How Not to Move to Luxembourg

Missing England

2010-06-03T20:24:00.002+02:00

A few days ago, I was helping my mother plan a trip to London. We got out the scrapbooks and the guide books, and we talked about what my girls and I had done when we were in London back in 2002. My youngest was only six then, so she has very different memories of that trip than I do. Then again, I spent part of that trip working at the Bank of England while she was sightseeing with my husband, so I have very different memories also.

Last night, my youngest and I were watching the movie Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit along with one of her friends. We were enjoying the movie much more than our friend. I think it's because it's such a British movie. I love seeing the British gardens and the fair at Tottington Hall. It's so much like the church fairs in Luxembourg. And I realized last night that I've never been to a church fair in England, or been to someone's house in England. All my memories of these very British things are memories from Luxembourg. So I think it's time to get out my scrapbook from Luxembourg. As I look through the pictures of my friends at the English-speaking Church of Luxembourg, I will thank God for the wonderful memories and the wonderful influence they have had in my life.

May's Scary Picture from Tennessee

2010-05-04T15:17:00.000+02:00

This is a picture of our driveway and the creek during the floods the covered Middle Tennessee on May 1 and 2, 2010. Our house is high enough on the hill that I don't worry about flooding at the house. The scary part is my husband having to wade across this in the dark to get to our van (parked at the neighbors) so he can get to work. The governor asked that everyone stay home, but the company my husband works for didn't seem to get that memo.

April's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2010-04-05T12:48:00.000+02:00

Another anniversary

2010-03-06T21:28:00.000+01:00

Today is the four year anniversary of my fall, broken ankle, and surgery. On most days, I forget my leg was ever broken. Today the weather is clear, and my ankle feels good.

It seems like a dream that we ever lived in Europe or that we got to vacation at the Italian Riviera because I broke my leg. It seems like lifetime ago that I worked at Census. I love my job, and I love teaching the girls, too.

I got out my scrapbook of our trip to the Mediterranean to remind myself that God does use all things for our good, and that He does work in mysterious ways.

March's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2010-03-03T14:52:00.000+01:00

February's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2010-02-22T23:01:00.000+01:00

January's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2010-01-15T20:58:00.000+01:00

December's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2009-12-26T16:51:00.000+01:00

I knitted all the "boys" camouflage ponchos and hats for Christmas.

November's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2009-11-29T17:35:00.002+01:00

We adopted our beautiful Sophie on Thanksgiving Day! What a wonderful gift for us!

October's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2009-10-30T17:43:00.000+01:00

The end of August (and the end of summer)

2009-08-29T13:30:00.000+02:00

August ends on Monday. I realized today that in many ways, this month has seemed really long, which is a bit unusual for me. Then I realized that it only seems long because we managed to cram so much into just one month.

On August 1 the girls and I were staying with my friends Kathy and Dave in Southern Maryland, getting ready for church and the start of my Joint Statistical Meetings in DC on August 2. I got to play for church that day, and the girls sang a trio. I had a great time at the meetings. The girls and I got to go out to dinner and a bit of sightseeing with our friend Monique from Switzerland, and I had a great time seeing all my time series friends at a party at Dr. Findley's house on August 5, which just happened to be my 20th wedding anniversary.
In the midst of the meetings, the girls and I also managed to get in a couple trips to Six Flags America.
On the way home I got into poison ivy at Mom's house and dealt with that for a couple of weeks.
I had tons of work to do for clients this month, including some new clients. I've also been working on updates to the web pages for my consulting business, with help from a contractor/friend.
I signed up with Creative Memories again, partly to get a discount on the pages I needed and partly to motivate myself to start scrapbooking again and keeping the house clean enough to host scrapbook parties.
On August 17 the kids started school in earnest. (Fortunately, I had finished most of the planning in July.) The biggest part of planning now is planning for E's Bible course (a bit of independent study) and M's AP statistics course.
On August 22 I was back in DC to teach a short course, staying with my friend Julie. I flew on an airplane for the first time since 2006, which might not seem like a big deal, but it seemed really big to me. I also got to play the piano for church again, and I sang a duet with Kimberly.
Tomorrow I'll sing in the choir in the morning service and go to Sunday school. In the evening, I'll go to choir practice and two bell choir rehearsals because I will be filling in for Melinda in her bell choir in September.
On August 31, I'll be driving N up to Lebanon to take her written test for her learners permit. Then the driving lessons begin for daughter #2.

Sometimes I wonder how I have time to sleep, let alone run a small business on my own. Yet somehow, it all gets done, and I have a great time doing it.

New School Year

2009-08-17T16:25:00.002+02:00

I was looking through old blog posts about what classes the girls have been taking. Here's the list of what the girls are taking this school year.

My 11th grader is taking

AP Statistics (taught by her mother, and not through our correspondence school)
U.S. History
American Literature (1/2 credit)
Creative Writing (1/2 credit)
Government, year 2
Theology
Art, Music, PE (taught by her parents)
Latin (again, taught by her mother, who is learning Latin along with the girls)
Maybe chemistry from a junior college in the spring semester

My 10th grader is taking

Trigonometry
World History, part 2
World Literature (1/2 credit)
Grammar (1/2 credit)
Sophomore research paper (1/4 credit, required)
Government, year 1
Biology
Old Testament, part 2
Art, Music, PE (taught by her parents)
Latin (taught by her mother)

Last year, my 10th grader took Spanish, but N wanted nothing to do with that. She says that Latin is enough for her, though she might study some Italian from the BBC web site, she says.

My 8th grader is taking

Geometry (and she's already in Chapter 6, so we'll start Algebra II before the year is over)
Omnibus (Middle Ages/Renaissance), which includes theology, literature, and history
Spelling
Grammar
Logic
Bible
Art, Music, PE (taught by her parents)
Latin (taught by her mother)

Next year will be our biggest challenge with all three in high school!

ttfn

August's Beautiful Picture from DC/Maryland

2009-08-05T23:50:00.002+02:00

A beautiful friend. We don't try to dress alike, it just happens. It's no wonder that people think we're sisters. Fortunately for me, we are sisters, even if we have different parents. :-)

My 20th Anniversary

2009-08-05T23:23:00.001+02:00

Dr. Estelle Dagum, formerly of Statistics Canada and the principal author of X-11-ARIMA, told me I was a flirt and had always been a flirt. For me, I see it as an occupational hazard of being in a mostly male profession. Is it my fault that I get to hang out with so many good-looking men?

And is it my fault that Dr. Findley had a party for all of us at his house on the same day as my 20th wedding anniversary? If I can't be with my husband, then I might as well have a good time.

The girls and friends at the Joint Statistical Meetings

2009-08-05T22:04:00.000+02:00

With Zekie

With Uncle Brian (I love this picture!)

With John and Siem Jan

With Diane

With Monique

May's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2009-05-20T16:17:00.001+02:00

One benefit of being back in the States was that the kids finally got the braces they wanted for their teeth, and then of course, off they got the braces off eventually. Here are the results from my oldest child after about a year and a half in braces. She's very happy with the results.

February's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2009-02-14T23:38:00.000+01:00

December's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-12-25T20:23:00.000+01:00

My oldest plays "Silent Night" for us.

October's Beautiful Pictures from Tennessee

2008-10-13T18:38:00.001+02:00

Belmont University, where I teach part-time, was host to one of the three Presidential debates this year. The entire campus has been buzzing about this for months and months.

The bell tower:

The Curb Event Center, site of the debate:

September's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-09-07T17:36:00.000+02:00

August's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-08-30T09:49:00.000+02:00

July's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-07-04T18:45:00.001+02:00

This weekend we went to the aquarium in Chattanooga with my mom. We really enjoyed the sea horses and the jelly fish.

June's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-06-29T02:35:00.000+02:00

May's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-05-29T14:30:00.000+02:00

My oldest daughter had me cut off her 18-inch-long ponytail so she could send it to Locks of Love. She got the idea when we were at the 2006 ACS Relay for Life with my dad. I'm very proud of her.

Last exam graded

2008-05-02T23:55:00.000+02:00

N helped me grade exams today, so I got them finished in record time. Almost everyone made the grade I was expecting.

I have one student who has a note from the disability office that says I am supposed to give him extra time on the tests. Everyone else took from 45 to 75 minutes for the final exam. He took 4 hours and 20 minutes. (That's why N and I got so much grading done. We were sitting there waiting for him to finish the test.) He still scored less than 50% on the final exam. He doesn't always come to class, and he's never turned in an assignment. I kept telling him that I didn't have them, and he would always have some kind of story about his computer or my email account. I'm not at all sorry that he failed. Darin says that guys like that who know how to work the system will go far in the world. That might be true, but it doesn't mean that I have to pass them.

I had another student who had been working really hard to pull up his grade. He needed a 96 on the final to make an A in the class. (He had a C at midterm.) He made a 99 on the final. And no, Darin, he wasn't cheating.

I'm glad to be done with my first year at Belmont. I'm scheduled for 2 more sections in the Fall, and then I think I'm going to take off a semester. I'm looking forward to summer vacation also.

ttfn

April's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-04-29T11:43:00.000+02:00

March's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-03-23T17:39:00.000+01:00

Just some of the 192 plastic eggs we hid around the farm for the girls. It had been years since they had a big egg hunt. I suppose that they are getting too old for this, but they still had a great time.

Anniversary

2008-03-06T07:51:00.000+01:00

Today is the 2-year anniversary of my fall, broken leg, and surgery. On most days, I forget my leg was even broken, and today the weather is clearing and it feels good. Sometimes when the weather changes it gets stiff, but it's very rarely sore, even after I've been hiking.

I remember that I was depressed that day --- I really didn't want to go to work and face Francois. And I remember that I was relieved, even through the pain, that I didn't have to go to work that day. But now, two years later, so much of that time seems like a dream. It seems unbelievable that we were even living in Europe, let alone that we got to go to the Italian Riviera because I broke my leg. And today I have to go to work, but I'm looking forward to practicing my French during the commute, and I'm looking forward to going over Student's t distribution with my students at Belmont. I love teaching the girls, too, and tonight is Spanish night with my high schooler.

I got out my scrapbook yesterday of the trip to the Mediterranean, just to remind myself that God really can use all things for our good, and that He does work in mysterious ways.

ttfn

February's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-02-13T17:29:00.000+01:00

Super Tuesday and Anniversaries

2008-02-05T18:25:00.000+01:00

It was 65 degrees this morning when Darin and I got up to vote at 7:00. So after we got home, we told the girls they could go play in the creek. It's been raining quite a bit, and the creek was full. It's also Mardi Gras, so it seemed appropriate to give the girls a short break from school.

Darin and I both had a time with the voting machines today. There are only two machines at our precinct, so if we are both having trouble, we can even create a line. (OK, only a line of 1 at 7:20 this morning.) Darin was trying to vote before he had reviewed everything, and his machine started beeping at him. While I was reviewing my vote, I was trying to count everyone, and I accidentally touched the screen, so it sent me back to somewhere so I could change things, and then I had to review it again. The ladies were impressed with how much fun I was having. But what are you going to do? If you make a mistake, you might as well just laugh. Cussing at the machines won't help, and I bet it would upset all those nice old ladies who are volunteering.

