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Aaron went with Paradigm to Wal-Mart today.  As you know, I never know what to expect when he comes home each day………..especially from a shopping trip.  He bounded in the door today and immediately plunked on the table………..this:

He bought potato salad for lunch……….again.  Except this time it’s  FOUR pounds of potato salad. 

I had to laugh as I said, “Wow!  Aaron, you bought…………potato salad.  FOUR pounds of potato salad.”

I asked him if it had been kept in a refrigerator.  He replied, “Yes, and I ate a few when I took it out of the frig.”

A few, huh?

“Well, if I ate it all it would give me stomach problems, right?”

Absolutely, definitely right!

FOUR pounds of potato salad would cause some stomach problems, I would say.

Then he asked, “Can I just eat some of it for supper?”…………..even as he was smelling the Beef Stroganoff in the crock pot. 

So I answered, “Sure, Aaron, whatever you want.”  And in the split second following my remark he blurted out, “Well, can I have some meat, too?”

Later Gary, Aaron, and I sat down to eat supper.  I offered Aaron his potato salad and he declined, saying that he wanted some of the noodles and stroganoff……………two helpings when all was said and done…………and some deviled eggs.   But no potato salad. 

As we cleaned the kitchen, I asked Aaron about the FOUR pounds of potato salad.  I asked him if he liked it, and I wasn’t surprised at his answer.  “Well, it’s not my favorite.” 

That’s his way of saying no, I don’t like it, and I will not eat another bite of that FOUR pounds of potato salad.  Now we have a container of potato salad, FOUR pounds of potato salad, hardly touched.  Aaron was right when he said he ate a few of it when he took it out of the frig.  I know that Gary and I will not eat any of that FOUR pounds of potato salad. 

This ranks right up there with the day he bought THIRTY-SIX rolls.  At least we liked the rolls.  But this FOUR pounds of potato salad…………well, it’s not our favorite. 

We’ve had such a hot and dry summer, along with many others, and so the recent storms and rain that have come our way have been very welcome. It’s been so nice to see the clouds building in the distance, then hear the rumbling thunder, and eventually, hopefully, see and hear the falling rain. My flowers and vegetables are much happier, as am I! It’s been a relief to not have all the watering responsibilities over the past few days that I’ve had all summer. However, with some of our storms comes the inevitable and unwelcome strong winds. I could wish that all of our rains were like the sweet and gentle little shower that we received this morning. But this is Kansas and more often than not our storms are accompanied by strong winds. I can move our outdoor baskets of flowers to a safe location but there really is nothing that can protect all of the flowers or vegetables that grow around our house and in our gardens.

Most of my flowers are perennials and so I really don’t like to see them damaged or killed. Replacing them every year can get expensive! The other day we received a late-night storm with those high winds, and when I saw my Black-Eyed Susans the next day my eyes lighted on a new patch of flowers that were leaning over and not looking the greatest. I propped them back up and hoped for the best. Today I couldn’t help but notice them right away when I walked out the back door. There they were, all brown and wilting instead of perky and bright yellow. They were some of the tallest flowers in that patch and were such a bright spot in my garden. Now they look dismal and dead, lifeless and limp. The wind was too much for them and they are gone.

We all have storms in our lives at certain points. Sometimes the rains fall rather gently. We are actually refreshed by the waters when all is said and done, even though it may mean that we have to endure some rather stressful times. Yet at other periods of life the storms blow in with ferocity. The winds are strong and challenging, more than we feel that we can bear. They may mean prolonged suffering as we are relentlessly buffeted by one piece of bad news after another. We wonder if our roots can withstand the continual beating of the winds. We no sooner feel the winds of our trials easing up when we are suddenly blown again by another heartache or pain.

I’ve seen those I love being blown like this and I have experienced those times myself. It’s during these heavy winds of storm and uncertainty that we need more than ever to cling to God and to remember Who He is. We may not understand the reason for the wind or see the purpose that He has in mind for us, but we do know that we can trust God’s character and His goodness. In Psalm 73:26, the Psalmist said, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Instead of giving up, leaning over, becoming uprooting and lifeless, let’s let God be our strength! Let’s weather the storms and winds with His grace and peace so that we can be upright, bright, and blooming for His glory and for His pleasure.

