Enjoing a comptemplative life

Enjoing a comptemplative life
Enoying a comtemplative life

Sunday, July 21, 2013

What I Learned From All My Cousins, Jaquish and Kroh

It used to be I took all my cousins for granted.

John and Mable Jaquish had twenty -six grandchildren:  Barb, Charlie, Mike, Tom, Dick, Stephanie, Nancy, David, Laurie, Leslee, Judy, Jack, Linda, Virginia, Bill, Lou, Becky, Mark, John, Kathy, Robbin, Pam, Chris, Susan, Derrick, Douglas.  Ta-da!

The other side is more simple: Lester ( I was named after him) and Lucy Kroh had:  Jeanie and Janey, Bob, Leslee, Judy, Jack, Bette Jo, Allen, Pam.

Some of them have passed away and some of them have no children, but most of them got married and  had kids, so if you assembled everybody related to me . . . .THAT WOULD BE A LOT OF PEOPLE!!

Then if you brought  together all the people who are my friends? ANOTHER WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE!!!

And I feel like I spoke to most of them in the last few weeks. Most of my friends and most of my relatives. And the ones I didn't speak to I am sure had a few stories about my mom they thought of one day in the shower or driving to work.

I wanted to say that I love my cousins and I am so grateful that they made an apperance, or called or wrote during this time.  I love my friends too, old and new ones, who hugged me or sent a card or e-mail.

George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life learns that no man is poor who has friends. And I would say that no Leslee is without comfort who has friends and friendly cousins!

So, Wednesday in the church basement and Thursday in the Mexican restaurant I sat and ate lunch surrounded by family and friends all taking and laughing and celebrating our family and my mother's life.

I thought to myself, "This is what I want to remember about my mother's funeral." The feeling of belonging right where I was, in the middle of all my unique and wonderful cousins and aunts and uncles and friends and family. Thanks everyone, you blessed my socks off.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

What I Learned From the Gravel Embedded In My Knee


I learned to tie my shoes.
I learned to whistle.
I learned to drive a car, even though I had to take the driver's test three times.
I learned to read and never stopped.
I don't need training wheels on my bike, I learned to ride it.  (Or do you need them again when you haven't been on a bike in a decade or two or three?)

I learned to type and text and not talk back to the GPS.

THEREFORE: I can master all the web stuff I need to do to look like a professional writer!!!!!!

Can't I?

David Clapp, my clever son,  has it mastered. He showed me some nifty ways to make my one-sheet look beautiful.  He promised to help me do an author face book page, to learn to twitter, and to look like an all around professional author.

 But here's the thing:
 
When I was a kid in Clarion, I had a friend named Cathy Stewart.  She lived at the end of of a block that went down a hill and into some really deep pot holes before the pavement turned the corner to become Barber Street. 

One day we were sitting in her yard on our bikes. She said, "Oh, no, you can't ride your bike around all those pot holes. Only people who live on this street and know how to do it."

Well guess what I did?  Your darn tootin'!  I jumped on my bike rode down the hill and crashed into a really deep pot hole. I still have gravel in my knee to prove it. Stop by and I'll show you.

So now I think I just might listen to my  intelligent and handsome son, David Clapp.  I don't know what the electronic or website equivalent of gravel embedded in your knee is. And I don't think I want to find out.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Mom's Eulogy



Hey, this was the eulogy for my mom. I actually said all this on July 10, and July 11, 2013.

Generous. Warm. Stubborn. Gregarious. Hospitable, strong willed, creative,  opinionated, witty. Just a few words describing our mom, our sister, our Aunt Elaine.  I never could figure out why you got to call her Auntie  Lane. Why did you all get to call her Lane when everybody else called her Elaine?

You’re never ready for this. Even when your mom is 90, you never are ready for this day.  

In 1945 our mother, Elaine Jeannette Jaquish Kroh, graduated from Mansfield and took a job as a Home Economist in Clarion County in western PA.  On her way to Clarion she remembered  stopping on the road in Kyttle to allow a huge porcupine to cross.  

She boarded with Mr and Mrs Conley and their daughter Jane introduced her to Jack Kroh. Jane was dating Jack’s brother Dick. Later Jane became Mrs Dick Kroh and our mom became Mrs Jack Kroh on May 18 1950.  Leslee, Judy and Jack, were their children. Elaine and Jack lived at 207 7th Ave. in Clarion for all their married life. 

