We Are Family

Dear Byron,

Its been a while. Anyway, it was so good to see you and the rest of the family this past Thanksgiving. We sure had plenty to eat, didn't we? In this picture you are sitting behind Grandma Cheryl. And guess what you're sitting on. You probably can't. It is an old highchair that my Momma used for me way, way back when I was your age. And it was around even before that. I tell you this to remind you that our family goes back and out in many directions. And now you're a part of it.

 And we're always ready to pull you up in our arms and love you—because we love you so very much.

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the greatest season in the year, the Christmas season. Its the time when we remember that Jesus was once a little bitty baby, born in a barn or a cave used as a stable for cows and donkeys. He was born in a family very, very much poorer than ours. His Momma and Daddy couldn't even find a comfortable place to sleep the night he was born. So he was born in that barn.

All that reminds us of how much Jesus loves families and how much he loves you, Byron.

Here's a picture of you petting a goat at the zoo in Houston during this weekend. Wasn't she soft and kind though? She let you brush her with that special brush. We can't see her face, but that's your Cousin Kjerstyn holding the brush for you. By the way, she turned 13 a couple weeks back. We celebrated her birthday, along with your Uncle Patrick's, and Aunt Cassie's during the weekend. Neat. Birthdays and family time together. 

We all need families to hold us in their arms, to pick us up when we're feeling bad and to show us where to go next. And when we make mistakes, as we all do, to forgive us and show us how to get up and on the way again. You can see in the photo on the right that your Daddy and Mommy are ready to do that for you—forever. And so are the rest of us in your family. We were with you at the zoo on a bright sunny Saturday.

We're also remembering the kids that don't have families to take care of them. In her work your GGMa helps special people find families to care for those kids. You should be very proud of the work that she does. We all certainly are.

Here's a poem I found on the internet that pulls it all together.

We Are A Family

When we get together,

Good times are loud

And most times, too fattening.

Arguments are wordless

And apologies are unneeded.

New memories are made 

When we come together. 

We’re more than just friends; 

We are family. 

We love you, Byron, 

GGPa

My Very First Date

Dear Byron,

In an earlier blog I promised that I'd begin sharing some stories from our family's history. Here's one from my high school years when I attended Concordia high school and college in St. Paul, MN. You must realize that in those days Concordia was an all boys school, in the Deutsche (German) Gymnasium model of earlier centuries. It was set up in a six class levels, from freshman high school through sophomore college. Each class level had a Latin name. The lowest was called Sexta (six) and the highest Prima (one). As a result, we boys talked much about, but had very little experience with GIRLS—those mysterious creatures who lived outside of and beyond our reach.

And yet it was Spring, the time for the annual Junior-Senior banquet. I was a "Quartaner"(junior in high school) at the time.

Now understand one more profound fact. In our school we did not dance. With whom would one dance anyway? There were no girls and you certainly would not dance! with a guy. We knew how to play baseball, basketball and football, but most of us knew absolutely nothing about dancing. Consequently the usual high school Junior-Senior Prom was out! However, the Junior-Senior Banquet was in. Eat we could do. Eating was indeed one of our specialties and if the school OK'd an event with food, we were all for it. Forget the dancing. Give us food.

Since, as you might expect, I was already known for my ability to imitate accents and tell stories, I was to be part of the entertainment for the night. That was fine with me, except that I was supposed to have a date—with a . . . with a . . . with a GIRL! And I didn’t know a single girl to invite. In fact, I had never even asked a girl to go out with me anywhere. What to do? What to do indeed. 

A number of us came upon an amazing solution. The Lutheran Church Of The Redeemer was but a couple miles ride away from our school on the Selby-Dale streetcar line. On Sunday evenings they had Walther League meetings. The Walther League was a youth gathering named after the first president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, JFW Walther, who was elected back in the middle of the nineteenth century, a hundred years before. So four of us set off to that Walther League meeting but one week before the upcoming J-S Banquet. This was urgent. 

The group welcomed us strangers from Concordia with shy smiles and invited us to be seated. We sang a hymn, suffered through what we considered a boring Bible study and a couple of rather silly group games before we could proceed with our real reason for being there. Finally it was time to have some snacks and meet the GIRLS!

But how do you do that? 

It took all the courage I could muster to shuffle over to a cute little blond who stood with a couple of her friends. I prayed silently that she wouldn’t be turned off by the acne pimples that kept popping out on my cheeks and neck in those days. Taking a bite of my chocolate brownie, I sputtered, “Hu. . .hu. . . hi! I’m Al. Sure was nice of you guys to have us visit.” 

They all began to laugh at once. “Really,” said one, “did we invite you?” 

“Well, not exactly,” I said after swallowing the brownie bite. “But we did notice the meeting in the bulletin last Sunday.” 

“ You guys go to Concordia,” said another.

“Uh huh,” I replied. “We do. Ever been there?”

“Naw,” said the little blond. “They don’t allow girls at your school.” 

“You’re right,” I replied. This was getting me nowhere. I took another brownie bite and almost decided to thank them for the food and head for the door. Forget the banquet. The committee could get somebody else for the entertainment who might have a girl to sit with him. I’d go, eat the food and rush back to my dorm. Getting all dressed up was no fun anyway.  

Almost. But maybe I could give it one more try. 

“Yeah, you’re right. We don’t have girls at our school,” I continued. “Not that we have anything against girls. It’s just that, just that . . .” Then I realized I didn’t know why girls were forbidden—not really. But then it came to me. “Its just that we’re all gonna be pastors and girls can’t be.” Oh, no!! Why’d I say such a dumb thing?

The girls were all laughing again. “Well, none of us intend to be pastors anyway,” one said, “so you might as well not have us around.” 

“But we do want you—I mean, we don’t got nothing against girls. Our mothers are all girls and some of us have sisters. I mean . . .” Oh, for heavens sake, what did I mean? 

Then the little blond saved me. “I heard you guys are having a banquet in a week. One of my friends said she’s invited.” 

“Yeah, we are,” I said. “Would you like to go?” 

“Sure,” she said. “Are you inviting me?” 

“Uh . . . sure, I sure am. What’s your name?” 

“Marilyn, Marilyn Minar.” 

And so it began, my very first ever date with a GIRL! Marilyn, I later learned, was the daughter of the owner of Minar Ford, a big car dealership in Minneapolis dating all the way back to 1917. By the way, Minar Ford is still around. It was sold in 2002 to became New Brighton Ford.

Anyway, I took the Selby-Dale streetcar and got off a block away from where she lived. I had polished my shoes and put on my best and only suit and tie. When I was a couple houses away I distinctly remember the feeling of wanting to run, run as fast as I could—in the other direction. But I couldn’t. It was the banquet night and everybody was counting on me. Besides I spent three dollars for the flowers and I was not about to waste all that money. 

Marilyn was waiting when I arrived. Her mom helped her pin on the flowers to her pretty blue party dress. She smelled nice, like lilacs. Her hair was very nice too. She took my arm and somehow we made it to the streetcar line. I paid for the tickets and we rode to Concordia. I wish I could tell you what we talked about on that ride, but my memory is blank. 

