Twenty-four

I have been married to this man for twenty-four years. We celebrated our anniversary on Sunday. Here are twenty-four reasons why I love this guy:

1. He loves Jesus.
2. He is handsome.
3. He works hard.
4. He is a dedicated dad.
5. He regularly tells me how beautiful I am.
6. He cried when our first child was born.
7. He loves birds and feathers and making bird houses.
8. He enjoys cooking good food for others.
9. He makes healthy choices.
10. He studies other languages so he can communicate with more people.
11. He is an excellent dancer.
12. He writes amazing love letters.
13. He is such a good listener.
14. He has great taste in music.
15. He puts tons of pepper on everything.
16. He loves our dog.
17. He tolerates our cat.
18. He can drive for hours and hours.
19. He listens to educational podcasts.
20. He can build an entire house.
21. He eats lots of vegetables.
22. He makes me laugh.
23. He does not complain.
24. He loves me.

He also reads this blog, so I know he will see this and smile. I love you, Daniel!

Review

How about a year end review? 2022 had many grand moments, but today I want to share with you a dozen of the simple and familiar because most of our lives are such. I enjoy celebrating these common and everyday experiences because in giving them attention, I give them meaning. So, my life filled with ordinary, becomes a life filled with purpose.

January – A winter walk in the park with Nathan and our dog, Sadie.

February – I slammed right into that rock hard pile of ice and snow going backwards at a speed unlawful for mamas in their forties. It’s a good thing we have ribs to protect our vital organs. It hurt to laugh for months.

March – A bowl of lemons in the sun on our kitchen table. Simple and bright.

April – What! Why is it snowing? It is suppose to be spring. Why am I surprised?

May – Chalk on the sidewalk. Childhood and spring. The kid who made this is a high school graduate, an adult, a college student, a registered voter, and still my baby girl.

June – I really enjoyed my flowers this year. It seemed like an especially good season of blooms, but maybe I was just paying attention more.

July – All five! They are pile-into-the-minivan pros.

August – Napping Callie.

September – That chalk artist is also old enough to get a tattoo. she chose an outline of the country of Brasil with a heart in Santa Catarina, the state where much of our family lives. We had cousins visit us from Brasil and we took them to visit Leona at college.

October – A walk in the park.

November – Our messy kitchen table as we make coffee filter snowflakes to tape to our front window.

December – Daniel and I took a quick trip to Florida to spend time with his sister.

That’s a wrap. As the title of the Messer family’s favorite Christmas movie so simply expresses, “It’s a Wonderful Life!”

Danny Bobby

I spend a lot of time gazing out my bedroom window. I see the seasons change. I see the wind and the rain and the snow and the sunshine. I see cars wind up the hill and buses take my children to school.

And then I see this guy, my workin’ man, climbing a ladder to fix something, but taking a moment to say hello to his love. He is a good man. His birthday is tomorrow.

Here he is on another ladder with all our kids working with him. He is a very good dad, full of kindness and discipline, love and determination.

He takes us on adventures.

He sings songs to Jesus.

He reads Scripture.

He works hard.

He goes on hikes with me and pauses to look at interesting flowers.

He appreciates art.

I honor my husband here today with these photos and words. I love him every day, more and more.

And just for fun, here is one last photo because the 90s happened and so did this perm.

Happy Birthday, Daniel Robert. You are my favorite, always!

Cheio

My heart is full.

Mi corazón esta lleno.

Meu coração esta cheio.

And my tree is full of priceless ornaments.

We put up our Christmas tree on Friday. Julia was especially eager to help decorate. At 12, she has a good eye for ornament selection and placement. Her older brother, Nathan, commented on how nice the tree looks this year.

As the kids mature, they seem to want the tree to look more stylish. This translates to their handmade ornaments from elementary school being placed on the back of the tree or back in the shoe box. I tried placing a colorful, glitterful school photo ornament front and center. It was quickly discovered and promptly demoted to a less conspicuous location. How far we have come from the days when all the ornaments were hung in a jumbled bunch about two feet up the tree!

Well, mama has a blog, so now the whole world can see these masterpieces. (By “whole world” I mean you precious handful of kind readers. I appreicate you!)

I still have an ornament my mother made for me when I was very young.

The all time family favorite is Daniel’s.

I love to wake up early and go out into the living room to see the warm white lights and the shimmering ornaments. Beautiful and peaceful. I wrap myself in a blanket, sit on the sofa and gaze at our Christmas tree with a heart…full!

Autumn

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. (Joel 2:23)

Leona, October 2005

Joel, October 2009

Elianna, October 2009

November 2017

Nathan, November 2019

Julia, November 2019

November 2020

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. (James 5:7)

Face to Forever

Nashville, September 2022

This poem is dedicated to Grandaddy, also known as Greatest Grandad.

