I actually started this yesterday, but got distracted by something glittery, so here I am! 🙂
First, I had a pretty good pity post for myself last week, and I just wanted to thank those who took the time to respond. I did not respond back, simply because I read and reread many of your comments, just taking in the positive vibe I got from all of you. I didn’t want to break that at all, but know your thoughts and comments were appreciated.
Ok, first, the end of another era took place yesterday when Tim Duncan, power forward for the San Antonio Spurs, announced his retirement via a press statement through the organization. For those who are going “who is that”, I won’t bore you with the things you could easily find yourself. I will say though, he’s been with the Spurs since 1997, 19 years with the same team is unheard of in professional sports. He is the reason I become a Spurs fan, after my Showtime Lakers team of the 1980’s was no more. His straightforward style of play, his lack of an outward ego (it’s hard to play for 19 years without one somewhere), and his constant “team first” mentality just fit for me. In an era of team hopping and zero loyalty to the fan base, this was one athlete who did not fit that mold. This article just talks about the intangible that made Duncan great for so long, while this one is an article about the different Duncan titles found on The Onion website. As a coach, I share a couple of different articles and video about Duncan and the Spurs because of their focus on character, family, and a team first atmosphere. It makes me feel old seeing him hanging the sneakers up, because he’s been a mainstay since my entering into the word force. I’ll always be a Spurs fan because of Duncan, but will care a little less about the NBA because he’s gone.
And finally, we had a unique experience on Saturday: a family reunion visited our home. Now, you’d be thinking, why is this strange, don’t family reunions usually come to a person’s home. True enough, but it’s not our family that showed up.
#what
We were approached by a daughter of the woman whose house we purchased 9 years ago. They were holding a big family reunion and wondered if they and their kids/grandkids/etc could come and visit. There’s a closet in our daughter’s room where the grandkids had written their names on and just a ton of memories on the acreage, so we of course agreed. Last week was a frantic “get crap picked up” time and suddenly it was Saturday. The lawn was mowed, the gardens weeded, and the house cleaned, we were ready. We thought a car load or two would show up.
#sadlymistaken
By our best count, we had 50 people come through the house comments on the kitchen (totally ripped out and redone when we moved it) and how they LOVED the openness. They also loved the central air we installed a couple years back (and so do we!) as “Grandma’s house was always hot!” And as they left, someone said, “We are glad you are here. You get what this place means and have worked to keep that.”
#wow
A surreal experience, but a good one all the same as it’s nice to know that the family sees the value in what we’ve been doing here. It’s an old two story farmhouse that has its set of issues, but it’s something that we love and love that others feel we are a good fit for it too.
As I write this, my oldest daughter is in Switzerland, part of the Iowa Ambassadors of Music trip to Europe. This is a 16 day sprint across seven counties, with sightseeing and musical performances happening along the way. The pictures that have been posted on social media make me extremely jealous to say the least, but happy to see her spread her wings a little more.
And that, that is some serious musing for you! Thank you for stopping by and reading!
Enjoy your day! And smile, it makes your mouth happy! 🙂
July 12, 2016 at 1:51 pm
what a lovely set of stories. I will look for your last week’s post. I totally understand that feeling about a sports team (though mine is baseball). And the family reunion — that was delightful. And I love the way you used hashtags as subheds, very nice. Have a good summer with your menagerie.
July 12, 2016 at 2:07 pm
We will try to continue enjoying the summer! It seems to be slipping away (like it does every year!). Enjoy your day and thank you for stopping by! 🙂
July 12, 2016 at 3:10 pm
I can’t imagine having others come through your house to reminisce, however, I remember my childhood home in Minneapolis and often wonder who lives there now and what has become of it. What compassionate people you are to invite them in. 🙂
Your daughter is having the experience of a life time. I don’t remember having these options to go over seas as a high school or even a college student. Of course, that was 35 years ago, but certainly our youth of today need to take advantage of these experiences.
There is so much to pay attention to, isn’t there? You seem to be capturing it all – a true documentarian of your personal history. Love the hashtags, too. 🙂
July 12, 2016 at 5:40 pm
That is a wonderful story. Thank you for posting! It so resonated with me. We bought our home from a couple in their 90s. They’d built the house and raise their family there. A few years ago a small group of adults–6 or 7–gathered on the sidewalk in front of our house–talking and peering intently at our house. My husband finally went out to talk with them. The long and short of it — they were the grandkids of the elderly couple we bought our house from. They had come back to this area on a visit. My husband invited them in. Please note, I did not get time to get stuff picked up! So we kept the tour to the ground level and the daylight basement. It was fun to listen to their comments and snippets of stories about their memories connect with different aspects of the house and our surrounding property. Houses are like treasure boxes, filled with memories.
July 12, 2016 at 9:45 pm
We were pretty complete with our picking up because we knew they’d be all over the house! Not sure if they made it into the basement, but they were in all the rooms on the main floor and upstairs too. We saw a few tears and a lot of smiling and laughter, which made it all worth it.
On an entirely different note, as I saw your name, I wondered if you were same person who’d created the “Johnny Can Spell” program and sure enough, your web site confirmed what I remembered! It was many years ago in Missouri where we had our training, and I still believe that was the best spelling program I’d ever worked with! 🙂
Thank you for stopping in and commenting! 🙂
July 13, 2016 at 8:41 pm
What a small world! Happy to connect again. Thanks for remembering and your encouraging words… and letting me know.
July 12, 2016 at 6:25 pm
I just loved that family reunion story! It will become part of your family story, too.
July 12, 2016 at 9:41 pm
I believe you are right, it will become part of our own family lore! 🙂