I bought two new food items on Friday.  Well, new to us in the sense that one is an item I have never bought and the other is an item that I rarely buy.  Of course, Aaron noticed both of them and so last night we had a conversation.  Is there ever a time that we DON’T have a conversation?!

The first item he talked and talked about are these:

I got some pretty blackberries at Sam’s on Friday.  I don’t remember the last time I bought blackberries.  Neither does Aaron.

“Mom, what are these?”  he asked as he held up a fat blackberry.  “They look like our mulberries that we used to have.”

I told him that they are blackberries.  He was very intrigued by their color and their shape, but his conclusion was that they definitely have the wrong name. 

“Mom, they should be called circle berries.”

Circle berries?  “Yeah!  Look at all the circles on them!”

And you know, they do have many little circles that are all put together to make:  Circle Berries!!

The other item I bought was a bottle of Sweet Banana Wax Peppers.  He saw them in their jar and was puzzled.  “Mom, why are they called wax peppers?”  I wasn’t sure, really, so told him I didn’t know.  But I assured him that they are not wax, even pulling one out for him to reluctantly smell. 

He just couldn’t figure out that wax part, though.  “Wax is like a thing we use to do things with tools.”

Once you decipher that sentence, it really makes perfect sense.

And lastly, tonight he was – for who knows what reason – talking once again about the fact that storks do NOT bring babies.  “Mom, that legend about storks bringing babies isn’t true, is it?”

Nope, Aaron………..that stork legend is just that…………a legend (since that’s what he likes to call it). 

And he ended by saying, “So the stork is not a baby bringer?”

Right………….storks are not baby bringers…………not at all. 

And I’m glad he left the kitchen on that note, before he wanted to talk any further about baby bringers!

This little snippet will reinforce what I said in my last blog, which is:

1.  Aaron is observant

2.  Aaron talks about his observations

3.  Aaron has few filters

Gary and I are a set of parents who:

1.  Wish that Aaron wasn’t always so observant

2.  Wish that Aaron would keep some of his observations to himself

3.  Wish that Aaron had more selective filters

Yesterday Aaron saw an article of my clothing that reminded him of an incident in the East Mall on Thursday that he somehow forgot to tell me about.  Here we go:

“Mom!  Yesterday in the East Mall we were walking around and I saw a STATUE of a lady wearing BRAS!!!!!!!”

I remained calm and unaffected……….outwardly………..even as I felt the blood draining from my face.  But I reminded myself that I had not received a call from mall security, Wichita police, Aaron’s day group, irate parents………….time for a deep breath.

I casually responded, “Really, Aaron?” 

I didn’t wait long for the rest of the story.

“Yeah, it was a STATUE wearing BRAS!!!  I told Tiffany ‘That’s yours!!  You wear BRAS!!!!’ ” 

Well, well, well.  Tiffany is another client and a friend of Aaron’s.   I’m sure that Tiffany got a good laugh out of this because she and Aaron apparently laugh a lot about lots of things.  I don’t really want to know, honestly. 

Aaron thought that all of this was “quite funny.”  I’m sure all of this was “quite loud.”  I can just hear Aaron’s and Tiffany’s unfiltered, boisterous exchange in the middle of the crowded mall.  Again, some things are best to be left unknown. 

I wanted to ask if the “statue’s” name was Victoria and did she have a secret…………but thought I should just move on to Aaron’s next topic and leave well enough alone. 

Part of what makes Aaron so interesting……..or complex…………or sometimes frustrating……….is the fact that there is very little in life that escapes his attention.  He notices, comments on, questions, or informs us about absolutely anything and everything – whether we are interested or not. 

A friend from our Life Group asked me recently if we would consider letting Aaron join in on our small group time.  We meet in our home and so it would make sense for Aaron to participate.  I told her, though, that as nice as it was for her to want Aaron to be a part of our group and to let me know that he was welcome to come, it wouldn’t work.  Aaron would be interrupting our conversations every chance he got.  He would see that time as his prime opportunity to talk, talk, talk…………and not about the Bible study or prayer requests or each other’s life.  Only his life and his interests.  That’s Aaron!

His comments are random, out-of-the-blue, and often unexpected.  We are usually along for the ride, carried here and there by his observations and stories, and often struggling to respond correctly or with feigned interest or without laughter. 

