Hello from Chapel Hill, NC. I drove over here yesterday and will be leaving the hotel in just a moment for my appointment with the esophageal specialist. After twenty years of chasing answers, it will be insightful to see what he has to say about how the state of my esophagus affects my lungs.
I mentioned in the last post that Sarah and Gage just celebrated six months of marriage. I wanted to share what they wrote on Facebook to mark the occasion. I love the way they use their words to build each other up.
From Sarah
We’ve overcome so many obstacles in these six months alone – many of which were outside our control. We’ve had to learn teamwork in ways many couples don’t their first year, especially with Gage’s terrible finger break in our second month, causing him to have to leave his job. But for every time we’ve cried, we’ve laughed and rejoiced five times over. I believe that God will only continue to redeem the challenges we’ve faced as we trust in him.
Gage, thank you for seeking to understand me and your patience as I figure you out, too. Thank you for unashamedly quoting goofy cartoons with me. Thank you for forgiving me when I steal the covers in my sleep. Thank you for being the biggest fan of my writing: the old, the new, and the hypothetical. Thank you for six months, Cricket!
From Gage
At the beginning of this year, my life made a big shift. I got a new home, new job, new church, all on a strange new little island. This woman made all of that so much easier for me. Sarah, as we pass our six-month wedding anniversary, I want to thank you for all the hard work you put in to build a home for us. My life is so much easier because of you.
Thank you for all the epic grocery shopping, cooking lots of crazy meals with lots of leftovers, (sometimes eating those leftovers for breakfast which is such an exciting adventure for me), helping decorate our place with a good balance of nerdy and practical, seeking healing communication when one of us is having a bad day, introducing me to some of the best comedy tv cartoon content, and transforming our home into a proper coffee shop. (Let’s start the Sage coffee shop soon.)
Thank you for being such an incredible wife this past six months. I can’t wait for more! I love you, Squishy Mushims!
Sarah and I had a mini road trip a couple of weeks ago and stopped at a small-town diner for breakfast. We had gotten our check and were just sitting and chatting when all of a sudden a hand appeared out of nowhere and placed itself on top of the check.
I looked up to see who was at the other end of the hand and found a stranger, an older gentleman, shabbily dressed, and wearing a small smile. He was barely able to speak above a whisper but he managed to say, “I want to take care of your breakfast for you.”
Then he introduced himself, shook each of our hands, and shuffled away toward the cash register.
Sarah and I looked at each other in some bewilderment that a person who didn’t know us and didn’t appear to be very well off would spend money on our meal. But of course, we were grateful and counted it among that day’s blessings.
We left about five minutes later and happened to notice an expensive, fancy pickup parked next to us. As we settled ourselves in the car, we saw someone approaching the pick up–the tattered gentleman who had treated us to breakfast.
I didn’t pull out immediately because Sarah and I are big-time people watchers and we wanted to observe a little longer. The guy got in the truck, put on a jaunty hat, and in a decidedly speedy manner, zipped out of the parking lot onto the road.
It’s like there were two different people in the same body. The slow-moving shabby guy and the fast-moving, expensive-truck owner.
It definitely gave Sarah and me something to discuss as we pulled out in a rather more sedate manner. He brightened and blessed our day and reminded me that small gestures and kindnesses, especially in this age of so many unkindnesses, never go unappreciated.
I’m continuing my systematic trek through my house, cleaning out closets and drawers one by one, and getting rid of a ton of stuff. Last week, the time came to clean out the bedside table in the guestroom.
Oh. My Where does this stuff come from? I actually kept a juror’s summons from 2015? Really?
I heard an older person once say, “I don’t want my children to have to go through all of my mess.”
I’m not planning on dying anytime soon but I also know that I don’t want to leave all my cleaning and sorting until I’m a hundred years old. And even before that point, when the time comes to move out of this house, we will be thankful tonot be moving inordinately large piles of extra miscellany. And so the process continues.
