I'm Thinking

I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm remembering.

Remember when Marc was playing in the "big" basketball game at Northeast High School, by then Northeast was practically all black students, and in the heat of the game the fans started yelling "pass it to the white guy."

Remember when Marc hauled off and kicked the electric fence and it shocked him and that made him so mad he hauled off and kicked it again, and again, and again. Every time he kicked, it shocked. I guess you won that battle Marc. The fence is gone and you are still here.

Remember when Christian smashed his hand in the watermelon patch. How do you get a smashed hand in a watermelon patch.

I remember taking Nora to a dinosaur movie, can't remember the name, for what ever reason Julia didn't go and I was in charge of Nora. Two-thirds of the way through the movie when it looked like the mama had died Nora started wailing, loudly, very loudly, "BUT I DON'T WANT THE MAMA TO DIE" her little fists beating me as though it was my fault and I could undo it. I failed Nora that day. Sorry Nora.

Remember when Chuck brought his race car to the big family reunion and forty kids were getting their picture taken at the wheel and Chris didn't know what to protect first, his proprietary interest in his dad or his race car.

Remember when we took all the little boys to see the second largest truck in the North American Hemisphere. All of them standing in the hub of the tire. The tires as big as a garden shed and the truck as big as an apartment building.

I'm thinking of the July 4th we invited the traveling family in the lone car out on the roadway to join us for food and fireworks. How happy it made mother that their little girl was named Amber.

Or the summer afternoon that we had the french fry feast. Dad brought out the cast iron cauldron, a fire was built by somebody, and we ate fresh vegetables and french fries until dusk. Come to think of it that was the day Christian smashed his hand in the watermelon patch. And we invited the lone biker out on the roadway to join us for food. Was he trying to bike across America or go around the world? That I don't remember.

Remember Patches.

How about the time I visited Oklahoma with only short shorts and no brassieres. I was invited to church, so preteen Cathy fitted me out with a dress and a bra. Thanks Cathy for preserving your Auntie's dignity.

Remember the Christmas Breakfast where at the end of a long eventful day an exhausted two year old Andrew brought me his lone pink jelly bean covered in fuzz and snot and gave it to me as a pink offering. He knew no one alive would enjoy a pink "thing" more than his Aunt Jan. Thanks Andrew.

Once at the big reunion Ian stole someones sparkly shoes from the play ground. He almost made a clean getaway.

I'm thinking due to the health issues in the family lately, I will make a New Year's resolution to get my myself sorted. The better able to take care of myself so I can live another day and enjoy the family. A new crop is growing, maybe even better than the last.

Meltdown

Middle Eastern meltdown. Financial meltdown. Tiger Woods meltdown. Weather meltdown. Taylor family health meltdown. Seven-folks-laid-off-from-Onlineshoes-nervous-Jan meltdown.

I need a little good news today. Got any?

Betty posted a picture of Jade, Josephine's great grandaughter, on Facebook. Jade qualifies as good news, what a raven haired beauty she is.

Ian went to The Seattle Gift Market with Something Silver's owner to help think, design, purchase, and distribute the company's seasonal window treatments for all ten stores. He hasn't been to a business market since Bob and I took him to The Dallas Clothing Market about twenty-five years ago. He was 1 year old.

Connor's walking, well sort of.

Connor's toddling, and doing a damn fine job of it if I do say so myself. I've never seen a toddler toddle with quite the elegance and grace and intelligence of Connor's technique. Poetry in motion. Beauteous to behold. History in the making.

Did you ever count off the favorite pastimes of the Taylor Herd? No? Well, don't worry I did it for you: We make candy, cook, bake, bike, play basketball, basketball, basketball and then play some more basketball, I don't think there is a single Taylor who didn't play basketball at one time or another. Halt, wait, rewind: Ian, I don't suppose Ian has ever even touched a basketball in his life let alone play it, I don't think so, but let us continue.

Birdwatch, bowl, hike, jog, run, walk, photograph, golf, build models, kayak (me, once for a few hours,) canoe, travel, write, drive, swim, garden, quilt, dance, work crosswords, camp, fire build, paint, draw, doodle (is that a pastime? I need an official ruling on that one from the pastime experts) shop, as in expert shopping, pastime shopping not grocery shopping, people-watch, sew, act, we read, read, read, read and then read some more, watch movies ( has anyone seen Trucker? Excellent film with a lovely emotional wallop) I would list gambling, drinking and sex but this is a family blog -- and I'm not even up to the new techie stuff that I know nothing about; texting, facebooking and blogging.

