artists, crafters, and voodoo dolls

We seemingly have entered into a time in our collective lives in which group think wins and an outlier to popular opinion will be scorned, mocked and chased back into whatever corner is thought to be the nearest. It is one thing to engage in a political debate on Facebook; it seems to me to be quite another to attack a woman on a crafter's page who dared to state her opinion openly.

This particular crafter's page is one I ended up on, for reasons I am not too sure of at the moment, in which people who make things to sell post them as others generally give constructive criticism or encouragement. Most of what I see on that page is made from kits or configured with the trusty glue gun, and though I do not purport to be better than anyone, I see myself as an artist and not as a crafter in the true sense of the word. Artists create their own patterns and designs; crafters use the patterns and designs of others. I also feel it would take something away from my art if I started gluing on the buttons instead of sewing them on by hand. In any case, I would never impugn the work of someone who is trying to create something. We all have different expressions and abilities.

Yesterday, however, this crafter's page seemed to turn a corner.

A woman stated she would have to leave the page and would no longer be a part of whatever it is they are doing because she was so offended by someone's creation of a voodoo doll. She said it was evil and the practice of using a voodoo doll was hateful and she could no longer be associated with this page if someone was practicing the ritual of voodoo. Why she did not just take her leave, I am uncertain, but I have to believe that she felt the need to express why she was going, perhaps because she had enjoyed the fellowship this page had offered her, or maybe because she was truly concerned for the maker of such an item as she was for those who would unwittingly buy something with potential evil attached to it. I am pretty much making this up, but this is what I would like to believe.

Ok. On the one hand, this is hilarious. Having traveled to the birthplace of voodoo--Benin, West Africa--I can tell you that I even laughed there, when I saw a voodoo doll in a store. The idea of putting a spell on someone, however, I believe can be real, and black magic is not something I would ever want to mess with or encourage someone else to do so. But we each have our own minds to make up and I am not in charge of what anyone thinks, except for myself.

In response to this woman's earnest comment differentiating right from wrong within her own moral code were jeers and mocking comments of a ferocity that surprised me. Were these good-natured women at home quietly gluing buttons onto snowmen made of old socks and putting together one more identical teddy bear made from chenille or an angry mob with scissors in hand ready to attack? It seemed the latter was playing itself out among the pre-cut felt ornaments.

The woman must have left the page because when I went back to see the aftermath, her post, along with some 100 responses, has been erased. But not before these angry crafters let one of their own have it with the force of 20 bags of fiberfill. They told her she had no right to her own opinion, said she shouldn't promise to leave the page--do it already!, and then quite a few started posting photos of voodoo dolls and saying how badly they wanted to make them and how wonderfully cute they are. What the point of all of this was, in my mind, was really quite terrible. I imagine a God-fearing woman faithfully knitting together her own crafts to sell at her church bazaar while perhaps this new generation is knitting pussy hats for their next demonstration. Whatever way one needs to express herself is wide open. We live in a free country. Could we love each other just a little bit more?

To have her own group tear her to pieces because what she holds dear was found offensive by some members of the group does not mean she should be shunned. It is obvious to point out that perhaps because she is shunning the group by leaving the page that it is all good and right to do the same to her. I cannot be the judge. But there seemed to be a level above live-and-let-live that seemed a bit over the top this time.

It is for this reason I shy away from political, religious or personal opinions that may not be shared by others and may in fact invite severe criticism. Whatever happened to civil social discourse? If I write something, it is because it is my experience, something seen through my eyes, expressed by me alone. Like my art in which I create the design and the pattern qualifying it as an art and not a craft, what I write is of my own ideas, like what a friend said recently of my Christmas letter; it was very "Mary Ellen."

There is "nothing new under the sun," as is attributed to Solomon in the Bible. So maybe what this woman did, standing up against that which she perceived as evil, has always resulted in the same way. Look what happened to Jesus. Of course that angry crowd was probably not threatening him with knitting needles and crochet hooks.