I'm happy that we got to go together to vote. After meeting Darin because of the Iowa caucuses, it seems like a romantic thing to do.

That reminded me that this Valentine's Day will be a big anniversary for us --- 20 years since the day we met. Well, it was the day we were introduced. I remember where we were and even what *he* was wearing (not something impressive or flattering). He shook my hand that day, but he didn’t speak to me. The first time he spoke to me was at a college Bible study the next Friday, February 19th, which happened to be my Grandma’s birthday. On that day, he said “Hello,” and he was wearing shorts (in Iowa in February), but I was much more impressed with his looks that day, though it still certainly wasn’t love at first sight for either of us. (It took him until June to actually say anything more than "hello" to me.)

There are birthdays and other anniversaries coming up (including the three year anniversary of my leaving my good government job, and the two year anniversary of my broken leg in Luxembourg). It will be an interesting few weeks.

ttfn

Driving Lessons

2008-01-18T16:49:00.001+01:00

We did it. With all my prodding to get caught up in school, my oldest finally had some time to read through the Drivers' Handbook that she needed to read before I would take her to the Department of Transportation to take her written driver's test. She did take the test on Monday, and she passed, so she now has her "graduated driver's license", what used to be called a learner's permit when I was a kid in Tennessee.

So she drove a little bit on the way home Monday, but it was getting dark by then, and she was a little bit stressed. Today we had our first real lesson other than driving down the driveway and up the driveway and into and out of the garage. She drove down our winding road, and we practiced slowing down for and accelerating out of curves. We also had to practice avoiding dogs, with three separate incidents with two separate dogs.

On the same day that my oldest took her driving test, my youngest started high-school-level algebra. It's hitting me hard that the girls are really growing up. They are making fun of me, but it's more difficult than they think.

January's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2008-01-18T15:38:00.000+01:00

New job for Darin

2008-01-05T14:14:00.001+01:00

Daddy always said to write if we got work, and blogging is the best way for me to get the word out.

Darin got a promotion at the factory. He started there officially in February after being a temp for several months. His temp job and his first job was as a press operator --- a job he hated. It was hot and messy. Then he got a job driving a fork lift --- a job he liked better. Monday he starts in the Quality Assurance department as an inspector. A lot of the promotions are based on seniority, which Darin doesn't have, but Darin does have many impressive qualities. Other people who have been in Quality Assurance don't like the job because they don't like to argue with people. Darin loves causing trouble, so this job should be right up his alley.

I'm very proud of his quick rise through the ranks.

ttfn

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T19:47:00.001+01:00

My mom called me last week and said that she had gotten a Christmas present from my dad. She said that she heard a poem on the radio, and she believes that Daddy sent it for her. I agree.

Today, in my complete insanity, before we could open presents, I made the girls help me unpack some of the boxes in the dining room so I could find my good glasses to use for Christmas dinner. We didn't need them at Thanksgiving because we weren't at home, but I really wanted them for Christmas. We didn't have them last year either, and I was tired of waiting. So I came across a smaller box that was packed inside a big dish box. I knew it wasn't my holiday glassware, but I wanted to see what was in the smaller box.

Inside the box was a note from my dad. It was a list of things that were in the box (things that came from his mom's house), and a note at the bottom to me. I remember Daddy giving me the box and telling me what was inside, but I don't think I'd opened it before. I started crying because I'd gotten a Christmas gift from Daddy, too, and I was just insane enough to actually be opening it on Christmas morning.

I miss you, Daddy.

Merry Christmas!

A very emotional day

2007-12-23T23:47:00.001+01:00

I expected that last Christmas would be the last Christmas with my dad on this side of heaven, and so I knew this Christmas season would be tough, even as far back as last Christmas season. But today was really tough.

My oldest was singing in the youth choir today at the Methodist church for both the 8:30 and the 11:00 service. So we all went to the early service, and then stayed for Sunday School and the 11:00 service, too. We sang "Hark the Herald Angels" today, and the alto part is too high, but I can't sing tenor on the hymns anymore because I think of Daddy and I start to cry. We also sang "Once in Royal David's City," which also made me think about Daddy, so that was difficult to sing also.

I went to Sunday school and enjoyed it. Pastor Carlos talked to us about Christmas traditions in Mexico, and I learned a lot about Mexico and the Spanish language. We also discussed the origins of various traditions. I like Carlos.

Then I went to the second service, which is pretty much the same service as the first service, except that there is a baby dedication in the 11:00 service. I didn't think much about it before time, but at the beginning of the dedication service, I realized that I hadn't seen a baby dedication in years. I usually go to the early service, and baby dedications seem to happen in the later services. As I listened to the parents promise to avoid sin, follow Jesus at all costs, to raise their child for the Lord, it hit me really hard that at one time Darin had promised all of those things,too. It made me really sad. Every time they said "I do" or "I will", it felt like another knife in my heart. The baby's grandfather was a minister, so after the vows had been said, the pastor let the grandfather pray the prayer and do the baptism. The grandfather's prayer just broke my heart because it reminded me so much of my dad, and how happy he was with his four granddaughters.

I've been a wreck all afternoon. I just want to be left alone, and I can't explain to the girls what is going on in my head and in my heart.

December's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-12-23T15:35:00.000+01:00

Limbo

2007-12-11T16:44:00.001+01:00

I finished all my grading for the Belmont courses. It's a relief to be finished, but I still don't know if I'm teaching next semester or not. It would be nice to teach another semester now that I have this semester under my belt, but it would also be nice to have a break. I have several people now I'm trying to convince that they should be my new clients. I'd really like to do a mailing, too, to drum up more business for my courses. Plus, I have some catching up to do for grading for the girls, and I would love to have more time to scrapbook (I still have a couple of pictures to paste in my Japan book).

On the other hand, I'm getting a lot of French done on the long commutes to Belmont. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of sentence structure and basic verb forms. It's funny, though, what they've taught me and what they haven't. For example, I know the words for January, February, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but not the other months or the other days of the week. And we've learned the names for France, Belgium, Italy, England, and Canada. And I know how to ask about the time and the weather, but they keep making me practice asking about the weather in Canada or in England in January or February --- "Il faisait très froid au Canada en janvier et en février." And I can order coffee, beer, or wine, but I don't drink any of those, though I can order milk because they taught me that (I might need milk in my coffee). But, realistically, I do know that Diet Coke is "Coca-Cola Lite" in France, so I suppose I don't need to know anything else to drink. I've been renting French movies, and I'm really enjoying listening to the French. Maybe I'll learn the other months and some good things to eat that way.

So I haven't been doing a lot of reading, and I'm not working on scrapbooks, and now, possibly, no more long commutes to learn French. I guess I'm feeling a little bit lost tonight. I should probably review some algebra for the girls tonight, but I think I'll read Dumas instead.

ttfn

Poison Ivy and Thanksgiving

2007-11-30T16:38:00.002+01:00

I have had a really miserable case of poison ivy. It seems that I got it from the laundry, so even though I never go out into it, I have a rash over about a fourth of my body. Darin had better be more careful because I don't want to go through this again.

The rash made it difficult to concentrate. I also found it difficult to read before bed because I scratched too much, so I started playing computer games instead to take my mind off things and keep myself from scratching. I tried to blog a couple of times, but I just couldn't keep my mind on anything other than how completely uncomfortable I was.

I finally went to the doctor. He was grossed out, so you know that's a bad sign. He gave me a shot of cortisone and prescriptions for an oral antibiotic (it was very infected), and antibiotic cream, and an anti-itch cream. He told me also to get lots of rest and take lots of oral Benedryl. So then even after I started feeling better, I still didn't feel much like sitting at the computer, and I was too tired to lay in bed and read.

But the rash is almost gone now, and the infection is definitely cleared up.

Darin took the kids to see his parents for Thanksgiving, and I went to see my mom. While I was at my mom's, I did get some scrapbooking finished. I had gotten behind in my writing in the books because of a bad infection in my finger and under the nail. (That was before the poison ivy incident.) So I spent a lot of time writing in my big book, and I also worked on my book from the trip to Japan in 1999. I almost have the Japan book finished, but I ran out of the pink paper that matches the cherry blossoms, so I didn't get that completely finished either.

Belmont finals are the end of this week and next week, and I will have grading to do this next week.

The kids are well and working hard at school. Only two full weeks before Christmas break. I'm looking forward to their break so that we can do some fun things here in Nashville, like visiting the lights at Opryland. I'm also hoping to get to see my mom again before Christmas.

Choir again

2007-11-18T21:55:00.000+01:00

Today was the Celebration Service for the 300th anniversary of Charles Wesley's birthday. I sang in a 150 voice choir from several area Methodist churches. We had a real orchestra, plus their incredible pipe organ and the piano. It was so much fun to sing in a big choir like that.

I loved the hymns we sang: "O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing," "Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above," "Sing with Glad Anticipation," "Rejoice, the Lord is King," "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," "Thankful for our Ev'ry Blessing," "A Charge to Keep I Have," "The Vigilance Our Lord Demands," "Jesus, Lover of my Soul," and "And Can it Be?" (which is maybe my favorite hymn).

It's very different from singing in the choir at the Anglican church. I was always so conscious of getting my vowels to sound like the Britishers in the choir. The directors were very patient with me. But here, it's very different. There are more people, for one thing, but I think that there are also people from all over the country, and Elliot has trouble getting all of us to use the same vowel sounds. It's nice for me, in a way, because I don't feel so out of place, but in another way it's harder because I'm sometimes not sure of what vowel sounds to use.

The girls tease me because now when I say the Our Father, I say "trespasses" like a British person. I'm not even sure how I say it, or how I used to say it. Oh well. I'm happy that some of that wonderful church in Luxembourg has stayed with me.

November's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-11-07T16:47:00.000+01:00

The girls had wanted braces so badly before we moved to Luxembourg, and then while we were there, we had no idea how to make it happen. Now, after a year and a half in the States, now that we have dental insurance, and I had a part-time job to pay for them, my two older girls have their braces. Fortunately, my youngest doesn't need braces on her teeth, so that will save us some money!

After all the begging and the tears, it's so nice to finally have it taken care of.

October's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-10-26T17:05:00.000+02:00

Not quite so Lost

2007-10-25T16:56:00.000+02:00

I did it. I figured out how to walk downhill both ways in the Belmont parking garage. (For more information on this problem, please see the previous post titled "Lost".)

Today I parked fairly close to where I was when I got lost in the parking garage. I was on the row that goes downhill between level 6 and level 5. Since the day I got lost, I also figured out that there are two elevators in the garage, one on the west side and one on the east. The row I was on goes from west to east, downhill. So I walked downhill to the east elevator and rode from level 5 down to the "pedestrian level", and when I finished teaching, I walked to the west elevator and went up to level 6, and then walked downhill to my car. It was very exciting.

Holy Spaces and a new church

2007-10-07T18:55:00.000+02:00

My mom and I visited a new church when she came to visit in August, and I realized so much that I've been missing my church in Luxembourg.

Today, the girls decided to go with me to "the organ church" because of communion. It's World Communion Sunday, according to the Methodists, so in honor of that, they invited the choir from a Korean church. The ladies were wearing traditional dresses, and they all looked so beautiful.