Yesterday after returning from his group, he described the lunch he bought at the East Mall.  “Mom, I got two pretzel dogs.  You remember pretzel dogs?  They’re this big.”  And he used his hands to approximate the size of the pretzel dogs. 

He continued, “I noticed something about those pretzel dogs.  They’re slippery!”

We talked about the butter on the outside and why they put butter on the outside and then what other good pretzels are sold there and why he doesn’t like the cheese dip but Cody does and the salt on the outside of the pretzels……………  

Wow!  Can he ever take a simple pretzel dog and make a whole commentary on it!

Then, “Mom, after my pretzel, I got a dipped cone at Dairy Queen.  You know, it’s that vanilla ice cream……not chocolate!………but it’s dipped in chocolate………it’s called a shell.”

I asked him if he liked the ice cream cone with the chocolate shell, and he said, “Well, it’s not my favorite.  It’s messy!”

As we headed outside to take Jackson for a walk, Aaron continued talking about the pretzel dogs and ice cream, and then told me about the group stopping at Sonic and how he got a grape slushie.  Then he transitioned right into RVs.  Yes, somehow he decided that he had a question about recreational vehicles. 

“Mom, does an RV have water in it for, you know, a shower or to use a toilet or to come out at a sink?”  I was still on pretzel dogs and grape slushies, but I’ve learned to switch gears quickly, so I told him that yes, RVs do have water inside.

This surprised Aaron.  “You mean an RV has water in it like a human house?” 

Yes, just like a human house, Aaron. 

I guess a human house as opposed to a bird house………..or a dog house………….which reminds me of pretzel dogs……..and chocolate ice cream with a shell………..and grape slushies. 

I’m beginning to think like Aaron!

Aaron’s day group is at the mall today – probably the East Mall, as he calls it.  No telling what stories or descriptions he’ll have to share with me when he comes home. 

For instance, once he was trying to describe the lunch he bought at Wal-Mart. 

“Mom, it wasn’t a Cheddar Pasta Salad.  I don’t know what it’s called…….I can’t remember.” 

So I asked him to describe his unknown meal.

“Well, it was a mashed potato salad thing.”

Hmmm…….I need more info, Aaron.

“It was bright like potatoes.”

Still not sure.

“It was in a bowl thing.”

A bowl thing?

“You know, it was not in that cage.”

And so given this very useful information, I was somehow, amazingly enough, able to figure out that the mashed potato salad thing that was bright like potatoes and in a bowl thing, not in that cage, was:

POTATO SALAD!!!!!  It’s sold separately in a container and isn’t behind the glass counter with the other salads and some of the potatoes are kind of mashed and don’t ask me about it being bright. 

Then last week he went to Target with his group.  He told me, “Mom!  Today we went to Target and I was in the SUPER part!” 

The super part?  OK………..

“I got a Combo Pizza Meal.  It was $2.19 but then it became $7.24!”

Yeah, right, Aaron.  Did I miss something?  Have taxes gone up that much?

Hard to know with Aaron!

Aaron and I left earlier than usual yesterday morning so that on our way to meet his day group we could stop to get his hair cut.  He loves getting his hair cut, as well as his goatee and eyebrows trimmed.  Many of the girls at Great Clips know him now and so he is greeted warmly.  The other patrons are a little more curious about Aaron………..I can read it in their glances at him, or the stares.  Of course, the way Aaron bounds in the font door in his “take charge” fashion doesn’t discourage the stares.  He’ll ask (loudly), “Can I get my hair cut?!”  even as the ladies are still trying to say, “Welcome to Great Clips!”  Aaron knows that I’ve told him we can’t be there long, so if there’s a wait then we may have to leave.  Leaving is not an option to Aaron……….nor is beginning his conversation with a nice “Hello.”  Nope – it’s get right to the business at hand………the hair cut and can I have it now and do I have to wait and I better not have to wait!

We were told that there was only about a five minute wait.  “So can I get my hair cut now, Mom?!”  Yes, Aaron, we can wait for five minutes.

He and I were both very relieved at that news, although for different reasons.  As we sat in the chairs to wait his turn, Aaron began his usual conversation………..loudly, as always.  “Mom, those people in the pictures on the walls look weird.”

Why do you think they look weird, Aaron?

