Poetry Pause: Armistice 1918-2018

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

We Shall Keep the Faith

by Moina Michael, November 1918

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.

Remembering my Dad through books.

   Happy Monday! Hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day. In addition to celebrating Dr Daddy I of course was thinking and remembering my Dad. One of the ways I continue to feel connected to him and his memory is through books. My Dad loved to read and shared that love with my brother, sisters and me (as did my mom).  He would reread his favorites over and over; and some of them have become favorites of mine too.

I wrote about Look to the Mountain earlier this year when I reread it for the 'I don't know which time'.  A wonderful book in and of itself about the settling of the White Mountains region of New Hampshire during the 1770's, made more so by memories it invokes of my dad and the mountain he loved to climb.

God is An Englishmen by R.F. Delderfield is a story of the Industrial Revolution in England told from the perspective of Adam Swann who saw the opportunities the railroad could bring to moving goods around and set about making his fortune while at the same time he and his wife built and raised a family.  This is the first of three books; I don't remember if my dad read the whole series, (I've read and enjoyed the first two) but his copy of the first which I now have shows the signs of many reads.

To Serve Them All My Days also by R.F. Delderfield is the story of David Powlett-Jones a young man in his first teaching job at a private school still recovering from service during the First World War.  The story told over nearly two decades as he and the country heals and redefines itself is very moving in a quiet way.

I also remember my dad reading a lot of James Mitchner of whom I've yet to read any; but when I get there I will likely start with Chesapeake as that is a part of the East Coast that holds memories for us and that I wish to know more about its history.

What books hold a special place in your family history and remembrance of those you've loved?

Quick Takes #258: Where Art Thou O Spring?

1. I must start by stating last weekend was glorious; warm breezes, bright sun! Perfect porch reading weather.  And despite how much I reminded myself that it wasn't going to last; that it is not suppose to be in the 70's in April, the return to the rainy 40's has been bumpy.  What has a girl gotta do to get some sun and 60's? 
2. The other thing making last weekend so much fun was a visit from my mom. Winter weather and house issues had kept postponing her visit since New Year so we all really enjoyed having her here for the weekend.  Dr Daddy cooked delicious food and ran point on the kids giving us time to catch-up.
3. Other excitement: Caitlin lost her first tooth becoming the earliest to such a milestone by several months over her siblings. Great excitement ensued and the Tooth Fairy made a visit!
4. Great mail week; Ponder, and One Beautiful Dream arrived!! I'm currently reading Spiritual Canticle of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross; and having recently finished The Interior Castle by Saint Theresa of Avila has left me wondering if the writing feels so similar because they were friends or if that was simply the approach to spiritual writing at the time.
5. Was sorry to learn of the death of Former First Lady Barbara Bush; though by all accounts it was peaceful and after a very long life. I'm of a generation to remember her wonderful example of compassion in her insistence that children battling AIDS (and indeed everyone battling that awful disease) needed to be touched and held.
6. Royal Baby Watch: I'm thinking Boy but otherwise just very excited to see who is joining the Cambridge household and when.
7. Dr Daddy is unfortunately working but am otherwise hoping for a good weekend. Whatever yours holds; have a  good one!

Please head over to Kelly's for more 7QT's

Quick Takes #223 Favorite Links & Sandwiches

1. Life this week was better as it did not involve a stomach bug and even included a bit of sunshine and perhaps not as much sleep as I would hope but it is good to have something to strive for.
2. Praying a family rosary is a goal of mine and am hoping armed with the tips from this wonderful post on Peanut Butter and Grace I'm that much closer to making it happen on a regular basis.
3. Introduced my kids to Fluffernutters (peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich) this week and was enough of a hit to be a lunch request.  Personally I prefer peanut butter & nutella but figured trying a Fluffernutter is a rite of childhood.
4. March for Life is happening today which is a good thing and will hopefully get more media coverage which is a great thing.  My prayer is that the coming years will find more support for the unborn without that meaning less for refugees, the disabled and the poor.
5. Which is a hope and prayer so much better articulated by Cammie of Beyond Pearls here.
6. Was so sorry to hear of the death of Mary Tyler Moore (may she rest in peace); The Dick Van Dyke Show and the Mary Tyler Moore Show were wonderful shows and big part of my childhood; and her advocacy of Type 1 Diabetes research was amazing.
7. Have a  wonderful weekend!

Please head over to Kelly's for more 7QT's!

In remembrance and thanks!

In Flanders Field by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Day 27: Maureen O'Hara

   We loss one of the great ladies of film this weekend when Maureen O'Hara died at age 95. Likely the first movie of her's I loved was The Parent Trap (1961) though as a kid I was more focused on Haley Mills performance. As an adult I came to appreciate her amazing talent especially when paired with John Wayne.  Earlier this month I posted about the third movie in a John Wayne/John Ford trilogy; Rio Grande (1950) is the second and features Wayne and O'Hara as a married couple separated since the Civil War trying again on the frontier.  The other Wayne/O'Hara movie not to be missed is The Quiet Man (1952) where Wayne moves to Ireland to retire his boxing career and the course of true love runs hilariously amiss.

This of course is only a small offering of the many wonderful movies by this amazing actress.

A different kind of Friday

No Quick Takes here today; as I've written about before March 27 th holds a special meaning in my family and so I'm taking a break this week.

