Pride and Reverence

Flags unfurled during the Aisle of Honor service, Vaughn Cemetery, May 29.

As we make our way to town to shop, or to school, or hang out at the park, we frequently see military aircraft flying overhead. Navy, Air Force and Army have bases and posts near here. Ours has been a military family, though I didn't grow up a military brat. Uncles, aunts, and cousins have served and still serve.
I was humbled this weekend.
One of the communities close to ours holds a service every Memorial Day for our veterans of all wars. It is one of the most spectacular sights. There are 290 casket flags set in the ground. For me, the size of those flags and the number was overwhelming.

Chuck was one of six who called the roll of fallen veterans
Each speaker had a notebook with pages filled with the names,
branch of service and if they served in a war, the war in which they served.

Chuck was asked to be a speaker at the service this year to read a portion of the 360 names of the veterans those flags represent.
Some families choose to have one flag for several family members who served. The names are read, along with their branch and the war in which they served. Some dated to the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War.
The photos of this place don't do it justice. It is beyond description to see the huge flags lining the cemetery, fully unfurled.
Gray skies and wind provided a crisp day, but the flags were beautiful. The cotton flags are the most vibrant. Some of them are nylon, and I much prefer the cotton flags.

One of the bagpipers who played
during the service.

Leading up to the Memorial Day weekend I had been trying to decide how to cover an event in a neighboring city. The Gig Harbor Fire Department was bringing back a piece of the World Trade Center May 30. I got word that our fire department was going to be in the escort, so I sent a photographer to cover it for us.
I was hoping I could be there, but had to attend an emergency meeting just when the ceremony was scheduled to begin at the station headquarters.
I was, as usual, a little late getting out the door. I had hoped to leave the house by 2:30 to make it to my meeting at 3 p.m. I got out the door and realized I had forgotten something in the house, so came back in to get it. This put me about five minutes behind schedule.
As I approached the Tacoma Narrows Bridge I saw the procession coming toward me. I was so glad I had been delayed. If I had left the house on time I would have missed it.
I didn't get photos, but our photographer did. You can view them here.

Duck, duck, geo (pronounced gooey)

We live in an area that has a lot of sea life, hence a lot of seafood. Restaurants serve it, and a lot of people around here enjoy fishing, clamming, crabbing and such. I'm not a native of this area. My mother was, but somehow she never acquired a taste for seafood.

I grew up in the South, and we weren't anywhere near the sea. I had heard of these sea creatures that people enjoy eating, but we didn't partake.

When friends visit from other regions we like to take them to a place in Seattle called Uwajimaya so they can get a close look at the geoduck and octopus for sale. Another great place is the Pike Place Market, where they make a show out of the fish orders. It really is fun to watch.

But back to my point. I had never seen a geoduck in its habitat. I heard we have them on our beaches, but I had never seen them.

Chuck is a native of the area, and he loves all seafood. Loves geoduck. So last week he took me with him to dig for a couple of geoducks--the limit with a license.

They poke up out of the sand like this.

They were everywhere on this particular beach. 

I thought you had to dig really fast for them, because I've seen people digging before. I guess it depends on the beach and the type of sand.

He's marking off the area.

He said he looks for ones that are big, but the big ones are usually really deep. He got the first one pretty quickly and without any trouble.

He went for a big one, and we decided it was a grandpa and had eluded many geoduckers. 

He dug a deep hole and was reaching as far as he could for the big one. The shell is anchored deep in the sand and they stretch up with their necks. As you dig the hole, the geoduck pulls its neck back down toward the shell. Chuck was determined, and dug the hole larger, but eventually gave up.
He got one decent sized geoduck and one medium and we were finished.

Yeah, I know.

I already know I don't like them, because I tried a razor clam once with Jewel and Bjorn in Montesano. The diner was famous for its razor clams and the waitress told us if we didn't like that, we wouldn't like geoduck.

Desmond Tutu in Tacoma

Living in the Pacific Northwest is great. Sometimes I get tired of the gray and the rain, but most days I'm really glad I live here. There are so many opportunities to do things that other areas of the country just don't have.

Months ago I heard that Archbishop Desmond Tutu was coming to our area, and that he is retiring and this would be one of his last appearances. I asked Chuck if he was interested, and at first I thought of taking Sean. We talked it over and decided the kids would be bored, but we'd like to go.

I've admired Desmond Tutu for a long time. You can read more about him here.

I got tickets late in the game, so the only seats left were in the rafters. I had an email telling about parking, and at the event parking was $20, so we decided to get as close as we could, but not pay $20. We paid $15 and parked in the Brown and Haley parking lot--home of the Mountain Bar. (Another post for another time.)

We didn't have to walk very far, and it was a nice evening for a walk anyway.
It wasn't exactly what I expected, but it was great. There was a lot of entertainment. You can see pics here posted by Weekly Volcano. Outside was almost as interesting as inside :-) I do love a good bunch of diverse causes all in one place...

Unfortunately I opted to leave my camera, thinking I wouldn't be able to zoom in close enough for a good photo of anything from our rafter seats. I wish I had brought it along.

After a lot of great entertainment, Craig Kielburger inspired us all with his story of how he started Free the Children. You can read all about that here, and you can read about Craig's story here. It is truly amazing how one person, a little kid, can get passionate about something and with the help of his friends bring about a wonderful change in the world.