City
guitars and lights
Music and flights
Of fancy
For me is home 
To silver and gray
And slow and steady
Sit and stay
Strong

Yellow
Oh, I love the yellow
Clean and safe
Folded neatly
A towel to dry my hair
A napkin to wipe my face
A mat to mark my place
At a table of setting
Grace

Treasure
Polished and kept in glass
Spotless ware and shiny blade
Truest of all
Will never fade
Tall, right, straight
Your character given
For service and Sunday
Song

Voice
To celebrate every year 
Miss and Sugar 
called so dear
Singing birth, sighing death
You were there, you were here
Now you are
Face to Forever
Face

Instruct

Overlooking Cincinnati from Incline District, September 2022

I love to capture these moments. Daniel points and shares knowlege with our children. They follow their father’s lead to see what he will show them. They trust him to share words that will interest and inform and inspire them. They listen. They remember. They learn.

National September 11 Memorial, New York City, June 2017

Oh, that we would be as children, listening to our Good Father who instructs us and teaches us in the way we should go. Oh, that we would pay attention and gain wisdom. Oh, that we would stay near to the heart of our Kind Shepherd to be led along peaceful streams, to rest in pasture of his presence. May our souls be restored by your grace, Oh God, let it be so. Amen.

I Stink

There is something I would like you to know about me. Well, you may already know it. I am rather optimistic. Some might call it idealistic. I recognize that over-zealous positivity could be quite annoying for the realist, but genuinely, I cannot help it. Which is why I tend to isolate myself when I feel really down. I don’t want the sadness I am swimming in to seep into others. It has taken me years and years to understand that not everyone experiences emotions like I do. What a relief. A world filled with people like me would be chaotic…colorful and intense, but definitely chaotic.

I appreciate our differences and respect the thoughts and feelings of others. This is why it can be challenging for me to make certain decisions. Example: I like to wear perfume on occasion. I am too cheap to wear expensive perfume everyday, but I am a lady and I like to smell nice. Here is what I don’t like. I don’t like getting into the minivan with my not-so-mini family, all dressed up and feeling good about myself, and immediately hearing, “What is that awful smell?” That awful smell is me. Well, not me…my perfume, but since I am so sensitive and attached to my environment, I take it personally.

I stink…in the opinion of some of my most beloved people. And I can’t handle that. My solution? All of you who have to ride in a van with me when we go some place nice need to come with me to the mall on Mother’s Day and help me pick out a perfume. ALL OF YOU! Now, opinionate and expressive ones, you must peruse these counters and spray these bottles and sniff these samples and help me choose a scent you can all tolerate. All of you must participate. I will find something I like and let you share your opinion. Do not look at that counter over there. We are a family of seven on one income, that counter is not for us. Back over here. We have narrowed it down. Yes! we found one that no one will complain about. Mission accomplished.

This process also translates to my art. I really love abstract art, but it is a bit of a reach for some of my household. Impressionism seems to be a happy middle for us. I like to make art because original work is expensive and as I mentioned earlier, I am cheap. When a friend gave us a canvas that she no longer wanted, I received it with delight. I could scrape off the plastic gems and paint over it.

I painted in my basement in short installments between loads of laundry and trips to the freezer for dinner options.

This is the result.

I showed it to my family, bracing myself for critique. One member thought it was a whale. Ok.  Not sure how you got that, but I do appreciate that you are taking the time to look at my painting and thinking of something other than your girlfriend and calculus. The response from the majority was positive, so Daniel hung it on the wall for me.

Yes! I am able to make art that I can put on the walls of my home and feel good about because no one who lives here seems to think it stinks.  A victory! It look me a long time to get here, but I kept at it because deep down I am an eternal optimist and I believed, not only could something be found that would work for all of us, but that I could make it. It is a great feeling.

That was a lot of work, to considered the preferences of only six others. Imagine the work of our public servants who are genuinely considering the needs, wants and preferences of hundreds, thousands, millions. How do they do it? Many don’t, but some do and I am grateful for them.  Way to make it political, Kara.  Don’t forget, politics is people and I LOVE people.

Return

To All Who Read This,

My last post was two years ago in June. Here I am in June again. I have written lots in that time, but shared little.

The world around me felt so unsafe, so unkind. I found much security and comfort in my faith and my family.

I would like to share with you some of the poetry I wrote through the past two years. The expression and discipline of writing regularly helped me press through days of sadness and fear.

My hope and prayer is that the words I share will stir thoughts and feelings; bring understanding and comfort; help in some way.

Always, thank you for reading. Your time is precious and knowing you spent a little of it with me and my words fills my soul with gratitude.

You are loved!

Kara

June 2021, My family walking from the art museum

Wilson has a Toupee

I am not a castaway
but I am waiting for the light
To get just right
for the pic I want to take

He is not so far away,
but is waiting for the night
To end the fight
for the win we want to make

I will feel the pain, the sorrow, and the joy
He will make me laugh and sing about a toy

I didn’t build a snowman, but I found a way to hit
He soaked up all the nomen and made a ball with it

Kill after kill,
No head or shoulders
Balls to the floor
Climbing over boulders