After church, the girls and I went up to look at the organ. It has three keyboards (I've forgotten what they are called as a group, besides their individual names: Great, Swell, and Choir), and at least 3 octaves of pedals. The pipes and the trumpets are so beautiful, along with the really beautiful windows in that church.

A history of the project, some good photos, and specifications on the organ are on the Milnar Organ site.

Pictures of the sanctuary windows are on the First United Methodist of Murfreesboro site on their Photographs page.

In Sunday school one day at the Assembly of God church we had been (or still are?) attending, one of the ladies was saying that it was disgusting to look at all the opulence of the European cathedrals, especially in the Vatican. I think she's wrong. I think there is something to be said for holy spaces. Solomon's temple was filled with holy and opulent things. The tent of the tabernacle as well. I think that the concept of a holy space is entirely Biblical, and it makes me sad when churches have no regard for this concept at all. It's nice to be in a church again that understands the idea. Is it too much to have stained glass windows and a pipe organ if that makes the sanctuary a holy space and helps lead us all toward God? I think it's exactly the right idea.

Hopefully, we'll make it to choir practice next Sunday.

It's just so amazing to have this church in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee. I'm really starting to feel more at home.

Lost

2007-10-02T22:59:00.000+02:00

I'm so far behind in blogging, and there is so much to say, and I'm so tired.

I had yet another break-down today. I suppose that partly it was related to my thinking about Dad, but partly related to frustration. Though I hesitate to mention this because it sounds like a joke, I got lost in the parking garage after teaching today. I remembered walking downhill to the elevator in the morning, and I got on the elevator at Level 5. So as I was leaving, I decided to go up to Level 6 so I could walk downhill to get to my car instead of walking up the ramp from Level 5.

When I was a child, my dad used to give classes on how to give IQ tests to little kids. My brother and I used to help him with his demonstrations. I don't remember a lot of details about the test or the classes, except for this one day and one question. There was a set of questions where Dad would read a story, and we had to tell what was wrong with the story. One day, as I was telling what was wrong with the story, everyone in the class started laughing. I looked at Dad to see what was wrong, and he said, "Honey, I have to ask the question first." After that, I didn't get to go with Dad to his classes anymore, and I felt really sad about it. The story was about a man who would walk downhill to the store and downhill back to his house, and the answer to the question was that he couldn't walk downhill both ways.

So today I'm trying to walk downhill both ways in the parking garage by getting off at Level 6, but somehow I made it down to Level 4, and I didn't pass my car. While I was on Level 4, I knew that my car was just above where I was, but I somehow never made it to that particular row on Level 5, and I couldn't figure out how to get there. Eventually, I found my way back to the elevator on Level 4, and I rode back up to Level 6 and tried it again, and this time I managed to walk past my car. I really think that I didn't even go down the right row the first time, not that I walked right past and missed it. But I'm not really sure. It's hard to see through the tears sometimes.

Sunday was the six-month anniversary of Daddy's death. I went to the Methodist church because I knew I couldn't handle the Assembly of God church. The people at the Methodist church are nice, and I love the organ music and the choir. I'm going back because they will have communion and the Assembly of God church won't because they don't do communion.

The choirs at the Methodist church start practicing for Christmas next week. I'd really like to start going to choir practice. They have bell choirs, too, though I've never tried that before.

I have lots of things to blog about, but I'm too tired. Getting lost is really exhausting.

September's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-09-29T00:52:00.000+02:00

Avast, me mateys!

2007-09-19T07:30:00.000+02:00

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. If you search for Luxembourg in the pictures on their website, you can still find our pirate celebration from Luxembourg.

French lessons

2007-09-07T22:25:00.000+02:00

My best friend in high school has a mom who is an English professor. They named their dog D'Artagnan. Not only did I have no idea of how to pronounce something that was French, I also had no idea who D'Artagnan was named for or what book it came from. Fran encouraged me to read The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, especially since Richard Chamberlain was in the movie version. So I read it, and I eventually even saw that version of the movie. I liked the story, but at the time, I had no idea of where the places mentioned were, or how to pronounce any of the names, and I didn't understand any of the Latin or French that made it's way into the book. So many of the men seemed so silly to risk so much for a woman.

Now that I'm an adult, I still think it's silly that men would risk so much for another man's wife, but I understand everything so much better now.

I've been reading scholarly books about the history of French love poetry, and how it relates to other works in literature, like Dante's Divine Comedy. Understanding more about the tradition of French romance literature helped me understand more of the motives of the men in the story. Understanding more the layout of Paris, France, and England helped me understand the geography of the story more. I know enough French to be able to pronounce the names, and I know enough Latin to translate when Aramis speaks in Latin. It had been long enough ago that I had forgotten the plot, for the most part, so though I knew somewhat who was going to survive until the end of the story, I was genuinely surprised by some of the plot twists.

The pace is quick, and dialog and characters really charming and funny. It's easy to see why Alexandre Dumas is such a renowned author all over the world.

I've been listening to my French lesson CD's again now that I have a long car ride into work. It's nice to be working on my French again, even though I don't have anyone to practice with me here in Tennessee. I'm hoping to someday be brave enough to try to read Dumas in French.

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An anniversary

2007-09-06T20:23:00.000+02:00

Today is the 18 month anniversary of the day I fell and broke my leg. To celebrate, I did aerobics Tuesday night with the girls, and I've been on my feet most Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it's really humid today, so my ankle is really stiff. But even on stiff days, it's not so bad. And, as all my doctors tell me, all my scars are better than ankle tattoos.

August's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-08-31T23:12:00.000+02:00

Late Nights

2007-08-31T20:20:00.000+02:00

I haven't been blogging much lately. I suppose in a lot of ways I've just been too overwhelmed.

My new teaching job is going well. Thursday was the first day of formulas, and I had several positive comments from the students, so that was nice.

I had a paper due yesterday at midnight, and it didn't occur to me until 10:50 PM that they meant midnight Eastern time, so I had about 10 minutes to get logged onto the system and get my paper in. I checked on it today, and it seems to be OK. I hate it when I put things off until the last minute, but my life has just been so crazy this week.

I had a really rough night last night, after I sent my paper in, and I realized today that yesterday was the 5-month anniversary of Daddy's death. I think that I knew it in my heart even though I had lost track of the days with my head. This coming Sunday would have been my parents' 45th wedding anniversary, so I know my mom is not going to have a good weekend, but I don't think there is anything that I could do to help. I'm trying to convince Darin to take the blond girls to their church on Sunday so that I can go to the "organ church" instead. I think Rachel wants to come with me and see the organ. My mom and I went to this church instead of the kids' church on Sunday. I really felt the presence of God there, I really enjoyed the service, and the people in Sunday school were very nice.

Now that things are settling down into a "new normal," I will try to get back on the computer again and blog more.

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Elvis RIP

2007-08-16T18:19:00.000+02:00

I can't believe it's been 30 years.

I remember the day Elvis died.

In the summer of 1977, we left South Dakota and moved to Tennessee. On the morning of June 11, I remember watching the morning news as the movers came to load the moving van. James Earl Ray (the man who shot Martin Luther King, Jr.) had just escaped from from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in East Tennessee. It didn't bother me so much that a killer was loose. I figured that he was important enough that the police and FBI would catch him again. But the reporter said that he was in the "snake-infested hills of East Tennessee." I remember looking at my dad and saying, "Do we really have to move there?"

My parents had tried to find a house for us, but with no success, so we moved from a three-bedroom single-family house in South Dakota into a two-bedroom apartment on the top of one of those snake-infested hills in East Tennessee. There were six of us in those days: Mom, Dad, me, my two brothers, and our wonderful dog Cuddles. I think the boys shared a bedroom, or maybe my youngest brother slept in Mom and Dad's room. I slept on the couch in the living room.

On the day Elvis died, it seemed like the world was going to end. I don't think I had ever heard such wailing in my life. I knew who Elvis was, and I'd heard his songs, but I had never been to Graceland, or anything like that, and I had no idea that other people were so crazy about him. I'm sure that it wasn't such a big deal back in South Dakota. The mom in the family across the hall from us went to bed for weeks when Elvis died. She was too grief-stricken to do anything. Her husband would come by our apartment and ask my mom questions on how to cook things like hot dogs. He was afraid to ask his wife.

I remember being so stressed about having to go to a new school, and not knowing if I would fit in, and wondering if I was ever going to get enough sleep at night in that apartment.

There are several events I remember in my life. I'm too young to remember when President Kennedy got shot, but I do remember when Nixon resigned. I remember when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after take-off and when the Columbia exploded over Texas. I remember when the World Trade Center Towers fell and the sound of the plane hitting the Pentagon that day. And I remember the eerie sound of screaming when Elvis died.

July's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-07-31T08:30:00.000+02:00

Lessons in Calmness from my Sunday school teacher

2007-07-29T23:32:00.000+02:00

Some of you may have gotten this email already, or seen it on another blog, but I wanted to share it here, too.

I got this email from my Sunday school teacher:

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace.

Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished." So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now. Please pass this on to those whom you think might be in need of some calmness in their lives.

We have half a bag of Oreos in the house, but no alcohol and no old Prozac prescription. We did have half a can of spray-on whipped cream that we put on our cookies and/or bananas this evening. I don't think we're feeling as good as the person who wrote that original email.

And I think that Dr. Phil is wrong. I'm not stressed about the projects I haven't finished. I just keep plugging away, and I know that I'll get there some day, or not. It's not a big deal. The key to calmness in my life is to keep Darin from starting any new projects, especially home improvement projects like he was doing in Virginia (knocking down walls, etc).

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Visiting Clergy

2007-07-26T23:36:00.000+02:00

So I had my very first mammogram this week at the age of 42 and a half. Yes, I know, a bit behind schedule.

My appointment was at the "outpatient diagnostics center" at a local hospital. I had never been a patient at that hospital before, and I knew they would need me to fill out some forms. One form was specifically for the test that day, but the other form was for their records because I was a new patient. The last two questions on the form:

* Would you like visitors? Yes No
* Would you like a visit from a member of the clergy? Yes No

Remember, I'm there for a mammogram. No, I don't really want visitors, and I think that I would especially not like a visit from a member of the clergy. However, I don't want to seem anti-social. I mean, what if, God forbid, I get into a car accident in the future and end up in the hospital?

I left the last two questions blank.

Honor Star, Honor Friend Weekend

2007-07-15T23:39:00.000+02:00

Our church has something called Missionettes, where girls complete different studies for badges or charms. It's like a Christian version of Girl Scouts.

Today, my youngest girl was crowned as an Honor Star and my oldest girl was crowned as an Honor Friend. One great thing about being back in Tennessee was that my mom, brother, sister, and niece came to our house to help us celebrate the weekend.

To be an Honor Star, a girl must complete at least 27 badges. (Each badge has four lessons, with a project and a memory verse, and can be completed in about a month.) She must also read the entire New Testament in the three years she's in Stars. She must learn the Statement of Faith, the Lord's Prayer, write an essay on Integrity, and memorize a set of questions and answers about healing, the Holy Spirit, and End-time Events. At the end of the three years, she takes a written test on everything they've learned, including the 27 memory verses. My youngest daughter had the highest score in her group of five Honor Stars.