As I cleaned, I found in one of my drawers an old newspaper from my hometown of Sparta, WI. My dear childhood friend, Lorrie, had sent it to me years ago because it contained an article that mentioned our singing group.
I sat down for a few minutes to glance through the paper and was intrigued especially by the fact that there were pages specifically reserved for the everyday minutia of small-town life.
So and so visited so and so. So and so went on a trip. So and so had coffee with another so and so.
I love that! Forget about new strains of COVID and infighting in Washington. We need to be reminded every once in a while about the small, sweet moments in life that happen on a Tuesday afternoon or a Saturday morning. Two friends got together. A husband and wife went to see the Grand Canyon. A grandbaby was born. If that was on the news, I’d listen to it all the time.
Sometimes I like to take one piece of clothing and see what all I can do with it. (My head is cut off in the photos because trust me, you would not want to see the state of my hair when I am trying on clothes.)
This is a basic and fairly non-inspiring combination.
A statement necklace and some shoes? Definite improvement
Another necklace and a topper? Even better.
I had been wanting to get one of those towel turban-y things designed for wet hair but was waiting till I could find one on sale or a thrift store. Lo and behold, I got one for a dollar last week, still in its box.
Unfortunately, when I got home, I couldn’t figure out the directions. Any gifts I may have lie in the areas of writing and creativity; figuring out directions is not among my talents.
Steve was standing nearby and since I know that he can read through ten pages of any directions in half a nanosecond and understand everything, I asked him to take a look. After he had briefly skimmed the words that I had labored over for ten minutes he said, “Here, let me show you.”
And he did!
Gotta love a guy who goes the extra mile for his wife.
We are looking forward to December 25 when these six people will land at the Norfolk Airport. (Wild graphics courtesy of Grandma Smith.)
My heart!
We had a quiet Thanksgiving; in fact, it was so quiet that there was no one here except for Steve and me and the doggie keeping an eye on things.
Sarah and Gage were with his family on the actual holiday, but on Friday, the four of us enjoyed a wonderful meal together. I’m sure next year we’ll be back to a larger gathering but this time around, after a stressful, wonderful, action-packed year, it was extra meaningful to have a quiet family time.
Even though we were small in number, I still cooked enough for an army because I was wanting to have lots of leftovers to pass out. (And definitely make some hambone soup.)
It was wonderful to have the chance to give thanks for a new marriage and a new, amazing son-in-law who makes our daughter so very happy.
Here’s Ma and Pa Smith, getting ready to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary on January 2. I used to think that people who were married twenty-five years were ancient. Turns out the definition of ancient changes the older you get.
I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and that even in the midst of the inevitable challenges and frustrations, your path was–and continues to be–paved with peace.
What are are you doing this Monday after Thanksgiving? Are you back at work? Out of town? Christmas shopping?Do any of you get a newspaper that still writes about the visits and occasions of life like the newspaper I posted? I don’t even know if that’s still a thing.What was your favorite part of Thanksgiving this year?
Any good advice for making ham bone soup? I try a different recipe every year but don’t think I’ve quite nailed it yet.
What a delightful post to read, I finally got to it today. Sarah and Gage certainly do have a way with words. Loved it. Just an FYI…I pray daily for Sarah and her tumor that it will dissolve away and that she will remain healthy.
Ham bone soup…I throw my ham bone in with any extra broth or water, or add in the leftover gravy. Chop up onions, celery, carrots and let them cook, then add in any leftover veggies I may have or dump in a bag of frozen mixed veggies, and some potatoes and let it simmer. Just a plain ole veggie soup or add in noodles or rice on occasion. Sometimes even some pearl barley…Mmmm! I know that didn’t help you much.