Eleven of his friends joined him, and there is a personal thing for Chuck about the number 11. We both looked at each other and smiled. But then it hit me that with Craig that made 12, and I thought of the 12 desciples.

Kielburger said he asked Archbishop Desmond Tutu what he should call him, and he answered that his friends call him The Arch. The Arch was amazing. As he spoke about how God enlists the help of his human partners to bring about change in a hurting world, I once again thought of that 12-year-old Craig and his 11 friends.

There are examples of remarkable children, teens, adults all around us. Kielburger said he told The Arch he stopped reading the newspaper because of the depressing headlines. The Arch told him he sees it as God's To Do List delivered to his door each morning.

I sat with Chuck over breakfast this morning and as we turned the pages of the Tacoma News Tribune and I sighed, Chuck said, "Remember, it's God's To Do List."

And He can't do it without us.  I hope you will click on those links and get inspired to partner with God and make a change where you live.

Guns, Fish and Mother's Day

I had no real expectations for Mother's Day. It has never been a really big day for me. Years past I always got a nice card from each of my kids, usually handmade at school or church. I've kept them all, and they are so special to me.

But when it comes to a big day of doting and pampering on Mother's Day, it's not really me.
So leading up to Mother's Day Chuck was asking what I'd like to do. I had no real preference.

Saturday we spent the day at the Livable Community Fair. I worked the newspaper booth and Chuck worked a couple of booths, including the fire department. Both kids hung out with us there and had a fun time. There were activities to keep Sean busy, like the trout pond, and the touch a truck event.
His favorite was the military area where there were trucks and a couple of sniper guns and camo the kids could explore.

I went looking for Sean and found him here.
I recognized his shoes.

There were big trucks from the electric company and a tow truck that was enormous. Of course the fire trucks were there, and the military had a large repair unit. I didn't get the skinny on that, but heard others talking about it.

Sean caught a few fish, but threw them back. Lilly caught one and gave hers away.

The trout pond is always a big hit with the kids. 

We had a fun day there, even though Chuck and I were both sort of working. After the fair we had dinner together and watched a movie.

Mother's Day was great. I came back from church and was greeted by happy children and a wonderful man who had somehow taken them shopping for gifts. Maybe they went shopping while I was at church, because I can't figure out when he could have taken them without me.

(Chuck told me to just leave Sean with him and he'd bring him to church after he studied for his class.)

Sean chose a nice garden decoration of a dragonfly (one of my favorites), and Lily got me earrings that match the necklace Chuck gave me for Christmas.

The four of us had lunch at El Sombrero. Sean was being difficult because he didn't want to eat Mexican, and Chuck was so wonderful with him. He totally understands him and knows how to handle him. Though Sean said he didn't want to eat, and didn't want a drink, Chuck ordered for him anyway and said "just in case you get hungry or thirsty." We allowed him to have his moment, and Chuck explained there are four of us now and there will be times when not all of us are happy, but we will all have a turn at getting what we want. 

Sean sat under the table and we didn't react. We ignored it and eventually he reached for his plate and took it under the table. Then he got tired of eating alone and came back up and sat with us and ate his burger. We didn't react or mention it, and he blended right in with us.

This gentle way of doing things is opposite of the way I parented Dave and Jewel, but it totally works with Sean. The tools I used with them don't work with Sean. He is not a child I can force, and I appreciate that Chuck sees that and knows just what to do with him.

After lunch we spent a little more time together before Chuck had to take Lily back to her mom's.

Fathers are a big part of making Mother's Day special. I really appreciated that Chuck took Sean to shop, although it wasn't necessary. I would have been just as happy with a rock or leaf or some weed from the yard. The fact that Lily got me a gift was very touching. 

Jewel and Dave called in the afternoon and evening, and I feel so blessed to be a mother. It was a wonderful Mother's Day. 

Terrific Kid

Principal, Mrs. Bond, reads his teacher's comments
 as Sean gets his award.

I would guess that most parents believe they have terrific kids. We all have our moments when maybe we think otherwise, but in the quiet moments the sweet and wonderful things come to mind.

It is so for me. I believe my kids are all some of the best in the world. I've told each of them that I thank God for them every day.

I have mixed feelings about awards. I know a lot of people really like them and think awards motivate, but I'm not sure I agree.

So when I found out Sean's school hands out Terrific Kid awards I wasn't all that thrilled. Each month Sean would come home bummed out because he wasn't chosen as a terrific kid. He thought he was doing everything right, he wasn't getting into any trouble, etc.

I kept telling him he is a terrific kid and we don't need other people to tell us that. I encouraged him to keep doing the things that make him feel good about himself and who he is.

This month he was chosen. The theme this month was Inspirational. So each kid who was chosen had to be inspirational in some way.
Here's what Sean's teacher wrote on the back of his award:
Sean has this uncanny ability to stay calm. I've watched him choose to ignore mean behavior with stone-like ability. He inspires me to be more patient.


After the ceremony I took him out for ice cream. We saw another Terrific Kid recipient at the same Baskin Robins and the dad said to Sean, "Hey, you're the one that got the award for being patient, aren't you?"
Sean was very proud of his award. He also got a pencil and a badge. I'm proud of him, and glad he was chosen, but I'm still on the fence with the award stuff. I like the idea of pride from within instead of relying on outside praise.