You Learn to Love it...Football

Happy 36th Anniversary to my Husband Gary! Yes, our Anniversary is on Monday, September 27th. One of my FaceBook Friends, Lauren Anderson offered up a suggestion for this blog...Husbands, Wives, and Football. This ones for you Lauren! First, I will have to give all of you a little background information about my relationship with football. My husband Gary and I met at a High School dance after a home football game. He then asked me to be his date for the Homecoming Dance coming up. Back then, they held the Homecoming Parade on Friday afternoon, before the Homecoming Game that night. He was to ride on a float with the Football Team and we had planned to meet back at the High School afterwards, where I had to catch my bus ride home. I didn't see him on the float, but there were a ton of boys on it, so I didn't think much of it, at the time. When he stood me up at the school later, I was more than a little mad. Just who does he think he is, standing me up? That night I was at the Homecoming Game sitting on the bleachers, when a schoolmate asked me who I was going to the Homecoming Dance with. Now, this was a big deal for me, because I, a lowly Froshman had been asked by an Upperclassman. I turned to her and replied, "Gary McCullough". Suddenly, behind me came a voice that said, "oh, no your not". I looked at this girl, who looked to be a couple of years younger, perhaps a Junior High student, and said, "Just who are you, and how do you know I'm not going to Homecoming?" She got a smile on her face and told me, "I am his sister, Tammy and he's in the hospital". You could have knocked me over with a feather. What a little snippet! And, so began my love/hate relationship with Football. Later, I found out that he had received a blow in football practice that had bruised his kidney. So, no Homecoming Dance for me. That next day I was feeling pretty sorry for myself when I got the bright idea of getting dolled up in my Homecoming Dress and making a visit to see him at the hospital, that evening. I will never forget the look of surprise and delight on his face when I walked into that hospital room. His Mother was there and I was introduced to my future Mother-in-Law, Janece McCullough, who promptly left the room to let us talk. We had a very nice time and it was actually the first time that we had spent much time together. We both were painfully shy. I was fourteen and he was sixteen. I decided right then and there that he was worthy of a second chance from me. Four years later, we were married on a Friday night, yes, it was the evening of the Homecoming game. Five years later, we had our son Frank on a Friday, and his Dad had a football game to broadcast that evening too. We were living in Hoopeston at the time, where Gary was working at the local Radio Station.
Lauren asked me to talk about being a "Football Widow". I will have to admit, when I was much younger, I felt that way, sometimes. As I have gotten older, not so much, anymore. I always loved the "Football atmosphere" of home games. When our kids were younger, our home was the "go to" house, you know, the house where all the kids "go to", after school. I always had a "big pot" of something cooking in the kitchen to feed the hungry hoards. I miss those days, but am looking forward to the Grandkids doing the same, someday.
Now, as for "The Bears" and Sunday football games.... I have always regarded those days as "sacred" and I don't bug the men. I never have understood wives that give their husbands "honey do" lists and actually expect them to get the jobs done. Give your husbands a break Wives. Unless you have a toilet overflowing or a busted water pipe flooding your home, leave them alone. On Sundays the guys head out to the Gazebo where they enjoy the peace and quiet. At half-time they usually head out to Subway or for a beer run. I usually have the game on in the house while I am cooking, doing laundry, or cleaning. Yes, I can watch the game and do other things at the same time. I am after all, a woman, a multi-tasker. Men are not multi-taskers and unless you want something really messed up, leave them alone. They are not capable of watching the big game and watching a small child. Especially if you want that said child to be alive in a few hours. That is a simple fact. Life is Football..it is the end all and the be all. The sooner you realize this, the better off you will be. Now, this Monday night is the big game, yes, it is "The Bears" and the packers. (You noticed I did not capitalize their name, it is a dirty word in our house.) I will not expect any sort of "Anniversary" special event. I have learned my place in thirty six years and it is not in front of the television. So, Happy Anniversary to me. I just hope "The Bears" win or it will be a sad day on Tuesday..
Now, in honor of our Wedding Anniversary, I would like to make a special announcement..we are going to be Grandparents again in March. Daughter Ashley and her husband Jimmy are going to be giving us another Grandchild. Jack Andrew will be a big brother. And, I can assure you that this child, along with the rest will NEVER and I mean NEVER be seen in any packer clothing. Someone made that comment to my husband a few years back and I recall him muttering something to the tune of..."when hell freezes over." Go Bears!