Voodoo dolls, nevertheless, will be made from patterns, crocheted, and stitched (dare I say glued) together for the betterment (or not) of society. Some people will laugh while others will shun. Craft fairs will continue to offer dish towels and plaques, paint-by-numbers and the latest pre-fabricated whatevers. And somewhere out there is a woman who will be praying that evil does not ever overcome good. I, for one, hope her prayer is answered.

I'm glad you're here

I was in Group 9, the last group to board the plane because I chose to fly Basic Economy, the cheapest of the cheap tickets one can purchase. What that means is I was not allowed even one carry-on bag for the overhead storage compartment, but was permitted one bag that could be stowed under the seat in front of me. A J. Peterman bag I had been given years ago would turn out to be the perfect size and could contain all I needed for my long weekend trip.

Approaching the line to have my boarding pass scanned for my return trip, I was stopped by an airline employee who inquired whether I was traveling alone, which I thought was apparent since no one was standing near me. Thinking that was the last required question before boarding the plane, the employee said, "You can't take all that with you. You're going to have to check your bag."

Maybe because I had talked to my sisters later into the night than we should have or got up way too early to arrive an hour before the flight was scheduled to take off and then had to wait over another hour because the flight crew had not shown up on time, I was less prepared to deal with this sort of treatment. Or maybe it was actually a good thing that I was forced to defend myself, since I often let others treat me in ways that are not deserving or even kind. I explained that everything had been fine on my previous flights and I could not understand what could be the problem now. The additional bags in question were a small purse with a long strap I was wearing over my dress and the mysterious cloth bag I was carrying which contained the scrapbook I had made from my trip to Africa earlier in the summer, which I had taken to my family reunion. Fine. I set down my travel bag, took out the water shoes I had worn the day we went canoeing, shoved each shoe in a pocket of the bag, took off the small purse, placed it in the larger bag and started to make my way again toward the gate.

"You can't take THAT on the plane," this airline employee persisted, pointing to my scrapbook cleverly disguised as extra luggage in a cotton tote bag in which it was the only item, except for the piece of chocolate I was saving and my flight itinerary. Feeling anger rising, I simply revealed the contents of the bag and said, "This is a BOOK," as though I were introducing the concept to this person for the very first time. Though I was prepared to take it out of the cotton bag, fold up the bag, put it in the travel bag, and simply carry the notebook as the non-luggage item that it is, another airline representative, perhaps realizing I was not going to pay extra for luggage no matter what, said I could have it and waved me through the door and onto the plane. He apparently had the wisdom to know there is never a good reason to argue with a middle-aged woman, especially about something as inconsequential as this was.

I know air travel is not what it used to be. We now have to practically undress as we reveal our hygiene products in the quart-sized plastic bag. I did not even know that it had been my Birkenstocks setting off every security alarm I have gone through in my travels until this trip. The airline representative wanted to know what else was on my person that could be setting off the alarm. I pointed to my earrings. My glasses? He asked what was in my pockets. I had taken out the lone tissue. It was just me, my underwear and not even the underwire bra, and my summer dress. I had even taken off the thin cotton scarf when the airline employee running the scanner had asked what it was. I had told her it was a scarf. She asked what was in the suspicious cotton bag. I told her it was a notebook. She said all electronics needed to be taken out. I said it was a paper notebook. Scarves and books made out of paper--who has ever heard of these things?

"The world is a cynical place filled with tough customers," is the line from the Jerry Maquire movie that comes to mind. I know bad things have happened aboard planes and more bad things may undoubtedly happen in an infinite variety of ways. I know that though I am one of the least suspicious people boarding the plane, perhaps that makes me the most likely to do something unexpected. I know that rules need to be followed, like when we were asked to leave the pool area while trying to have a picnic with my parents at their retirement community because the thunder of the fast-approaching storm had already begun. We asked for permission to use one of the meeting rooms in their community center to continue our lunch and were given the go-ahead. But the gate was locked before we could use it which left us walking through a room that was being set up for an event later in the day. We were greeted by a woman at the door saying, "We said you could come in but you weren't supposed to use this door." But we did have to use it. The other one was locked. I would find out later that this same woman had grabbed my mother's shoulders to point her in the right direction, perhaps giving her a bit of a shove of encouragement to walk a little faster. I could not imagine why my mother would be treated so abruptly in her own retirement community, a place offering toilet seat cleaning tissues in the ladies' room for the hyper particular. It wasn't that I wanted to buck the system as much as I expected common decency. Respect? Kindness?

