Happy Birthday Granny

Today would have been my Granny's 99th birthday. She passed away in January this year and I miss my chum terribly. I was honored to give the family tribute at her funeral and I thought it fitting to share an extract today in her memory.

"As a good Presbyterian Granny would have appreciated a three point tribute all beginning with the letter 'F'. Family, fun and faith capture the essence of Dora's priorities, passion & perspective. There's three 'Ps' for good measure.

Dora loved her family deeply. The last time we were all together was August 14th, 2014. The occasion was Granny’s 98th birthday party. Our little daughter Miss O, born in December 2013, carries Granny’s name as one of her middle names. We don’t live in Northern Ireland; since 2010 we’ve lived just outside Washington DC. This birthday party was the first time the two Doras met.

Miss O was only eight months old and four generations after Granny, but she knew her. They grasped hands immediately & the instant smile and quick laughter between them made me and everyone else in the room weep. You see Dora means “God’s Gift” and that day two precious gifts in our lives found each other.

Scripture says God places the lonely in families. He doesn’t place us in communes or congregations; neighborhoods or networks. Families. And us humans, we’re all lonely in some way. I wonder if that fracture is in us so that we will long for each other. Part of my lonely ache was eased by Granny for all of my 41 years. Granny saw our faults, our brokenness; just as we saw hers. But through her love we experienced the tender mercies of God that come to us only in our families.

Dora was always quick to smile and laugh! She'd a brilliant sense of humor and loved a bit of banter. That characterized her relationship with my late father, Roy, whom she adored; and it marked her friendship with my husband Richard. Each Sunday night as Richard helped Granny down Mum's steps into our car he would make some quip like 'you mind yourself this week, I don't have time to be coming to visit you' - Granny would thump him playfully on the arm or threaten him with her stick, the whole while having a glint in her eye reflecting her love for Richard & for the craic.

Old time dancing brought Dora great joy. Waltzing round Blackpool Ballroom or dancehalls all over Belfast, Granny loved to dance. That's one thing I know she's doing now - no longer constrained by her dodgey knee and aged bones. Dora also loved to sing - whether it was hymns in church or accompanying Songs of Praise, or decked in a pink feather boa at a singalong in Lisadian. She found pleasure in the simple things. She loved cream buns and old movies in which people were "lovely wee stars". She loved roast chicken dinners; keeping her Christmas gifts half-wrapped on her spare room bed; and just a wee half cup of tea.

Granny was the spiritual matriarch of our family. I'm certain that by her faithful intercessions she has prayed all of us into the family of faith. Her deep trust in the promises of God the Father; her intimate knowing of Jesus the Son; and her assured comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit, moulded her whole life.

Psalms 111 and 139 are a beautiful reflection of Dora’s faith. She worshiped in church every Sunday and always listened to the "service" on the wireless. She studied “the works of the Lord,” delighting to daily read her bible and pray; and she had first hand experience of God’s wonderful deeds and provision in her life. Granny’s wisdom, strength and patient, quiet waiting, all emanated from her knowing that the Lord is faithful, good, and trustworthy.  Dora knew God and had no doubt that He knew and loved her.

We used to go to Granny’s house for dinner on a Saturday evening and often our conversation would turn to matters of faith. One week Mum, myself, Granny, her two sisters-in-law, Georgie and Agnes; and her brother-in-law, Jim, were sat round Granny’s table; someone asked the question, “What will heaven be like?” A variety of ideas swirled around the table, all half-formed and mostly guess work. Then Dora spoke. “I don’t care what it’s like” she said, “as long as I’m with my Billy.” You see Granny understood death not as the end or even the beginning, but rather as a continuation. Heaven for her is the place where there would be no more sorrow or loss or separation. It is the fulfillment of all things promised and wholeness of joy and peace. You see Dora now, is Home."

Dream Kitchens

We're moving house in a few weeks and while most of the new place is the exact footprint and layout of our current house, our new home has a much bigger kitchen - woo hoo!! We'll still have the constraints of a rented property in terms of opportunities for updates but a new larger space for feeding our family and friends will be brilliant.

It has got me dreaming about the (possible) day when we'll own a house again, and, if money were no object, what my dream kitchen might look like. Here are some looks and fixtures I would love:

It would be grey or white with a Belfast sink.

 As a lover of order my perfect kitchen would have handy, accessible storage.

Drawers under the sink would be much better than a cupboard where things get shoved to the back.

As a cuppa makes all things well - hot water on tap is the order of the day.

 

 Tea is my drink of choice, I do like a wee coffee. A built in Miele coffee maker would do the job.

 Having a kitchen with its own green house window- yes please!

I love this idea of the outside meeting the inside!

Off to dream so more about my ideal home!

Staycation

To be fair to The Beloved I've just enjoyed a 4 day vacation in Key West - so maybe he should be writing about the idea of a staycation rather than me! However, as a family, we're staycationing this week and next. We talked a lot about this holidaying decision and all the reasons to Staycation listed below lead us to our final choice to choose Home over Away.

Reasons to Staycation:

(1) SLEEP: Most nights Miss O sleeps 11 hours straight. To mess with a winning formal that gives us our evening and a good nights sleep seemed crazy. Also, we both sleep really well in our own bed with our own pillows - sleep is a gift, don't throw it away!

(2) COST: Today we went to an indoor play area in our local rec center which cost $5 for over an hour. We then enjoyed a picnic lunch, a long afternoon nap, a walk and a yummie BBQ in the yard all for minimal cost and we get to enjoy all the benefits from number (1). Happy days indeed.

(3) EASE OF THE FAMILIAR: We're both tired and to have to think about exploring and navigating a new place vs trying new places down the road ... well, with an 18 month old and the prospect of moving house next month looming over us, the less thinking the better, a staycation wins.

(4) LOCAL GEMS: We're fortunate to live in a great location with fantastic museums, parks, great towns, natural wonders, and facilities galore. We often joke that if we happened on our city of Alexandria on vacation we'd be wanting to move there! Staycation allows us to enjoy living in amazing city.

(5) HOME IS HAVEN: It's funny how sometimes rest only comes when we're somewhere different. This staycation has challenged us to find ways to rest, decompress and be refreshed at home.

I'm hopeful that this staycation will not only give us much needed rest in the short term but that it will teach us how to rest well throughout the year in the space that we call home. Happy holidays friends!

Introducing Macalla

One of things I love about our church in DC is people's readiness to honestly share their lives - past, present, future, good, bad, broken, redeemed. I also love that it is full humble, highly creative humanoids. Back in 2013 Natasha Kolar and I starting talking about a place where these two facets of our community could come together. And so, St Brendan's in the City online literary and arts journal called Macalla was born.

Macalla (meaning 'echo' in Irish) carries the tag line "In the voice of the community I hear the echo of myself." This concept reflects the dual reality of common themes that resonant around the community in a season and then how we are enriched and transformed by hearing the experience of those themes in individual lives.

The creative team headed by editor, Natasha Kolar, identify the theme for each edition then the community are invited to submit their stories using whatever medium they desired. All submissions are included after editorial support, and all ages are invited to take part.

The current edition that went live yesterday is about "Home"  - a particular passion of mine! I was very excited to write the introduction to this edition - which you can read on the Macalla welcome page. It starts with a quote:

“The ache for home lives in all of us. 

The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”  

(Maya Angelou, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoe) 

It is my prayer for the readers of Macalla and this blog that God in His mercy leads you to a place, to a people, where you are safely, gracefully, unconditionally home. I hope you enjoy Macalla - spread the word, it's a great read!