The rest of the evening is a big blur in my mind too. We sat at a table with two other couples. Marilyn found her girl friend before the banquet started. They stood together for a while, giggling and telling stories before we were all seated. 

I think I did OK with my reading. A couple of people even laughed—I think—and they clapped when I was done. Don’t ask me what we ate or what I said to Marilyn on the way back. I do remember her standing in the doorway of her house. “I had a good time,” she said. 

“I did too.” I mumbled. “Well, g’night.” 

“Good night,” she replied, smiling. 

“OK, g’night then.” I turned to walk down the sidewalk and back to the streetcar. I never saw Marilyn again. I’ve often wondered if she remembers that night.

I wonder what it'll be like when you have your first date with a girl. 

We love you, Byron, 

GGPa

Toddler Stranger Anxiety

Dear Byron,

Why did you cry? As soon as I stepped into the garage you started to scream, even though you were in your Mommy's arms. She said you were tired and hungry. It was the end of another long day for you I know. But there was more. Your seemed frightened of me!

Perhaps it was only that you were tired, I thought. So I turned away to help your Daddy unload the table from the U-Haul trailer. We picked the table up from Aunt Cassie's apartment where it had been deposited by the moving company the previous week. The table originally belonged to your other Great-Grandma Sherry before she went to heaven. Now it belongs to your Mommy and Daddy as part of their inheritance and as long as Aunt Cassie was moving to Houston from the Rio Grande Valley anyway she brought the table along. Now Daddy and I moved it into your house.

As we moved the table and chairs into your kitchen your Mommy got you some milk to drink and for a little while you seemed satisfied. But then you looked at me and began to scream and carry on again. And I wondered why. Did you not live at our house for many months? Did we not play and laugh together? Yes, G-Gma and I have been gone to Colorado for a couple months this summer, but surely you remember me—or have you already forgotten? Am I now a complete and very frightening stranger to you?

G-Gma suggested that you suffer from Toddler Stranger Anxiety. Here is what I read in an article on the web.

Stranger anxiety is not just reserved for babies. It’s a phenomenon in which toddlers, often between the ages of 12 and 24 months, view anyone other than their parents as a threat — even if that someone is their (formerly) favorite Aunt Michelle. Why does toddler stranger anxiety suddenly rears its ugly — and strange — head? Experts aren’t exactly sure. And, adding to the mystery, some kids are gripped by it, while others never feel it at all. One thing experts do know: You didn’t do anything bad to make it happen. On the contrary, stranger anxiety is a natural and normal part of development — and it’s a sign that your child has a healthy bond to you.

Mommy, Daddy and the rest of us want to help you. 

• We'll reassure you. Don't be scared. Mommy and Daddy will take care of you. Its OK if you want them to hold you. You are safe in their arms. And meanwhile I and other "strangers" will stay a safe distance away.

• Mommy and Daddy will stay close at hand. They'll always be available to hold you and stay close. And I know they will give you lots of loving until you and I get re-acquainted. And if any other "strangers" show up, they'll always be there for you.

• Both G-GMa and your parents have reassured me. I did feel kinda bad when you acted so frightened, but I felt lots better when G-GMa reminded me about this phase in your growing up. Daddy assured me a couple times that it was really nothing and that you would get over it. And you sorta did after a half hour or so. We even bounced a big ball back and forth. Of course, I noticed that you needed to have Aunt Cassie close at hand. But that's OK. 

• We're all going to coach friends and family. We'll let everyone know that you need a little time to warm up to people. We'll explain that it’s best not to rush in and pick you up or demand hugs and kisses the minute we see you. Instead, we'll tell them to play it cool for a bit, and then maybe, after you feel comfortable, we'll offer you a favorite toy as a way to connect.

• Mommy and Daddy will stick around before leaving you with us or any other caregiver. Maybe they'll leave you with G-GMa and me in the next week or so. If so, we'll certainly want to give you a chance to calm down and get comfortable before they take off. I noted especially that you weren't frightened of G-GMa. That's good. It'll help you when Mommy and Daddy leave and will make the transition a lot easier for you as you deal with your stranger anxiety. And meanwhile you and I might even get to play some more of those games we used to play or read one of those fun books.

• We'll all take it slow. This stuff can be frustrating for  you as well as the rest of us. It may even take months for it to go away, but we have plenty of time and we will be patient. We don't want you to be frightened. We know it is all part of growing up and becoming an independent person. And we want to give you all the time you need to do that.

All because we love you very, very much.

G-GPa

Change And Decay

Dear Byron, 

Check back a couple blogs and you will see that we are changing some things about our life. It looks now like we may have a buyer for our vacation home here in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We've been here since middle of July, watching one couple after another come by to consider whether they'd like to own a part of this beautiful country. Now perhaps we have some folks who will say yes. If so, in a few weeks it will no longer be ours. Sorry about that, Byron, because our family has had so very many great times up here in the years before you came along. 

But then things change. 

I was thinking about change this morning when I awoke. For some reason a line from an old hymn came to mind. 

"Change and decay in all around I see. Oh Thou that changest not, abide with me." 

Speaking of decay, the house that we're selling is fifteen years old and the people interested in it pointed out that a couple of the double-paned windows have broken seals. Water has gotten in between the panes. So we'll have to replace them before we can complete the sale.

And that's the way of this world: change and decay. I've been living in this body now for nearly 79 years. Believe me, Byron, it doesn't work like it used to. Lots of decay has set in over the years and with the help of some good doctors we've had to make some major repairs.

And one more thing. As things change for GGMa and me—and our entire family—I'm thinking about those who lived before us, people like my Great-Grandparents. They made some very big changes when they left Germany and England, never again to see their parents, grandparents and relatives. I can hardly put my arms around that thought, together with all the fears and anxiety that went along with their decisions to get on ocean-going ships with their meager belongings to move to a strange country.

In the next months I've decided to do some poking around to see what stories I can come up with about those people from our family. I know, I know. You're not really interested right now. But maybe one day you'll find these ramblings and be glad to learn more about your past and ours. 

Until then, just be happy that in the midst of all the many things that change in this world we have a Jesus whose love never ever changes. 

And know that we love you too, 

GGPa 

Wee-Z And The Big Black Bear

Dear Byron,

I wrote to your Mommy and Daddy about some excitement we had up here in Pagosa Springs, CO. this past week. I was taking my daily walk around the neighborhood and GGMa was standing on the back porch deck when suddenly she saw a bear like the one in this photo come ambling across the meadow from the west toward our house. This in itself was quite a surprise, because, while we've seen a herd of elk, several foxes and coyotes, we've never seen a bear near our house. I did encounter one way up the hill in the woods one time, but never down in our area.

Anyway, what got GGMa really excited was that our little Pecka-poo, Wee-Z, the brave, 10 pound defender of our house, took off after Mr. Bear, barking and warning him to get out of here. GGMa said she yelled at Wee-Z to stop, but to no avail. That ol' bear didn't belong and Wee-Z was gonna see that he ran away. GGMa says she was so afraid the bear would scoop him up for a one mouthful meal. Thankfully the bear ignored our little guardian and went on his way. Nevertheless Wee-Z stood his ground and barked until the bear was gone.