When my mom moved from out at the house in the country to the Sr. Apartments in town she had a rummage sale and got rid of lots of stuff. However, when we moved her to the nursing home and cleaned out her little apartment, oh my goodness. I had no clue how much stuff she was able to still “stuff” in closets and cupboards. I have started going through my stuff too, I dont’ want my kids to see all my clutter I have stuffed and stashed in closets haha! When they come for a visit my closet gets a good stuffing and then I have to take it out again on Sunday evening or Monday morning 🙂
2 of my 3 children and their families were home for Thanksgiving and then I added in my brother and a niece and great niece We had a good meal and 5 pies for 10 of us. I was sending pie, dinner rolls, salads, turkey and anything else I could home with everyone. We had such a fun day though.
Wendy,
Thanks for your continued prayers for Sarah. She will be scanned again in mid-January and we’ll see where everything is at. We are praying for shrinking or at least staying the same!
Loved your “throw whatever you want in the pot” recipe. That’s the great thing about soup–you really can’t go wrong!
I certainly understand stuffing closets. Before Sarah’s wedding, I got so overwhelmed with stuff that I dubbed our office as the “stuff room.” I just opened the door, threw whatever needed to be thrown and then shut the door really quickly so nothing could escape. It was quite the challenge to get it all cleaned out afterward but at least I had a place for it to go!
Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving with so much family–and so much pie! A great combination.
I loved all of this, especially the news that I am not the only one with a room/drawers/cupboards that need a Good Sort Out. Maybe after Christmas…. and I ADORED the newspaper with the chatty news. “The ladies enjoyed Mary Bufton’s soap place, the Amish shops, and Pat Barnes’ clothes collection. The men golfed.’ Isnt that wonderful? we need much more news like that.
Lovely to see Sarah and Gage so happy. And the Thanksgiving for two, married 40 years. My darling husband and I have been married 45 and been so happy together.
I hope the medical appointment brought some good news. xxxxx
Teresa,
I love that you used the words “sort out.” A wonderfully British phrase that, in my mind at least, elevates the whole process. 🙂
I agree; the chatty news was the best. I can just imagine that page being read the very first thing when people picked up their newspapers. I would NOT want to be the one in charge of collecting and organizing all that news, though!
Forty-five years! Such a great number.
I’m really hoping that the esophageal appointment was good and helpful and enlightening.
Monday after Thanksgiving, I am back at work after a nice long 4 day weekend.
My hubby comes from a very small town (Minden, NE) that publishes a newspaper just like that! I believe they still do and it is so fun to read. All that stuff is big news to them and keeps people connected and informed. I am from Denver so when I first saw Minden’s paper, I couldn’t believe it. I love it!
Our house was full of kids and grand kids and two grand dogs. Quite loud at times but so incredibly fun. It is always such a let down when everyone leaves….Boo hoo hoo!
No ham bone soup recipe, sorry. I have never made it. I do, however, love to make turkey soup after Thanksgiving. I boil down the carcass to get all of the meat off, with onion, celery and carrots; remove bones, season, add the big, thick homestyle noodles and oh my goodness….so delicious!
Lee Anne,
Your turkey soup sounds wonderful. It’s such a great bonus to get another (soup) meal or two out of the carcass. Yours sounds wonderful.
I’m glad to know that there ARE some newspapers still publishing those fabulous tidbits of news. What fun to read! And what it would be to be mentioned. “Becky Smith drove over to Sarah Long’s house and had some tea.”
So nice to be with family over Thanksgiving; that’s a lot of activity and action!
What a fun memory your “thing” about the hometown/small town newspaper brought. I grew up reading a weekly paper like that – The Meadow River Post (and still have articles cut from said paper). Our Thanksgiving was spent with family and extended family locally and back to work today. (And 14 school days until Christmas Break, but who’s counting???)…How sweet of the gentleman to brighten your day by paying for your meal, and what a lesson not to judge people by the way they look. I look forward to hearing about your esophogeal doctor visit – I hope you didn’t have to have anything yucky or uncomfortable stuffed up your nose/down your throat. I LOVED what you said about our definition of ancient changing as we age – that is SO TRUE! And thanks for the lovely porch photo – I love how you incorporated fall leaves into your “S” hanging. Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Sue Ellen,
The Meadow River Post. What a great name for a newspaper. I want to live in a TOWN with that name!