Before I had taken the trip I had been told that someone who used to do work for our agency had reached the point in which he could no longer imagine life the way he needed it to be and he decided to check out--permanently. It is always a shock when this happens, whether it is someone known personally or someone famous like Kate Spade or Anthony Bourdain. I am not going to say I have never had similar thoughts including those like George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life, who wondered if the world would have been a better place if he had never been born. But after a summer of dealing with one loss after the next, the thought one day blazed through my head like spiritual lightning: "The world would NOT be a better place without you in it; it would be worse--much, much WORSE!" If nothing else, I am a person who cares. Intentionally. Without thought as to how much it may hurt me to care. I like to think I am not alone in this.

My question used to be much more about me--How am I being treated and why? How is the world receiving me and what should I do differently? But with grief comes a greater understanding of who I am and how I am able to deal with this, who you are and how I can do nothing to determine how you are dealing with this, and where the boundaries need to be. The question then becomes: What can I do to make the world a better place? How can I do my part to make it less cynical and more inviting?

I have wondered what I can say to someone struggling to exist, if I, in fact, even become aware that someone has reached that point. Sometimes there is nothing one can say. The decisions one makes undeniably can cause others a great deal of pain creating more challenges to be worked through and guidance to be sought. To opt out of this kind of suffering is to have "dead people's goals" as one TED talk speaker puts it. Only dead people do not feel pain. There are some wounds that go too deep to ever fully heal, yet life in its abundance can still be lived to the full. It is for each one of us to figure out how.

"I'm glad you're here," is the resounding phrase I keep coming back to. It summarizes what is important. No, you do not understand our luggage requirements, but obviously we can wait while you jam everything into one bag, and by the way, we are glad you are here. No, we don't understand your scarf or your notebook but our scanners have not determined anything harmful about them, and, oh yes, we're glad you're here. No, you didn't come through the correct door but it isn't hurting anyone because the program has not yet started and walking through our room in your swimsuits carrying your lunch in no way affects anything, and we're glad you're here. Life is tough enough without making it tougher. I'm glad you're here.

again

(What follows is a blog I wrote in July of 2014 and never posted. I have forgotten the specifics that motivated my expression, but was strangely comforted by my own words as I re-discovered them yesterday while looking for art materials to create something new. I probably chose not to post for fear I would offend or draw the wrong kind of attention. But the small measure of comfort these words have brought me, as I continue to live the life I've been given, is significant--and maybe just to me, but nonetheless, here I am contemplating again, in all my glory. Thank you for reading.)

Expectation is the root of all heartache, according to a quote attributed to William Shakespeare. Whether or not I expect something to happen is not the problem; it is in the length of time it takes me to regain my emotional composure, that my heart finds the time to ache.

I have been told ever since I can remember that I should "not let my imagination get the better of me," "not make too big of a deal out of it," and "let go of such high expectations." All I have ever heard is: stop being yourself. If I did not have such an over-active imagination, maybe it would not get the better of me. Perhaps longing for more than something common or boring has been what has motivated me. Why I am never to hope for something grand has confused me.

What adds to that confusion is how little I actually hope for. I remember making a list many years ago for what I wanted in a house, back when I was a renter and not an owner. Among the items on the list were "windows that open; doors that shut" which caught the attention of a well-meaning friend who could not believe my standards were so low. They are not low, I insisted. Up until that point I had lived in rental properties in which windows were painted shut or did not have screens, and doors were either non-existent or the wrong size. When one starts at the bottom, any expectation seems reasonable.

So I check myself to measure my expectations according to what is supposedly a "normal standard" and I end up expecting to eat, without the expectation that the food will satisfy me; expecting to find shelter, without the expectation that I will ever really feel secure; and expecting to have my basic needs met though it seems to be constantly up for discussion what my "needs" truly are. The tangible never outweigh the intangible, in my book, thus heartache is inevitable.

