This was originally written  2/12/08 as an assignment for a writing group.

 

An Unwanted Wanted Gift

By Maxine Hennis 

When I was small, we didn’t get lots of Christmas presents like children do these days.  We had a stocking filled with fruit and nuts and some little pieces of candy.  We usually got maybe one or two presents.  When I was about 10, I was enthralled with the idea of having majorette boots and a baton.  I pictured myself strutting around, throwing my baton away up in the air and catching it without a hitch.  

 

I also spent many hours at my little school room type desk my mom had found for me somewhere.  I loved to draw and went through lots of paper.  I saw a small personal sized blackboard in a store and then and there…that was my favorite and utmost desire.  I could spend lots of time drawing and not waste all that paper.  So that became another thing I wanted very badly.    I obviously voiced these desires to family members over and over.  Then…

 

The Christmas tree was set up in the living room of the big old two-story rock house where we lived.  About a week before Christmas, I saw it!  It was a box about 3 feet by 2 ½ feet by about 4 inches.  I just knew there was a blackboard in there.  I was so happy, so excited,  and so impatient for the day to come when we could open our presents.    

Finally it was Christmas morning.  I could hardly contain my excitement.  Finally, it was my turn to open my present.  I turned it around and around, shook it, and, then I opened it.  I opened one end and peeked in.  I could see nothing, especially anything that looked like a blackboard.  There were newspapers stuffed in the box and I began pulling the pieces out, one at a time.  I couldn’t reach the papers anymore so I turned the box over and opened the other end.  There was something wrapped in Christmas paper.  It was about 18 inches long, had two heads on it, and was solid.  To my incredible surprise, there was a baton!  I was so thrilled and disappointed at the same time.  I can never explain how I felt, betrayed, foolish because they had tricked me, happy to have a baton, but deeply hurt that I didn’t get the blackboard.  Several minutes later my oldest sister brought in another gift for me.  It was the blackboard.   

This might be a good time to share my suspicions.  My oldest sister, who was probably in her early 20’s, was kind of a rascal.  I have always suspected it was her idea to deceive me, thinking it would be funny.  Obviously the blackboard came in the box but they used the box to hide the baton.  Seems funnier as an adult but it seemed really mean to me at that time. 

I played with the baton a lot the first few weeks, then occasionally.  I learned to twirl it, move it from hand to hand in the middle of a twirl, and to toss it in the air and catch it.  However, I spent countless hours playing with that blackboard.  That was the favorite gift I ever received as a child.  When I outgrew it, I gave it to a nephew, who played with it a lot, too.  Was that gift comparable to an Ipod now?   It’s hard to imagine a child these days getting that much pleasure out of a blackboard and a box of chalk.

My One Dream

By Maxine Hennis

A few years ago I belonged to a Writers' Group at our Church.  This was originally written on 1/27/09. 

I’ve been thinking about the idea of a Bucket List.  You know, the things I’d like to do before I die.  The one thing that obsessed me when I was very young, was…..I’d like to fly! Not in an airplane, or a glider, not on a parachute.  I mean actually fly, you know, wings and all.  The same dream that the Wright brothers had.

I recall a dream I had when I was very young.  I was flying and soaring freely, with no constraints as to where I went, how long I stay in the air, or with whom I flew.   In this dream I flew high, up with the eagles, soaring and floating on the wind.  I soared over Pikes’ Peak and back to the prairie.  I flew down into the trees along the Arkansas River, watching the water birds along the bank.   

I was puzzled as to why I could suddenly fly.  I planned on asking my mother about it when I returned home.  When I saw her again, I asked her about it.  She replied that some things are just programmed into certain individuals but that not all had the same abilities.  Some individuals were better prepared to run, swim, jump, or to defend themselves.  Some were more adept at providing for themselves and their families.  The list was quite long and I understood exactly what she meant.  I was so grateful I had been given the wonderful ability to fly. 