For a time, after she lost sight of the bear behind the house, GGMa says she thought he had gone into our garage—the door was open—to look for a garbage bag full of goodies. However, when she cautiously pushed open the side door to peek in, no bear. He had proceeded on down our driveway and off into the neighbor's yard. Wee-Z scared him off! don't ya think?

You can read more about the current bear problem up here in the Pagosa Springs SUN Newspaper -that's where I found this photo and and read the story about bears. It seems that this spring's dry weather  up here in the mountains has left the bears without adequate wild food, so they've started to come among the houses looking for garbage, bird seed, left-over bar-b-que and anything else they can find.

I'm happy that you have a doggie in your house. Her name is Tootsie and I'll bet you and she have become great friends. Of course, you don't have any bears in Houston, except at the zoo, but you should be happy that your dear little animal-sister is with you to raise the alarm should any other critter or person try to break into your house.

As a boy I always had a doggie to play with me. We roamed the farm and were fast friends and companions. And I'm happy to see that you have Tootsie to be your friend as well. Give her a big hug for GGMa and me.

We love you,

GGPa

The LORD Of The Mountains

Dear Byron,

You will remember that in my last note I mentioned our second home in Colorado. Your Mommy says she's happy that we've not sold that house yet. She wants you to be able to play in the snow maybe next winter. I'm all for playing in the snow. Perhaps we can arrange for that to happen whether we sell this house or not. Right now, though, there's not a flake of snow in sight. Here's what we saw yesterday as we sat on our front deck here in Pagosa Springs.

View from our front deck

If you look closely you can just make out the mountains, but everything is very hazy. That's because the mountains have been covered with smoke these past couple days. Because of this some folks around here are asking if fires have again broken out in the mountains of Colorado. I was worried about that as well, so I did a search of the weather sites on my computer. I learned that the haze is caused not by fires here in Colorado, but by fires in states further west. The wind is bringing the smoke eastward. We have no more fires here. The summer mountain monsoons, as they're called, keep the mountains wet with fresh rain almost every day. As a result, we have no more fires. 

Well, Byron, that gives you just a little taste of what life is like here at 7,000+ feet up in the mountains in the summer time. Perhaps one day you will get to hike and camp and even hunt in the same mountains. And perhaps you will, like your parents and grandparents, get to go skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing in these mountains in the winter. Always lots of things to do in the great outdoors. 

One thing I do hope you will do. I  hope you will get outside the city in which you grow up and spend time every year in the beauty and wonder of the outdoors. Only in that way will you be able to appreciate the wonders of God's creation. 

The psalmist puts it well when he writes about the LORD. 

From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart. The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. ... O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. - Psa 104:13-18, 24 ESV

Stay well, dear Byron. Give our love to your Mommy and Daddy.

We love you too,

GGPa

Our "Koderader Retreat"

Dear Byron,

I'm sad, so sad that I've neglected to write to you for well over a month now. Meanwhile you, Mommy and Daddy have settled down to a regular life in your new home in the Heights area of Houston. I do pray that you are happy. I hear that you are, but please know that your GGMa and I miss you. Perhaps when we get back to our house in Spring we'll be able to see you again.

Oh, I didn't even tell you where we are. We're in Pagosa Springs. That's a small town in Colorado. Yes, in Colorado. You see, we've had a second home here ever since 1997. That's a long time ago, isn't it? Your Daddy was here for the Christmas time vacation that the whole family took. At that time we had a special family dinner during which we dedicated the home to the honor of our Lord Jesus and for the use of family and special friends. Over these past 15 years we've had many, many people use our Colorado home (we call it our Koderader Retreat). Your Aunt Cassie was responsible for the name. When she was a little girl she told us she couldn't pronounce Colorado. All she could say was Koderader; hence the name.

GGMa and Aunt Cassie and Wee-Z up here

Here are some of the notes we received in our Guest Book:

Thank you for letting us stay in your lovely Pagosa Springs home. Everything about this place has been wonderful: beautiful mountains all around; spectacular views everywhere, invigorating mountain air, cool, comfortable weather. 

You are to be commended in your choice of this site and its natural beauty, absolute comfort and relaxation is our way to describe this home. 

Lots of fantastic things to do here—Chimney Rock, hot springs, horseback riding, hiking. We had a great family time. 

This home is so warm and friendly with all the family pictures everywhere. Their importance to you is so obvious. 

The rain Monday afternoon (moving south to north) was spectacular; I think I'll have a great photo or two of mountain clouds, etc. The pure and fresh aspect of this area simply takes one's breath away. 

We were blessed to stay here this week and are very thankful. I wrote a song for you. The words are on the picture and recorded on the CD. 

Only heaven could be as pretty as here. . . 

We have enjoyed a very restful week. The people here have been so nice to us.
I almost got Dar on the hot air balloon. Maybe next time . . . 

Your cabin has a warm, welcoming feeling, making us relax immediately. It has been therapeutic for both of us, just to get away from the big city.

And so go the many comments, on and on, year after year. We only regret that you may never get to visit with us in our Koderader Retreat. You see, Byron, we're selling the house. After all these years we've had to make some difficult decisions. Times change, people change and so do the circumstances of our lives. At this stage in our lives GGMa and I have decided to downsize our responsibilities and maybe even move to a new home in the metro area. We'll have more to say about that another time.

All this is a reminder that your life as well as ours will be full of change. But regardless of where you go on your journey, remember this one important fact:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hbr 13:8 ESV

His love for you never changes and He will always be with you wherever you go, even as He has always been with us and the rest of our family.

We love you,
GGPa

Your New Home

Dear Byron,

You're gone. This past weekend you, Mommy and Daddy, all left us to go live in your brand new home. You were here for three whole months and now you're gone. Oh, you're not that far away. We live in the suburban part of Houston and now you live inside loop 610, about fifteen minutes from where your parents work. That's one of the big reasons they bought your new home. Both you and they will be much closer to the downtown area of Houston and you won't have to travel so far.

But we'll miss you. We'll miss your happy smile. We'll miss the excitement of learning so many new things. And you certainly did learn lots right in front of our eyes in these past three months.

• You learned how to drink from a cup and how to hold your own 'sippy' cup. And just this very weekend you gave up drinking from a bottle. Wow! You're really a growing kid. 

• You learned so much coordination with your hands. You went from having to grab this or that with your entire hand to being able to pick up little pieces of food with your index finger and thumb. And boy, do you ever love to push the buttons on my iPhone with your finger. 

• You also learned to hold a spoon and spoon food out of a cup or off your own dish. You love to feed yourself and you're getting better at it every day. 

• You're just beginning to learn how to sit on your trike, not quite with the pedals yet—that will come later—but you're learning to pull and push with your sturdy little legs. More to come in that arena. 