Getting back to work after a holiday break is always a bit of a challenge, just getting back into gear. Glad you didn’t have to travel far in order to be with people you love. And the 14 school days till Christmas? That’s a little bit of a scary number. 🙂
Becky, I trust that your appointment went well today and provided some helpful information.
The last home my parents lived in was a condo. It was very neat; they didn’t have much clutter at all—in view or hidden. Even so, I was amazed at the amount of work it was to clear it out after my dad went to heaven and my mom went to an assisted living facility. It made me motivated to try to pare down our ‘stuff’ so our kids don’t have an enormous task when that time comes!
DeLynn,
Yes, moving someone out of their house (even though it’s relatively neat) is always full of surprises at how much stuff there is. Good for you for being motivated to pare down; we can be in cahoots as we both work toward paring down.
It’s a really good feeling to get rid of the excess and especially a good feeling to not have to dig through a drawer for 5 minutes to find one thing. Here’s to us–the cleaner outers!
What precious writing from Sarah and Gage. Wow – they still have it after 6 months. 🙂 So exciting to see you do an outfit again. Girl, you just know how to do it!!!!. That Steve, his expression is like “this is how it is done.” When we lived in Detroit Lakes, MN and on the outskirts, yes, they did have little blurbs about folks going to town to do grocery shopping, or so and so went out to lunch, or so and so had a birthday for ???. It kind of cracked me up, but fun to read all those stories. We went to our daughter’s for Thanksgiving and I brought a French Silk Pie. Even got to bring home some let over turkey and some of my pie (yes, I gave some to them, but bought back a couple pieces for us).
Anxious to hear how your appointment went!
Sharyn,
So funny for you to say that Sarah and Gage have still got it after 6 months. Made me smile. 🙂
Leftover turkey is always good to have for soups, casseroles, or to eat it plain. So many delicious possibilities. (Not to mention that delicious-sounding French Silk Pie!) Glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
This ‘Thing Post’ was very very entertaining!!!
Thing Six ‘takes the cake’ !! I’ll never look at Pastor Steve quite the same. I’m still laughing!!
Loved reading the precious words that Sarah and Gage spoke to each other.
Nathan and Meagan’s family photo is precious as well. So happy to hear that they are spending Christmas on the NC Outer Banks.
The best part of my Thanksgiving was spending time with my sister Lisa and her partner Jim. They made the long drive from Manteo to Asheville for the holiday. We shared a nice lunch at Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village. The crab & corn chowder was delightful. Lisa found the recipe online and plans to give it a try with Outer Banks lump crabmeat. One more good reason to live near your family. 🙂
Gloria,
Yes, Steve makes quite the impressive turban model, doesn’t he?
Wow, that IS a long drive. But a beautiful drive, so that makes it a bit easier. Crab and corn chowder sounds WONDERFUL. Glad you were able to get together!
Hope you get some definitive answers from the esophogeal specialist.
My Monday consisted of cleaning my garage and getting rid of a few things I brought from my parents’ house. I still have a lot to go through – primarily pictures. Last night I shredded some very old tax returns of theirs. One I shredded listed my younger brother as a dependent. He got married in 1987! All that to say, I commend you for wanting to declutter your house so your kids don’t have to do it. In the last 2.5 years I have cleaned out my parents’ house and gotten it ready to be sold and helped a lot on cleaning out my aunt’s house. I hope to get rid of some of my “stuff” once I get through with the parents.
I don’t get my hometown paper any more but my parents’ paper comes to my house so I skim it before taking to them. They list the comings and goings of several small towns as well as land transfers and church news. I can usually finish skimming it in 5-10 minutes.
I had a very low-key Thanksgiving. I went to visit my parents in the morning then came home and played lazy the rest of the day. A neighbor brought me a plate of food around 6:00. Her sweet potatoes were delicious!
I’m sure you are counting the days until the Florida Smiths get there.