An Honor Star receives a crown, a sash, and an Honor Star medal during the ceremony. My daughter also received a Bronze Medal because she is an Honor Daisy, Honor Prim, and an Honor Star.

To be an Honor Friend, a girl must complete at least 18 units. (Each unit has six lessons, with a project and memory verse, so they take about six weeks to complete.) She must also read the entire Bible, both Old and New Testament, in the three years she's in the Friends Club. At the end of the three years, she must take a written test on the Statement of Faith and the 18 memory verses. My oldest daughter scored a perfect 100% on her test.

An Honor Friend receives a ring with a butterfly and a purple graduation cord during the ceremony. My daughter also received a Silver Medal because she is an Honor Daisy, Honor Prim, Honor Star, and now an Honor Friend. She was the first Honor Friend they had ever had at that church, and so was also their first Silver Medalist.

I'm so proud of my girls, and they were so happy they could share the weekend with my family.

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Independence Day 2007

2007-07-04T23:39:00.000+02:00

The girls wanted to go to downtown Nashville again for Independence Day. Some of the people on the program for the concert were Taylor Swift, who is one of the girls' new favorite singers, and Rodney Adkins, who the girls have liked for a little while now. Rodney Adkins has a song called "If You're Goin' Through Hell", and the kids thought that the words were particularly appropriate to us living in Luxembourg: "If you're goin' through Hell, keep on goin', don't slow down, if you're scared don't show it. You might get out before the devil even knows you're there."

We got there early this year, and some of us went to the Charlie Daniels museum, and some of us went on the free bungy jumping ride.

The show started with the color guard and National Anthem. I still can't sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" without crying. I was crying through the fireworks, too. Even "Stars and Stripes Forever" makes me cry. I'm so happy to be back in the United States of America.

God bless the U.S.A.!

We are back!

2007-06-30T23:48:00.000+02:00

We are back from Montreal and my conference. Rachel did a great job of navigating, even when the signs were in French. We also had a wonderful time in the Boston area, going both to Plymouth and to Lexington and Concord.

Rachel's books for high school came yesterday, and she went into town to a movie, so we're going to look through them all today. Yet another thing to get organized.

June's Beautiful Picture from the U.S.A.

2007-06-30T15:27:00.000+02:00

At the green in Lexington, MA

Nothing to do but blog, clean, and relax

2007-06-02T23:44:00.000+02:00

So, school is over for the 2006-2007 school year. My oldest daughter finished her testing for placement into her high school for next school year. My slides are finished for the June conference, and by the end of the day today, I should have all the arrangements and reservations made for the trip. On Monday, the two older girls go to Youth Camp with the church.

So next week I'll have no pressing deadlines, and a week to hang out with my baby. I'm feeling a bit at a loss. It's been so long since we haven't had school hanging over our heads. I'm trying to decide if we should take on a big project (like sewing a dress) or a slightly smaller project (like working on scrapbooks together). I'm looking forward to some quality time with my youngest daughter, and I don't want us to be stressed out.

Today is my day to clean up the living room, and I have some cleaning to do in the kitchen today, too. But hopefully, I'll have some time to work on my scrapbooks today.

I also had a chance to watch some rented DVDs. We just finished How the West Was Won. I had forgotten how much I love the score to that movie. I remember seeing that movie when I was really little. Even as a little kid, I was impressed by John Wayne fighting the Civil War and the buffalo stampede. The movie reminded me so much of my dad. All through the movie, I kept thinking, "My dad loved this part." Especially during the buffalo stampede. They used real buffalo back then, in 1962. I'm not sure they could do that now and claim that no animals were injured. I'm really glad we rented this movie. It brought back a lot of memories.

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Language Issues in Tennessee

2007-06-01T21:47:00.000+02:00

One of the sections of my daughter's recent achievement test was a True/False section on grammar. The instructions said they were going to give her some sentences, and if they were written in "standard English", then she should mark True, and if they weren't in "standard English", then mark False. She looked at me and asked, "Your standard English or Dad's standard English?" I told her to go with Darin's.

At one point during the test she laughed and said, "I think I've heard you say this before, Mom." And then she marked it False.

On a mildly related note, Darin was calling BCBS of Alabama to ask about a claim of mine. It was one of those answering services where you have to talk to the computer. He kept saying "Yes" over and over. The computer just couldn't understand him. After about five times, he said "Ye-es," making it a two-syllable word. That time it understood him. He eventually gave up trying to talk to that computer and kept saying "Customer Service" over and over until he finally got to talk to a real person.

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May's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-05-31T18:49:00.000+02:00

Clue

2007-05-26T23:50:00.000+02:00

The two older kids spent the first two weekends in May working on a Clue movie with the junior high youth group. The characters were Mr. Body, Miss Maroon, Mrs. Jade, Mrs. Parrot, Mrs. Black, and Major Mayo, with some additional characters, like two door-to-door salesmen, and a butler. Rachel was Mrs. Parrot, and NB was the head sound technician.

Rachel underwent a transformation those two weeks. She was told to dress in blue for her costume, and so she wore this blouse that her grandmother had given her---bright blue with ruffles and sequins. Rachel thought she would never wear it. She also wore makeup for the first night, borrowed, mostly, from other people. But she liked the way she looked it in, and she asked if we could buy some makeup for her. I told her that since she was almost in high school, I was willing for her to start wearing makeup, but only if she promised to wash her face twice a day like she is supposed to. A few months ago, Rachel started really taking care of her hair, and it looks great. Now she is really taking care of her face, too, and it looks good, and the makeup looks good. She looks like a very different girl than that messy-haired kid that used to live here.

We also needed to do some shopping for white dresses for the Star and Friend ceremony in July. Three years ago, when M was an Honor Star, she wanted to sew her own dress, and she wanted something very simple. This time she wanted fancy, again, another sign she's growing up.

Last night was premier night for the Clue movie. Rachel and NB both had done a great job.

I've always tried to enjoy the kids at the age they are now instead of always looking back or always looking ahead. But with testing for high school, and the changes in the girls, it's hard not to think ahead to them leaving the house and how lonely I'll be. But enough of that for now. I'll think about it tomorrow.

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Next to Last Day

2007-05-24T23:24:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow is our last day for school for this school year. I've been grading papers like crazy, working on paperwork for M to start high school in the fall, working for clients, and trying to keep the house clean, too. The weather here has been warm and dry---perfect for me to get caught up on the laundry (since we don't have a dryer). But there is so much other stuff to get caught up on, too.

On Monday, I found a little bit of time for scrapbooking. I cleaned in my room some over the weekend, and unpacked some boxes, and I found a box of pictures I had been looking for. I just knew in my heart that the first picture in the box was a picture of my girls with my dad from December of 2004, and I really wanted to find that box. I did. And Monday I did about four pages in my family scrapbook. I worked really hard in Luxembourg to be only about one year behind in getting my pictures in books and documented. Now I'm two and a half years behind, but I'm not discouraged. I got caught up once, and I can do it again.

One Year Ago Today

2007-05-02T23:22:00.000+02:00

A year ago today we closed on our house here in Tennessee. Sometimes when I see how much stuff I still have to unpack, I get discouraged. On the other hand, I'm really thankful that we have all our stuff, and that we have a house and land we love.

April's Beautiful Picture From Tennessee

2007-04-30T23:32:00.000+02:00

Daddy's funeral

2007-04-03T23:43:00.000+02:00

This is the eulogy I gave tonight at Daddy's funeral:

When I was a child, I thought that everyone had the same kind of childhood that I had, and it wasn't until I was older that I learned to appreciate the uniqueness of my childhood. Let me tell you about my dad.

When I was little, before I could say the word "statistician," Daddy and I would pretend to be statisticians. We’d do little experiments in the kitchen, or we’d do a survey of words in the newspaper, and then we would graph our results. We discussed the properties of bell-shaped curves. We figured out the probability of drawing a pair of matching socks from my well-mixed sock drawer.

When I was in third grade, Mrs. Hoffman was teaching us multiplication tables, and I was bored. When I told Daddy I was bored in math, he said he would teach me a magic trick. He got out his book of logarithm tables (back in the olden days before calculators could do logarithms), and he showed me how to look up numbers in the logarithm table. Then you would take the logarithms and add them, but when you undid the logarithm they would really be multiplied. I tried it over and over for any multiplication problem I could think of, and the next day I told Mrs. Hoffman that my dad had taught me a really cool magic trick with logarithms. She called my dad later and suggested to him that he should stop teaching me at home. He ignored her suggestion.

But math to my dad was more than just the kind of math you might use as a statistician, it was the kind of math you used in sports. I learned how to compute "yards per carry" and "runs batted in." There is never a time in my life when I can remember NOT knowing the rules to football, baseball, and basketball, and I've been a Nebraska football fan my whole life. Some of you might know that my dad knew Richie Ashburn who played major-league baseball in Philadelphia and later worked for them as a broadcaster, but my dad had other connections, too. When we lived in Vermillion, South Dakota, Daddy was friends with the announcer for the town baseball team. Daddy and Don and I went to a lot of baseball games in Vermillion, and sometimes I would get to sit up in the announcer’s booth, and one time I even got to run the scoreboard, to turn on the balls, strikes, and outs. Daddy took us to high school football, basketball, and wrestling, and University of South Dakota football and basketball, too. And when we moved to Tennessee, we started going to Science Hill and ETSU games and track meets.

Time with Daddy was more than just math. Daddy read out loud to us, everything from "The House that Jack Built" and "Oh How Do We Get to the Zoo?" to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Rice Burrows. Daddy taught me to sing the tenor part on the hymns with him before I could read well enough to read the words of the hymns. We took family vacations out west to see the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, and trips in the east to every major Civil War battle site, and as many of the minor ones as Daddy could find.

Daddy loved to look for patterns in every day things, from the number of petals on wildflowers to odometer readings on the car. I remember calling Daddy on his 48th birthday and asking how it feels to be 48. He said it felt a lot like 47. I called him on his 49th birthday, and he was really excited. This wasn't just any birthday. I had just turned 25, and he was 49, and that was 5 squared and 7 squared. And to make it even better, on his mom’s next birthday, she was going to turn 81, so then we'd have 5, 7, and 9 squared. I remember that he said, "We couldn't have done better if we'd planned it." And I remember thinking, but who would have thought to plan this?

No matter what happened in our lives, I always knew, without any doubt, that my dad loved me and my brothers, even when (or maybe especially when) we were being punished. I also knew, without any doubt, that he loved my mom.

It wasn't until I was much older that I realized that not every child has this kind of childhood. Not everyone grows up in such a secure and loving home with such amazing parents. I also discovered that not everyone loved math and statistics like I did.

Now I’m married with three kids of my own, and this has given me a chance to see Daddy’s teaching abilities with the next generation. I remember very clearly overhearing my dad watching a Nebraska football game on TV, and hearing him explain the kind of plays you might want to run on second and 7. I went out to see who he was talking to, and it was my two-month-old daughter. I asked Daddy what he was doing, and he told me that it’s never too early to start training the next generation. And it works. My husband is from Iowa, and much to my husband’s chagrin, all three of my girls route for Nebraska. Daddy loved watching his granddaughters play soccer and going to their piano recitals. And Mom and Dad took us all on a family vacation out to Yellowstone and Custer State Park to see Daddy’s beloved buffaloes in the wild.