Yep, being us is good news.

Taylor's don't rate high in the canon's of history, but damn we are good at living.

One up, One down, One all around

Jean is up due to her extreme effort and the support of her family.
Janice is down being diagnosed and reaping the love of her family.
Jane is scurrying all around taking care of everyone with overflowing compassion for her family.
Three fine Taylor women being tasked today.

Jane must be getting dizzy from casting her watchful eye here there and everywhere. What would we do without her, her medical expertise brings comfort and solace, lucky for us.

Amid the noise and confusion of the world three Taylor women are holding there own, healing, healing, healing.

2008 Birthday Dinner

Lynn took me out for my 2008 birthday dinner last night, we went for the first seating at five o'clock and had the equivalent of The Palisades Happy Meal -- made me happy.

All day I had been admiring the photo I had put on my desk top of Connor eating his birthday cupcake with a big ole' smile among the crumbs on his face. Every time I looked at it I smiled, just couldn't help myself, and thought how happy he looked, and that will be me eating at The Palisades.

I was not disappointed, from the grand piano cantilevered above everything to the Puget Sound tide pools burbling throughout . The brie, coffee, 240 degree view, the lights of the city twinkling, the ferry boats plying their waterways; it was beautiful, delicious, and the service was divine. Oh, sorry, the warm, macadamia encrusted with a passionfruit honey and balsamic vinegar sauce served with Washington sliced apples and warm bread -- brie. Need I say more.

Lynn's acts of love have always been gifts, everything from the little bitty turtles she had someone bring me from Japan to our grand dinner last night. One of the first gifts she brought me when I gave her a bed to sleep in many many years ago was a three foot stalk of brussel spouts.


What I really want to talk about is acts of love; The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Have you read that? They are...

Words of affirmation
Quality time
Gifts
Acts of service
Physical touch

I lose sight of that sometimes, how people tell me they love me, and how I tell them. My biggest love language is words of affirmation. I listen see observe and respond praise and admire. I love affirming intelligence, talent, grace, skill, merit, joy, development, whatever.

One time when Ian was approaching grown-up status, I don't know 14 15 16, or there about, he asked me to critique a drawing of his. I did, and I hurt his feelings. He said, "I thought you would like it." I apologized and explained that I had made a mistake, I thought he truly wanted a critique and what he really wanted was praise. Well, duh, yeah!

Love languages are hard to interpret sometimes. I failed then, have failed since, and will fail in the future, but today, right now I understand. Now I'm going to go eat my leftovers, sadly there is no leftover brie, I ate it all last night.

Thanks Lynn.

Thank You Roger

Talk about speedy results. AM request, PM results. Thank you Roger, they did bring a tear to my eye. Just feeling nostalgic.

Jean, there are some of the little plaid dresses you made Julia and I, no ruffles, but the hem is out. Chasing boys I guess.

Roger, the Disneyland photo is two photos smushed together, there are two Janices, two Josephines, two Maxines, two Rogers, etc. Exciting in a way...

...And for those of you who don't know it that is the car, the Jensen Healey, that Connor was named after. Shiny, fast, beautiful, fun to drive, but lots of trouble. So Roger, you and Stephanie had better watch out if that is in any way a metaphor for your little guy. Prepare to start your engines.

Here is a picture from the 1994 Reunion (with the painted sign).

And a few more that I found and scanned.

Disneyland, way back when in 1975?

Janice, Jan, Jean & Julia

Gilberts?

Grandpa?

Definitely Grandpa!!

Grandpa, Roger and a pony

Grandma, Jan and the Jensen Healey

Julia, Jan & Jerry

I have really enjoyed checking out everyone's thoughts and comments on the blog.
Thanks Mom for starting this up.
Cheers,
Roger

Nostalgic Request

Does anyone have, and the capability to scan and post, the photograph/s of the family reunion where we took all those pictures with the painted sign? Remember Jennifer with fourteen cameras gamely trying to get each pose on each camera. She must have snapped two-hundred that day. I have a deep desire to see those again.

Just feeling nostalgic.

Thank you Jennifer.