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Saturday, March 5, 2011
A Blessing
As is often the case, crisis situations bring along with them blessings. The crisis involved this week was not of my own. Not my blood. Not my niece. Not really my family. The crisis is in a family of my family.
A little girl, fighting for her life in CICU at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Who happens to be my niece's-husband's-brother's-daughter. Clear as mud, right? If you are not already praying for Greer Underwood, please do so. She is very ill.
The blessing to us was time. Time spent with our great-niece, Casiday. Greer is her cousin and Casiday came with her mother (Teri Lynne) and daddy (Scott) to Birmingham from Georgia to be with Greer and her family.
But a hospital waiting room isn't really a fun place to be, and I asked Teri Lynne if we could come and get Casiday and bring her home with us for a few days. Huntsville is just 90 minutes from Birmingham and we thought she might enjoy being with us rather than just hanging out in the hospital.
I will say that I think she enjoys herself wherever she is. What a delightful young lady! Vibrant and full of life. Just a little bit sassy, friendly and a joy to have in our home. She has a dear heart and a pleasing personality, is creative and very funny.
I looked at her and saw pieces of people I love. She is in many ways her Mother's child. And I have loved Teri Lynne since the moment I knew of her existence. Before she was born, before we knew she was a girl...I loved the baby for whom I was going to be 'Aunt Mollianne' for the very first time. A role I cherish and share with 12 nieces and nephews, ranging from age 5 to well...however old Teri Lynne is! Not to mention the plethora of great-nieces and nephews.
She has a sweet tooth that has come down through our family from Neenie to Bigmama to Mollianne to Teri Lynne (the line gets crooked here) to Casiday. I learned to love a Sugar Sandwich-white bread, spread with butter and sprinked (or dumped) with white sugar and eaten quickly in hopes of making another-as a small child when Mother would make them for me. Teri Lynne says she learned to love the same treat made by the same hands.
She has hazel eyes. Not as dark as mine, but hazel nonetheless. We looked at each other and talked about our eyes. Many in our family...most, probably, have blue eyes. I always thought my eyes made me different and I wished for blue eyes. As an adult, I have come to love my eyes, because they are very like my Mother's in color and size. Looking at hers and knowing that those eyes go on to another generation was a wonderful feeling.
She has a tender heart. She loves the outside and the world God made. She adores dogs and cats and even likes lizards. She giggles. She teases. She has her Uncle Ed's number and plays him like a violin on occasion.
She said thank you for each meal, each treat and for the time she spent with us. We have grown up daughters, so having an eleven year old girl was not out of our experience. It has been awhile, however, since we listened to that sort of silliness and wisdom wrapped up in one. We are used to boys of the same age, and they are different creatures. Very different.
One night, as we had a lively discussion about teeth brushing, her Uncle Ed looked at me and said, "This is a different sort of stimulation than I'm used to." Absolutely, Uncle Ed. Absolutely!
That night, as she laid snuggled up next to me watching a movie, I felt a wonderful sense of time and space. I was holding my brother's grandchild close. My beloved niece's daughter. My great-niece. Part of the next generation of my family. And I prayed that she will have good memories of her time with us. And carry a small part of us in her heart through the years.
Thank you, Scott and Teri Lynne, for trusting us with your girl in your time of crisis. What a blessing she was to us. Her laughter still rings in my ears. Her art-work signs (my favorite being the one that says, 'Edmund likes Pink') are where she left them for us. We have laughed over Casiday-isms all week long and hope that our next visit will be soon.
~Mollianne
A little girl, fighting for her life in CICU at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Who happens to be my niece's-husband's-brother's-daughter. Clear as mud, right? If you are not already praying for Greer Underwood, please do so. She is very ill.
The blessing to us was time. Time spent with our great-niece, Casiday. Greer is her cousin and Casiday came with her mother (Teri Lynne) and daddy (Scott) to Birmingham from Georgia to be with Greer and her family.