“Well, their hair looks all funny and their faces are shiny!”

So we talk about their haircuts and the make-up and their clothes and why they look just fine, not weird.  I believe, though, that Aaron still does……….and will always………..think they look weird.

Then he said…..loudly………”Mom, Great Clips is a salon, right?  It’s spelled  s -a – l – o – n, right?”

Yes, Aaron, it’s a salon.

“Well, I get that word mixed up with that other word spelled s – a – l – o – o – n.” 

So we talked about the pronunciation of salon and saloon, and how closely similar they are spelled.  Aaron said, “Yeah, I get them confused.” 

He paused and then said, “A salon is where you get your hair cut, but a saloon is that beer dancing thing!  You don’t get your hair cut there!”

Nope, I don’t think anyone would want to get their hair cut at a beer dancing thing.  Although I’ve seen some that look like maybe they have!

Aaron has been wanting to buy a Scooby Doo video, so today I let him take the last of his Christmas gift cash with him to Paradigm.  They go to Wal-Mart, usually, on Tuesday………..so I took a chance on giving him this extra money but I left him with specific instructions.

“Aaron,”  I said, “Don’t go right in and start buying a bunch of candy.  You can get some lunch, but look for that video you want.  You can bring the money home that you don’t spend.  You don’t have to spend it all.” 

Very clear, I thought.

Aaron came home this afternoon carrying a Wal-Mart bag……….but I could tell that it didn’t have a DVD in it.   I asked him if he found the DVD at Wal-Mart.

“No,” he said, “They didn’t have the DVD.  So I went to Subway and got a combo meal.  And then I got this………”   And he pulled out this huge bag of……………naturally……………Skittles. 

Aaron, I told you not to buy a bunch of candy.

He answered, “Mom, you said not to buy candy right away, so I didn’t.  I waited until after lunch to buy it.” 

He should go into politics.

On March 20, 1949, there was a wedding in the little mountain town of Welch, West Virginia.  This wedding was held in the home of Guy and Lillian Hollandsworth.  Jack King and Beth Hollandsworth were joined in marriage on this first day of spring.  It was a simple and sweet wedding.  Life was simpler in those days of 1949.  This tall, handsome man was very much in love with his pretty, petite bride.  She was happy to be secure in the love of this kind, gentle man.  No one outside of their close circle of family and friends gave any thought to this wedding day.  To me, though, it was a monumental day.  You see, I call this special couple Mom and Dad. 

Beth was the youngest child of Guy and Lillian Hollandsworth.  Guy was the school principal in Welch.  Jack was the youngest of two children born to Christal and J.W. King in Oakvale, West Virginia.  Beth’s brother, Luther, was dating Dad’s sister, Mary.  Through that connection, another connection was forming.  Beth had transferred from Berea College in Kentucky to Marshall University, where she completed her degree in Home Economics.  She was teaching back in her home in Welch.  Jack had followed his dad’s footsteps and began working for the Norfolk and Western railroad at the age of 17. 

When Luther would make it to Princeton to visit Mary, Jack would be sure to drive Luther back to his home in Welch.  Jack had ulterior motives for being so helpful to Luther, for sure, and her name was Beth.  Beth was pretty and popular, and had her fill of selfish young men.  Jack was kind, a man of integrity, and she noticed that difference.  Love blossomed between the two.  Their first date was to make a trip down to North Carolina to watch a Tarheel football game.  They stayed with Luther and Mary, who had married.  Jack and Beth shared a love of sports and of music, especially classical music.  And on this particular trip, Beth wondered why Jack referred to red pine trees, and was so relieved to find out that he was simply color blind.  They loved telling stories about their first date!

Jack asked Beth to marry him and she happily said yes.  They planned to marry sometime in the spring of 1949, and always laughed when they told about how they married on the first day of spring.  Well, it WAS spring!  Beth stayed in Welch to finish out her year of teaching, and Jack lived in Princeton, where he worked for the railroad.  Jack would drive to Welch on weekends to see his bride.  He and Beth would often tell the story of Jack’s one and only speeding ticket that he got on one of those drives as he hurried to be with Beth.  They always had a twinkle in their eyes as they shared those memories.

