Cowboy was raised an independent doer. Growing up on the farm, if he saw something that needed done, he just did it, with Big Dad’s blessing.
Take, for example, his first independent project using wood, a circular saw and bent nails: rabbit cages at the age of 12 or so. Simple stuff, right? I mean, what 12 year old doesn’t hammer out bent nails and brandish a circular saw while his dad is out driving a semi across country? No biggie. Little Cowboy saw a need, Big Dad wasn’t around to do it, it had to be done, so he did it. And, as the story goes, when Big Dad got home and saw him working on the project, he simply asked “Whatcha doin’?” Apparently satisfied that Little Cowboy had it all under control, he left him to the task.
This was the story of Cowboy’s life. Different scenarios throughout the years, of course, but ultimately always the same ending. And that, as they say, is how a doer “does.”
Being the doer that Cowboy is, it’s only natural that the same doing gene be passed along to his daughters, right? Our girls are pretty much doers. They see a need, they tackle it. Except for one silly little thing…their dad is not Big Dad. Cowboy doesn’t turn a blind eye and let them do their thing like his dad did for him.
Take, for example, the hay rack. Girl 1 and Girl 2 know that we need a new hay rack, and they are more than willing to build one, but they first must get the okay from Cowboy. The conversation came up one afternoon as we ate lunch. It went something like this:
Girl 1: Do you remember we need a hay rack?
Cowboy: Yep.
Girl 1: When can you build it?
Cowboy: Some day.
Girl 2: I can build it.
Cowboy: Oh really? You know how to use power tools? You know how to use a saw? Can you cut a straight line?
Girl 3 (jumping in): She can’t DRAW a straight line!
Girl 2 (shooting evil looks at Girl 3): Sure I can do it. How hard could it be? Where are the tools?
Cowboy: In my trailer.
Girl 2: What trailer?
Cowboy: The black trailer.
Girl 2: (looks at Cowboy with a blank stare)
Cowboy: The one in front of the barn…the one I take to work…the one you walk past every day…
Girl 2 (as realization dawns): Oooooooh THAT trailer! I knew that. I can do it.
Cowboy: How will you do it? How will you draw a straight line?
Girl 2: I’ll use the little triangle doo-hickey.
Red flags pop up in Cowboy’s mind. First, she doesn’t know what the tool trailer is, and second, she doesn’t know the name of a speed square. He laughs, sympathizes a bit, then says no, sorry, no can do. Cowboy will do it when he has time. This is where Girl 2 turned it on thick. You know, all that annoying nagging stuff about being responsible and being able to handle the job and “don’t you trust me” and all that nonsense. Cowboy didn’t reply, he just sat quietly eating his lunch. Girl 2 was smiling, obviously thinking that Cowboy’s silence meant he was considering it. She’d give him a few days to think about it and try again.
Interestingly enough, later that same day, after Girl 1 left to meet a friend, I let Libby-the-big-dog outside to use the facilities and asked Girl 2 to please remember to let her back inside shortly. Libby, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, likes to roll in manure and eat gross stuff when no one is looking. An hour later, Libby was scratching at the door, begging to be let in. Uh-oh. “EMMA! Why is Libby still outside?” Oops, she had forgotten. Ha ha ha, laughs all around, jokes about responsibility and independence.
And that’s when it happened. As we were laughing, the grossest of all doggie grossness reared its ugly head…and ears. Libby walked over to the only piece of carpet we have in the house and without any warning whatsoever, she upchucked a full size, intact rabbit. In one piece. Whole. Except the head.
Cowboy winced. Girl 2 gagged. Girl 3 ran away screaming. I covered my eyes. Libby sprawled spread eagle on the hardwood floor and sighed.
This is where Cowboy, in an attempt at full seriousness and with the stern-dad voice he doesn’t generally use, “encouraged” Girl 2 to express her responsible independence in all its blazing glory by picking up the gross headless mess. I was cheering: Show him your stuff, Girl 2! Show him you can do it; you can handle it; you are willing and able to manage anything that comes your way; anything boys can do girls can do better!
With a look of complete and utter disgust, she refused.
I guess this means she won’t be building a hay rack anytime soon either.