I guess I want what people cannot give me: time to process my thoughts with interaction and without judgment; promises that we will keep trying to sort things out, even if we never fully agree with each other; a commitment to communicate when misunderstanding is imminent; an I've-got-your-back attitude that will keep me from constantly wondering if this is the case. Or, better yet, a response to my emails! But life doesn't work this way. We take each other for granted and place our own needs before the needs of another. We say we agree to work together for common goals, but what this means is we will work together as long as our own goals are met in the process.

It does not take a detective to figure out where someone is when that person posts his or her life events on social media. It is difficult to believe that someone is too ill to meet an obligation when the person posts pictures of the great outdoors, while thought to be home in bed. A last minute trip to the beach, complete with a tantalizing plate of food photo, describes one's priorities more than that person may realize. I wonder how many of those cheering the person on, by liking the post, will understand what statement is being made by the person being there, and not where many will expect.

We tell our children not to lead mediocre lives--to strive for greatness. But then if they do, are we to tell them not to expect too much? How does this equation always backfire? Hope for the best, but do not fully invest yourself or you will be seen as neurotic. Give it your all, but do not expect others to do the same. We are all in this together, at least until social media tells a different story. So are we to expect anything or not?

I would like to think that having expectations is a human experience, common to us all, but whenever I take the time to contemplate it, I end up feeling very alone. I get stuck in the grief I feel when my heart is again shattered by those whose actions flippantly remind me that I again expected too much. I feel utterly lost when I try to figuratively and sometimes even literally hold the hands of those who have already moved beyond what I was hoping we would accomplish. I am left with unmet expectations, unrealized goals, and something that used to resemble hope, wondering how I ended up here. Again.

(Postscript: Though I have tried to avoid finding myself in the midst of painful circumstances, they have a way of finding me, perhaps not intending to harm but to teach. My questions may remain the same; the answers, however, can transform and heal if I will let them.)

the illusion of friendship especially during wedding season

Before I share my heart with you, and you, in your infinite wisdom of me, decide whether or not I should be on meds or perhaps assume I have not been taking the ones I have been prescribed, please note that these experiences are from my very own near-sighted viewpoint. They are mine alone. You do not have to agree with me, but my hope is that you will be kind.

If there is anything I will ask God as I someday enter into the gates of heaven, it will be this: "Why was friendship so hard?" He will know exactly what I'm talking about because it has been no picnic for him to make friends with us either. We are fickle and sometimes downright mean. We say we are friends with God when all is well, but turn against him when the bottom falls out of life. Somehow I have always managed to have faith, though I have often wondered how it has remained possible.

My first best friend was a little boy who lived on a neighboring farm. It may have been a friendship of convenience since his mother and my mother took turns driving us into town so we could go to the parochial school for first grade, but I would like to think we were friends because we enjoyed spending time together playing in the barn and eating peanut butter sandwiches. I knew when we became friends with a girl who lived closer to his farm than to mine there was a chance he would like her better than he liked me, especially when she chose to roll down the hill with him in that barrel and I never could find the courage to do so. But kids play together with different friends at different times and as long as no one is outwardly mean, it seems to all work out until everyone has to go home for supper.

Perhaps due to my introverted nature, I always seemed to veer toward the best friend model for friendship, since being in groups has never lent itself to getting beyond the small talk in order to know someone in greater depth by asking questions that matter. This worked great for high school and even for the last part of college. These two women are still my friends. They know me in ways others have never known me or probably ever will. They know me for who I am when I'm not trying to fit in. They know my strengths and my weaknesses, where I have come from and some of the life experiences that have shaped the way I look at life. Even though I am not particularly like them in every way, together we are better than we are as individuals.

I married a friend, which I would highly recommend since a conversation that is going to last for decades had better be an interesting one. And though there is the temptation to marry someone similar to yourself, the man I married has a personality more similar to those of my closest female friends and for that reason we are able to complement each other and not compete. (Sometimes we do compete, but not on our best days.)