But a hospital waiting room isn't really a fun place to be, and I asked Teri Lynne if we could come and get Casiday and bring her home with us for a few days. Huntsville is just 90 minutes from Birmingham and we thought she might enjoy being with us rather than just hanging out in the hospital.
I will say that I think she enjoys herself wherever she is. What a delightful young lady! Vibrant and full of life. Just a little bit sassy, friendly and a joy to have in our home. She has a dear heart and a pleasing personality, is creative and very funny.
I looked at her and saw pieces of people I love. She is in many ways her Mother's child. And I have loved Teri Lynne since the moment I knew of her existence. Before she was born, before we knew she was a girl...I loved the baby for whom I was going to be 'Aunt Mollianne' for the very first time. A role I cherish and share with 12 nieces and nephews, ranging from age 5 to well...however old Teri Lynne is! Not to mention the plethora of great-nieces and nephews.
She has a sweet tooth that has come down through our family from Neenie to Bigmama to Mollianne to Teri Lynne (the line gets crooked here) to Casiday. I learned to love a Sugar Sandwich-white bread, spread with butter and sprinked (or dumped) with white sugar and eaten quickly in hopes of making another-as a small child when Mother would make them for me. Teri Lynne says she learned to love the same treat made by the same hands.
She has hazel eyes. Not as dark as mine, but hazel nonetheless. We looked at each other and talked about our eyes. Many in our family...most, probably, have blue eyes. I always thought my eyes made me different and I wished for blue eyes. As an adult, I have come to love my eyes, because they are very like my Mother's in color and size. Looking at hers and knowing that those eyes go on to another generation was a wonderful feeling.
She has a tender heart. She loves the outside and the world God made. She adores dogs and cats and even likes lizards. She giggles. She teases. She has her Uncle Ed's number and plays him like a violin on occasion.
She said thank you for each meal, each treat and for the time she spent with us. We have grown up daughters, so having an eleven year old girl was not out of our experience. It has been awhile, however, since we listened to that sort of silliness and wisdom wrapped up in one. We are used to boys of the same age, and they are different creatures. Very different.
One night, as we had a lively discussion about teeth brushing, her Uncle Ed looked at me and said, "This is a different sort of stimulation than I'm used to." Absolutely, Uncle Ed. Absolutely!
That night, as she laid snuggled up next to me watching a movie, I felt a wonderful sense of time and space. I was holding my brother's grandchild close. My beloved niece's daughter. My great-niece. Part of the next generation of my family. And I prayed that she will have good memories of her time with us. And carry a small part of us in her heart through the years.
Thank you, Scott and Teri Lynne, for trusting us with your girl in your time of crisis. What a blessing she was to us. Her laughter still rings in my ears. Her art-work signs (my favorite being the one that says, 'Edmund likes Pink') are where she left them for us. We have laughed over Casiday-isms all week long and hope that our next visit will be soon.
~Mollianne
Friday, February 25, 2011
All good things must come to an end
The Buster women have spent the week celebrating the birthday of one of our own, my dear Aunt Linda. Somehow I got to be lucky one to close out the week and it's extra lucky for me because I happen to know that Linda loves Friday's. So hopefully, I'll make her day just that much sweeter!
So, what can a girl say about Linda? Geographically, we've never been close, but that just makes the time we spend together that much more special.
When I was young, 10 or 11 maybe, I got the honor of spending 2 weeks with her and Joey at her house in Colorado! And what a fabulous time it was!! (Way before she had daughters of her own--I like to say I was the practice kid.) She took me swimming, horseback riding, camping, fishing, and even to Mesa Verde!! I have at best a very foggy memory, but I'll never forget that special time we spent together.
I know we saw each some between 1991 and 2008, but the next real time I remember spending with Linda is when she brought her family over to my mom's for Christmas. It was Linda's (5), Mom's (2), Me's (4), and THE Grandparents (2)! A house full of generations, family, love, and traditions!