7 Quick Takes hosted by Kelly of This Ain't the Lyceum

Last year's Milkshakes and Memories

A Quick Look Back with Thanks

  In the weeks ahead I have several posts planned about the new place, in particular how we transformed and decorated the kids rooms, but first a quick look back at where I'm leaving.

  Making sure to take a moment and give thanks to the little Cape that welcomed us at the beginning of our marriage and over a decade offered shelter and support as we learned what it was to be homeowners and love and grow a marriage.  The site of countless get-togethers from simple pizza dinners to SuperBowl parties, Summer Barbecues and Easter Dinners.  Many a wonderful conversation by its firelight. Countless comings and goings thru the day and night as life and the beeper dictated.

It bore witness to major life events of the past decade; it was the place where we mourned and made peace with the loss of our dads.  It offered welcome as we brought each of our babies home, watched as bookshelves were converted to hold toys, and was the site of each of their first steps.  The yard where I planted tulips, crocuses, and hydrangea ~ and each spring enjoyed the hyacinth planted by a previous owner.  The backyard once filled with evergreens, where cardinals would come on late winter mornings, that one by one were felled by high winds and hurricanes became filled with water tables and kicking balls.

Simply put to quote Gilbert, husband of Anne; "This house has been what no other ever can be"

Thanks!

Day 11: Legends and lore

Day 11: Legends and lore

  No great legends on either side of my family that I know of, just sweet little tales of my parents or their parents childhood; when my dad was a boy he had a cat called Mouser and so when she had kittens he and his brother called them mice.  And some romantic stories like that of a great-uncle who offered his coat to his fiancé only to later die of pneumonia ~ and she never married.
  Time will tell which stories our moms and sisters tell our kids about us and which stories about them become the ones repeated a family gatherings for years to come.

And playing catch-up

Day 10: Family Treasures:

   I already have some paintings from my mom's family, a great-grandmothers engagement ring, my dad's navy duffel and some of his books.  My husband along with his mom and sister were given the opportunity to personally go through his dad's lab/office after his death and we now have an old mortar  and pestle of his (he was a professor of pharmacology) as well as some balances.
  I imagine more treasures will come as our parents generation downsizes further and at some point things of ours will be declared treasures by our kids.

Day 9: Those We Miss

Day 9: Those we miss

   First there are those I missed meeting like all my great-grandparents and my paternal grandmother.  My paternal grandfather died when I was 2 and so in a large sense I missed knowing him also.  I also missed knowing all of Charlie's grandparents except his maternal grandmother who I had the honor and pleasure of meeting and coming to know a bit.
 
   And then there are those I miss; my mom's parents both died when I was twenty, despite living an ocean away they both made a tremendous effort to love and build a good relationship with their American granddaughters visiting almost every year as long as their health allowed.  We would also go to Belgium every few years to visit them.  Another grandmother of sorts (my aunt-by-marriage's mother) who had always been very kind to me also passed away during my twenties.   My father's younger sister died when I was seven; my introduction to death on a personal level.

   Most significantly I miss my father and my father-in-law, the missing is different now nine years later but missing still and I imagine missing always.  Much of the missing now involves missing not being able to share my kids with them; and not being able to have my kids know their grandfathers in that intimate in the flesh manner I would wish them to.  Blessedly both my dad and Charlie's dad have siblings who are still living who I pray will continue to in addition to be wonderful great-uncles in their own right a wonderful link to stories from our dads childhood and adolescence.

More at Not in Jersey

Milkshake and Memories: Updated

Originally posted on March 27, 2010

In the plans for today is getting a milkshake (ideally a frappe, but those are hard to come by outside of New England), preferably coffee. You see my dad passed away March 27, 2004 and when the first anniversary came I was not sure what to do, I did not exactly want to celebrate, but marking the date was definitely in order.

So I got a coffee shake because my dad loved them, and he taught me to also. It felt right and so now every year on his birthday in September and on this day in March I get a milkshake, remember, and raise my glass to my dad.

My dad who loved to read, the ocean, and mountain climbing especially the White's in New Hampshire.  Who preferred classical music but also introduced me to The Weavers, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Beyond the Fringe.

So probably I can convince Elisabeth to join me in a milkshake and someday when she is older I will tell her why we are having one on this day and who her grandfather was.

Update: In the last year Lisbeth has begun to learn about grandparents and how that works; that Bonne Mamy is my mom and Grandma is Daddy's.  So this year it begins, as we share our milkshakes, telling her  (and Liam) about their frappe loving grandfather.

Thankful Thursday: September 22nd

1. The roof does not currently seem to be leaking
2. Lisbeth had a good first day of nursery school
3. Pumpkin: muffins, lattes, candles
4. Pockets of time this week to think and pray
5. Many happy memories of my Dad
6. The love of my Heavenly Father

My thanks again to Rebecca of The Road Home for hosting

Holy Thursday: Lord's Supper

In Remembrance
(Ragan Courtney and Buryl Red)

In remembrance of Me eat this bread
In remembrance of Me drink this wine
In remembrance of Me pray for the time
When God's own will is done

In remembrance of me heal the sick
In remembrance of me feed the poor
In remembrance of me open the door
And let your brother in, let him in

Take eat and be comforted
Drink and remember too
That this is my body and precious blood
Shed for you, shed for you

In remembrance of me always love
In remembrance of me don't look above
But in your heart, in your heart
Look in your heart for God

Do this in remembrance of Me
Do this in remembrance of Me
In remembrance of Me

Happy Trid!