When Beth’s school year was finished, in June, she moved to Princeton to join Jack in a little upstairs apartment that they called home.  Over the next few years they were blessed with five children:  Mary Beth, John, Jan, Patty, and Kathryn.  Life was a little more complicated then with Jack working long hours, and Beth keeping the home running smoothly……..or as smoothly as she could with five children and a husband who had very long work days, worked on weekends, or was called in during the middle of the night for train derailments. 

Jack was a good man, but had never asked Christ to be his personal Lord and Savior.  A man he worked with, Basil Selvey, led Jack to the Lord in the early 50’s.  Jack listened to the radio, growing in his faith as he listened to The Old Fashioned Revival Hour with Dr. Charles Fuller, and to the Radio Bible Class with M. R. DeHaan.  Beth was very committed to her denomination, so Jack kept mostly quiet about his new faith as he continued to grow and to pray for Beth.  Beth was a beautiful soloist and would sing for various church events and revivals.  She sang the song “I’d Rather Have Jesus” for a particular revival, where Jimmy Jones was the preacher, and while singing she knew that she didn’t really mean what she was singing.  Soon she was saved, and she and Jack were truly joined as one. 

Through the years, Jack and Beth…………..Mom and Dad………….were totally devoted to Christ.  They lived out their faith as they raised us five children, and struggled through the ups and downs of life.  I’ve never known anyone else as faithful and devoted as my Mom and Dad, to each other and to the Lord and to us children.  There are many stories that could be told of their love and their dedication.  On this day, which would have been their 63rd anniversary, I think of the example they were to each of us children and to our spouses and our children, of true devotion and love. 

As they got older, they retired just a few months apart and then were inseparable.  They traveled together, went to get groceries together, shopped for Mom’s sewing or quilting supplies together, went to ballgames together, and one would only go to bed when the other one was ready.  When Dad was diagnosed with cancer, Mom went to his treatments with him and was with him every step of the way during those 8 years of his hard fought battle to live.

Dad wanted to live because of Mom.  Not only was he worried about how she would fare without him, for he knew that she was becoming very forgetful, he also could not imagine going to heaven without her.  That issue was the final letting-go that he had to do before he went to heaven.  I went home to help take care of Dad the month before he died.  Their devotion was as strong as ever.  When Dad had to have a hospital bed, Mom would sleep in their bed, pulled up close beside his bed, and they would hold hands through the bars. 

One day they decided that they wanted some Long John Silvers for lunch, so I got Dad all settled in his wheelchair in the living room.  He was facing Mom, who was sitting on the couch.  I left to get our lunch, and when I returned I was shocked at what I saw.  There the two of them sat, on the couch, snuggled together holding hands.  As I walked in, they both looked like teenagers who had been caught making out!  Mom sheepishly told me that it was Dad’s idea, that he wanted to sit by her on the couch, and he shook his head yes in agreement to her story.  The transfer of Dad to the couch scared them both……….the wheelchair, Dad’s catheter, Mom’s lack of strength…………..but to them it was so worth the risk!  I tried to fuss at them, but it truly was a precious moment.  Who would deny them any opportunity to be near each other again…….to sit on the couch and hold hands, alone…………..to experience a moment of joy and love that was to end all too soon? 

On December 4, 2008, Mom and Dad sat on their couch once more…………holding hands and telling John and I the timeless story of their courtship and early married life.  Mom did most of the talking, with Dad slowly lifting his head to look at her and smile his sweet, loving smile.  That was the last time I sat with my Dad and talked to him.  He went on to heaven on December 10…….without Mom.  He’s happy and content with Jesus, we know that beyond a doubt.  Mom is the one who is lonely, who sheds the tears, and lives in the wonderful memories……….memories that are nearly faded from her now as she struggles with the ravages of Alzheimers. 

But some day she and Dad will be together again, for eternity, in heaven.  And we children will be left with our memories of faithful parents who loved each other totally to the very end.  Those are memories that I’m forever thankful for, and a marriage that has been a beautiful example to follow.

As we watched basketball yesterday, a commercial came on for the upcoming “60 Minutes” broadcast.  There was that clock…………tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Aaron listened.  Then he excitedly blurted out, “That sounds like DNA!!!  You know…….that stuff that explodes!!”

Uh, Aaron…………..don’t you mean TNT? 

I really don’t want to worry about my DNA exploding.