Besides being a mother, you might have guessed that I’m a statistician by profession. Every day I use the lessons he taught me. I teach classes on time series, and I explain to people how magical logarithm can be. I teach my girls math and music and history, and we visit as many battlefields from the War Between the States as we can manage. I still sing tenor on the hymns in church. I still have a very well-mixed sock drawer.

I could never live up to everything Daddy did. I mean, we are talking about the man who had to walk through the snow barefoot to school every day, and uphill both ways. OK, so he liked to tell stories, and I was fairly gullible, but I did always work hard at what I set my mind to do. I always wanted to do my very best, not so that my dad would love me, but because I loved him, and I wanted to be just like him.

The most important thing that Daddy taught me was to be passionate about God. Finding patterns in nature wasn't some kind of hobby with Dad, or something to pass the time. It was just one way to marvel at all the amazing gifts that God has given us, to appreciate the world around us, to see God’s handiwork in even the little things. Daddy taught me that there is beauty in everything around us. There is beauty in every situation, even the bad ones, when we can see that God is in control. When something miraculous happens and other people chalk it up to coincidence or chance, as statisticians, we can figure out the probabilities and see very clearly the hand of God. Daddy taught me how to see the Power behind the chance.

The older I get, the more I'm convinced that if someone doesn't love math, it's only because they didn't have a good teacher. So every day, I can thank God that I had the very best math teacher, right from the start.

This was part of the eulogy given by Daddy's boss, Dr. Bagnell, the Dean of the College of Medicine at ETSU:

I want to express my appreciation to you for inviting me to participate in this celebration of Leo’s life . . . truly, a life well and fully lived. I knew Leo best through the medical school and mostly through the work we shared in Academic affairs, but Leo did not compartmentalize his life and one could not be with him without appreciating his broad range of interests and some of the passions in his life: his family, his faith and his church, his music and the Johnson City Civic Chorale, sports and especially Nebraska and the University of Nebraska team, education and particularly the evaluation of educational effectiveness, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, quilting . . . through each of these interests was intertwined his love of order as expressed, for him, through mathematics. As Catherine mentioned, she grew up with a sense of numeric order that applied to all forms of thinking, from football to flowers, and when applied to nature and our universe it simply enhanced her wonder at the role of our Maker. What a beautiful message to convey to your children. It's wonderful to hear her tales of growing up as Leo’s favorite daughter.

Leo loved sports and was an avid fan of Science Hill High Scholl basketball and football, ETSU sports, Johnson City Cardinals baseball team, St. Louis Blues NHL hockey team, and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. He attended high school in Tilden Nebraska, which is important in understanding his Nebraska roots and one of his baseball connections. He played baseball in Tilden and developed a long-standing friendship with Tilden’s best-known baseball player, Richie Ashburn, who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995, thus explaining the pictures and memorabilia related to Richie Ashburn on display today.

While working toward his masters’ degree, Leo taught mathematics and science at Seward Junior High in Seward, Nebraska, and also served as the junior high school athletic coach. Later, the legendary Nebraska football coach, Tom Osborne, who also had a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, taught Leo statistics at the University of Nebraska. As the family will attest, Leo found the association between statistics and football strategy to be simply, well, logical.

Leo loved to teach and developed a strong bond with many of his students. On receiving his Ph.D. with a major in Educational Psychology and Measurement, and a minor in Mathematics in 1969, Leo accepted a faculty position at the University of South Dakota in their College of Education. There he met Dr. Jack Mobley, the Associate Dean for Clinical Sciences at USD, and worked with him on faculty development and student evaluation in South Dakota’s medical school. When Jack Mobley accepted the position as the second Dean of Medicine at ETSU, Leo received an invitation to interview for the newly created position of the Assistant Dean for Educational Resources.

There are several tales about his interviews for this position, but Leo most remembered an interview with a newly appointed associate dean who made it clear that he saw absolutely no need for the medical school to hire anyone with Leo’s skills---not the last time Leo would hear this. At this time the medical school still had not received approval from the accreditation body, the LCME, to admit the first class of students, and Leo would later remark that "leaving the University of South Dakota was the biggest gamble I ever took in my life, but it didn’t seem like the odds were too bad at the time."

I’m not sure how Joyce reflected on this decision during their first few months. The family arrived in East Tennessee from South Dakota to discover new experiences and a new culture. They reached Johnson City tired and exhausted from long car trip with three young children and a dog on "race weekend," a term that meant nothing to them at the time. Their reservations at the Holiday Inn had been cancelled because of a delay in finishing the races. Their next housing experience was also a cultural awakening. They found temporary housing for the summer in cramped apartment which had one paper-thin wall separating them from a grief-stricken neighbor who wept and wailed for days after Elvis died in mid-August 1977.

Leo separated his physicians into two groups: ETSU graduates and others. He felt a special affinity for our ETSU graduates and would often mention that he had taught such and such a physician. He had a particular affinity for the first class of 24 students that started in the fall of 1978. When the LCME did give approval in June 1977 for the college of medicine to admit a class of 24 students, Leo was appointed acting Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and held the administrative responsibility for working with Dr. Les Bryant, the new Chair of the Department of Surgery and the Chair of the Admissions Committee, in selecting the class of 24 from 219 applicants. The fact that there were 219 applicants was in no small part related to an effort by Leo---as the school received notification to proceed to admit students well after the national admissions system had closed applications, he had to take to the road and visit undergraduate schools throughout the state to encourage applications to this new medical school. Ironically, one of the 24 students in the inaugural class, Dr. Ray Lamb, became his oncologist and good friend over the last years of his life, a relationship Leo valued highly.

Leo clearly felt a bond with his students and it was not surprising that post retirement he elected to work one-on-one with students who might benefit from his skills in helping students improve their success in taking multiple-choice tests. He was really very good at this. His other main post-retirement focus was to help faculty with the flip side of the test-taking coin, that is, the proper construction of multiple choice tests. I remember the day one of our senior faculty presented Leo with copies of tests for his analysis. Leo always started by asking faculty members to bring copies of old tests as the starting point for helping with the development of good skills in writing examination questions. Leo knew nothing of the subject matter this faculty member taught, but ran down through the questions on the first page stating the correct answer, without error. Well, maybe we might have needed someone with Leo’s skills after all!

Leo had many "firsts" and many wonderful stories of his 30 years in the College of Medicine. He taught the first course offered in the graduate program in the college of medicine, a research design/data analysis course for two graduate students. One of these students later became the first student to earn a Ph.D. degree from ETSU.

With his stories, his sense of humor played a key role in what he elected to remember. One of his stories related to his first day at work as the Assistant Dean for Medical Education. He had two staff members, one being a computer systems analyst, but neither the office not the college of medicine had a computer.

Leo’s years of experience and many accomplishments in the college of medicine culminated with his appointment as the Chair of our Medical Student Education committee in the mid-1990s. He was given a clear and strong mandate to work to develop excellence in medical education and our educational success is indebted to him for creating the structure around with we could develop and maintain an effective curriculum. The system and the infrastructure he created played a major role in our success in the accreditation process in 2003, and Leo quite justifiably derived his greatest feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction from his work with this committee.

I valued Leo’s counsel and his loyalty; he contributed so much in so many ways. I also just enjoyed Leo and will miss his warmth and friendship, his sense of humor, his memory of events that only he and I were old enough to remember, and the presence of his beautiful tenor voice while the rest of us sang “Happy Birthday” so terribly at departmental birthday parties. His was a life very well-lived, and he has left his family and the rest of us with so very much to celebrate as we give thanks for his life and the time we had with him.

The service:

Scripture Reading – Psalm 121

Prayer

Congregational Hymn: "For All the Saints"

Congregational Hymn: "Blessed Assurance"

Speaker: Catherine

Congregational Hymn: "I'll Fly Away"

Speaker: Dr. Bagnell

Solo: Helen Rebmann – "His Eye is on the Sparrow"

Speaker: Arthur Joyce

Prayer

Daddy said that he wanted to sing "I'll Fly Away" at his own funeral, but he never got around to recording it. Maybe he wasn't serious. He and I used to tease my mom about the duets we were going to sing at my wedding, which we didn't sing because we were just joking around. My dad had his own obituary already written, so I don't know why he hadn't bothered to record that hymn.

Daddy and anniversaries

2007-03-30T23:02:00.000+02:00

Tonight I lost my dad to cancer. Though I feel incredibly cheated to have lost him so soon, I am very thankful to have had such amazing, unconditional love from such an amazing, incredible man. He was my first and greatest math and statistics teacher and has always been my biggest fan and best mentor.

Also, today was the one-year anniversary of us moving back to the States. I'm so glad that we moved back, and I'm so glad that we live so close to my parents' house. There was a time when I doubted that we were really in God's will for our lives, but I see so clearly now His hand in everything that has happened in my life. I'm so thankful that I was close to home this past year.

March's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-03-28T15:26:00.000+02:00

A birthday gift from my mom and dad

Daddy

2007-03-23T10:19:00.000+01:00

I took the week off from work this week so that I could help my parents get to Houston for more tests for Daddy. But something happened with Daddy late last week. There was too much calcium in his blood, which does really strange things to your nervous system, as it turns out. So Daddy had to go back to the hospital. When I talked to Mom last Friday morning, she was really exhausted, so I went up there to take the night shifts at the hospital until Daddy was better. Bill came home, too, for spring break, so I came home on Tuesday after a nap. Daddy is feeling better, though I don't know when the Houston trip will be now.

One year ago from right now, Darin and the girls were exploring an ancient monastery on the Mediterranean Coast in Spain. I sat in the car with my broken leg and watched boats come in and out of the harbor and tried not to think about how much I needed a rest room. I'm going to celebrate the day by scrapbooking.

ttfn

February's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-02-27T17:27:00.000+01:00

Our first and only real snowfall, and the snow melted before the thrid day. I love Tennessee.

Best Friends

2007-02-23T21:59:00.000+01:00

I heard the Michael W. Smith song "Friends" this evening. It's not my favorite song in the world, though it's not bad. I suppose I don't really like it because it always seems to be sung at really emotional times, and I tend to be an emotional girl.

But it got me thinking about my best friend, of course, and I realized that one of the main problems with running my own business in the middle of nowhere is that I don't see enough of my best friend.

Living in Luxembourg was difficult because of the time difference. It gave me a very limited window where I could call my parents or my friends back in the States. One nice thing about being in Tennessee is that I'm only one time zone away from most of my friends.

I've had a really difficult time connecting with people around here. I guess I'm just too different from anyone around here. It's hard to find common ground.

I suppose the moral of the story is that I need to spend some time investing in the friendships I do already have with the people that understand me, especially now that there isn't such a big time difference.

Health Insurance

2007-02-11T19:58:00.000+01:00

It's been almost two years now since I left my good government job in DC and my good government health insurance. We had health insurance in Luxembourg, I suppose, but we never understood how to use it if we needed it (like when my middle child was bitten and scratched badly by the neighbor's cat), and we never understood how to get preventative care, like cancer screenings.