What happens next is the part I have trouble understanding. We have old friends we see at reunions, and friends we see at church and even better friends who have parties in our honor; we have work friends and acquaintance-type friends, and make new friends once in awhile randomly, but just when I think I know what is going on, I am left without a clue. What I am referring to specifically is the dreaded making-it-on-the-list sort of friendship that gets one into parties and weddings.

I have learned that if I am not invited to the birthday party, I will not be invited to the graduation party. It follows that I will then not be invited to the bridal shower, the wedding or the reception. When the happy couple reproduces, I will not get invited to the baby shower or ever get to see their child. Why would this be important since I was not involved in any of their other special events? I cannot answer that nor can I predict which list I will end up on, if any at all.

Seeking answers, I have googled a number of articles explaining the etiquette needed to navigate these events that can be accessed by invitation only. Brides and grooms should pick which of their friends they would like to see at their wedding but their parents' friends should not be allowed to come, one article stated. Another pointed out the obvious: it is not possible to include everyone. It is cost prohibitive and makes no sense to invite everyone one has ever known. One article qualifies it by stating that if one has had no contact with someone for a specific amount of time, that person does not get let in to celebrate the couple's special day. I wonder if the determination for who gets chosen would be better handled by some kind of online quiz since there does not seem to be any kind of rating system that could provide a more scientific result.

Maybe the invitation process should be handled more like a college application. I know I could write a convincing essay about how I love weddings more than most people do and would even be willing to assist where needed. I could record every encounter I have had with those about to tie the knot, the prayers I've spoken on their behalf, the needs I've brought before others for their benefit. If I could somehow prove my loyalty as a friend and my commitment to the family to uphold them in all future endeavors and even give the newborn child they will someday have a bed bunny (which is the very best gift any child could ever have since I created it myself), I may stand a chance of getting in. But the "friend" who does not make the list has no voice.

There is now a website called The Knot which I have stalked to vicariously participate in the impending nuptials I will never get to witness in person. I can see when and where the ceremony will be and dream about the beauty of the day. I get to know when and where the reception is in case I decide to get drunk and crash it. (Just kidding--sort of.) And I even get to see their registries and all the cool gifts the happy couple will receive as I try to forget the design of the homemade gift I was going to make. I stop shopping for the dress I will not need to wear. I free up my calendar with a date I was never supposed to save.

Life moves on. Once everything is professionally photographed, it will appear on Facebook and I will get to see not only how beautiful the bride is, but will inevitably catch a glimpse of someone in the background who made the list when I did not. I will wonder about that friend's credentials. What was it that afforded that person entry into the best day of their lives when I was not deemed worthy? Maybe that person was willing to roll down the hill in the barrel with them when I was not. I may never know.

I have started joking to myself that I must be bad luck--the kind no one wants at their wedding. I have not received an invitation to a wedding in over four years and even then I had to negotiate with a relative of the bride's to be given a chance at the open bar and to be handed a sparkler to see off the newlyweds. I knew I deserved to be there and yet question myself when that fact is obvious to no one but me.

If there is anything that sets me straight again after all of this needless worry, it is the idea that after I walk through those pearly gates, ask God the tough question about friendship, and we have a good laugh together, he will usher me over to the banquet table where I will find a place setting with my name on the place card. I will sit down as an invited guest, fashionably dressed for eternity, and chosen to be on the list of his friends.

on the road to Glorieta

(I have been asked to join a class on storytelling and evangelism at my church over the next couple of months. During the first session we are each to tell one of our favorite stories. Here is one of mine.)

It was mid-February in 1988, and I was living in a studio apartment near downtown Denver, Colorado. Though I had finished my graduate program in journalism, I continued to pick up temp assignments, hoping for my career to begin. Since I was between jobs, provisions were running low.

When Lee, a friend from church, called to inquire whether I was going on the church retreat to Glorieta, New Mexico with the rest of the group, I had to admit I could not afford to go. I could barely afford a cup of coffee and was considering restaurant work for the free employee meal. The next thing I knew he was offering to pay my way. I wondered if meals were included.