• You learned to say your first words. You say 'Momma' and 'Dadda' and 'Bye' and your favorite expression, 'Duck, duck, duck!' When you get going with something new you break out into that chant and we all see how proud you are of yourself. 

• But here's the biggy. In the past couple weeks you learned to stand on your own two feet AND TO WALK! Wow! 'Duck, duck, duck!' everywhere now. How very happy we all are to see you walking. Every so often you slip and go plop down on your bottom, but then up you come and off you go, 'Duck, duck, ducking' along. Its been great to behold. 

We also note your curiosity. You want to touch everything, hold it, tear it apart, examine it, feel it, sometimes taste it. So many curious and wonderful experiences. Its a big, glorious world and little by little your own private world is expanding even as your body and mind grow and develop. And all the things I mentioned above have been in only these past three months. I can hardly wait to see what will happen in the next three to six months.

But you have a new home, the first I imagine of many. Your Daddy tells us that he fully expects your family will even move overseas to some far, far away place like Korea or Singapore or something like that for a few years. After all, he is an engineer and he works for an international energy company. So many adventures await you and your family as you learn about this big, big world.

But wherever you go, wherever you and your Mommy and Daddy make your home, we know that we'll be welcome to visit, just as you visited us these past three months. And one more thing, a word from our dear Lord Jesus, 

Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. - John 14:23 ESV 

As you grow you will understand more and more that Jesus has already made His home in your heart. You will learn more and more about His never-ending love and care for you and your family. Keep that good Word in your heart. Guard it carefully. Don't let anyone or any thing take it from you. And the more you learn about His love, the more you will see Him and hear Him and talk with Him in your home.

Each evening while you were here at our home we prayed for you, thanking Jesus for the day and for His protection and blessings. Our prayers will continue, Byron. God bless you and Mommy and Daddy.

We love you,

GGPa

Live Long And Prosper

Dear Byron,

We have been so sad these days to see you get sick for the first times. You came home from the baby-sitting service your Mommy and Daddy use with a bad cold and a slight fever. You were not a happy camper that day. This past week they sent you home with pink eye, an infectious disease that caused your eye to turn all red. It hurt bad too. You had to go see the doctor to get some anti-biotic medicine for those bad bugs that wanted to live in your eye. It went away—for a while. Then, just when they thought it was gone for good, whoops, it came back again. Your crying made us almost want to cry. Yesterday, when you stayed home with Daddy, Gma and me, you had some long naps. Those, together with the medicine, seem to have you feeling much better today.

I got sick when I was a little kid. One time I had pink eye too. They made me stay home from grade school until it went away. I don't think they had any medicine for it back in the 1930s. All I know is that it hurt and I was supposed to stay out of bright light. Eventually it did go away.

My folks were scared us kids would catch diptheria. We heard of kids getting really sick with that stuff.  You'd get fever and chills, a sore throat and headache, have a hard time breathing and a really stinky guck came out of your nose. I think there were other complications. Now kids like you won't get it because you're vaccinated for it.

What really, really scared my parents was polio. That was a disease that turned kids into cripples. My Uncle Gilbert had it when he was a kid and walked with a very, very bad limp all the rest of his days. The disease was passed on by people breathing. I especially remember we didn't get to go to the Minnesota State Fair because of the polio scare. Fortunately, hardly anybody gets polio any more, because Dr. Jonas Salk and his team developed a vaccine for polio in the 1950s. That was followed by another even better vaccine by Dr. Albert Sabin in the 1960s.

There were lots of other diseases that people got. Some in our community died from pneumonia, because nobody had good medicines to fight it. In fact, Byron, it wasn't until the end of the 19th century that doctors and scientists realized that there are lots and lots of tiny bad bugs everywhere that want to take up housekeeping in our bodies. I found a little booklet by Dr. Isaac Azimov that tells all about how we discovered germs. We call them bacteria and viruses now.

There were lots and lots of diseases that seemed ready to getcha when I was a kid, besides the ones I've mentioned so far. There was measles, mumps, smallpox, chickenpox, whooping cough and scarlet fever. Way back in 1900 I read that over 60% of American kids died from diseases like these that were passed on from one person to the next. In those days 165 of every 1,000 kids died before their first birthday. In some cities this number was as high as 300. Overall, the average person only lived to about 50 years.

But modern medicine has made some remarkable progress. Here's a list of major diseases conquered during my lifetime.

1. Chicken Pox
2. Diptheria
3. Influenza or Hib disease
4. Malaria
5. Measles
6. Pertussis or whooping cough
7. Pneumococcal disease—various types of pneumonia
8. Polio
9. Tetanus
10. Typhoid fever
11. Small Pox
12. Yellow fever

All I want to say, my dear Great-Grandson, is that you are very blessed to be born in the 21st century with all the progress that has been made to fight sickness and disease. Some are saying that you could live to be over 120 years. We do pray that you have a long, happy and prosperous life and that all through your life your remember that you are a beloved child of our Father in heaven. 

We love ya, 

GGPa

Learning And Growing

Dear Byron, 

You already started to walk over a week ago, but boy-oh-boy are you getting with it now. You have discovered this new way of getting around and day by day you are becoming more sure of how to do it. Yesterday, as you kept saying "Duck, duck, duck!" you paraded around the living and dining room on your sturdy little legs. Once in awhile you went plop down on your bottom, but then up you came and on you went. Meanwhile your Mommy, Daddy, GGMa and I all kept shouting, "Hurray! You're doing it. Good job." It won't be long now before you're even running. Congratulations on this next important step in your life journey.

And we see that you are learning to use your hands. You're getting quite good at picking up bits of food, holding your spoon, sippy-cup and bottle. That coordination thing, like throwing a ball, is coming along quite well too. And you've learned how to climb up on the couches and chairs. We have to watch as you do that, because a few times you have fallen and almost hurt yourself.

Everything is new and interesting. It's fun to eat food, to use a spoon and bring it to your mouth. And my, but those strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are really good. I notice that once you've learned a new skill you want to do it again and again and again. That's great. It creates the coordination I mentioned above.

You're also learning now to manage your feelings. Basically I see that you are a very cheerful little guy. You wake up happy most of the time, but when you are tired or want something you will let us know loud and clear. Of course there are also those moments when you very much want to be held and comforted. Its complicated, isn't it? Lots of us adults still struggle with our feelings. And I believe you will continue to do so as well. 

We hear you learning to talk. Lots of nonsense mumbles yet, but your vocabulary is growing. You still do lots of pointing and using one-syllable words, but little by little you are trying to combine words. We're trying to teach you what nose, ear, mouth and eyes are. And you're quite good at doing patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man. We also see you responding to simple directions like, "Get your ball" or "throw it to me."

What was fun last week was to see you bring home your first painting from school—day care, that is. They gave you some water-paint and a brush. Suddenly, there it was. Or shall I say, What was it? In any event, we put it up on the frig. Besides that, you're pointing to the animals and machines in your picture books. You don't know yet about writing, but that too will come in time. 