As my dream continued, I found myself landing in some very peculiar places.   Places I would have thought were impossible to access.  But, of course, I could access them because I was able to reach them through my ability to fly unhindered.   

The dream was so vivid and detailed.  I could see the sagebrush on the prairie, and the wildflowers along the creeks.  As my dream progressed, I began to realize that this was all a dream and that, when I awoke, I would be the same as before.  Unable to fly. 

I willed myself to continue the dream as long as possible.  I willfully made myself fly recklessly around and through some trees and rocks.  Suddenly I found myself falling, falling, falling……………. I had fallen out of the nest!

I can't believe I finally was able to access this old blog of mine!   There is still confusion about the name of the blog.  At first I named it momsbehind but decided that gave a different message than I intended, so I changed it to momstheword.  So if you want to access it, and one doesn't work, try the other one.  I hope you will read some of my old blogs.  Thanks.

ALIKE BUT DIFFERENT

The following is an article I wrote for a monthly newsletter at a veterans nursing home where I worked on the Alzheimers secure unit.

May I share some of the things rattling around in my head? "They're all the same but different." How many times have we heard that expression? It never really meant much to me until I began working with Alzheimer's Disease victims. How much they are alike, how much they differ.

Sometimes when I feel particularly distressed, I go sit with the guys in the solarium on the secured unit. We visit and hold hands and smile at each other. I observe them as they observe me.

One gentleman sits upright, with his legs crossed, arms in an appropriate position, looking for all the world as though he were not suffering from a devastating disease. He speaks appropriately, but it seems he wakes up to a new world every few minutes because he doesn't remember things that occurred very recently.

One of the many things I don't understand about this disease is...why do these men remember the way back from the dining room from day to day? How do they remember that it's okay to go with me for a cup of coffee? They know when I walk into the room that I just might offer them that opportunity or invite them to go for a ride or a walk or offer them a snack. We are familiar to them yet we are strangers. They obviously sometimes think we're wife, sister, daughter, brother, mother, father, or an old neighbor from their childhood. How can they recall how to fix their coffee to their liking?

There are some mannerisms that many of the guys have used at one time or another. My favorite is the one in which it appears that he is handling a piece of hair, lifting it from one hand to the other. I am so tuned into this mannerism that, when he gives me that object (which I can't see), I will not only take it, I will carefully put it into my pocket! How about the mannerism where he is placing a "long key chain" into the palm of my hand, watching it curl into a circle on my hand, winding it a little so it stays on my hand. What is he seeing?

One the few things I can accept is the way these folks lose their "hang-ups" or inhibitions about certain things. For instance, the way a couple of men will walk down the hall holding hands with each other (Now, really, would they have done that without feeling like a "sissy"?). But they've forgotten that men "don't do that" and just respond to the need to be comforted by the closeness of another.

Good Friends Forever

Something I had considered off and on during the past 10 years or so, finally happened! I didn't start it but I helped finish it. Our church had a Christian School from 1974 to 1992. A reunion always seemed like a good idea but I never tackled it. So... one of the young ladies, who attended for a year or two when she was very young, started making plans. I, like the softie I am, offered to help get addresses from the people in the church who were associated with the school. Funny me! Things were going well until the young woman had some personal situations come up and she felt she couldn't continue. She suggested cancelling it, but I said we couldn't because of all the people who had already notified. After a period of time she was able to jump back in and did a great job getting it all together.

Do any of you have any idea how much fun it is to find people after 18 years? I spent a total of 10 hours going through the school records, looking for parents' names, addresses, or phone numbers that jived with our current phone book. After mailing close to 100 invitations, and asking people to notify their relatives and friends, we had a wonderful reunion. We had only 22 people actually associated with the school, plus their spouses and children, but with some wonderful helpers, we had about 62 people. We all had such a good time. We had a table where we spread out the yearbooks and all the photos we could gather. Some came from other states to reunite with some of their school buddies. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, corn on the cob, peach cobbler and ice cream.