So this week, my husband started permanently at the job where he has been a temp through Kelly Services for the past eight months. So this week, for the first time in almost two years, we have health insurance.

I am old enough now that I should have had a mammogram or two by now. I've never had one. It's been over two years since I've had a pap smear. The girls haven't had a check-up in over five years. It's been over three years since any of us have been to a dentist, and the two older girls need orthodontia.

We have been doing fine financially. My husband's job is enough to pay the bills, and now my consulting business is taking off and I'm bringing in some money also. But all it would have taken in these past months is one bad illness or one bad car accident, and we would have been in big trouble financially. And though you try not worry, it's something that comes often to your mind.

I think that one of the factors that triggered my mid-life crisis and made me really want to quit my job at the Census Bureau was the death of my good friend Mary Ellen from ovarian cancer. She was only 42 when she passed away. So I quit my job and move to Europe and then move back to the States, and we're in a situation where we don't have health insurance. And you can't help but think that it doesn't matter how old you are---a health crisis can happen at any age.

My leaving the Census Bureau got us out of the DC area. We're in a house we love on land we love. The girls are adjusting to life here, though they still miss their friends in Virginia (as do I). We really are back on the track to having some stability.

It's easy to second guess the choices we've made. If I'd known we'd be without health insurance for two years, maybe I wouldn't have left my good government job. But maybe that's why God never lets us really see what lies ahead. So is it better not to know so that you take a chance, and then it all works out in the end? Or should I have been more careful, and not decided I and my family should be without health insurance right when I turned 40?

In the end, it doesn't matter. We're happy and healthy, and I'm learning to really appreciate my new life in Tennessee.

But if you're thinking about having a mid-life crisis, it's very important to think about health insurance. Don't count on having a safety net even if you move to a country with socialized medicine.

January's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2007-01-31T17:03:00.000+01:00

Provenance and effervescent

2007-01-17T23:12:00.000+01:00

My brother is two years younger than me and, for as long as I can remember, he's been smarter than me. Which, now, is really cool. But when you're little, it's kind of embarrassing.

Recently my brother used the word "provenance" in reference to my grandfather's organ that he was helping me move into our new house. I have no idea what he's talking about. "Don't you watch the 'Antiques Roadshow'?" he asks. Well, I do sometimes, but I somehow tend to tune out words that I don't know the meaning of. So then my brother decides to help me improve my vocabulary by encouraging me to use the word in conversation to help me remember. Seein's how it sounds so French, and I'm all about learning French, you would think that I could remember this word. But I don't. I have a really hard time remembering the word whenever I find some opportunity to use it in a sentence. And I see the word all the time now, so I don't know how I missed it before. As an example, here is an article on Wikipedia about a really interesting painting by Jan van Eyck, and the article has a section on Provenance.

And for our other French word of the day, we're going to learn the word effervescent.

When I was in the hospital, and sick from the pain medication, I asked them to take me off the IV and bring me pills for pain instead. This, of course, was not an easy conversation for me to have in French. But that night, the nurse brings me a pill in a foil wrapper, and when I open it, the thing is the size of a 2 euro coin, which makes it bigger than a quarter and smaller than those old 50 cent pieces that I used to see sometimes with Eisenhower on them. I can hardly swallow a regular-sized aspirin, so how am I going to swallow this? I can the nurse back and ask her if I can bite the pill, and I make biting motions with my mouth. "No, no, no -- effervescent."

I look on the package that was there in my lap, and sure enough, written plain as day, is the word effervescent. I should have tried to read the instructions. I shouldn't have assumed that I wouldn't understand the French written there. The nurse asks if I understand effervescent. I tell her that I understand, and I put the pill in my cup of water to prove it to her. She asks me what the word is in English, and I tell her a bold-face lie, "Je ne sais pas" --- I don't know.

Sometimes I have serious doubts about my ability to learn French when I have so much trouble with the English.

ttfn

No Handies in America

2007-01-14T16:14:00.000+01:00

My brother and sister bought me an MP3 player for Christmas, and I'm working on downloading my 100 free songs that came with it. I think I'm going to try to find some of the songs that I would hear on the bus in Luxembourg. I would never buy the CD for some of these people. But I'm thinking that I would like to have a copy of my theme song from Luxembourg --- "So You Had a Bad Day" by Daniel Powter.

I always assumed that I could be the last person in America to own an MP3 player or a cell phone. (And no, dearest brother and sister, this isn't a plea for you to buy me a cell phone.) It's amazing to me how many web sites and businesses and friends want my cell phone number. They look at you like you've just spit on them when you say you don't have a cell phone.

In Luxembourg, no one understands the phrase "cell phone." To most of the people in Luxembourg, they are "mobiles" or "mobile phones." Except the British. They will understand when you say "mobile," but the term they prefer is "handie." It took me a while to catch onto this phrase. I wasn't sure how to respond the first time I heard, "Well don't you have your handie on you?" I gradually got used to this term, and when we got back to the States, I had to be careful to not to say something like, "Did you remember to turn off the handie?"

I overheard some of the British ladies talking about my lack of a handie after church one day when we were still in Luxembourg. The one lady was feeling very sorry for me that I didn't have one. Her companion said, "Apparently, they don't really believe in handies in America." So somewhere in Luxembourg there is a group of British ladies who think that the only Americans who use mobile phones are in the movies --- that "real" Americans don't have mobile phones.

It's always amazing to me what a little bit of cultural exchange can do to clear up misconceptions of foreign cultures. :-)

ttfn

Nationality in The English Patient

2007-01-04T17:56:00.000+01:00

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje is set at the end of World War II in an Italian villa that temporarily houses four very different people: the mysterious English patient of the title, burned beyond recognition; Hana, an exhausted army nurse from Canada; David Caravaggio, an Italian friend of Hana's father; and Kip, an Indian sapper with the British military sent to the area to clear the mines and unexploded bombs left behind by the Germans.

It's a story about books and literature and how they affect out lives. As much as I've been reading since I've been home full-time, I really appreciate that idea.

It's also a story about nationality. The title character in the book wants to create an identity that is completely separate from nationality. He works in the desert with a team of people from different countries, and nationality doesn't get in the way of friendship for these men. To him, his family and his nationality become completely irrelevant. In the desert, and again at the Italian villa, he finds an oasis where he can connect to others without his family's identity and his nationality getting in the way. This is also true for Kip who has found it possible to get along in English society when he finds the right people, people who judge him for want he can do instead of the color of his skin. However, the war shatters the ideas that you can be separate from your nationality. As much as everyone is trying to get away from who they really are, they realize that they can't do that forever.

It's also a story about nationality, and trying to escape from bad circumstances (essentially, in this case, what happened in the war). As someone who moved overseas and understands bad circumstances (though not as bad as their circumstances during the war), I understand the power of nationality in a foreign country. You really **can't** get away from who you are and how you were raised, and it becomes very clear when you are living in a foreign country.

I won't recommend this book to the kids until they are older. I don't think my kids have read enough literature yet to understand everything. Ondaatje draws from several works of literature such as Anna Karenina and Kim, and knowing the plots of these other books really helps to understand what is happening in The English Patient. It's also good to read The Histories by Herodotus first, and two of my kids have read him already. But when the kids are older, I think that they'll understand this book and what it says about nationality.

I do recommend this book, especially for people who love literature. And I especially recommend it if you've seen the movie. Call me a nerd, but the book is much better than the movie.

ttfn

December's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2006-12-20T17:53:00.000+01:00

Saint Nicholas Day, 2006

Church Friends in Luxembourg

2006-12-14T17:31:00.000+01:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged here. I think about this blog all the time.

My kids are calmer now than when we first moved to the States. I can speak French to them and they don't give me one of those really harsh stares they are so good at, especially my middle daughter. But as Luxembourg fades further and further from their lives and memory, I find myself more and more missing parts of my life there.

I have really missed Luxembourg during this Advent season. As I mentioned before, I loved the lights all around town, and the Christmas market at Place D'Armes.

But even more than the lights, I miss my church there.

At the Anglican church, we sang the most wonderful Christmas songs. And I realize that they had some problems with their pipe organ, but even on one of it's bad days, it was still a pipe organ, and with the right organist on duty, it was really a wonderful feeling to be singing along on some magnificent old hymns of the church accompanied by a real pipe organ.

I loved Chris's sermons, both his children's sermons and the grown-up sermons. I was never, ever bored during church, and I very often left with something to really think about.

One movie I wanted to see last year was Joyeux Noel, but my husband wasn't crazy about the idea, so we never went. I'm not sure they would have had it with English subtitles, and my husband would have needed the subtitles. I might have needed some help with the French, and as it turns out, the Scottish, so subtitles would have been best. I rented the movie this year, and I really enjoyed it. (OK, the lip-synching was really bad, but the rest of the movie was excellent and made up any minor problems.)

The more I thought about the themes of the movie, the more I found myself wanting to talk about it with Chris and Joan and with the people I knew in the choir. One of the main heroes of the movie is a priest from Scotland who comes up against the Anglican church. I think Chris and Joan, as Anglicans from Scotland, would have had a unique perspective on the whole thing. Also, one of the main themes of the movie was the power of music over war. One of the German soldiers is a famous opera singer from Berlin, and he begins to sing "Stille Nacht" to the German troops, and the tune is recognized by the soldiers on the other side of the line. Then the Scots begin to play "Adeste Fideles", on their bagpipes of course, and the German begins to sing it in Latin. A version of "Ave Maria" moves many of the soldiers to tears, even if they aren't Catholic or even Christians. It was really moving. The original music written for the movie was nice, with an excellent score. I would love having a chance to talk over this movie with several of my friends from choir.

I've tried to email several friends from church, but my email gets bounced back because their email servers think it's spam. I wish I could just send them a note to tell them we're OK. I need to find a way to get their real addresses and send them a letter, and tell them how much I miss them and how often I think about them.

Commuting to work and Christmas lights

2006-11-21T21:58:00.000+01:00

When I worked in an office every day, I dreamed of being able to work at home and never having to dress up, or even working all day in my pajamas if I wanted to. Now that I can do just that, I find that sometimes I dress up just to remind myself of the old days.

There are very few times that I've been missing the two hour commute into Luxembourg city from Kehlen every day. I could sometimes get some reading done, but not on some of the windy roads, and not in the winter time when it was too dark to read.

But I realize now that with Christmas coming, I will miss the Christmas lights on the big bank by the bridge, and at the Christmas market at Place D'Arms, and on the tree at Place de Paris. Having only 8 hours of sunlight in a day would really be depressing if it didn't mean that the Christmas lights could come on at 16:00.

I wonder if we have enough Christmas lights stored away to turn one of our cedars into something like the tree at Place de Paris?

"Multicultural" night

2006-11-21T21:50:00.000+01:00

Today was "multicultural" night for supper. The girls are studying "multiculturalism" for a project for church, and part of the project was to make a multicultural meal.

For the main dish the girls chose to make Chinese casserole, which isn't really very Chinese. When I mentioned that to them, they said that I got the recipe from someone who was of Finish ancestry, so that made it a very multicultural dish. They also made Brussels sprouts, because what could be more European than something named after a country in Europe?