Especially in August when the days are warm then the world seems turned to gold. Sunshine can transform green stalks of corn to yellow, grass is gold

brocade. The elm trees leafy branches grow tired of making shade....Helen Virden.
August is almost over and school will start here next week. The Gibson City Swimming Pool will be closing up for the season. Parents were busy registering their children for school last week. Now the hunt for new school clothing, shoes, and supplies will be on the agenda from here on until the big day. High School Football practice has begun and I hear the familiar whistles blowing in the early morning and late afternoon. The slow, lazy days of summer are slowly drawing to an end. From the posts from Friends on Facebook and in conversations here and there with people, I have heard the same thing over and over. Pretty much everyone is tired of the heat, humidity, and lack of rainfall this summer has brought us. I would have to agree with them. I would have to give this summer a three or four out of a possible ten. I really don't like seeing the yards and flowers all dried up and crispy. I have been looking at the fields when traveling here and there and it looks to me like it is going to be an early harvest this year, nothing like last years late harvest. I have heard some conflicting reports about what the yield is going to actually bring, depending where your farm is located. Here in Gibson City, we have been passed over many times by Mother Nature in the form of rain. Right now I am only looking forward to September and October for some cooler weather and some much needed rainfall.
This summer weather has been a tough one for the Radio Station too. Our studios were hit by lightening in June and our tower and transmitter were hit sometime in early August. Mother Nature has not been kind to us this summer. We have been experiencing a reduction in our power now for several weeks and it finally was determined that we took a hard hit out at the tower. We have spent the better part of the summer trying to get everything repaired. It has been frustrating for us and for you, the listeners. We have heard from listeners all over the USA who have been wondering what's going on with their favorite Radio Station. We are also trying to do everything possible to keep our studios and transmitter from taking future hits, but it's probably not going to be a guarantee. Mother Nature loves those high towers, they just beg to be hit. We appreciate all of the e-mails, phone calls that let us know that you are indeed listening and want your station back up to one hundred percent. I want to assure you that we are working hard to make that happen.
Our Family managed to take a couple of day trips this summer. One was to Indiana Beach for the day with Ashley, Jimmy, and Jack. We had a great time with Jack and the weather cooperated. It was a nice, cool day when we were there. Jack is still talking about it. We also ventured to Peoria for a Chiefs game. That was a little warmer evening, but we still enjoyed it. That is it for us this summer. It has been a busy one indeed and it has been hard for us to find time to get away.
Grandchildren Demi and Jack will soon be having one of their "firsts". That is, they will both be going to their first babysitter next week and I have to admit, it's making Grandma just a bit nervous. Mom Casey will start teaching soon and we all got together and thought it would be a good idea if Jack and Demi went together to the Sitters. Everyone needs a bit of a break from the schedules we have been trying to keep the last few months with the little ones. It's sort of like the first day of Kindergarten, First Grade, Junior High, High School. I call them "the firsts". It seems like yesterday that I was going through that with my children. You find yourself watching the clock all day, wondering what your children are doing and if they are getting along alright. Finally, they arrive home and with excitement, tell you about their day. Then you realize and breathe a huge sigh of relief, "yes, they are going to be o.k.". I am sure there will be more than a few parents going through this next week. Just breathe everyone and relax, your little ones will be fine. I keep telling myself that, but come next Tuesday I will be watching the clock till I pick them both up at noon.
Speaking of Sports will start again this Saturday and next Friday will be the first Falcon Football Game. WGCY has already began to broadcast "Da Bears" pre-season games. We are gearing up for the start of another School year, so now someone needs to tell Mother Nature to take it easy on us and give us some much needed cooler weather and to keep her lightening strikes to herself.