Will we do it again in a few years? Don't know, but we have a pretty good start with a nice long list of names. Although I was disappointed that the most likely ones didn't come, I was so pleased that some unlikely ones did come.

Indifference

I haven't blogged for three months. Not sure why except I seemed to run out of things to talk about. Today God reminded me of something of which I am not particularly proud. I care more about some people than others. Example: If a friend's son is badly hurt in an accident, I pray fervently for him. However, if an acquaintance's son is also badly hurt in an accident, I pray differently, less fervently. Is it because I know the friend's child, and don't know the acquaintance's child? When I read in the paper or hear on television that someone was injured, I usually, "Oh, that's too bad!", and go on about my business. May the Lord forgive me for this weakness.

TROUBLEMAKER

He has quite a history. He went missing for a few months some years ago and was eventually found to be living in a drainage ditch, bumming off the people nearby. He disappeared more recently for about 3 weeks and was found to be living in a drainage ditch in another area of town. A man was feeding him. He's had some very severe times of illness, once thought to be leukemia, was treated, and got well. The doctor said it must not have been leukemia, but maybe severe anemia, or he would be dead. Another time he was actually seen trying to avoid people and find a hiding place. He was forced to go see a doctor. They ran some tests and found out that instead of leukemia as the cause of his severe anemia, he had a blood parasite! He received daily care, almost forced medicating, and a room of his own. It took two months for him to heal, but he is fine.

However...... yesterday he climbed up a tree in the neighbor's yard and couldn't get down. I tried everything I could but had to resort to calling for help. Some handsome firefighters came, big truck and all, and helped get him out of the tree.

His name is Vinny and he's a flame point Siamese.

THOSE FLINT HILLS AGAIN


Some people complain that Kansas is boring and has no beauty at all. Well, those people have never gone through the Flint Hills, Gypsum Hills, tall grass prairie or whatever name you want to use.
We took another trip through Kansas to and from Missouri this past weekend. We went across the southern part of Kansas, through those beautiful flint hills, with the beautiful red and golden grasses. Low rolling hills covered with red grass, with golden seed stems. The grass appears to be about 3 feet tall in places and usually is leaning over a little from the dominant winds. There are interesting towns along the way. The Dalton Gang hide-out, Carrie Nation’s home town, the Cherokee stockade, etc. There are areas with very red soil, which is extraordinarily beautiful.
If your destination is more northerly, then you can enjoy the beautiful hills on that route. Some interesting things from the trip:
1. We saw a parade of cats crossing the highway from one farm house to another. There were four orange tiger cats and one black calico. The calico turned back but the others crossed, one after the other. I don’t know why, but I hope they don’t do that again. We did get a good laugh, though.
2. Our daughter’s neighbor was playing in the street with his boys and we ran over their football. Didn’t mean to but I guess one of them threw it at a bad time. The look on the face of one of the boys was hilariously funny. He yelled. "tragedy, tragedy!"
3. At the library, while using earphones, I talked really loud. My daughter shushed me.
4. My grandson has black and yellow hair.
5. We got lost many times in the city.
6. Saw some white "whitetail" deer.
7. Ran over a dead armadillo which must have been really hard because we thought we'd blown a tire.
8. Had ""fun going down a windy highway with a motorcycle riding upright (but fastened well) in the back of the pickup.

We had gorgeous weather and not a bit of that Missoui humidity. Short sleeves. Ate a lot. Enjoyed the kids. Glad to get home.

