TOMMY TURNS 14!!!

Tomorrow March 24 will be a very special day in our home! Our youngest son, Tommy, turns 14. How fast the years have gone. I so remember the day he was born--I had a 7:30 surgery to do and at the end of the case realized I was a little uncomfortable. I walked from the hospital across the walkway to my OB for my scheduled appt. He informed me that I was in labor, to walk back to the hospital, and get ready to have a baby! I called Tim who was at the dentist's office getting ready to have a root canal. He was more than happy to bolt out of the dentist's office, only to have the dentist run after him, saying that they could reschedule him! Tommy was born by mid-afternoon and he was my biggest baby at 8lb. 11oz. That evening Tim brought Timmy and Taddy to the hospital to meet their little brother. Taddy almost upset the bassinette trying to look in. It was basketball season then as well and Tommy and I watched KU lose to Purdue.

Tommy is a delightful son and brings us so much happiness. He is always so willing to help around the house and the yard. He keeps his room so neat and is very organized. This has been his first year in public school and he studies very hard. He has made the honor roll both 9 weeks and his dad and I get to attend the honor roll breakfast for parents. His Bible verse for the school year is Phil. 4:13.

Tommy really likes sports--his favorite being basketball. He hopes that KU can win it all this year! (So do the rest of us.) The New York Yankees are his favorite baseball team.

Tommy is so kind to both of his grandmothers and made each of them happy on Easter Sunday as he visited them. Tommy, we thank God for you and wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Changing of the Drivers

A goal that I have in blogging is so that someday our sons might have a record/memories of some of the events in my own life that had an affect on me. The following is one of these:

It was the day before Thanksgiving l975 and I was a tired, discouraged, medical student at the Univ. of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City. I didn't have a car and lived in a small dorm room on the medical center campus. A day before, K.C. had a significant snow storm. The medical student that I usually got rides with didn't want to drive back to the Abilene area (which I understood) and decided to spend Thanksgiving in K.C. I called my parents to state that I didn't have a ride home. I'll never forget my dad immediately saying, "I"ll Come Get You!" (Oh, how good those words sounded and tears still come to my eyes thinking about it.) I had an idea about when he might arrive that night so I started looking out my dorm window. After a while, I could make out the headlights of their l965 Ford rounding the corner by our dorm. My dad and I were so happy to see each other! He said. "Your mother would have come, too, but as soon as she got finished teaching school, she got groceries and headed home to start getting the Thanksgiving meal for tomorrow ready." He told me that before he left Abilene for the l50 mile trip to K.C. he stoped at Holt Motor so they could put chains on the tires. I still remember that night--he pulled back onto I-70 to head for home! My dad had come for me; the car was so warm; and I had the best driver in the world to get me home. (And he did!)

Fast forward 25 years to 2000. My dad is now elderly and having health challenges. He had just recently been dismissed from the hospital and was still quite weak. It was time for his eye appt. in K.C. with an ophthalmologist who had been caring for him for many years. I picked my folks up at their Assisted Living Apt. in Abilene and we headed for K.C. We had his wheel chair in the back of our van. As we were returning from K.C. to Abilene, my dad was so weak that he would keep leaning toward me and I would keep pushing him back up. As we were heading home along I-70, I thought how much had changed--now I was the driver and he was the passenger. This man who was so skilled and had gotten me home in a bad blizzard, now needed me, just as I so needed him.

The older I get the more I realize how so much in life comes "Full Circle". As two of our sons are now driving, I will more and more, once again, be the passenger. But, I will always treasure the memory of being the passenger when my dad went through a bad snowstorm to get me home for Thanksgiving.

My Sister--LAUREL

It seems fitting that I should feature my sister, Laurel, on a spring Sunday afternoon because of the memories I want to convey.
It was the spring of l959 and on a Sunday afternoon my parents, sister Donneta, and I were traveling down "Old Highway 40" as we were returning home from visiting friends in Junction City. We were in my folks l953 Ford and this was long before seat belts. I moved to the center of the back seat so I could position myself right between my folks. I conveyed to them that I knew that it "took a long time for a baby" so I wanted to put my order in ahead of time so that they would know what I wanted more than anything else in the world for Christmas l959. (I recall that they kind of looked at each other with that "parent kind" of look and smiled.) They tried to tell me that I probably needed new pajamas more since mine had holes in the feet, but I remained resolute that I wanted another sister.
A couple of months later my mom came out wearing maternity clothes and Donneta and I were overjoyed!! Our youngest sister, Laurel, named after our mother, was born on December 18 and she and Mom came home on Christmas Eve! My dream and wish came true! Our growing up years together were just a treasure. Laurel was almost 6 years younger than Donneta and almost 8 years younger than me. She was so loyal to every event and activity that we were in. No one was happier for us if our softball team or Bible Quiz team won and no one felt more disappointed when we lost. When Donneta and I were in high school Laurel was in grade school but she came to every event we were in. Due to her interest, I got a high school yearbook just for her. She spent so much time looking at it that when we would mention a student's name she could (by memory) list the pages his/her pictures were on.
During Laurel's high school years she became very skilled in photography. When I graduated from medical school, she took a day off school so that she could be in Lawrence to get pictures of the event. My most treasured photos of the event are due to her diligence and expertise.
Laurel has always been so LOYAL to all of us. Once, when we were trying to think of a password for an alarm systerm, my dad suggested (thinking of Laurel) that we use "Loyal McBoyle". Many years ago during a sad time in my life, Laurel called me with some very helpful insights. I've probably never thanked her enough for what that meant.
So on this spring Sunday of 2008, I think back with much fondness to my "childhood request of l959". I am so thankful that my parents "complied" with my Christmas request because my life has been so blessed and so enriched because I have a wonderful sister--LAUREL.