Summer is winding down

July is half over and the County Fairs are done. I have started seeing "Back to School" ads on television and in the stores. This summer has been filled with lots of warm, hot, humid, sunny days. The kids should have had their fill of the swimming pool by now. This is just about the time of summer that they start getting bored with all of the summer activities. Little League is done, Youth Football will start soon. The High School Football Field will start being a busy place with lots of activity, soon. We live a hop, skip, and a jump from the High School weight room, football, softball, and track fields. It's been busy over there all summer with the kids at the weight room and the area citizens using the track. I head over there around 5:15 am and it is a steady stream of people using the track. That all-weather track is wonderful to walk or jog on, so much easier on your joints, and I have old joints that don't care for concrete streets or sidewalks, anymore. I have noticed that the spiders are really busy out in my backyard spinning their webs all over the place. That is something that usually happens in late August and in early September. Do they know something that I don't? I am assuming that means an early fall with cooler weather coming soon. It seems we have been about a month ahead on just about everything this year. April felt like May, May like June, July like August. If it follows suit, then August should be cooler. I am not wishing for cold weather, just cooler temperatures, so I can turn off the air conditioning. I am tired of having the house closed up and equally tired of giving all of my money to the Electric Company. I am not complaining mind you, I would not give up my air conditioning for all the tea in China. I am getting bored with my summer attire. Capri pants and t-shirts just don't excite me much. One of Son Frank's good friends is getting married in mid August and I had to go shopping to purchase a much needed dress for the occasion. If you remember my previous blog on shopping you know just how much I detest shopping. I went with my daughter, Ashley and she provided a much needed opinion about what did and didn't look good on me. She also picked out a couple of choices for me, which went right back to the rack. I finally found something that looks appropriate for someone my age, but is going to need a little help with the neckline. It is going to have to have some attention to close it up a bit. I am not "into" showing all of my "parts". I am very conservative with my clothing. I figure if I don't want to look at that, then others don't want to either! Trying to find clothing that covers these days is quite an adventure. Its either cut too low, or the hemline is too short, or looks like it should have been put on my Great Grandmother! Something in between dressing like a teenager or an elderly person would be nice! Now, if my kids are reading this right now, I just know what they are saying to themselves, "But, you are old, Mom!" Ok you two, just cut it out. I am "older", but not "old". Big difference! Frank and Casey are both in this wedding and it will be held in Springfield. We are working out the babysitting schedule for Demi. We will have her on Friday night and Granny Hornstein will be keeping her on Saturday night. I have had her a couple of times all night. She is so cute, but if you plan on getting much sleep while keeping her, forget it! At least during the nighttime hours. During the day and evening, she sleeps like crazy, then around the time you are ready for bed, little Demi comes alive! I call her "the vampire baby". Or, that she is practicing for her teenage years, already! She doesn't scream, she just doesn't sleep, much. She loves to sleep laying on me, much better than in her bed, that's for sure. We call her Demi the Diva! When Jack is over too, and I am holding Demi he says, "Grandma, done." Meaning, "Put her down, Grandma, cause I want to sit in your lap, and not with her up there too!" He only tried to sit on top of her once and threw a blanket over her head another time. Needless to say, Jack is not left in a room, unsupervised with his little cousin. I am pretty sure he would like to send her back where she came from! And, he really gets mad when his Mother is holding her. Just watch out then! I had them both all night a couple of weeks ago. That was an interesting night to say the least. I put Jack to bed and slept downstairs with Demi and tried to keep her quiet as to not disturb her cousin sleeping. It didn't take me long to figure out the sofa isn't the best place to sleep. When we finally did get to sleep, around 3:30am to 6:00 am, one of my husbands friends "phoned" the house and woke both of us, with some silly question about something, or other. I told him if he ever phoned my home that early on a Sunday morning again, he might just disappear like a certain mafia figure, that has yet to be discovered. Don't mess with a tired Grandma that early in the morning when she has only had three hours of sleep. Needless to say, it took me four days to catch up from that night. How did I do it when my kids were newborns? I sure don't remember being up that much, but as I have said before, a person's memory seems to "block out" all of that! I just know that I fared much better at missing sleep when I was younger, a lot younger in fact. Age does matter!
On a sad note, for those of you who don't know, our family was hit with a blow on July 5th. My husband's Sister, Tammy lost her dear husband, Mark Craig. Mark was a really great guy who knew everyone and had a big smile on his face all of the time. I used to ask my Sister-in-Law, Tammy, "Does he get up that way in the morning?" She told me that he was like that every day of his life. Mark ran the Sunoco Station here in Gibson City for many years and helped a lot of people out with their vehicles. He was a great mechanic. I know he worked on keeping our old heaps running for many years. He was especially a "big hit" with the elderly women here in town. He would go to their homes and pick up their vehicles, bring them back to his shop, fix them or service them and take them back home. That kind of dedication and service is really hard to find these days. Mark was the happiest person I ever knew. I never remember him saying a bad word about anyone and he had more friends than any person I ever knew. He lived his life the way he wanted. He loved to Golf and spend time with his family and friends. The town of Gibson City will miss him and so will our family. Mark had one daughter, Stacy Johnson of Paxton, her husband Chad, and grandchildren Hunter and Valeree. The world will be a much quieter place without Mark, he had a laugh you could hear a mile away and he laughed a lot and loud. We all could take a lesson from Mark. Enjoy life, do what you enjoy, have lots of friends, work hard, and just laugh loud and long.