Showing posts with label Emma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emma. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, November 16, 2009
Girls, Green Shoes and Giggles
For those of you who are acquainted with our family, you know that our middle daughter, Emma, was always the quiet one. When Emma was little, Lindsay did all of her talking. I remember one day in particular when Emma, probably nearing 3 years old, came into the kitchen and simply said "nyeh nyeh." I was both shocked and perplexed. Emma never spoke, and now that she had, I didn't have a clue what she wanted. "Nyeh nyeh" she repeated. What in world...?! I pointed to everything, tried to give her everything, but all she did was stare, stomp, and give me a louder "NYEH NYEH!" Six-year-old Lindsay came floating through the kitchen in her fairy costume and high heels and simply announced "She wants a drink mom." "Hmmm...you think...?" One more look at Emma...nothing but an icy stare. "Is that what you want, Emma, a drink?" She only stared. I filled her sippy cup and handed it over. She took it, smiled half heartedly, turned on her heel and went back to play in her own little peaceful world. I thought to myself "she must get that from Brian." After all, I was never at a loss for words!
When Emma turned ten, we began to notice a little 'coming out of her shell' but still when meeting someone new or encountering a new situation, you could literally watch her "sizing up" everything with that signature stare. No words, no expression, just a deep...dark...stare.
This weekend I was taken back to Emma's younger days when she was...well...quieter. Our family journeyed together to visit church friends near Columbus, Ohio, about a 2-1/2 hour drive one way. There was no lack of chit chat in the truck among the girls. Brian drove, glazed-over in his own little world of thought -- rarely acknowledging the comedy unfolding in the seat behind him while Emma's nonsense made the rest of us either roll our eyes and groan, or bellow with laughter. I claimed ownership of the radio and turned on a station Emma didn't particularly care for. After each and every song she would interrupt her current conversation with "can we change it now?...please?...mom?...are you listening?...seriously mom...hellooooooo...earth to mom...can we change it?...ooookaaaaay...guess not" then she would continue her story as if she'd never missed a beat.
And the storytelling itself? Now let me tell you, you have not lived until you hear Emma tell a story. Starting with her "Okay, yeah, sooo....." and ending with her signature "LOL, right?!" Emma's form of chit chat is kind of a morph between common English and Text verbage. She rarely gets through a sentence without communicating "JK!" At one point in the trip Emma was the only one laughing at her own story, so she followed it with "Wow guys, THAT was an LOL moment...and none of you are LOL'ing." I think it was at that point that Brian, with his quick wit responded "OMG." (See, I told you she was just like her dad!)
As we reached the edge of Columbus, Ohio, everyone in the vehicle was getting hungry and Lily, true to her nature, needed a bathroom (I might point out here that when Lily asked to stop for a bathroom break, Emma declared aloud "Lily's sphincter is full!"). Brian exited the interstate, pulled into a Wendy's parking lot, and announced that he would wait in the truck while we bought sandwiches. Leaving the other girls behind, I rushed Lil inside as quickly as I could. The scene before my eyes upon exiting that bathroom will forever be etched in my memory right next to the "nyeh nyeh" episode of Emma's younger years. Standing there, at the back of the line, was Emma. A huge smile plastered on her face, she was wearing a purple t-shirt, blue and pink shorts, orange, black, and white striped fuzzy halloween knee socks, and her new lime green converse tennis shoes. Whose child was THIS?! This was NOT the Emma that used to need her big sis to talk for her. This was NOT the Emma who used to stare through whoever was trying to speak to her. THIS Emma was a comical jokester! Smiling and laughing, she was wholeheartedly enjoying the stares she was getting from everyone in the restaurant. I rolled my eyes once again (I AM the mom after all...it's my job), but inside I was giggling...she is SO much like her dad! ;)
"Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad." Psalm 126:2-3
When Emma turned ten, we began to notice a little 'coming out of her shell' but still when meeting someone new or encountering a new situation, you could literally watch her "sizing up" everything with that signature stare. No words, no expression, just a deep...dark...stare.
This weekend I was taken back to Emma's younger days when she was...well...quieter. Our family journeyed together to visit church friends near Columbus, Ohio, about a 2-1/2 hour drive one way. There was no lack of chit chat in the truck among the girls. Brian drove, glazed-over in his own little world of thought -- rarely acknowledging the comedy unfolding in the seat behind him while Emma's nonsense made the rest of us either roll our eyes and groan, or bellow with laughter. I claimed ownership of the radio and turned on a station Emma didn't particularly care for. After each and every song she would interrupt her current conversation with "can we change it now?...please?...mom?...are you listening?...seriously mom...hellooooooo...earth to mom...can we change it?...ooookaaaaay...guess not" then she would continue her story as if she'd never missed a beat.
