... Of the Day

Cookie of the Day: Oatmeal Yuks

Word of the Day: Embolden

Website of the Day: http://maggiehendrix.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/birth-photos/

Color of the Day: Snowy White

Activity of the Day: Cleaning House

Memory of the Day: The birth of Catherine Rose.

You see, I wasn't a very good granddaughter to my Grandma Rose Hansen. She was stoic and stern. I was uncomfortable at her house sometimes. So I didn't spend as much time there as I did with the fun "Wright" side of the family -- my mom's side of the family. After my Grandma Hansen died, I was at her house helping to sort things. I found a painting my sister had done hanging on Grandma's fridge (a panda bear). I saw framed pictures of my sister, of my brother, and of me throughout the house. And no other children anywhere.

It wasn't until then that I realized, really realized, that we three were the only grandchildren she had. It was then I realized that people who don't necessarily gush with "I love you's" or fill you with cookies and treats or sweep you up into great big hugs... may very well love you quite a bit after all. And I was sorry, deeply sorry, to have not spent more time with her. I was afraid maybe she had felt "second-fiddle" to the fun family on the other side.

I was eighteen. I sang back then. A lot. My uncle Frank (dad's only living brother) asked me to sing at her funeral. I turned him down. Not because I didn't want to sing, but because this newly-discovered sense of love for my grandma and disappointment in myself had deeply affected me. I was afraid I would not be able to sing. I was afraid I would cry during the song... sob actually... and not be able to complete it.

I spent the next few months thinking a lot about my dad's side of the family. The grandpa I'd never known (because he died a couple years before I was born), the grandma who had been a widow for over 20 years and to whom I had only made cursory visits, my dad's two older brothers: Uncle Bob who had died long ago while in college and before he got married, and my Uncle Frank and his wife - my Aunt Kate.

Frank and Kate had dogs. Weimaraners. Fritz and Duke. But they had not been able to have children. My uncle restored old cars and drank beer and wine. He had nudie calendars in his garage. My aunt was a saucy dame. Tough as nails, wore cowboy boots, cussed out politicians and complained about property taxes in Utah. But Frank also shoveled the walk of every widow in his neighborhood after every snowstorm, and he raked the leaves from their yards every autumn. Kate saved any stray dog or cat that she found hungry or cold on the street. Her full name was Catherine, but she went by Kate. It suited her. I loved her. She was "a character" and I love characters.

I decided sometime in my nineteenth year, that if I ever had a daughter, I would name her Catherine Rose and call her Katie. I believe that families continue on from the other side and I wanted a way to tell my Grandma Hansen that I loved her and that I was sorry for not showing it sooner. I also wanted to convey to my Aunt Kate how much I loved her... and liked her. In a sense, I guess I was trying to honor both of them. In Kate's case, I wanted to do it before she passed away.

When my first baby ended up with the kind of anatomy that negated the possibility of being called "Katie," I was a little discouraged that my plan had to continue to be postponed. I'd never really considered the possibility of not ever having a girl I could name Catherine Rose. At that point, I'd been waiting eight years to do right by my grandma. And now I would have to wait even longer.

But not that long. Fourteen months later, Katie Rose showed up. Eight pounds and two ounces. One week early. Ultrasounds had been inconclusive (she was a modest little thing and kept scooting away from the camera). We didn't know if she was a boy or a girl. When Dr. Glenn, my miracle worker obstetrician, announced she was a girl, I can't express the sense of relief. He asked if we already had a name picked out. (Silly man, uh, yeah, for about nine years now!) Catherine Rose.

Quote of the Day:
If you are ever going to love me,
Love me now, while I can know
The sweet and tender feelings
Which from true affection flow.
Love me now
While I am living.
Do not wait until I’m gone
And then have it chiseled in marble,
Sweet words on ice-cold stone.

If you have tender thoughts of me,
Please tell me now.
If you wait until I’m sleeping,
There will be death between us,
And I won’t hear you then.
So if you love me, even a little bit,
Let me know while I’m still living
So I can treasure it.

Song of the Day: Once There Was a Snowman - Primary

Rule of the Day: Rule #34 - Make your bed every morning.

Scripture of the Day: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5: 7)