This Friday and Saturday my church has Cookie Days. I have signed up to volunteer Friday morning and Saturday afternoon. It’s for preschoolers up to kindergarten age. The kids get to do a picture ornament, decorate cookies and hear the Christmas story at a child’s level. I think they said this is the 33rd year they have done it. Of course it was canceled last year but they created a kit to send home with the kids. Sunday I will travel to see my brother’s community orchestra and choir Christmas concert. It is always a good concert.
Phyllis,
Helping to clean out parents AND an aunt’s house? You deserve an award! That’s too funny to find a paper listing your brother as a dependent. I’m not sure why we have a tendency to hang on to papers like that; I am certainly guilty of it.
Playing lazy sounds wonderful to me, especially when you had a food delivery to look forward to. Perfect day!
Love the description of Cookie Days and especially the fact that it has gone on over three decades. THAT is the kind of news that brings a big smile to my face.
Seems like we are on the same path this year. I also had a nice quiet thanksgiving day and then Friday my son and his family came over to spend time together. My other son and grandchild will be arriving via airport from Florida on Christmas Day! I am very much looking forward to that.
What sweet words from Sarah and Gage to each other 🙂 They are certainly well suited. I hope the next 6 months are just a wee bit more uneventful. Your dining room looked lovely, I love the stenciling on the beam, very pretty. Speaking of pretty, Steve looked darling in his turban, haha.
Look at how big the grandchildren are getting, for the first time I see a bit of his mommy in Noah. I bet you cant wait for the chaos and hugs to begin.
I don’t know of any papers that share the little comings and goings of the town. The closest I can get is a small town paper on Cape Cod the publishes the police report log of the previous week and some of the calls are so funny, we always wondered why they shared them. Anyway, we always looked forward to a good chuckle when that paper arrived in our mailbox.
On a serious note, I hope your dr appt today was enlightening and helpful. It’s certainly been a haul!
This Monday after Thanksgiving I am penning a letter to one of my sponsored children’s family in Ghana. I have been his sponsor for 10 years thru Compassion International and he and I wrote very frequently back and forth. Sadly, CI called and said that he had passed away unexpectedly. So so sad, he was only 16 and just the sweetest boy who had big dreams. So I am writing a final letter to his family, I’m sure they are devastated.
Lesley,
Family in the house for the holidays! Hooray for you and Sarah, getting to enjoy being with the people you love. So glad to hear that.
God bless you and give you words as you write to your CI family. What a difference you made in the life of that young man; providing him another person to believe in his dreams, to believe in HIM. I know your words will mean the world to his family. So sorry to hear that he died with so many dreams still inside him.
I like the pic of dog on the bed best.
A lurking, little protector- ready to pounce!
Ruth
Ruth
Oh yes. She is quite the 7-pound protector! Steve always says, “She’ll go for the throat! But you have to bend down first.” 🙂
I always look forward to the pictures in The Thing Post and was not disappointed! I’ve always said that Pastor Steve is a prince, and he looks the part in your turban! I especially enjoyed the pictures around the beautiful Thanksgiving table. Finally, the picture that takes the prize is your doggie wrapped up in a blanket! It nearly brought tears to my eyes. Becky, thank you for continuing to brighten our days with your blog! It is always something uplifting and a reminder of things for which we can be thankful.
Fred & Lucy,
Pastor Prince Turbaned Steve. It’s his new moniker!
Summer is at her most content when she is wrapped up in that blanket. We call it the doggie burrito. 🙂
Thank you so much for your encouragement about the blog; it means so much to me to that it means something special to you!
Prayers for answers today!
The first time Richard came home with me from College (Used to be Roanoke Bible College in Elizabeth City) to Pamlico County (not that far from you!) he was reading our small county paper. So and so was visiting family and while there installed a window air conditioner in their parents home). He died laughing. He grew up in Chesapeake Va and the paper there was/is huge! We tell the story still. Obviously.