Unfortunately there was a little heartache, too. This was Linda's first Christmas away from Colorado and it was hard for her. I can still see us sitting on the step, her head on my shoulder, her hand in mine, me whispering words of comfort to my aunt. I'm not happy that her heart hurt so, but I'm glad that I could be there for her when she needed someone.
What else to say???
Oh my stars!!
Nobody, and I mean nobody, can braid my hair like Linda and I do so love having my hair braided!!
She gives fierce hugs!
She loves her children!
She loves all of her family!
She understands my phone booth!
She has a precious heart and I'm glad to call her family!
Happy Birthday Week Linda!
I hope it was all you deserved!!
-Annie
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
More than Just an Aunt
When I was growing up, Linda seemed more of a big sister than an aunt. She's only seven years older than I am and those seven years often seemed the difference between uncool little girl and really cool big girl.
In preparing to write this post, I recalled countless stories of time spent with Linda ... laying out with her and her best friend Bernadette {I really thought I was cool then! They were in HIGH SCHOOL!}, discussing the movie "Footloose" and admiring the red boots Linda had gotten after seeing the movie, her frustration about having to share a bathroom with me, and countless trips for ice cream. And, she let me be a bridesmaid in her wedding!
But more than all those fond memories, I am thankful that Linda was there during some of the most difficult periods of my life. When I was in second grade, my parents separated for awhile. My brothers, my dad, and I moved in with my grandparents and Linda. I had a little room across the hall from Linda's bedroom and many nights, Linda graciously allowed me to crawl in bed with her and encouraged me that my parents would get back together. {She was right! They did and on April 2nd, they will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary!}
While I was in college, I found myself in a very difficult and scary position ... again it was Linda who listened and encouraged. I even spent some time with her during one summer and, once more, Linda was a voice of encouragement and support during a time of great darkness in my life.
Now, we laugh about how her oldest is much like I was at that age. Since my girl started playing soccer like her middle, we have yet another thing in common - the title of soccer mom. And her youngest will always hold a special place in my heart as she carries a portion of my name ... Samantha Kaitlynne.
Linda is a strong person, an incredible mother, and an incredible photographer. But most of all, Linda has been for me a friend. It's been said you can't choose your family but you can choose your friends ... I'm grateful that Linda is both family and friend.
Happy birthday, Linda! I love you!
Teri Lynne
In preparing to write this post, I recalled countless stories of time spent with Linda ... laying out with her and her best friend Bernadette {I really thought I was cool then! They were in HIGH SCHOOL!}, discussing the movie "Footloose" and admiring the red boots Linda had gotten after seeing the movie, her frustration about having to share a bathroom with me, and countless trips for ice cream. And, she let me be a bridesmaid in her wedding!
But more than all those fond memories, I am thankful that Linda was there during some of the most difficult periods of my life. When I was in second grade, my parents separated for awhile. My brothers, my dad, and I moved in with my grandparents and Linda. I had a little room across the hall from Linda's bedroom and many nights, Linda graciously allowed me to crawl in bed with her and encouraged me that my parents would get back together. {She was right! They did and on April 2nd, they will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary!}
While I was in college, I found myself in a very difficult and scary position ... again it was Linda who listened and encouraged. I even spent some time with her during one summer and, once more, Linda was a voice of encouragement and support during a time of great darkness in my life.
Now, we laugh about how her oldest is much like I was at that age. Since my girl started playing soccer like her middle, we have yet another thing in common - the title of soccer mom. And her youngest will always hold a special place in my heart as she carries a portion of my name ... Samantha Kaitlynne.
Linda is a strong person, an incredible mother, and an incredible photographer. But most of all, Linda has been for me a friend. It's been said you can't choose your family but you can choose your friends ... I'm grateful that Linda is both family and friend.
Happy birthday, Linda! I love you!