His offer was problematic for two reasons: 1) It felt way too much like a date and I didn't want to mess up a perfectly good friendship, and 2) Even though he hadn't asked, he would probably want me to ride with him from Colorado to New Mexico and that would seem even more like we were dating, when clearly we were not.

I told him I would accept his offer. He then wanted to know if I would ride with him.

On the way to Glorieta we listened to music and barely spoke. I was grateful for the change of scenery and the dinner that awaited me. I was not prepared for our pastor to greet us at the entrance with a big smile on his face or the friends I hadn't seen in awhile who assumed Lee and I were together. We were not together . . . as he paid for my room and helped me with my bags.

By lunchtime of the following day, I had prayed that God would give me direction for my life. I was considering becoming a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators since at the tender age of 26 I was almost an old maid by the standards of my small home town. I would go to some faraway land and spend my remaining years serving God, with only words and the Holy Spirit to keep me company.

In the cafeteria, a group of my friends were getting ready to head to Santa Fe for the afternoon break before the chapel service that evening. Though I wanted to see the galleries, I also needed time to myself and turned down the invitation to join them. No sooner had they left the table did this overwhelming loneliness take hold. I had been living alone for years and when I was not working, I spent much of my time alone. This is the life a writer longs for, yet in that moment I realized I was hoping I would have someone to talk to, even for a couple of hours.

Looking up, there, directly in front of me on the other side of the cafeteria, sat Lee.

As I approached his table, the group of friends he was with quickly excused themselves, laughing quietly and whispering, leaving the two of us alone together.

"Would you like to go into Santa Fe?" he asked.

"I'd love to!" I said, not believing what I was saying or how I was saying it.

We walked the streets of Santa Fe window-shopping and admiring the art. As we re-entered the retreat center a few hours later, Lee asked if I would sit with him during chapel. Oh yes, how thrilled this unfamiliar person who now somehow conducted my life was. I even went back to my room to change my clothes and fix my hair. One of my roommates demanded to know who I was trying to impress. I naturally lied . . . to my friend . . . on a church retreat. It is a wonder God ever answers my prayers!

Finding Lee in the chapel, the entire pew of people got up and moved when they saw me coming. They were of course laughing quietly and whispering, as I made myself comfortable next to Lee.

All I really remember of that church service was when the first pastor got up to give his sermon, it was about provision. I started to think about how this retreat was provided to me and how food was provided when I had run out, and how the man sitting next to me was . . . GOD'S PROVISION! I suddenly knew with absolute certainty that Lee Shores was going to be my husband, and like every girl who is proposed to, even supernaturally, I burst into tears. This caused people to pass the box of tissues as Lee put his arm around me. No one knew what was wrong (or right) and I could not begin to tell them.

Our return trip to Denver was filled with our life stories, our views on certain topics, books we had read, music we enjoyed, and just about everything else we could think of to share with each other. So convinced was I that I had heard the voice of God, I took perhaps the biggest chance I could have and said to Lee, "I no longer see you as just a friend."

"I feel exactly the same way about you," was his answer.

(A month later, we were sitting on his couch when he asked if it would be too wild if he asked me to marry him. I told him that it would be too wild, but I would probably say yes. "Will you marry me?" he asked. "Yes," I said. After an awkward pause we agreed we should probably get to know each other. "When should we get married?" I asked. "Before I turn 35," he said. "How old are you now?" Thirty years later, we are still getting to know each other.)

a tale of two grandmas

I recently posted on Facebook,

When I think of Billy Graham, I remember walking over to Grandma's house, opening the back door and walking past the washing-up sink with a water dipper, into the kitchen where the smell of molasses cookies and freshly baked bread lived, through the dining room with the treadle sewing machine, all the way into the living room where on the console television in the corner we would listen to a man talk about God's love, while Grandma sat next to her piano with the hymnal on it and I sat next to a table with a Bible, feeling loved.

 . . . and realized that was only half of the story of growing up with grandmas.