For desert my oldest child decided to try to recreate one of the foods that I have been missing since we left Luxembourg---chocolate croissants. So the girls took refrigerated crescent rolls (the jumbo size), rolled chocolate chips inside, and baked them. They weren't exactly like what I used to buy in Luxembourg, but they were really, really good.

At least my kids understand the idea that there are different cultures in the world. I think that they are also not quite as angry as they used to be with Europe in general. After all, a continent with such good bread can't be all bad.

November's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2006-11-11T16:48:00.001+01:00

Time change

2006-10-30T18:25:00.000+01:00

I lived in Luxembourg for 13 months, and managed to be in the country for three time changes. The first time change happened while I was still adjusting to European time at the very beginning of my time in Europe. I could barely sleep at night or wake up in the morning, so the time change was just one more hurdle, one more hour.

The buses from Kehlen to town run once at hour, except on Sundays, when they would run every other hour. We would try to catch the 9:10 bus into town for church on Sundays. There was one particularly cold day where we waited at the bus stop for almost 30 minutes before we decided that the bus wasn't coming so we couldn't go to church. We went home, changed out of our church clothes, cooked lunch, and then one of the girls suggested that maybe it was a time change, because her calendar said that it was the end of Daylight Savings Time in the States. So we were at the bus stop at 8:10 instead of 9:10. If there had been a bus every hour, we would have been waiting outside the church instead of at the bus stop.

Our last time change happened while we were on our trip, right before we left Europe. About lunch time, we noticed that all the clocks were an hour ahead of us, so we thought that maybe Germany was in a different time zone, though it hadn't seemed that way to us before. Then we noticed that our clocks were off when we got back to Luxembourg, too. So it took us close to two days to figure out we had missed another time change.

I don't remember the last time we missed a time change in the States. It seems like it's on everyone's lips, and we see it on the web, and in the papers, and on TV. To me, it was just one of the signs of how really out of touch we were with Europe that we didn't even know when the time was changing, didn't have any hint at all that it was coming.

The time change last year happened about the same time our furniture arrived. Though I was in Luxembourg for 13 months, our furniture and belongings were only in the country for four and a half months. It's just another reminder of how much easier things are back in the States.

Foreign Plates

2006-10-12T08:15:00.000+02:00

Darin heard a story on the news this morning about a man who was having a plate removed from the bones in his arm, and when the surgeon got the arm open, he realized that he didn't have the right kind of screw driver. So he sent someone to the hardware store to buy one and then get it sterilized. The problem was that the man's plate had been installed in a foreign hospital. Darin thought it was a great story. It made my ankle hurt.

October's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2006-10-05T19:25:00.000+02:00

Our valley runs east-west, so we can see the storms before they arrive. This storm makes its approach right at sunset. Awesome.

Six Month Anniversary

2006-09-29T19:28:00.000+02:00

As we approach the six-month anniversary of our leaving Luxembourg, it seems like a good time to reflect, once again, on what we've learned and how we can improve.

Many of the things I had read *before* we went to Luxembourg said that to help the kids transition back to the States, we needed to keep reminding them that we were Americans and not Europeans. Studies of kids whose parents move overseas for jobs (outside of the U.S. military) show that those who want the kids to do everything to "fit in" with the new culture produce kids that have trouble adjusting to the new culture, the U.S. culture if they move back to the U.S., and often an aversion to moving overseas as adults. This was especially true for children of missionaries.

One of my former boss's main criticism of how my husband and I had handled things was that we had created an "American island" for our girls, so of course, they could never be happy. When I look back at our year in Luxembourg, I don't see how we could have done anything else. The government schools in Luxembourg didn't want my children. Language schools in Luxembourg don't teach children (that's what the government schools were for). I didn't make enough money to send them to a private school. All that was left was our American island.

In the end, it turned out for the best. We didn't stay long in Luxembourg, and the transition back to the States was fairly easy. I'm not sure, in the long run, that the transition to Tennessee was that much worse than if we had moved here straight from Northern Virginia. The kids and I miss our friends and our church. There is a learning curve to being poor---no more eating out, no more big presents for birthdays and Christmas. But that would be true whether or not we had been to Luxembourg.

Darin and I had wanted to leave Northern Virginia for some time, but I don't think we would have ever done it if I hadn't been offered the "perfect" job in Luxembourg. Moving to Luxembourg got us out of our very comfortable life with our very comfortable salary in Northern Virginia. Darin and I had been longing for peace, quiet, and the ability to see the stars at night. Now we have all those things. We may have less spending money, but we have a great farm, wildlife and stars to watch, less stress, and that quiet we wanted.

What are we missing? Mostly health insurance. Would it be better to be in Luxembourg with their socialized medicine? No way. Even when we were in Luxembourg, we never understood the system enough to get dentist appointments, or check-ups, or things like mamograms, etc. I'm 42 years old, and I've never had a mamogram, and it's been close to three years since my last test for cervical cancer. The kids need dentist appointments, and braces. But could we get those things if we were in Luxembourg? It would probably have been possible, but we didn't have anyone to show us how.

What would be different in our lives if we had moved straight from the DC area to Tennessee? For one, I would never have learned any French. I really enjoyed that part of living abroad. But on the flip side, the kids learned some French and now refuse to ever speak it. There is a deeper hatred for all things French that is usual for an American, especially in my middle child. We have a deeper appreciation for America. We hear people talk about the problems here, like "lack of affordable health care" and immigration, and those problems seem so small compared to what they are facing in Europe. There is talk of how this country is so deeply divided, and how the gap is widening, but we still solve things peacefully, for the most part. This is not the case in Europe, especially in France. I suppose that maybe I wouldn't have a plate in my leg if we hadn't lived in Luxembourg, but I'm adjusting to that also.

My prayers now for my family are for an easing of the anger against Europe, for new friends in Tennessee, and a job for Darin that will give us health insurance. A year after we have insurance, I can get the plate out of my leg. Maybe by then I can convince the kids to speak French again, and we can live our lives with our wonderful appreciation for this country, and none of the negative side-effects from living in Luxembourg.

Here's to the next six months.

A Hearty Good Morning to Ye!

2006-09-19T07:55:00.000+02:00

Yes, I know that time just be flyin' by, but it is again one of our family's favorite made-up holidays --- Talk Like a Pirate Day!

(If you've never celebrated the day before, I encourage ye to try it today. It's a wonderful way to make life a bit less stressful.)

The crew here in Tennessee has been under the weather, so the emailin' and bloggin' has been on the light side o' things, but I shall try to remedy that today.

Bon sang! Though me pirate talkin' skills are still sharp for English, I be havin' some trouble rememberin' how to talk like a French pirate. I may have to sneak downstairs this afternoon to watch me pirate movie in French to recall the old phrases. If you be wantin' to review your French pirate, please see last year's blog entry.

I wish ye all the best on this fair holiday. Godspeed to ye, and always a strong wind!
From Mad Matilda, and the rest o' Cap'n Pete's crew: Pegleg, Abby, and Jane.

September's Beautiful Picture from the U.S.A.

2006-09-11T17:22:00.000+02:00

At the beginning of September, we took a field trip to some civil war battle sites in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. This picture was taken at Antietam National Battlefield, on what is now called Patriot's day, September 11.

August's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2006-08-21T12:17:00.000+02:00

Our first day of school for the new school year. (Patchy is reading the dictionary.)

When the girls arrived in Luxembourg last year, they were 3-4 months behind in school. Not having all our books until October didn't help the matter, so the school year that should have started in September 2005 didn't start until December 2005. But the girls worked very hard all through the summer, and we were able to be back on schedule, starting our 2006-2007 school year today.

National Holidays and the World Cup

2006-07-18T19:12:00.000+02:00

I forgot the French National Holiday last week, the one that's known in the States as Bastille Day. Last year the guys laughed at me when I wished them a happy Bastille Day. I took a leave day for my national holiday on July 4, and yet the French guys worked through theirs. I suppose part of it is that I have kids who expect a real holiday when it's time for a holiday. Not to mention that U.S. Independence Day on the Fourth of July is Darin's favorite holiday.

I had the Grand Duke's birthday marked on my calendar, so I was thinking about that as Darin and I talked about our plans for Independence Day this year. In Luxembourg, they have really nice fireworks, we were told, to celebrate the Grand Duke's birthday, which really isn't his birthday, so it's more like a national holiday for Luxembourg, on 26th of June. We didn't go see the big fireworks show last year. We said we'd try it "next year", but obviously, that didn't happen either. Our very first 4th of July living near DC (back in 1992), Darin and I went into town for the fireworks. We couldn't get into the concert, so we sat between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. People had the concert playing on radios, so it was nice to hear the music and the show was nice. But after the kids came along, it was difficult to imagine finding a place for all of us downtown. My friend Mary Ellen said that if I really wanted to see the concert, then I should go to the dress rehearsal on the 3rd because it's a full dress rehearsal, just like the show, and the crowds are less, so it's easier to get in. But I never went. I was too tired from working that day, or the weather was too hot or too rainy, so I just kept saying, "I'll do it next year." But I never did.

This year in downtown Nashville, part of the free concert at Riverside Park was someone the kids really wanted to see -- Josh Turner. As Darin and I were talking about it, I felt like the idea that "we could do it next year" was right at the surface. I finally told Darin that we just couldn't do that this year or we might never go. And this year we would get to see Josh Turner. So we went.

As I reflect on our lives in Luxembourg, it often seems like a dream. There was a time in my life when I could understand French, and watch television in French or German, but that time has past. There was a time when I would walk past castles and cathedrals to get to work. Now it's gone, and it feels like such a distant memory. But at least I learned some lessons about taking chances and not putting things off.

At the time of my unfortunate demise in Luxembourg, the office was made up of 1 American (me), 2 Belgians, 2 French, and 2 Italians. If my boss was in town, then 3 French. I was thinking about the balance of power the week of the World Cup Finals. I'm sure it made for interesting office dynamics. And though at least one of the Italians tell us often that he is really only a part of the European Union, I think that changes when it's World Cup time. Maybe this will help the Italians feel better after they lost out on the papacy thing to Germany last year.

ttfn

A Last Visit to the Orthepedist

2006-07-08T16:50:00.000+02:00

I'm back from my parents' house and my doctor visit yesterday. It went just like I had hoped it would! My doctor said I don't need another visit or any more physical therapy. The x-rays looked great, she was impressed with my flexibility and strength, and she told me once again that the doctor in Luxembourg did a really good job on a really tough break.

She said that I should wear my ankle brace when walking on uneven ground (gravel or grass) for another 6 months, and no high heels for 6 months to a year (like that was ever an issue). And she suggested that I wear the ankle brace for the rest of my life if I'm doing something that could cause an ankle injury, like sports, rock climbing, etc. I suppose that also covers walking on ice, but I forgot to ask about that part. Hopefully that's not such a big issue in TN.

Hooray for walking!!!

July's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2006-07-05T17:12:00.000+02:00

Across from Riverside Park in downtown Nashville for the free concert for the Fourth of July.

June's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2006-06-29T18:10:00.000+02:00

The view south, from my kitchen window, though I don't always get to see so many turkeys at once.

