January 26, 2009
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A Bit of a Break
A break? To what might my title refer?
A. That I have been off Xanga for a while?
B. That LibbyK and I got to go to a Mother/Daughter retreat this past weekend?
C. That Hunter got his big break in theater by being cast as Gaston in State College High School’s production of Beauty and the Beast?
D. That Wit broke his left collarbone while snowboarding on Friday?
E. All of the above.
Oh, you clever, clever readers. Yes, the correct answer is E! And I’ll tell you all about it.
A. Yeah, I’ve been off Xanga. Boring. Move on to B.
B. Our church had a retreat at Camp Kanesatake for mothers and daughters (grade 7 and up). I was in charge of door prizes (Bath and Body Works stuff, chocolate, stationery, punching balls…), the craft, and Friday night’s supper. Although Friday night got a bit complicated (see D), the retreat overall turned out to be a mix of wonderful.
We decided not to have a speaker, but instead we had questions prepared for just mothers and daughters to answer together. (The ladies who did not have daughters present met in their own group with similar questions.) It was interesting to me to have the time to sit with LibbyK and go through some of the excellent questions. They were split, some for mothers to answer and some for daughters. Here are a few.
Mother: Share two special memories of your daughter’s physical birth.
Daughter: Tell about a special birthday present you received.
Mother: What do you hope your daughter will wait on God for in the future?
Daughter: How have you seen your mom seek the Lord?
I was challenged and convicted, yet I really appreciated the time I got to spend chatting and discussing more than just school or why she didn’t do her chores.
C. We were on pins and needles with this one. Would he be a good enough singer and actor? Would his dancing skills keep him out of the role? Would there be any other six-foot-fourish muscled fellows with a deep voice who would try out for the part? It turns out that our fretting was unnecessary (as fretting always turns out to be). As Hunter’s Facebook status read, “I’m especially good at expectorating. 10 points! I’m Gaston!”
The performances will be the first weekend in April, which means Hunter has to take a leave of absence from his after-school day care job until then (due to practice conflicting).
D. Wit and the Snowboard… Friday was the first day we had done the homeschool ski program. Last week, the temperature was 8 degrees for a high, not counting wind chill. This week, it was 52 degrees for a high! Kids were skiing in t-shirts.
Wit had only been snowboarding once before, and his friends were much more experienced. However, being 16 and fairly coordinated, he was able to keep up, even going off some jumps with them. I was riding the ski lift up for my third time down the hill when I saw the ski patrol leaning over someone. “Uh-oh. That looks just like the sleeve of Wit’s jacket.” Indeed it was. I skied down to him as they were preparing to load him onto the emergency sled thing. “Dislocated shoulder, more than likely. Very painful,” I was told.
After distributing the other children to several kind and generous moms, I took Wit to the hospital where the x-ray showed a clear break in his collarbone. Actually, the bones were overlapping, like if you put one finger on top of another. They put him in a sling and gave us a prescription for heavy-duty pain killers (which we did not fill).
While we were at the hospital waiting for the results, I got a phone call. “LibbyK hurt her leg and can hardly walk on it.” Sigh. “I think she’ll be okay. Just take her to the retreat for me. If we need to go back to the hospital, at least she’ll have had her supper first.” (And she was. She was limpy for a day or two, but she’s okay in general.)******
And what of other news, like the fact that TGD was named as a Full Professor at Penn State? (WHOOOOO!) That I’m starting rehearsals for Shakespeare’s As You Like It on Thursday? (Although I made so many changes to the script that someone said I should call the play As I Like It!) That I’ve got another nasty cold? Ah, I should tell you more, but then this entry would be even more ponderous.
Comments (13)
Aww, I’m sorry that your son had this accident!
Who is going to play in your play? Good luck for the rehearsal day!
Ponderous? I don’t see any ponds on your blog…I see beautful falling snow and plenty of good news to catch up on. You made up very well for being away.
And thank God your son is okay although I am very sorry to hear of his mis-fortune. Sorry, too, to hear of your returning cold. It must be a Pennsylvania thing…it’s happening in my corner of the state too.
Shakespeare…ah! A lady after my own heart. Many blessings as you tackle yet another thing on your plate, although wonderful it is! And as you like it!
…and as I am liking the sight of my ready-to-be-bunked-down-into-bed, I think I shall give it a whirl. Good night dear friend. You all take care and stay warm. And tell your kids no more breaks!
Wow, what a LOT of breaks! (you are so clever!
) That banquest sounds really neat (love the idea) and many congrats to Hunter and TGD! Hope that Wit mends quickly and your play goes well. 
The retreat sounds delightful.
I’m sure the dramatic performances will turn out great.
The injuries sound painful….so sorry to hear about them!
The career attainment sound like a reason to celebrate!
Point B really makes me want to go to Bath and Body Works just to smell everything.
I hope Wit makes a full recovery. I chipped my collar bone once a very long time ago in a softball game. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life, but somehow I can’t seem to recall how much it actually hurt.
Wow! That’s a lot of stuff going on! Congrats on the good stuff and hope Wit is much better soon!
Wow! You’ve been busy. Yay for Hunter! Boo hoo for Wit–hope he feels better soon, and Congrats to TGD!
Your posts are always so clever! You are a crafty gal, lol.
I hope you feel better soon. A head cold can be miserable! And thank you for the prayers for my sister in law. I truly appreciate it.
Oh, it would be SO MUCH FUN to play Gaston in the musical!! He must be really good! You’ll be singing those songs in your head for a long time to come, eh?
This is precicely why I never hit the slopes. With my exceptional combination of luck and balance, I would surely break something as well.
So much stuff in this post that I don’t know where to begin commenting!
I love your new profile pic. Very pretty.
That must be horrible for you as a mom to have your child have a broken bone…I remember my parents’ reactions to my little brother’s broken wrist. That was heart wrenching for them.
Congrats to your husband at Penn State!!!!
Keep us posted on As You Like It…I bet that will be amusing for us readers.
Oh my goodness! I am reeling from all the news! Libby K was skiing too when she hurt her leg?
How about that, Gaston! Playing an arrogant sleezebag can be so fun, and that is one of my favorite songs!
Now you can’t call xanga boring with a post like that, or, did you mean a break from xanga is a boring topic?
Congratulations to TGD. Does he have to publish a certain amount to hold that position? I am searching for a copy of SPSS right now.