Teri Lynne
Funny Girl
We are celebrating my sister, Linda, on the occasion of her ??th birthday on Generation to Generation this week. Her actual birthday was Monday, but we like celebrations and we like stringing them out as long as we can, Right?
Linda has been referred to as many things in the family. By her own proclamation, she is 'not the baby' of our family, although she is the last born of my parents. Daddy used to say that they had '3 kids and a pet'. Our entire family would look at her and say, in chorus, 'Wash you hands, Roger' to mimic a commercial that we heard on television when she was little. Affectionately called 'Little Bit' by some and even 'That Little Boy' (her all-time favorite, as she was eternally mad at The Almighty because she wasn't a boy)...she burst into our family in the middle of the night and has kept things interesting ever since.
As I've thought about stories involving Linda from childhood, I've smiled a lot. She was really a funny, funny child. There are enough years between 'us' (we 3 older children) and 'her' that she is in many ways an only child. But she was always in the thick of things, demanding to be heard and seen.
She really did resent being a girl. I can remember Mother having to be harsh with her to get her to wear a dress. When our oldest brother got married, Linda declared that she wasn't going if she had to wear a dress. Her hair was always cut very short, and if someone mistook her for a boy, she would say, "Did you hear? They thought I was a BOY!" I used to think that she was the only person I knew who could walk out the front door clean as a whistle, and go around the house and come into the back door and be so dirty that another bath was in order. I now have a grandson with that same talent. It must run in the family.
She loved horses and dogs and fishing and swimming. She hated being still. If it was Sunday, you could be sure that Linda was going to be in some level of trouble because sitting still during church two times in the same day seemed beyond her abilities. She was a busy, busy girl.
She spent countless hours in our backyard, playing with Daddy's hunting dogs. She taught them tricks and when she was angry, she would exclaim that she and Duke were going to "run away and join the circus. We know tricks and stuff!" One trick that she never accomplished was teaching Duke to salute when she sang The National Anthem, but she sure gave it a good try.
I will never forget looking out of the window of my bedroom and seeing her put that dog's paw up over where she thought his heart was and telling him that he was putting his hand over his heart and he should leave it there. Then she would strike a similar pose and sing "The Star Spangled Banner" as loud as she could and more than a little off-key. I called Mother to come watch and we laughed until we were weak. She did it over and over again. And while Duke didn't keep the pose or do it on cue, it wasn't because of a lack of effort on Linda's part. I might add that Duke patiently stood and occasionally tipped his head and howled while Linda sang. As much as a dog can, that dog loved Linda.
Linda is still busy. Only now her business involves being the mother of 3 lovely daughters of her own. She is as involved in their lives and their activities as any mother I know and she loves it. She has come a long way from that little girl in the back yard, but she will always be that funny child in my heart.
Happy Birthday Celebration, Linda. I love you!
~Mollianne
Linda has been referred to as many things in the family. By her own proclamation, she is 'not the baby' of our family, although she is the last born of my parents. Daddy used to say that they had '3 kids and a pet'. Our entire family would look at her and say, in chorus, 'Wash you hands, Roger' to mimic a commercial that we heard on television when she was little. Affectionately called 'Little Bit' by some and even 'That Little Boy' (her all-time favorite, as she was eternally mad at The Almighty because she wasn't a boy)...she burst into our family in the middle of the night and has kept things interesting ever since.
As I've thought about stories involving Linda from childhood, I've smiled a lot. She was really a funny, funny child. There are enough years between 'us' (we 3 older children) and 'her' that she is in many ways an only child. But she was always in the thick of things, demanding to be heard and seen.
She really did resent being a girl. I can remember Mother having to be harsh with her to get her to wear a dress. When our oldest brother got married, Linda declared that she wasn't going if she had to wear a dress. Her hair was always cut very short, and if someone mistook her for a boy, she would say, "Did you hear? They thought I was a BOY!" I used to think that she was the only person I knew who could walk out the front door clean as a whistle, and go around the house and come into the back door and be so dirty that another bath was in order. I now have a grandson with that same talent. It must run in the family.