Repost: JERRY

One day at the mental health care center, one of my regulars called me over just before I was to start. He asked me if I pray for people. I said yes and asked what was wrong. This man has told me countless times how he got saved at a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting years ago. He always talks about having Jesus in his heart and that we have to do that before we can go to Heaven. He knows a lot about the Bible, too. This day though, he was having delusional thinking. He said that years ago when he was a rock star, he caused hundreds of people to disappear from a football field and a concert hall. He was so upset because he said that he was going to go to hell for that when he dies. He said that Satan deceived him into doing it. Okay, I thought...the only thing I can address is his salvation. I know nothing about him, although he does dress like a rock star from the 70s or so, and he has been to college. Anyway I told him that when we do something that displeases God, all we have to do is repent of it and ask for forgiveness. He said he had prayed but he was still going to go to hell. I told him that if Jesus came into his heart when he in college, then Jesus is still there. He fretted about those people who had disappeared and I assured him that God knows where every one of those people are and they are under his care. So finally, he said, "Ohhh. Because I asked Jesus to come into my heart, when I die I will go to Heaven!" I said, "Yes, Jerry." He smiled and thanked me.What a blessing that he felt he could talk to me about such a personal thing.

My Version of That Story

My daughter, Flower of the Family, posted a story she wrote. Since I wrote one from the same prompt, I decided to post mine, also.

I slowly opened my eyes. The room seemed to be spinning and the light hurt my eyes. I closed them again, covering them with my hands. I slowly opened my eyes again, squinting, and slowing moving my hands from my face. There was blood on my left hand. I felt around and determined that the area of my left eye had an injury. There was some light coming in a small window up high on the wall. I sat up, looking around carefully. I was so confused to find myself in this strange room. How did I get here? As I sat up, I noticed that my feet were tender. What had become of my sandals? My bare feet burned as I walked across the rough surface of the floor to look at the window. It was only about 8 inches in height and about 2 feet across. No way a body could climb through that window, even if one could reach it. There was nothing in this little room, except a container of murky looking water and a chamber pot. The door was made out of very heavy timbers with some type iron reinforcement. There was no way out of here unless someone unlocked the door from outside.

I called out to see if anyone would hear me and come to the room. That was soon seen to be a fruitless maneuver. I started pacing around the small room. I was famished for water, so I reluctantly drank most of the dirty looking water in the pot. That seemed to make me feel better and I was hopeful that it would help me to focus on my circumstances better. I stuck my hands in my pockets and was startled to find something inside the hidden pocket in my garment. I pulled out five stones. Five little dissimilar stones; three of which were beautiful shiny stones, one odd-shaped one, and one very rough and dirty on one side, and smooth and beautiful on the other. I sat down on the floor and lay the stones out in front of me. I simply could not figure out what they meant or where they came from.

As I handled the stones, I realized that, if properly placed, the three beautiful shiny ones would fit together and form one uniform shape, a perfect circle. I thought to myself, "Hum! Three of the same put together make one." Why did that seem so familiar to me? The odd-shaped stone was shaped somewhat like the letter T; perhaps more like a plus sign. The other one was a common stone, except for being rough, unpolished and dirty on one side only. As I stared at these stones, some memories began forming in my mind. Yes! I knew what these stones were for. Yes, they were mine.

I jumped up at the sudden noise at the door. Someone was coming. I could hear a sliding lock being forced back to free the door. The door opened slowly, making a loud creaking noise. There were two men there, one holding my sandals, and the other holding some papers. I stood there silently, expecting them to declare me guilty of some crime and take me out to be hanged.
The man handed me my sandals and watched me as I placed them on my feet. The other man spoke to me in a very official sounding manner and said, "The charge levied against you was that you were using materials to tell people about this Jesus Christ, however, we have found no such materials on your person, therefore, we are obligated to set you free." I thanked them, and as I was leaving, they told me to not return to this village again, ever.

As I walked down the road, I took the rocks out of my pocket. I fitted the three together; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, into One. I held up the dirty rough stone, laid it on the cross-shaped stone, then turned it over so that the clean smooth side was up. Yes, it’s amazing how one can tell another about Jesus’ cleansing power with a handful of stones.

Well, They're well.