The grandma I described in the previous passage was my father's mother. She had five kids; my father was number four. Her husband, my grandpa, died when I was ten. The only memory of him I have is when I was five and sleeping on the davenport, as Grandma called it, in their dining room, because it was the night my youngest sister was being born. I remember Grandpa getting up early to tend to farming chores. It seems like he was wearing a flannel night shirt as he hurried to get dressed in the cold house in the midst of a Michigan January. I pretended to be asleep, but cuddled among the quilts Grandma most likely had made out of her old house dresses, I soon was asleep, warm and safe in one of my favorite places.

The other half of the story is the part about my other grandma, my mother's mother. She, too, was the mother of five kids; my mother was number two. Her husband, my grandpa, also died when I was ten. I have two memories of him: the first was when he would bounce me on his knee singing a song about a happy hippo, and second, when I would see him being helped down the hallway of their big, old farmhouse, where he would find his bed and sleep it off. No one spoke about why he needed help walking or why he had to take so many naps. He was gone before I knew him. I remember walking out into the dining room of our house one morning with my mother holding my sister, crying, and telling me that Grandpa had died. I was not as sad as I was jealous that my mother was holding my sister and not me. I always felt that I needed to be held more than I ever actually was, but being the practical people we were, the chores that needed to be done always took priority over real or perceived emotional needs.

My other grandma did not watch Billy Graham on television, worked in a canning factory and did not do much baking, did not know how to sew or play the piano, and most likely did not spend much time reading the Bible. This was the Grandma who would teach me how to play rummy and we would play cards while she filled up a small cup for me with cream and sugar, adding just enough coffee to create a beautiful caramel color. I would gratefully sip on the warm treat and when I was finished she would offer me coffee candy. It would not take long before I was addicted to caffeine, at the ripe old age of six or seven, an addiction I have had ever since, not to mention tooth decay from all of the sugar that would wreak havoc on my chalk-like teeth.

This was the grandma who would let me roast marshmallows over the burner of her stove so we could make s'mores, which may not have been the best decision, but I do not recall ever getting burned, though sometimes the marshmallows did. Years into the future she would invite me to share in the mysterious concoctions that would be poured from the blender on Christmas as everyone got happier and I naively wondered why--why they were getting happier and why someone not of age was being invited to share in the merriment. Fortunately, that was an addiction I flirted with briefly in college, but it would not take hold and define my life.

That grandma would like to say, "ooh-la-la" and attribute that to being part French, which I never would have believed until it was recently confirmed on a DNA test I took: French, German, Scottish, Irish, British--100 percent European ancestry. I knew all was true except for the French and somehow felt slightly more exotic and glamorous after that. Maybe that is why I wanted to study French and ended up with a French minor, becoming semi-fluent for awhile. It was in my DNA.

Both grandmas went to church. The one who listened to Billy Graham took me to her small community church once in awhile where we would sing hymns and I would wonder what it meant to be saved. Before that she was part of the Brethren Church. She asked me before I went to college how I would treat a roommate if that roommate happened to be black. We only knew of one black family in our township and they seemed the same as everyone else in that small, rural community so even though I did not know the answer to her question, I said I guessed I would treat her just like anyone else. Grandma said yes, that is exactly what I should do. She is the only one who ever addressed the issue.

The coffee-drinking grandma had converted to Catholicism in order to marry Grandpa, just like my father converted in order to marry my mother, making me only part Catholic, though it had a major influence on my thinking, and probably still does. This grandma did not talk about her faith, but many Catholics I knew did not talk about theirs either. It was a given that one went to church for no one wanted to face an eternity in hell for missing mass. The ten commandments were pretty straightforward, though we all knew when we were looking at the prayer cards before making our confessions that there was no way we were going into that dark little booth and not have something to tell the priest. None of us could ever measure up and that was why we needed the priest to intercede for us. Maybe just maybe, if we recited the prayers just right, and never dropped a communion wafer on the floor, and didn't pinch our sister too much in church or actually laugh out loud, we could make it to purgatory and hope that someone in time would pray us out so we could go on to our final reward. There was a lot of pressure in being Catholic. And seeing that gigantic crucifix with the larger-than-life Jesus staring down at me every week certainly did not help.