We see that you love to put things in holes or boxes. When I gave you a bath last night, I was rather amazed to see that you know all about filling up a cup and pouring it out. You love water and you love your soft "blankie". When you hold it, in goes your thumb into your mouth.

And you are discovering music. Mommy and Daddy were plunking away on the piano a couple nights ago. Suddenly there you were pounding the keys yourself as you stood beside them. We notice that you have a growing sense of as rhythm as we sing little songs or keep beat with our hands. All quite amazing. 

So many things to learn. Such great fun, for you and for the rest of us. Keep it up, kid. There's a whole, big, wonderful world out there. 

We love you. 

GGPa

Safe In Daddy's Arms

Dear Byron,

This note will be posted the day that I am in the operating room having my aortic valve replaced. There are some dangers connected with that operation, but I'm confident that the surgeons who do their work are skilled and experienced. I write this in advance. By the time you read it, everyone will know the outcome.

But there is more I wanted you to know about this experience and others like it. I'll illustrate it by a little story a dear friend recently sent me. Its about a pastor who was riding home in a passenger plane when a violent lightning storm struck. The pastor, like the other passengers was uncomfortable and afraid.

"As I looked around the plane," he said,"I could see that nearly all the passengers  were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.

"Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. . . She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat. She was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. 

"When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm, when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid. I could hardly believe my eyes."
When the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, the pastor lingered to speak to the litle girl whom he had watched for such a long time. He commented about the storm and how the passengers were so afraid. Why, he wondered, had she not been scared?

The child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."

You, Byron, understand that better than many of us grownups. You know your Daddy will always make sure you are safe as he brings you home. I've often seen him carrying you in his arms from the car, sound asleep and completely unafraid.

That's how I'm approaching this operation. It's a bit of a storm in my life, but I know that I have a Daddy in heaven who is keeping me safe as I make my way home.

The Hebrew word for Daddy is Abba. Sounds a little like Papa, doesn't it? Well, Jesus and His friends taught us to use that name to talk to our heavenly Father. He reminded us that we are truly the specially adopted kids of our Father in heaven. We really do belong to the family. He has made sure of that (Galatians 4:6). You'll have some storms in your life too, Byron. Just remember that you are always safe in Abba's arms.

We love you,

GGPa

Byron's Baptism Birthday

Dear Byron,

Happy Second Birthday! Yes, this past week you had your second birthday—your Baptismal birthday. A year ago, on May 15, 2011, you were baptized at St. Paul Lutheran Church, McAllen, TX. in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. On that day Jesus said to you that you are His most special and beloved child. He said that He took you with Him in His heart when He was beaten and crucified. You were with Him in all His suffering and pain. You went with Him when He knew His heavenly Father had forsaken and turned His back on Him. And you were with Him when He said, "It is finished!" and He gave His spirit into the hands of His Father and departed from His body.

Yes, Byron, you and I and Great-Grandma, your Mommy and Daddy, your Grandmas and Grandpas and all the millions and billions of people who are in this world or who ever have been—all of us were with Him on His cross and in His grave. We were with Him on that most glorious day when He rose again from the dead. We were with Him, alive, breathing, eating and celebrating. And we will never, ever be separated from Him now and forever. Because of Jesus we are alive—forever and ever and ever, even if our bodies die. For we will be with Him when He returns to raise us up in the new creation.

That's what He said to you, Byron, on May 15. That's what He wants you to remember when you grow older and start to realize that you have not and cannot always do what He wants you to do. He wants you to admit it to Him and then He wants you to remember that you are baptized. He wants you to hear Him say, "I forgive you. Go in peace and sin no more." That means that He really, really does forgive you.
Like the Apostle John said,

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1Jo 1:9 ESV

Just as you are clean outside when Mommy or Daddy give you a bath, so Jesus tells you that you are clean inside and through and through in the water of His baptism, the baptism that you now share. Never forget this. It will sustain and keep you safe throughout your life on this earth. In fact, my dear Great-Grandson, you can come back to this special Word from Jesus each and every day of your life. Listen to these special words written by the Apostle Paul,

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. - Rom 6:3-11 ESV

That's way too much for you to put your little arms around at this time, but as you grow older you will want to come back to these words again and again. For now remember that in your baptism you were and are and always will be united and joined with Jesus in His death and His return from death to life. You belong to Jesus, so live for Jesus now! Nothing else is as important.

We love you,

GGPa

Yummy And Good-For-You Food

Dear Byron,

Its fun watching you eat and watching you learning to eat on your own. Yes, you still love that bottle of formula or milk, but you're also eating fruit, vegetables, meat, crackers and all sorts of things like that. You are still picking up bits of your food with your fingers. Why not? You'll always be doing that. But you are beginning to use a spoon. Of course, you often use the spoon for banging the table, but little by little you are learning to use it to scoop up food from a dish and put it into your mouth. Your coordination is improving day by day. And we're all so very proud of you.

Now the question is what foods will become your favorites? That seems to depend a lot on what you are learning to eat at this stage in your life? My, but there are so many different flavors and kinds of food available. Some are very good for you and will help you to keep growing strong and big. Others, well, many others may not be so good for you. Here in the America we have a problem. Many, many kids do not eat the right foods and they become overweight. That in turn leads to a variety of health problems.

The percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, with 1 out of 3 kids now considered overweight or obese.

That is nearly triple the rate in 1963 when your Grandma Cheryl was growing up in our house, says the American Heart Association. They even tell us that excess weight at young ages can be linked to higher and earlier death rates when you finally grow up. The site I'm linking gives some good ideas on how your parents can help you to reach and maintain a body weight appropriate to your age and body makeup.

At the moment, we're not real concerned about that, but maybe we ought to be. The journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine warns that parents might idealize their child as being a normal size, because a heavy child is sometimes seen as a “sign of successful parenting, especially during the early years when parents are responsible for their child’s health, nutrition and activity opportunities.”

'Nuff said. Your Mommy and Daddy are going to pay close attention to the food you eat and how much weight you are gaining. I'm not in the least worried about that. Meanwhile, keep on pounding the table with that spoon. Before long you'll be scooping up big bites of good-for-you food and popping them into your mouth all by yourself at every meal.

We love you,

GGPa

Learning By Imitating

Dear Byron,

We say ball and you say ba. We say Mama and you say Ma. We say Daddy and you say Da. We clap our hands and you try to follow, with a big smile on your face. We frown and you frown back. We smile and you break out smiling. We lift up our glasses to drink. You follow by lifting up your sippy-cup to take a drink of juice.

Its wonderful to see how you are imitating and learning how these grownups around you communicate. Its amazing to see you developing the complexities of language. It won't be long now before you start using short phrases.

Susan du Plessis reminds us about how babies learn their parents' language:

The baby learns language in one way only, and that is by hearing language as the parents talk and talk to it. The more a parent can talk to a child, often repeating the same words, the same phrases, the same structures over and over, the sooner the child will learn language. 