The cats have finished their medications and are back to normal. They got to go outside and visit their old territory today. Now I have to clean up this room where they spent all that time.

Cats, Cats, and More Cats

About a month ago, one of my outdoor cats was sick. I took him to the vet and they found him to be so anemic he was only one number away from a blood transfusion. After several days of giving him cherry flavored liquid steroid medicine, they discovered that he had a blood parasite. Then I had to give him antibiotic pills for 21 days! Now, most of you have probably tried giving a pill to a cat. IT IS NO FUN! I finally started wrapping him up in a housecoat and pulling the sleeve over him so he couldn't move. He is cured but now has to be weaned off the steroids, still for a few more days. The problem is this..... my other outdoor cat developed a HUGE abscess on his right shoulder blade (?), about 6 inches in circumference, and protruding about 2 inches. The vet lanced it and got some very green gook out of it. He came home with gauze packing and a little cute net looking shirt to keep the pressure on the incision. I am pleased to say that now I have another cat to nurse. At the moment they are both in the same room, one is in a cage and the other is lying on my keyboard. They shared a bedroom outside so they aren't fighting, so far. I love my cats! I love my cats! I love my cats!

REPOST of "Where Had She Been?"

When I worked on a VA Alzheimer's unit, there was one woman there. I'm not sure she had Alzheimer's or some strange type of mental illness, but she had been in this condition for a long time. She was ambulatory but wouldn't speak. She seemed to understand directions. I had known her for several years and had never heard a peep out of her. She had been a nurse during, I believe, the Korean War. She was sitting in the solarium day room and I heard her say, "I know a good nurse when I see one and there aren't any around here." I alerted the others and one of the doctors came in with a recorder and sat with her for several hours. Her voice was very weak and raspy from not using it for so long and she was a little hard to understand at first. She spoke about being an Army nurse and other aspects of her life. She talked about things that had happened on that unit and mentioned some things she felt the nurses had done wrong. Then she quit talking and, as far as I know, never did it again. It about blows my mind every time I think about it. Where had she been and where did she go?

CAN WE RETIRE FROM GOD'S CALLING?

I am curious about something. When a pastor/preacher retires, does he retire only from pastoring or does he retire also from preaching? We have several retired pastors in our church but there are only about three that will preach at the nursing home services. Why is it that a man can stand up in front of a group of seniors in a classroom but can't stand up in front of a group of seniors in a nursing home? I am constantly being told that it takes a "special gift" to minister in a nursing home. I don't buy that entirely. I believe God burdens certain ones for that ministry, but isn't a pastor/preacher suppose to minister from the cradle to the grave? Please explain this to me. In case you didn't get it, I will be "preaching" at a nursing home tomorrow morning because no one else will. My sister will help me gather people for the service. I let them sing a lot and then do a quick "devotional". I pray with them and tell them that I love them. I guess that's all they need. I just needed to vent a little. But let me know what you think about the retirement issue.

Interesting Signs

Taken from "Eats, Shites & Leaves", by A. Parody


1. Open seven days a week and weekends.
2. Rare, out-of -print and non-existent books.
3. Wonderful bargains for men with 16 and 17 necks.
4. Seasonal toilet rolls.
5. Now is the time to have your ears pierced and get an extra pair to take home, too.
6. Same-day cleaning. All garments ready in 48 hours.
7. One-hour photos. Collect tomorrow.
8. We will oil your sewing machine and adjust tension in your home for $1.00.
9. Soft and genital bath tissues or facial tissues 89 cents.
10. Prize-winning sausages. Once tasted, you'll never want another.

Huh?

What does "guaranteed for life" mean? What does "lifetime warranty" mean? What is the lifetime of an object? Doesn't the lifetime end when the thing dies? Then that must mean it is guaranteed for the time it isn't dead. So what's the point?