She loved horses and dogs and fishing and swimming. She hated being still. If it was Sunday, you could be sure that Linda was going to be in some level of trouble because sitting still during church two times in the same day seemed beyond her abilities. She was a busy, busy girl.
She spent countless hours in our backyard, playing with Daddy's hunting dogs. She taught them tricks and when she was angry, she would exclaim that she and Duke were going to "run away and join the circus. We know tricks and stuff!" One trick that she never accomplished was teaching Duke to salute when she sang The National Anthem, but she sure gave it a good try.
I will never forget looking out of the window of my bedroom and seeing her put that dog's paw up over where she thought his heart was and telling him that he was putting his hand over his heart and he should leave it there. Then she would strike a similar pose and sing "The Star Spangled Banner" as loud as she could and more than a little off-key. I called Mother to come watch and we laughed until we were weak. She did it over and over again. And while Duke didn't keep the pose or do it on cue, it wasn't because of a lack of effort on Linda's part. I might add that Duke patiently stood and occasionally tipped his head and howled while Linda sang. As much as a dog can, that dog loved Linda.
Linda is still busy. Only now her business involves being the mother of 3 lovely daughters of her own. She is as involved in their lives and their activities as any mother I know and she loves it. She has come a long way from that little girl in the back yard, but she will always be that funny child in my heart.
Happy Birthday Celebration, Linda. I love you!
~Mollianne
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Linda Show
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| Make your own free picture slideshow |
For your Birthday, Linda!
We're celebrating all week long!
Love you,
Mollianne
Monday, February 21, 2011
Happy Birthday, Linda
There it is!
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| The Gift |
A small flower pot, red and white checked, with a picture on one side and the inscription " I Love You" on the other. You might say, it is nothing special. I would beg to differ with you.....it's the little things that warm a mama's heart. Let me tell you about this little pot.
I am the mother of four wonderful children, God has been so very good to me. They all are loving children and are not at all hesitant to say they love us. That is very special. When they were growing up, lots of "special" art projects went to grandmothers, Sunday School teachers, wonderful loving eighbors, and close friends. I always encouraged those gifts. You see we were most fortunate in our friends. They loved our children...and that is not always the case.
Well, we moved when Linda was in the fifth grade. Her older sister, Mollianne was a senior in High School. We moved from the flatlands of Southeasat Missouri to the mountains...of Colorado. We were
excited and loved the mountains, however, leaving friends is never very easy on anybody, but children reflect their parents attitude, and they made the move with grace and tho' it was not easy, they were happy girls! I think they understood that we knew we were doing God's will and families are meant to be together.
We arrived in Colorado in January, at semister break. We moved in. Buster Girls enrolled in school soon as possible. The girls started school and begin to make new friends and learned new and different customs that are the life in Colorado.
The fifth graders were well into planning a Valentine party, and doing a gift for a friend. Linda was very lucky, you see, she had one of the nicest teachers, who knew just how to handle a "tom boy" fifth grader, moving in from out of state with a accent and a big voice! We were so grateful.
Valentines Day....Linda was one week from a Birthday! A Big Birthday. But Valentine's day, she came in from school, in a run. She had a surprise....for ME! That little flower pot, and you know, for the life of me, I cannot remember what was in it... if it had anything in it....it just said:
I LOVE YOU
Thirty six years later, Linda is all grown up. She has three girls of her own. She has "things" they have made and given her...and she knows what it means to a Mama's Heart.
That little pot sits proudly, with red roses and every time I look at it I see a little "dirty face" and big blue eyes and I feel bug hugs that said those three little words:
I LOVE YOU
{This post is the beginning of We Love Linda week on Generation to Generation. Linda's birthday is today and we are going to celebrate all week long. Be sure to check back and see how we are celebrating. Happy Birthday, Linda! We love you. ~Mollianne}
~Charlotte
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| Charlotte and Linda |
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