An important thing to note here is that by the time a baby is about nine months old he should be able to understand simple words and commands. He may perhaps also be able to say a few simple words already. Invariably, however, one finds that the baby understands much more than he is able to say. In fact, this remains so of any person throughout his life. One is always able to understand more of any language, even one’s mother tongue, than one is able to use in active speech. This is even more so of any second or third languages that a person is able to speak

She teaches more about how to prepare your child for reading, writing and 'rithmetic

. . . language is at the very bottom of the learning ladder. Its role in the acquisition of the three R's can be compared to the role of running in the game of soccer or ice-skating in the game of ice hockey. One cannot play soccer if one cannot run, and one cannot play ice hockey if one cannot skate. One cannot read a book in a language - and least of all write - unless one knows the particular language. 

If a child's knowledge of English is poor, then his reading will also be poor. Evidence that links reading problems and language problems has been extensively presented in the literature. Research has, for example, shown that about 60% of dyslexics were late talkers. In order to prevent later reading problems, parents must therefore ensure that a child is exposed to sufficient opportunities to learn language.

Susan du Plessis is the co-author of "The Right to Read: Beating Dyslexia and other Learning Disabilities" and the author or co-author of four other books on learning and learning disabilities. She has been involved in helping children reach their full potential for 15 years. She holds BD and BA Hons (psychology).

Visit her website at http://www.audiblox2000.com

Other articles by Susan du Plessis:

Preparing Your Child for the Three R's,  

Nurtured by Love or Matured by Nature? 

If Dyslexia Runs in Your Family, Will Your Child Inherit it Too? 

Dyslexia: Is the Shoe Perhaps on the Wrong Foot? 

We're all going to do the best we can, Byron, to help you keep on learning.

Crawl Before You Walk

Dear Byron,

We saw you! You took a step, maybe two. You have been crawling everywhere. You're quite good at this crawling thing. Then you started to pull yourself up. Next you grabbed hold of that little walker with wheels and began to push it around with those awkward steps. But you did it. You were walking and we saw you. Now you want to go more often. You let us know you want to try it out. At times you stop, let loose and simply stand there all by yourself. You are on the verge of walking all by yourself. Its wonderful to watch you develop.

Most of the time we've been told that it is quite necessary for babies like you to crawl before you walk. The child doctors and those who study such things tell us that crawling helps to develop neurons, nerve cells that transmit signals. These neurons help both sides of your brain to work together. It is important because of the gross muscle groups crawling uses and the oppositional arm and leg movements. It will even help you develop skills to read and in general make all parts of your body work together. This crawling thing is important.

But there are kids your age who never crawl. Really. Some of them simply start walking as early as eight months. The doctors say that may be OK, but they still encourage us grownups to help kids crawl. For kids who don't, they tell us to get down on the floor with the baby and crawl with him. Make it a fun game. It's kind of a brain-gym thing and good for developing stuff like I explained above. Of course you don't have to be concerned about any of that—as if you were—because you're great at crawling.

There's another important lesson to be learned about crawling, one that will serve you well  in many areas of your life as you grow up. Always remember to crawl before you walk. As you grow you will want to do lots of different walking and running things. You may want to learn to dance, play football, run in a race, even climb mountains. Whatever the skill, remember to start out by crawling first. Learn the basics, build on them and practice. Little by little your skill will grow.

That's true with learning to talk, to sing, to write and a thousand other things. Always learn to crawl before you walk. It's important. Meanwhile we're just so very happy that everything about you is developing in this wonderful way. And we love to put our arms around you and hug you as we sing this well-known little kid's song.

My Eyes Can See 

My eyes can see. 

My mouth can talk. 

My ears can hear. 

My feet can walk. 

My nose can sniff. 

My teeth can chew. 

My lids can flutter. 

My arms hug you!  

Love you, Byron. Keep on growing up. 

GPa

Working Moms

Dear Byron,

These days you get up around 6:00 a.m. to leave with your parents for the child care center near your Daddy's office. The place is called Bright Horizons. It is connected with Chevron Corp. and available to all the parents who work there, people like your Daddy. You spend your day there while Mommy and Daddy are at work in downtown Houston. Here at our house we don't see you again until sometime after 6:00 p.m. in the evening.

When you get back you are hungry, but happy. From the written report Bright Horizons gives to your Mommy and Daddy, it looks like you have a full day playing with the other kids your age, eating your snacks and lunch, playing in the sandbox and riding around on the stroller outside. Mommy and Daddy tell us that they feel you are learning lots of things. Already we can tell that you are about to walk. You love to hold our hands and try that skill at our house as well.

These days we're getting ready to elect the next President of the United States. As the candidates tell their stories and share their ideas, one of the much discussed topics is moms like yours who work outside the home. Believe me, there are many, many mommies who do. The U.S. census estimates that there are well over 85 million. That's better than half of the mommies.

Here's what one study reports about working moms:

American working mothers spend one hour and 34 minutes on 'primary' childcare each day, including feeding their children, helping them with homework and changing diapers. They still spend far more time on childcare than their counterparts in Japan and South Korea, who manage only 53 and 31 minutes respectively, and slightly more than British working mothers, at 81 minutes. 

American fathers spend more time each day looking after their children than nearly any country in the developed world, new research suggests. But before any dads get too excited, they look positively lazy next to the nation’s mothers.

And here's some surprising news.

800,000 more women than men were on payrolls in January 2010


The milestone has at last been cleared: More women than men were on payrolls in January 2010, according to US Labor Department statistics for the month. That month, there were 64.2 million women receiving a paycheck compared with 63.4 million men.

That's quite a huge change from when I was growing up, Byron. Of course I grew up on a farm where my Mommy worked very hard from morning to night. Its just that she didn't leave the farm. Instead she had over a hundred chickens to feed, her own big garden out back, all the washing and ironing for us kids, my Daddy and the hired men and the task of making the meals. As I remember it, she hardly rested at all from the time she got up around 6:00 a.m. until she fell into bed around 9:30 in the evening.

According to the 1930 census almost eleven million women, or 24.3 percent of all women in the country, were gainfully employed. Three out of every ten of these working women were in domestic or personal service. Of professional women three-quarters were schoolteachers or nurses.

As you can see, things have really changed. There is lots of talk about whether this is good or bad. There is no one answer to that question. One thing is certain in your case, Byron. Your Mommy and Daddy really love you and they are going to do everything they can to see that you are cared for in the right way as you grow up.

We all love you very much,

GGPa

Learning To Talk

Dear Byron,

It certainly is fun watching you begin to learn to talk. Already at one year now you can say words like Mama, No, YaYa, Bye and maybe a few more. It looks like you are trying to put sentences together. And we certainly can tell when you want something or are angry that you can not have what you want.

Your Mommy was saying a couple days ago that she hopes you can also learn Spanish as well as English. And maybe you will. There certainly are many Spanish speaking people in this part of Texas and their numbers are growing rapidly. After all, Spanish is an official language in 20 sovereign states and one dependent entity, totalling around 423 million people. Many of those countries are to the south of Texas where you are growing up, in what we call Latin America. Thousands of those folks are moving here to work and live. Yes, it certainly will be to your advantage to learn Spanish. However, it is still best for you that English is your primary language. It is the world's universal language. Carlos Carrion Torres of Vitoria ES, Brazil
writes,

English is without a doubt the actual universal language. It is the world's second largest native language, the official language in 70 countries, and English-speaking countries are responsible for about 40% of the world's total GNP.