And the storytelling itself? Now let me tell you, you have not lived until you hear Emma tell a story. Starting with her "Okay, yeah, sooo....." and ending with her signature "LOL, right?!" Emma's form of chit chat is kind of a morph between common English and Text verbage. She rarely gets through a sentence without communicating "JK!" At one point in the trip Emma was the only one laughing at her own story, so she followed it with "Wow guys, THAT was an LOL moment...and none of you are LOL'ing." I think it was at that point that Brian, with his quick wit responded "OMG." (See, I told you she was just like her dad!)
As we reached the edge of Columbus, Ohio, everyone in the vehicle was getting hungry and Lily, true to her nature, needed a bathroom (I might point out here that when Lily asked to stop for a bathroom break, Emma declared aloud "Lily's sphincter is full!"). Brian exited the interstate, pulled into a Wendy's parking lot, and announced that he would wait in the truck while we bought sandwiches. Leaving the other girls behind, I rushed Lil inside as quickly as I could. The scene before my eyes upon exiting that bathroom will forever be etched in my memory right next to the "nyeh nyeh" episode of Emma's younger years. Standing there, at the back of the line, was Emma. A huge smile plastered on her face, she was wearing a purple t-shirt, blue and pink shorts, orange, black, and white striped fuzzy halloween knee socks, and her new lime green converse tennis shoes. Whose child was THIS?! This was NOT the Emma that used to need her big sis to talk for her. This was NOT the Emma who used to stare through whoever was trying to speak to her. THIS Emma was a comical jokester! Smiling and laughing, she was wholeheartedly enjoying the stares she was getting from everyone in the restaurant. I rolled my eyes once again (I AM the mom after all...it's my job), but inside I was giggling...she is SO much like her dad! ;)
"Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad." Psalm 126:2-3
Friday, October 3, 2008
A Legacy of Love
The girls and I just returned from a wonderful two-day trip to Nashville, Indiana. We travelled with those we have come to affectionately call "The Bane Ladies."
My mom's family is very close-knit. My grandmother, with her unquestioning faith in the Lord and unconditional love for her 14 children, created an amazing circle of admiration -- a legacy of love. Growing up, this large famly was the center of my world. I was blessed to be raised alongside numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins who doubled as additional sets of parents and siblings, and as a child I thought we would all remain close throughout our adult lives. As tends to be the case, however, life-changes had a way of making alternative plans for us, and as the cousins married and began raising families of their own, our limited time together caused us to drift apart.
Thankfully, some years back, my mother's younger sisters decided to organize a retreat for the ladies of the family. They invited all females connected to the Bane family by blood or marriage to join them for a slumber party, and chose a wonderful bed and breakfast inn in Nashville, Indiana, as the meeting spot. Those of us who were longing for reconnection jumped at the chance! That first trip was nothing less than amazing - we shopped, talked, laughed, played games, acted silly, and swooned over delicious desserts. We enjoyed it so much we decided to go back again...and again...and AGAIN!
Our circle of "Bane Ladies" has changed since that first year. I'll never forget the last year Aunt Nancy went with us. She had lost her hair and her stamina, but not her spirit. We intentionally slowed our pace of walking from shop to shop, and we landed back at the inn early when it was apparent she was tiring. Munching on desserts, we listened to her giggle as we placed bets on what color her hair would be when it grew back.
Sadly, the next fall found our group a little smaller. The thought of going without her was difficult, and the stay was certainly bittersweet as we reminisced about our time on earth with her, and shared how hard it was without her. It was a time of healing for us all. The circle was smaller, yes, but it was tighter...and the hugs lingered a little longer in an effort to hold on to that fleeting moment of breathlessness.
The circle was extended this year as my three daughters joined us in Nashville for the first time. As a grown woman, I realize how richly I have been blessed with the wise counsel of these amazing ladies and the legacy of love that was built to support me - the legacy they recieved from their mother. It was incredibly touching to watch my daughters join the circle and to see the legacy begin its descent to the next generation.
I don't think it a coincidence that I found a small trinket at a shop in Nashville that spoke directly to my heart that first year without Aunt Nancy. It says "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away." It still speaks expressly to me today. That the Lord has blessed me with such wonderful family - it takes my breath away. That my life's journey has been gifted with love, laughter and tears - it takes my breath away. That my daughters have now joined this circle - it takes my breath away.
Through this legacy of love I've been taught how to extend my circle to include others in need of breathless moments in their lives, and I'm thankful...so thankful!
My mom's family is very close-knit. My grandmother, with her unquestioning faith in the Lord and unconditional love for her 14 children, created an amazing circle of admiration -- a legacy of love. Growing up, this large famly was the center of my world. I was blessed to be raised alongside numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins who doubled as additional sets of parents and siblings, and as a child I thought we would all remain close throughout our adult lives. As tends to be the case, however, life-changes had a way of making alternative plans for us, and as the cousins married and began raising families of their own, our limited time together caused us to drift apart.
