THORRY, MARIE

In my last post, I left out some of my children!! In defense of my blub, I was

trying too hard to get the blog done before church. So....I want, first and foremost, to correct that omission. We have a "daughter" and son-in-law who are very dear to us. They live in Saudi Arabia until Kevin's retirement which is soon; then they'll be in Arizona. Marie and her family are in Oxnard, California and are filling in their days until their Daddy returns from deployment.

My omission brought me a bit of teasing from Marie, it also brought back memories of the feelings that are so often brought to the surface when we are left out, ignored, or unappreciated. Most often, such incidents are not at all intentional, and some are hilarious to recall when we've recovered enough to accept them for what they really are, but they still leave an impression. Steve brought into the family an expression which makes the distinction between sins of commission--I meant to hurt you by my actions, and sins of omission--unintentional slights or slights meant to tease. He had been teasing Marie about a new boyfriend, and, when I demanded that he apologize, he said, "Thorry, Marie." Thorry is our code word for I'm only teasing or that wasn't intentional. On Mother's Day, I listened to a one-sided conversation between Tom and his mother. Grandma was gushing about a wonderful poem which our daughter, Susan, had written for her, sent in her card for Mother's Day. I can't describe the jealousy that pricked my heart, thinking that Susan had written a poem for her grandmother and not for me. Trying to hide my wounded pride, I wrote to Susan, asking for a copy of the poem. Susan's response was: "She must have read you the poem that was in the card. I didn't write it, but it was beautiful. It reminded me of the bonds between us women, that's why I chose the card for her." So much for feelings of anger. (PS. I hope no one will EVER tell Grandma Kennedy of this; she still thinks Susan wrote the poem in the card. Please, please don't ever tell her, even in jest!) On another occasion, years ago, a case of mistaken identity caused some consternation for one of my friends. She called to ask me for a private conversation, and I could tell that she was very upset. She explained how much she loved me, wouldn't hurt me for anything in the world, etc., etc. BUT, she could no longer live with the anger she was feeling towards me and wanted to get her animosity off her chest. I was dumbstruck!! What on earth was she talking about? They had been in the Tri-Cities...in a Costco store, and she'd seen me with....my new man!! After all I'd said about my deep and abiding love for Tom, how could I be carrying on an affair??!! You guessed it...she had seen my twin sister and her husband!! Oh the memories!!

Life is busy in our corner of the world. Tom is back in his element. He calls my sewing room my sanctuary, and his sanctuary is the yard, the woods, and his daily "stuff" outside. He's now free to roam in his sanctuary, and he couldn't be happier. Vale's days as an eighth grader are numbered: seven to be exact. This weekend, we celebrated Springfest, our community's local event. Notice Vale tooting his clarinet? He's the tallest kid in the band, which is a 5-8th grade group, and he's tallest in the school. He's helped his height along with some innersoles he found--two in each shoe--but who's telling? He was voted the Eighth Grader with the Best Hair!! Life isn't much fun if there aren't a few thorries to spice it up!! Love to All. Mom