English can be at least understood almost everywhere among scholars and educated people, as it is the world media language, and the language of cinema, TV, pop music and the computer world. All over the planet people know many English words, their pronunciation and meaning. 

The causes for this universality are very well known and understandable. English first began to spread during the 16th century with the British Empire and was strongly reinforced in the 20th by USA world domination in economic, political and military aspects and by the huge influence of American movies. 

The concept of a Universal Language is more significant only now, in the era of world mass communication. Before this era Greek, Latin, and French were to some extent universal languages, though mainly in Europe. 

By a lucky coincidence due to factors above, English, the Universal language, is one of the simplest and easiest natural languages in the world. The only other simple and easy languages are constructed ones.

I never learned Spanish, because where I grew up in Minnesota very few spoke the language. I grew up in an area where many members of my community spoke German. That was the language of my Daddy's childhood. It was the worship language at his church and he learned his catechism in German. Because of that he always talked with a German accent, as did his parents, my Grandma and Grandpa. Let me tell you a couple stories to illustrate.

My Mommy was not German. She was British in background. Her name was Thelma Turpen. Her Mommy's maiden name was Iva Brommel. So she was English through and through. As a result, we never talked German in our house. Because of his German accent my Daddy always called my Mommy Telma rather than THelma. He could not pronounce the 'TH' sound—or at least he was not familiar with it. German speaking people do not use that sound. When they see the TH letters, like the Germanic god THOR, they pronounce it TOR, without the TH sound we use in English.

Another thing. We named our second son, your great-uncle, Nathan. So of course my Daddy said Natan, because he could not pronounce the TH sound.

I do hope you will learn Spanish, Byron. It will be very useful to be able to communicate with Spanish speaking people everywhere. However, we're all wanting you to learn English well, because wherever you go in this world, people now speak that language. It is and will continue to be the Universal Language.

We love you,

GGPa

A Good Friday Welcome

Dear Byron,

We're excited. This wonderful day is named Good Friday all over the world. And it really is good—for two reasons.

You, your Mommy and your Daddy all arrived today and not just for the Easter weekend. You are coming to live with us—at least for a few months, until you find a new home. You don't realize it right now, but everything is changing for your family. You no longer live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Your Mommy and Daddy have new jobs here in Houston where GGMa and I live. And you are staying with us until your family gets settled.

That's why we're so excited. That's why we are so happy that we could help you and your parents during this time of change. That means, of course, that we'll get to see more of you now that we all live in the same town. And we are so, so very happy about that

And this is Good Friday for another very important reason. This is the day that we Christians—and that includes you, Byron—celebrate and rejoice that Jesus went all the way to the cross and death in our place. The blessed, happy and very Good thing is that because of His sacrifice we all share in His loving forgiveness.

That's what Jesus said to you when you were baptized into Him. That's what He says to us all.

So we rejoice on this Good Friday, my dear little great-grandson. And I pray Jesus' many blessings upon you in all the days and years ahead.

Love,

GGPa

IPhones, Birthday Parties, Three Shorts And A Long

Dear Byron,

We did it! We all got together to celebrate your first birthday. Mommy and Daddy invited a bunch of their friends and their kids. We ate hamburgers and bratwurst. We sang "Happy Birthday" to you and we each enjoyed a piece of your cake.

Speaking of cake, you had a great time messing with it. You got it all over your face and hands. It was a good thing Mommy put that bib on otherwise you soon would have had it all over your shirt as well.

Here's a picture of you with Mommy, Daddy, your two sets of grand parents, with GGMa and me on the left.

By the way, I took the picture with my iPhone. When I got home I finished up your first year book. As you'll soon learn, Apple has an application that enabled me to choose from all those pictures we took this first year and turn it into a memory book. It should be waiting for you when you arrive at our house. I sent it off by email yesterday. They wrote back at once to tell me it will be completed in less than a week.

One more thing. When GGMa and I got home the Monday after the big weekend, we went to a banquet sponsored by Pregnancy Assistance Center North. That's an organization near us that helps young parents who find they're not ready to raise a little baby like you were only a year ago. Anyway, at the banquet I won a drawing for an iPad! Yup, me. I won it and now I have another gadget. This is getting ridiculous. I can take photos with the iPad too.

All that goes to remind me again of how things have changed since I was your age way, way back in the 1930s. Sure we had cameras and radios and cars, but nothing like what you will grow up with, nothing at all. We certainly did not have anything even remotely like my iPhone, the gadget that is also called a smart phone, because it is also a computer in my pocket. And nobody even thought about an iPad or a computer and all the other stuff that's so common now.

Let me tell you about the telephone we had on our farm. It hung on the kitchen wall and looked just like this.

When we wanted to make a phone call we had two choices. We could either make the bells up on top ring by turning the handle on the right or we could click that holder on the left up and down a couple times until we got the telephone operator. Let me explain.

There were actually a bunch of people on our phone line. We knew somebody wanted to talk with us if we heard the bells ring in a certain way. Our ring was three shorts and a long. In other words, if somebody turned that handle on the right to make three short rings and then kept turning and turning it to make one long ring, we knew they wanted to talk with us. All we had to do was pick up that earpiece on the left and talk into that round mouthpiece in the middle.

Of course, any one of the people on the ten or so other farms could listen in or even join in the conversation of they wanted to. It was what they called a party line. It was a little like setting up a multiple party conversation today—sort of.

Things will keep on changing as you grow up, Byron. That's the nature of technology. I can only hope and pray that when you are an adult lots of folks will use these discoveries to help and bless others rather than hurt and destroy.

For now, those concerns are a long way into the future for you. Meanwhile, we all look forward to a good time laughing, telling stories and eating cake at your next birthday party.

Love you,

GGPa

Photos From Byron's First Year

Dear Byron,

Well, it has happened. You are now one year old and working on your second. This weekend we'll all be celebrating your birthday and we're looking forward to eating your first birthday cake. Your Mommy and Daddy are planning a big get-together of family and friends.
Here are a few photos we've pulled together from that first year.

Remember when Daddy and Mommy took you to the beach?

Grandma Cheryl certainly had fun. 

And so did Grandpa Derrick. 

And I thought you were pretty good at making faces at Christmas time. 

GGMa Sylvia tried to teach you piano. Not now? . . Well, maybe next year. 

Yup. I agree. All in all it was a great year.

But maybe a little exhausting too. 

Anyway, we're all looking forward to another great one, especially now that you are soon going to live with Mommy and Daddy in our town. 

Love, 

GGPa

Yo-Yo And Byron's First Birthday

Dear Byron,

Only a couple days now and you'll be ONE YEAR old! Wow! Where did the year go?