Our Thanksgiving meal turned crazy at the last minute. Friends from Indiana had rented a house in Gatlinburg for the month of November. They had friends and family in and out all month. We were supposed to eat Thanksgiving lunch with them along with Greg’s brothers and sisters and families. On Wednesday night Greg calls and says his brother has tested positive for Covid. I had cooked collard greens, cranberry relish, and several pies and a lemon pound cake. Richard and son Josh jumped in the car at 7:00 Wednesday night and went to Kroger. They bought two rotisserie chickens, some Bob Evans mashed potatoes and Stove top stuffing. We had a wonderful dinner on Thursday and we are still eating cake and pie. My friend Shiela (Greg’s wife) also tested positive on Thursday. Both seem to have mild cases and the brothers family went home as soon as he found out. Our friends got home last night. They both had cars to drive and she was spent. (She has immune issues already). Hopefully today she will see her doctor. Long story to say we had a wonderful but unexpected Thanksgiving.
We will be headed to Florida for Christmas on Dec. 9. Our Canadian kids chose Orlando over East Tennessee. I have to go early to decorate!
I had tears in my eyes reading about the little man who paid for your breakfast. So sweet.
Happy six months to the kiddos! They also bring tears to my eyes. The older I get the easier the tears flow.
God bless you and yours this holiday season!
Buff,
Someone installed an a.c. in their parent’s home? If that’s not news, I don’t know WHAT is! 🙂 I can only imagine Richard’s mirth.
Sounds like your Thanksgiving was one for the books. (Or this blog!) 🙂 You are to be commended for being flexible and finding an eating solution that didn’t require you to start any big cooking marathons from scratch. Sounds like the perfect, low-effort meal to me–especially having plenty of pies and cake to enjoy.
I agree with tears coming more easily as the years pass. A good thing, to feel things deeply.
Speaking of hair, this post brought to mind one from a couple years ago in which you described that your hair had mysteriously changed texture and become frizzy. Did you ever figure out that was about!? Also speaking of hair, Meagan has always been pretty but I think her sense of style has evolved beautifully over time. She looks better than ever!
Ellen,
What a nice compliment for Meagan; I texted her to make sure she saw it. She is so lovely–inside and out.
That’s funny. I had just been thinking about my “straw hair” chapter of life recently. I never did figure out what caused such a drastic change in texture but I do remember that I started using Redken Extreme Anti-Snap for a few months and that made a big difference.
Prayers that you get some good answers at your Dr visit today.
Today we are traveling to a town south of us about 30 min. I have to turn in a form to do a craft sale there in a couple weeks. The town has the best ice cream shop, but sadly it is closed for the season.
I don’t get a small town newspaper now, but I remember two. The Tiller and Toiler was in my grandma’s town of Larned KS and we were always written up in it when we visited. As a child that was fun. The other was The North Missourian from Gallatin MO. They sadly just closed, but my uncle was the publisher for all the years I was growing up and into my adulthood. It also had a section of who was visiting who. Loved reading it and loved going into the press room and listening to the presses run and smelling the ink. Oh what good memories.
Best part of Thanksgiving this year was that family came after 2 years of not seeing them.
My husband always makes Pea Soup with the ham bone. I don’t think he has a recepie but it contains split peas, carrots, and chunks of ham. It is big in the Dutch community.
Patti,
Hmmm. Interesting to add split peas to the soup. I’ll have to look for a recipe.
I am like you in that I LOVE anything about newspapers. I am in awe of reporters and editors and writers who are able to churn stuff out day after day. And how great that your uncle was a publisher and you actually got to go and see the presses running. I bet if you smelled that smell today, all those memories would come rushing back.
Tiller and Toiler. GREAT name.
Yes, the smell of ink does take me back to the press room, sitting up on one of the big rolls of paper. Read a great article that shows why smells bring back memories, seems the smell section of our brain is right next to a memory trigger. The article said to stick your nose in a box of crayon and see if it doesn’t put you back into your kindergarten classroom…