Welcome to the world thats shiny and new. Welcome to a lifetime of dreams come true. Welcome to the joy of living each day. Love is all around you and

here to stay. So goes the song we play here on WGCY Radio Station, by the late Nicolette Larson. It was a CD that she recorded for her then, newborn daughter. I thought it appropriate to start my blog with it. It is one of my favorite songs on this CD and always brings a tear to my eye, every time I hear it. There is another cut off the CD that is titled, "On the Day you were Born". That one really gets me, it talks about a new mother kissing her newborn child for the first time and welcoming her to the world. It goes something like this, "The moment I saw you, I wanted to hold you. The moment I saw you, I wanted to kiss you. To welcome you here on the day you were born". I dare any mother, no matter how old you are, to listen to that song and not cry as you remember the day your child or children were born. We play that here on the Radio Station, too. I actually have two copies of this CD floating around somewhere. I purposely did not put those songs on my Ipod, as I don't want people to see a grown woman, walking and crying. They would send me to the loony bin for sure. On that note, talking about newborns, I'm thinking you may be able to guess where this blog is headed. Yes, We have a new addition to our family. Little Demi Elaine McCullough made her entrance into this world on June 1, 2010 at 10:44am. Of course, she had to wait until Monday evening of Memorial Day to get us all up to the hospital, and then promptly made us wait until the next morning to make her arrival. Son Frank, new Daddy, stood there at the door with his new baby girl, proudly showing her off, while a couple of us stood there blubbering like babies ourselves. She was looking right at us, then at her dad, and of course, crying and letting us know in no uncertain terms that she liked it much better where she had been. Gary and I were so excited to be Grandparents again, while Casey's Mother is a first-timer. Demi weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz and was 20 inches long, with a head full of dark hair and a perfect little head, nose, eyes,and mouth. She is truly a beautiful baby. And, I am not exaggerating one bit here. I have seen a lot of babies in my time, some really cute, some not so. And, for a newborn, her color was perfect. Yes, she is just perfect in every single way. And, I will let you know right now that she is being a perfect newborn at home too. Yes, she is sleeping a lot. Of course her favorite time to sleep is all day, and when the sun goes down, Demi Elaine is ready to par-tay (that is a word the younger set use now for party. I thought it appropriate to use it here, because, you don't get any younger than dear little Demi.} Her parents are exhausted, as you can well imagine and things have changed in their house quite a bit. At least when they are up at three a.m now, it is with their daughter and not coming home from a fun night out. Frank and Casey have adjusted pretty well and are really good sports about this. I am not so sure about their cat, Wrigley, and lab, Coco. They both tried to make a run for it the other day when I stopped by. They both had their toys, food, and beds by the back door and were trying to hitch a ride when I left. They looked pitiful at the door when I told them, "Just tough it out, you two, she'll be a fun playmate for you, one of these days". But, all kidding aside, everyone is thrilled and happy that she is here, healthy and happy. Our family used to be four, and now in about six years, our numbers have risen to eight. Welcome to the world that's shiny and new, welcome to a lifetime of dreams come true. Welcome to the joy of living each day. Love is all around you and here to stay. Yes, welcome to the world little Demi. You will be loved well in this life, and that's all any of us can really ask for, isn't it?