When I was growing up it took years for me to figure out that Aunt Jo’s yard next door wasn’t just an extension of our yard. The Kroh’s always had family birthday parties  and I thought it was pretty cool to celebrate with my Mom, my cousin Jeanie and my Aunt Jean, the other Feb. birthdays.

When the Jaquish’s had a party all the girl cousins slept in the back bedroom. I remember pounding on the floor of the bedroom pleading with my mother and her brothers and sisters in the kitchen below to please shut up and let us sleep. They did when they were good and ready. 

She came to every play even though I was only in the chours and every horse show even though she was afraid of good old Silver. She came to the Clarion County fair and took all us horse kids out for lunch only she made us roll down the windows of the station wagon. I guess we smelled like horses.  She brought us ice cream cone cupcakes  before they were popular. She claimed she invented them even. She put up with a lot of slumber parties, and drove us wherever we wanted to go especially to Tunkhannock. 

My mom could really sew.  She made my wedding dress, and the dresses for most of my bride’s maids.  She looked at Barbie’s wedding dress and then made me the dress of my dreams. And everybody has a dish cloth or two that she made.

There is one more story then I’ll turn it over to Judy and Jack and all the rest of you. Please be thinking of an Aunt Elaine story you’d like to tell.  My friend Kathy and I were at Judy’s taking mom home to her nursing home.  We started talking about heaven and my mom said she was a good person .  We know that that is not the way we gain entrance to heaven.  We must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I mean we must be friends with Him, like a son or a daughter is friends with a parent. Coming into God’s family is done by prayer, by talking to Him and asking for His entrance. The benefit is a more full and rich abundant life. 
So, getting back to my story. Kathy said, “Well Elaine, I’m going to pray a prayer of salvation and if you agree with me just say amen at the end.”

Driving along I stayed silent, thinking to myself that this would never work.  But Kathy prayed and mom said Amen.  Two weeks later she broke her hip and I came back down to Lewisburg to be with her and help Judy.  I was alone with her in the hospital room when the chaplain came in. 

I thought good I’ll let him talk to her about heaven.  On my prompting the chaplain said, “So Elaine, are you going to heaven?”
Mom said, “yes.”
The chaplain said, “Why do you think that?”
Mom said, “Because Jesus said I could.”

I almost fell off my chair. After that day we noticed Mom did change and become an encourager to the other folks in the nursing home.  She became more mellow and happier and we believe that is a change God made in her as a result of her entrance into his family.

So we are sure she is in heaven now with our Dad and others. 

 Now that mom can play bridge again, I suppose she and her brother John R. are partners and I would suppose that there might be two other bridge players up there to make up a hand of bridge.

Now Judy and Jack will speak, so please be thinking of a brief  Aunt Elaine, Grandma, or sister story you could tell. (and a whole lot of people talked. If you have a memory of my mom go ahead and post it to me! Thanks. Love you all)

Monday, July 8, 2013

hi everybody---sad news.

My mom passed away on Sunday. Her funeral will be in watsontown alliance church pa where she lived for the last three years near my sister Judy.  She will also have a service in Clarion at 10am either at Burns Funeral Home or Clarion Methodist church, not sure which yet.

your prayers and thoughts are welcome.

i'll blog aobut her later.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

What I Learned From Too Much Spider Solitaire

 
 I'm trying not to hit the panic button as the Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference draws ever nearer and I have three proposals to get ready. And one of my kids just came home restless and looking for her future, and three of my friends have mothers that are in hospice. And one set of my married kids is coming home for an extended visit, the only time we see them all year. And another good friend confided in me and seems to need a listening ear.  And I still have three proposals to get done in four weeks. YIPES!

IT COULD BE WORSE, you say? You're right. It could. My sweet Roger never complains about all the housework he does while I peck away at the keyboard.

But today as I was wasting time playing Spider Solitaire, which I claim is my warm up to writing brillaintly, it occurrred to me that I never know what will happen next as I turn over a card. The card piles could be days in my life. As I turn over a new one how will it match the other ones already face up?

It also occurred to me that if I have a long string of cards in order, red Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, etc stacked on each other I am a lot more likely to be able to use the next cards that come up.  It seems like if I prepare a little each day I am a lot more likely to be able to use yesterday, (the last stack of cards) to help me today.

So I think I will not panic if I don't write nine tousands brillant words today. I will just keep plugging away at it and see where I end up the beginning of August when I go to the conference.

An ant can move a rubber tree plant, and you can eat an elephant by taking one bite at a time. Don't you think so? Oh, and a little less Spider Solitaire is a good idea too.