Both grandmas would lose their husbands while they were still somewhat young, but only my mother's mother would remarry when I was 13 and I would get to wear my long green dress to their wedding. Afterward we had lunch with the priest and Grandma and my new Grandpa got to go on about their lives in a different house than the farmhouse, and spend time in their camper like the time they took a trip out West. Grandma soon discovered, however, she did not enjoy camping nearly as much as Grandpa. When I brought my fiance to meet the family at Grandma's birthday party, Grandpa pulled me aside to give me all kinds of marriage advice. Tell him you love him every day and show him, he said. He went on with instructions for how I could be the best wife possible. I would find out later he had advice for my husband-to-be as well. Be patient, was all he said.

I would not be the woman I am today were it not for both of my grandmas. The quilt-making, bread-baking, hymn-singing, listener of Billy Graham grandma along with the coffee-drinking, card-playing, somewhat French, Catholic grandma both taught me a lot about faith, love, and living life to the full. Both suffered great loss, endured hardship, loved their families and lived into their 80s.

Today I sew all kinds of things, love to bake and have even come up with a version of my own molasses cookie, drink coffee with cream or black--no sugar please, and have an enduring faith that allows me to love God and try to treat everyone with respect. I hope someday to be the kind of grandma I was blessed enough to have and to pass along all I have learned. Well, maybe not all.

standing in the need of prayer

What I love about my Birkenstocks is how the leather softens and molds around the contours of my feet over time. I wear them every day and sometimes with socks in the winter. They are my bedroom slippers and my footwear for the summer months. I have an old pair I take to the beach. I even chose to have a worn out pair resoled instead of breaking in a new pair--they are that comforting and good.

If you tried to wear my Birkenstocks, you would not find them nearly as enjoyable because they would not fit your feet the way they fit mine. My long, narrow feet with no arch are given extra support by this footwear that perhaps you do not need. And even if you do, they have been worn to accommodate my feet, not yours.

There are simple truths we need to hold dear when we come alongside each other--truths that define us as individuals. It is far easier to come up with generalized remedies for each other's ills than it is to consider we may not know exactly what is best. Sometimes the answers are out of our grasp. We want to understand, but we don't and maybe we can't. Admitting that we have limitations takes courage. Knowing we are not in control is a sign of maturity. Being open to learning gives us hope.

There is a gospel song, a spiritual, that came to my mind during prayer this morning: Standing in the need of prayer. "Not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer."

Sometimes it is easier to pray for others than it is to ask for prayer. We can pray with long lists starting with family members and praying in ever widening spirals until we have prayed for the whole world. Prayers for people who are dying seem to take precedence though I often wonder if these prayers should be directed more toward those who will need to adjust to the loss that will occur when the loved one transitions out of this earthly plane.

To tell someone you are praying for his or her need sounds noble, but I believe something happens when these prayers are actually prayed. I can feel lifted up, embraced, made secure every once in awhile and wonder if this is a moment when a prayer on my behalf has made its way to the throne of God. Because we all have different belief systems I try not to impose my ideas on others. Most of my references seem to be from children's fairy tales anyway. But whether we are talking to God or merely wishing someone well, I believe there is power in our thoughts and words. For this reason we must have times of quiet--times when we can stare out a window into the pre-dawn sky and not think about anything more than the squirrel's nest that has now become visible as the neighbor's tree branch, bereft of its leaves, leans ever closer to our driveway. It is in listening to the crunching of the fallen leaves, seeing large, fat robins, and wondering for the briefest of moments why they are hopping around looking for food in January when they are supposed to be the first sign of spring, but then remembering these are the ones that flew South for the winter and that is where I now live.

Though it may sound like this sort of thinking takes a great deal of time, time none of us can spare, it does not. These are momentary experiences that happen without prompting if one is open to them.

Moments of being reminded that whether it is cold or warm, sunny or overcast, a day reminiscent of loss or celebration, I can stand here in my Birkenstocks in the need of prayer and know that someone somewhere is praying for me right now.