Bonk

The word "bonk" is the sound you hear when your bumper bumps the other guy's bumper gently. "BONK" is the sound you are glad you didn't hear. The lesson learned here is: Do not allow a bottle of water to get wedged under your brake pedal and then expect the car to stop, even while going very slowly.

Hey, I'm Not Done Yet!

An interesting thing happened to me this morning. I really didn't feel like going to the grocery store but the sale on the Wisconsin Cheddar was about to expire and my husband really wanted some, so I went. To the store in a neighboring little town. Dragged myself into the store. I decided to get a few other things in anticipation of a lunch at the church later this week. I was contemplating the big red hothouse tomatoes, trying to figure out which one would be just perfect in two days. A woman spoke up and reminded me that the Roma tomatoes were on sale. We talked a little bit and she asked me what I would be using the huge tomato for. I said that I do a Bible study at a mental health care center and that, a few times a year, I have them over to the church for a lunch outing. She began to talk very softly and I leaned toward her and asked her to repeat what she had said. She was asking me to pray for her because she was going through a really hard time. I said okay and asked for her first name. I asked if she had a church home and she said yes. I told her I could pray with her right there if she wished, but she seemed to not want attention drawn to her so we didn't pray in the store. She thanked me and walked away. Coincidence? Chance meeting? I don't think so. Her name is Elyssa. She is probably in her 30s or 40s. I have no idea what her situation if but we don't need to know, do we........?

THINGS WE SAY TO OUR KIDS

1. I don't like your choice of friends.
2. It's not that I don't trust YOU...I don't trust OTHERS!
3. Were you born in a barn?
4. Because I said so!
5. Don't make me stop this car!
6. You're grounded for life!
7. Someday, when you're older, you'll understand!
8. One day you'll come home and I won't be here!
9. You'd better watch the tone of your voice, young lady (man)!
10.Over my dead body!

40 Random Things You Didn't Want to Know About Me

1. My uncle once: told me that if God wanted salt on a cantaloupe, he would have put it there.
2. Never in my life: Been on a moving plane
3. When I was five: I gave a sick kitten a bath and it died.
4. High School was: fun.
5. I will never forget: one special horseback ride.
6. I once met: Marty Robbins
7. There’s this girl I know who: could clean up for a date in five minutes.
8. Once, at a bar: we hung out because it was the only place in town with food.
9. By noon, I'm usually: awake.
10. Who knows what #10 is?
11. If only I had: an adobe house
12. Next time I go to church: I'll do the count.
13. Terry Schiavo: was murdered.
14. What worries me most: my children's futures
15. When I turn my head left, I see: a bulletin board.
16. When I turn my head right, I see: books, books and more books.
17. You know I’m lying when: I say something :)
18. What I miss most about the eighties: my age.
19. If I was a character in Shakespeare, I’d be: a clown or something.
20. By this time next year: I will probably be doing the same old thing.
21. A better name for me would be: Perfecto.
22. I have a hard time understanding: how we are depleting air waves.
23. If I ever go back to school, I’ll: study art or writing.
24. You know I like you if: I tease you sometimes.
25. If I ever won an award, the first person I’d thank would be: the person who did the work for me.
26. Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro: crazy man, genius man, good ol' boy, and crybaby feminist.
27. Take my advice, never: vacuum your cat.
28. My ideal breakfast is: pancakes, eggs over easy, and bacon.
29. A song I love, but do not own is: Swing Low Sweet Chariot.
30. If you visit my hometown, I suggest: Old Mission Deli
31. Tulips, character flaws, microchips, & track stars: beautiful, normal, weird, and fast.
32. Why won’t people: learn to obey the laws.
33. If you spend the night at my house: bring an allergy pill (cats)
34. I’d stop my wedding for: too late.
35. The world could do without: pants with crotch dragging between knees.
36. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: be buried alive.
37. My favorite blond is: not.
38: Paper clips are more useful than: thong underwear.
39. If I do anything well, it’s: taking a nap.
40. And by the way: this is sort of dumb.