I've been pondering what I might get you for your birthday. This may sound crazy, but I actually thought about getting you a very, very old toy that has nothing to do with modern day electronic gadgets. I'm talking about a yo-yo! I had lots of yo-yos when I was a kid.

The Yo-Yo came to the USA only a couple years before I was born. There's even a National Yo-Yo Museum in the northern California town of Chico. They have the world's biggest collection of yo-yos from around the world. Here's a picture from their website of the "Big-Yo", the 1982 Guinness Book of World's Records largest working wood yo-yo, weighing 256 lbs.

Scaled-up Replica of the 3-in-1 No-Jive yo-yo by Tom Kuhn

The yo-yo as a toy (known as a bandalore) had been used for centuries. It may be the second oldest toy in the world (after dolls). There are ancient Greek yo-yos made of terra cotta in museums in Athens and yo-yos are pictured on the walls of Egyptian temples. The yo-yo was popular with such important warriors as Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington. It was first patented in 1866 by James L. Haven and Charles Hettrich. The word yo-yo is actually a Tagalog word, the native language of the Philippines, and means 'come back.'

Pedro Flores was the single, most important person to introduce the word 'yo-yo' to the United States. Flores was a native of Vintarilocos Norte, Philippines. He came to the United State in 1915. He attended the High School of Commerce in San Francisco 1919-1920. Then he took up the study of Law at the University of California - Berkeley and the Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. 

He later dropped out of school, had a variety of jobs and developed his vision for the yo-yo's potential when he read about a man selling a ball attached to a rubber band, who made a million dollars. He remembered the game yo-yo which was played for hundreds of years in the Philippines and he thought it had a good market possibility in the U.S. Mr. Flores was quoted saying, "I do not expect to make a million dollars; I just want to be working for myself. I have been working for other people for practically all my life and I don't like it." 

In early 1928 Flores went to Los Angeles and asked a wealthy Philippine for assistance in manufacturing yo-yos. His friends thought him crazy and he returned to Santa Barbara with only his dream. Being a true entrepreneur, at the age of 29, on June 9th, 1928, he applied and received a certificate of conducting business for the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara. On June 23, 1928, he made a dozen yo-yos by hand and began selling them to neighborhood children. 

From those humble beginnings, the yo-yo went on to became a national craze, with contests everywhere. Flores later sold his interest in his yo-yo manufacturing companies for more that
$250,000, an absolute fortune in the days when I was a little kid.

Donald F. Duncan was the guy who bought out Flores' companies and the name yo-yo. He introduced the looped slip-string, which allows the yo-yo to sleep—a necessity for advanced tricks. During the 1950s, Duncan introduced the first plastic yo-yos and the Butterfly® shaped yo-yo, which is much easier to land on the string for complex tricks.

Maybe in a few years I'll really get you a yo-yo and you can enter yo-yo competitions. Who knows? You might even become national yo-yo champion. 

Well, just a thought. Maybe for now we'll get you a toy easier to play with. In any event, we're all giving thanks for this first wonderful year. 

God bless and keep you, dear Great-Grandson! 

Love ya, 

GGPa

Sunday Is No Longer The Day Of Rest

Dear Byron,

A couple days ago, I heard from your daddy that he, your mommy and you will soon be moving to the city where GGMa and I live, because your daddy has a new job here. Needless to say, we're excited. We'll get to see you a lot more than we have during this past year. As I've noted earlier, things are always changing. Today I'd like to tell you how weekends have changed since I was your age.

When I was a kid growing up in Minnesota in the 1930s and 40s, Sunday was a 24-hour stretch of family time when liquor was unavailable, church was the rule and shopping was impossible. Instead of working on Sunday afternoons we'd go visit some of our relatives and friends. Of course, being farmers, we still had to care for the animals and milk the cows, but generally speaking, Sunday was a day of rest for the entire family.

Laws enforcing the use of Sunday or the Sabbath were called "blue laws." The first occurrence of the phrase blue law was found in the New-York Mercury of March 3, 1755, where the writer imagines a future newspaper praising the revival of "our Connecticut's old Blue Laws". The term "blue laws" originally applied to laws enacted by the Puritans in seventeenth-century Connecticut to regulate moral behavior (especially what people must or must not do on the Sabbath), laws which often called for rather harsh punishments to be applied to offenders. Blue laws typically specified penalties for moral offenses such as failure to attend church on the Sabbath; lying, swearing, and drunkenness; and the playing of games (such as cards, dice, and shuffleboard) in public.

They also made laws with severe punishments for crimes committed on the Sabbath and regulated the sale and consumption of alcohol. Violators of blue laws might be assessed monetary fines, be whipped, be forced to spend time in the stocks, have body parts burned or cut off, or even receive the death penalty.

But America has changed, and it dragged Sunday and the blue laws along with it. Although Sunday still means worship and family time for millions of Americans, today it also means things it once didn't back in my youth—12-packs of Bud, the NFL on TV, catching up with the week's accumulated errands, kids' soccer games, shopping for Apple's latest iPad at the mall and moving through a 24/7 culture.

"Today, for a lot of Americans, Sunday's just another day you have to go to work at Wal-Mart," said John Hinshaw, a labor historian at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa. The Protestant notion of Sunday as a day of rest began to change in the 1800s with immigrant laborers, many Roman Catholic, who saw things differently. Many were devoted to "a Sunday that took a very different shape: church in the morning and leisure in the afternoon," said Alexis McCrossen, author of "Holy Day, Holiday: The American Sunday," published in 2002 by Cornell U. Press.

The 20th century brought pushes toward a shorter workweek, and a major work-reform law passed in the 1930s created more down time. This made Sunday like every other day. As a result, commercial culture really took hold of it, as it had on the other six.

Today, 37 states permit Sunday sales of liquor, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. The Council boasts, "Reforming outdated Sunday sales restrictions on distilled spirits has been one of the Distilled Spirits Council’s most successful legislative initiatives at the state level. Since 2002, 15 states have joined the list of states allowing Sunday sales: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington." Notice that the list includes Massachusetts, where some of the earliest moral-conduct laws were passed. My own growing-up state, Minnesota, is still working on the idea. All four surrounding states allow it.

We have erased the older distinctions between workdays and the day of rest. The Bible gives us a long history of how the original Israelites were forbidden to work on the Sabbath or Saturday, the seventh day. I've published a study of that topic. I've titled it Day of Rest. In my short book I suggest that we all have a lot to learn from the Third Commandment and the laws that grew out of it. Of course, we Christians are not bound by those laws since they are but a shadow of all the true rest and peace that is ours in the Lord Jesus (Col. 2:16-17).

A while back I read that People's United Bank in Bridgeport, Conn.—a bank—focused an entire promotional campaign on Super Bowl Sunday. Well Byron, you'll soon learn about the importance of Super Bowl Sunday. I'm hoping and praying that you and your family will be able to join us on the next Super Bowl Sunday at church. And then, after a relaxing Sunday dinner, we can all watch the big football game on the TV together. I pray that the importance of family worship and being together never goes away regardless of how Sundays and weekends change.

All our love,

GGPa