Language Issues in Middle Tennessee

2006-06-14T21:26:00.000+02:00

It was very common in Luxembourg to hear voice mail messages in more than one language. For example, if you made a mistake while making a telephone call, a voice would say in French that the number you tried to call hadn't been assigned, then the voice would say it again in German, and then again in English. Some recorded messages had Portuguese in the mix also.

Some places in the States give you a choice between English and Spanish, like at the ATM or the credit card machines at Wal-Mart. I really don't think much about that anymore because it always defaults to English.

But I ran across something different here. A couple of weeks ago, I called our phone company because I was having some trouble with my DSL box. A message plays in perfect English --- "Your call is very important to us. Please stay on the line for the next available support person. Your call may be monitored for training and quality purposes." Then another message plays, recorded by a man with a much lower voice than the first man, and he says the **exact** same words, but with a Middle Tennessee accent. Most of the time when I have to call tech support, I'm not in the best of moods, but hearing them translate the opening message into both Yankee and Middle Tennessee always makes me smile.

I haven't been talking to strangers much lately, which is very unusual for me, and I think I finally figured it out---I don't know what language to use. I was at one time quite fluent in East Tennessee, and I think if I just slowed it down some, then it would be pretty close to what they speak in Middle Tennessee. But I'm a bit out of practice since I've been using mostly my Yankee accent at work and around Darin. (Though close friends know that my East Tennessee starts creeping back in when I get tired.)

So if I meet someone new and I'm with Darin, do I speak Yankee so he'll understand, or do I try to speak Tennessee so the stranger will understand me better? I just never know what to do.

When I switch between the two in a short space of time, I risk being made fun of by my husband. I feel like I need to pick a language and just stick with it.

The side effect of my indecision is that Darin has turned into the outgoing type of person lately. I suppose I had been enabling him to be shy all these years, and now that I've stopped talking, he has to talk. My mother loves to tell the story that when I was four and my brother was two, my parents were starting to worry about him because he didn't talk. Then my parents sent me to my grandparents, and my brother started talking in complete sentences immediately. He just couldn't get a word in edgewise before. I suppose I was doing the same thing to Darin. I did always think that Darin and my brother had a lot in common.

I s'pose this typin' is right good nuff for now. I'd best be gettin' on to bed.

Things We Did Right, a.k.a., the Anglican Church

2006-06-10T14:27:00.000+02:00

Right now I can't think of very many things we did right in our move to Luxembourg. I should have stayed in the States until the work permit was in hand. We should have gotten everything in writing from my boss, including more information on moving expenses and taxes, and maybe we should have even lived in Belgium so that the kids could go to public school or be homeschooled with less hassle. And it would have been nice to know then what I know now about moving companies.

But the one thing we did do correctly was hook up with the Anglican Church.

My first Sunday in Luxembourg was Palm Sunday. I went to another English-speaking church in town. There was a guest speaker because the pastor was gone, so maybe my first impression was the wrong impression, but they made a bad first impression on me.

I was 15 minutes early for the service. I came in and sat down. No one spoke to me. The service started, and we sang for 30 minutes straight, but only 3 songs. The songs were boring, both from a musical and a lyrical standpoint, and not at all related to Palm Sunday or Holy Week.

The speaker, at one point in his really long sermon, said that things now aren't like in Jesus' time. OK, hard to disagree with that. He said that now we're in the church age, so needs are met and miracles happen through the church. He asked us all to look around the room. He said that if we were in jail or in the hospital, these people we see would be the ones to help us out. For me, my first Sunday in a new country, not knowing anyone in the room, and no one even bothering to speak to me the entire service, it was a very depressing thought. As I was leaving the church, I was in tears, so it's no wonder that no one spoke to me on the way out. I was thankful that I knew the truth, that I didn't have to depend on those people, that I needed to depend only on God.

For Maundy Thursday services, I went to the Anglican church. A couple of ladies introduced themselves to me, and one lady brought me a hymnal. And then a few more people came, mostly for the choir, and they all came and welcomed me. I think everyone spoke to me, except the organist, who was playing. It turns out that choir practice is on Thursday nights, so the choir came to sing for the service, and then practice afterwards. There were 10 people in the choir (I guess some were out of town), and there were six of us in the congregation. And two priests, Chris and Joan, a married couple.

The service was nice. The hymns were unfamiliar to me, but that let me really focus on the words, and the words and the music were beautiful. Pastor Joan gave the sermon, talking about what it means to be a servant, and encouraging us to focus on the kind of attitude it took for Jesus to make it through on Friday---encouraging us to live like Jesus.

For communion, since we were "only a little more than the 13 at the Last Supper," Pastor Chris invited us all up to the front. So we stood around the table on the altar in a half-circle. It was nice. And then we went back to our seats, and the choir sang a special in Latin. I heard five parts, three from the ladies and two from the men, and only 10 people. It was beautiful, and I like the Latin.

After the service, Pastor Chris was asking everyone if they had eaten yet. There were four of us (out of eight) who were up for going out. He didn't ask the choir because they had started practicing.

It was nice evening. I had some pizza and some water. And the conversation was great. And they picked a restaurant in the Limpertsburg neighborhood so I would be close to my flat and wouldn't have to walk home in the dark.

I talked to Chris some also about my experiences of the previous Sunday, without going into details, mostly that I had a very bad first impression. I told him the pastor was gone. He said that I really should go back sometime so I could meet the pastor. But he thought I should come mostly to the Anglican church and sing in their choir.

After that, a family in the church invited me over for dinner, and then lent us dishes until our furniture arrived. Chris and Joan lent us some chairs, and when they came by to deliver them, Joan insisted on gathering up all our dirty clothes and washing them for us because the washing machine we ordered had been delayed. When a family in church went on holiday to England during the summer, they lent us their second car for two weeks, probably the best two weeks we spent in Luxembourg.

We tried that other church again, but I never felt comfortable there. We were the only Americans there, and when church was over, everyone broke into groups and started speaking their native language, and we were left out.

At the Anglican church, we were not the only Americans, but it really didn't matter where we were from. The British at the Anglican church honestly don't seem to notice that we're not British. I really felt like part of the family there.

Then we decided to leave and return to the States, and I broke my leg. Joan arranged for people to bring in food for Darin and the kids. She arranged for some men to help Darin load the shipping container. She and Chris had the kids over for dinner and then brought them by the hospital to visit me. Besides Joan, several other ladies from the church came by the hospital also, bringing small gifts like Sudoku puzzles and hand lotion.

One night I was lying in my hospital bed thinking about how much the hospital felt like prison, and it dawned on me---the guy at the other church had been right. When we were really in trouble, it was the people at the church that really came through for us. But not that church, it was the Anglican church!

Pastor Chris once spoke of being in a church service and singing a hymn about the majesty of God, and as the pipe organ went into the last verse, having a vision of God that was very powerful. Something very similar happened to me in a service at the Anglican church.

In October, there was a service for Joan to ordain her officially as the assistant chaplain for the Anglican church in Luxembourg. We went to the licensing ceremony on that Thursday night. It was a beautiful service, and they incorporated into the service and the vows the fact that Joan and Chris were already united in calling and in holy matrimony. I thought that part was really nice.

After the vows, there was a time of greeting, and Joan came around to everyone in the church and thanked them for coming. The hymn Joan had chosen for the greeting time was completely new to me, and really beautiful. The line that struck me the most, at the time, was "We strain to glimpse Your mercy seat and find You kneeling at our feet." After everything we had been through, it was just such a beautiful picture of Jesus, and I had this vision of Him there with us, and I felt completely overwhelmed. Then when Joan came by to shake my hand, and I thought of Joan gathering up our dirty clothes to take to her house, I realized that it was a beautiful picture of Joan also.

After the service, I read through the words again. They were even more beautiful than I had remembered.

Great God, Your Love
by Brian Wren

Great God, Your love has called us here
As we, by love, for love were made.
Your living likeness still we bear,
Though marred, dishonoured, disobeyed.
We come, with all our heart and mind
Your call to hear, Your love to find.

Great God, in Christ, You call our name
And then receive us as Your own.
Not through some merit, right or claim
But by Your gracious love alone.
We strain to glimpse Your mercy seat
And find You kneeling at our feet.

Great God, in Christ, You set us free
Your life to live, Your joy to share.
Give us your Spirit's liberty
To turn from guilt and dull despair
And offer all that faith can do
While love is making all things new.

If you do move to Luxembourg, I fully recommend being a part of the Anglican church in Luxembourg. It's the best decision you will make.

May's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2006-05-29T19:03:00.000+02:00

Our pond, to the east of the house. I enjoy watching the deer and the turkeys come down in the mornings.

A very successful move from Europe!

2006-05-05T15:14:00.000+02:00

After the nightmare that was our move to Luxembourg, the move back to the States was amazingly smooth. All the lessons we learned paid off for us this time. (See posts
A Moving Company for the Return Trip and Hiring a Moving Company.)

We hired Security Relocation (http://www.wemove4u.com/), and we had no problems and are very happy with the service we had from them all the way along.

They gave us an estimate that included just the services we wanted, without anything extra that would cost extra. They dropped off a container on a Friday, picked it up on the next Monday, and we were able to load it ourselves. This meant waving any damage insurance (though it was still insured if the entire container washed overboard, or something like that), but it was cheaper because a lot of our stuff hadn't been unpacked from the move to Luxembourg, so we didn't need "full service".

We were able to pay by credit card. They kept in contact with us all along the way, even when it was difficult to reach us during my hospital stay. We knew when the container had reached the States. We knew when it cleared customs. They were able to deliver it at the perfect time to move straight into our new house instead of into storage. The people were always nice, and I could always find someone to help me during business hours. They were great about answering both phone messages and email. I would recomend them completely to anyone needing to relocate internationally.

However, if you have to move inside the US, there is still no safer way that to U-Haul it yourself. If you think you can't pack the house yourself, then hire someone to help you pack, but be there to supervise. No one is going to care for your things like you do.

April's Beautiful Picture from Tennessee

2006-04-30T22:09:00.000+02:00

We're home! A picture of the creek that runs on the property we are buying in Tennessee!

Jeffersonian Wisdom

2006-04-15T23:43:00.000+02:00

My dad found a quote from Thomas Jefferson in his history magazine:
"Traveling makes a man wiser, but less happy."

If it applies to traveling, it applies even more to trying move somewhere else.

And I didn't know that Thomas Jefferson had been to Luxembourg.

Broken Legs and Long Flights

2006-04-04T17:38:00.000+02:00

Darin and I had bought the airline tickets to get us back to the States before I broke my leg. The original plan was for me to take the kids to my parents, and for Darin to fly to his parents house, pick up our car from his brother, and join us in Tennessee.

After the accident, I was a bit worried about making the trip on our own, but it worked out fine. We requested wheelchair service for me, and now I'm so spoiled I may want to do this all the time! Airport personnel pushed me around in wheelchairs, put me on a special lifts to get me in the plane, and generally got us to the front of any line, including customs in Charlotte. They were also very careful to be sure the kids were always with me -- it was nice to have an extra set of eyes to keep everyone together.

I wonder how bad you have to feel to get wheelchair service. Hmmmm . . .

March's Beautiful Picture of Luxembourg

2006-03-29T22:01:00.000+02:00

After my accident, we rented a car, and we got to see some of the more famous castles in Luxembourg.