Thankfully, some years back, my mother's younger sisters decided to organize a retreat for the ladies of the family. They invited all females connected to the Bane family by blood or marriage to join them for a slumber party, and chose a wonderful bed and breakfast inn in Nashville, Indiana, as the meeting spot. Those of us who were longing for reconnection jumped at the chance! That first trip was nothing less than amazing - we shopped, talked, laughed, played games, acted silly, and swooned over delicious desserts. We enjoyed it so much we decided to go back again...and again...and AGAIN!
Our circle of "Bane Ladies" has changed since that first year. I'll never forget the last year Aunt Nancy went with us. She had lost her hair and her stamina, but not her spirit. We intentionally slowed our pace of walking from shop to shop, and we landed back at the inn early when it was apparent she was tiring. Munching on desserts, we listened to her giggle as we placed bets on what color her hair would be when it grew back.
Sadly, the next fall found our group a little smaller. The thought of going without her was difficult, and the stay was certainly bittersweet as we reminisced about our time on earth with her, and shared how hard it was without her. It was a time of healing for us all. The circle was smaller, yes, but it was tighter...and the hugs lingered a little longer in an effort to hold on to that fleeting moment of breathlessness.
The circle was extended this year as my three daughters joined us in Nashville for the first time. As a grown woman, I realize how richly I have been blessed with the wise counsel of these amazing ladies and the legacy of love that was built to support me - the legacy they recieved from their mother. It was incredibly touching to watch my daughters join the circle and to see the legacy begin its descent to the next generation.
I don't think it a coincidence that I found a small trinket at a shop in Nashville that spoke directly to my heart that first year without Aunt Nancy. It says "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away." It still speaks expressly to me today. That the Lord has blessed me with such wonderful family - it takes my breath away. That my life's journey has been gifted with love, laughter and tears - it takes my breath away. That my daughters have now joined this circle - it takes my breath away.
Through this legacy of love I've been taught how to extend my circle to include others in need of breathless moments in their lives, and I'm thankful...so thankful!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Looking for Signs of Spring
We've been teased with a few peeks of sunshine and warm breezes lately, and it's causing us to look a little closer for those tell-tale signs of spring we "Hoosiers" get excited about. The green shoots of the lily plants have poked through the ground, buds are forming on my lilac shrub, and robins are rockin' around the barn. (I can't think of a more pleasing spring morning combination than a hot cup of coffee in my hand and the sound of a robin's song as I sit at the breakfast table. Joy!) The coming of spring also brings about a few extra chores that have been awaiting better weather. Brian has been working on our "old" barn which is being converted into equipment storage, and building fence for two additional horse turnouts.
A double-whammy prevented me from posting last week: first I was sick (thankfully I was the only member of our family who came down with that nasty little virus), and then our modem went bad. We were lost without internet and email acitivty for the first couple of days, but it didn't take long for us to realize that life really does go on without access to the world wide web! Of course it made a few items of business quite a bit more difficult, but we were able to manage.
I have new photos to post this time. The first batch is from the surprise birthday party we had for Emma on her 13th birthday in February. We were blessed with a BEAUTIFUL day and were thrilled to celebrate with about 40 guests in our barn.
The second batch is of the color guard team that Lindsay and Emma enjoy riding with. We were happy to offer the team an indoor riding opportunity on that extremely COLD night two weeks ago!
We're looking forward to hosting another 4H club's clinic in two weeks and plan to post photos from that event in upcoming blogs.
Happy Signs-of-Spring Hunting to you all!
A double-whammy prevented me from posting last week: first I was sick (thankfully I was the only member of our family who came down with that nasty little virus), and then our modem went bad. We were lost without internet and email acitivty for the first couple of days, but it didn't take long for us to realize that life really does go on without access to the world wide web! Of course it made a few items of business quite a bit more difficult, but we were able to manage.
I have new photos to post this time. The first batch is from the surprise birthday party we had for Emma on her 13th birthday in February. We were blessed with a BEAUTIFUL day and were thrilled to celebrate with about 40 guests in our barn.
The second batch is of the color guard team that Lindsay and Emma enjoy riding with. We were happy to offer the team an indoor riding opportunity on that extremely COLD night two weeks ago!
We're looking forward to hosting another 4H club's clinic in two weeks and plan to post photos from that event in upcoming blogs.
Happy Signs-of-Spring Hunting to you all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
