauty of the pacific northwest. All because grandma needed a traveling partner. Yes I was spoiled.

But to whom much is given, much is expected. I was and am an emotional being, rather thin skinned and easily hurt. She saw that as a failing.. expecting me to buck up, be strong, don't let my feelings show. She was a tough old broad and she expected that of all the women around her. and God forbid you ever say I can't. She would raise herself up to her formidable height (I say almost 6' but the family says more like 5'8" but I feel mine is better for the stories sake), so she would pull herself up to her full almost 6 feet of height, look down that aristocratic nose and say "You are an American and the last four letters of American spell I CAN". needless to say as a child one would think that was hokey but it was pretty cool.

As you can tell this woman was an amazing gift to those of us who knew her. I am sure I will be revisiting her often but for now that is it.

Be Well All