The Chronicles of Home...

There are a lot of quotations about what a "home" is; where it's found, how it's created, the impact it has upon your life... the people who make it what it is. And I've realized that as sojourners in this world - our brief epoch of time in the yellow brick road of eternity - we carry our homes with us wherever we go. I am who I am because of the home I was raised in and the values that were taught... and that home helps me to make wherever I am a home as well... and how many times can I use "home" in one sentence??? ;)

In a word or two or twenty, I am grateful for the chance to visit my home, my family, and to realize that I - like Dorothy - will probably always want to go back. And yes... it's obligatory to use Wizard of Oz terminology... ;)

So... it was an enjoyable trip back to Kansas; the land wherein dwell tornadoes, accents that tell me they're "warshing clothes," and my dead pet fish, Odysseus.

Good times. :)

Also good times... getting pictures of your parents looking their very best... lol. Gracias a Dios, they're pretty good sports!

It would be embarrassing to say how many times we tried to take a good picture of the three of us that night... maybe something to do with the subject matter??? Yes, Dad... we blame you. ;)

Tif and "Bubba," a kidlet that she babysat in high school. Jaret is seven and has cystic fibrosis, and Tif has always been pretty special to him. He brought delight and laughter to our household when he visited!

The Lindsborgian element... fortunately, I was able to visit with some of my college friends and professors over dinner on my trip home... my bi-yearly dose of Swedish-ness... :)

As one of my sisters said, "Once a Kiowa Sunday School member... always a Kiowa Sunday School member!" Apparently, we will never, ever graduate from the yearly Sunday School photo... ;)

Working with Dad... "working" being a bit of a relative term here... lol. Tif (at left) and Chel (right) sometimes make picture-taking a lot more enjoyable... :)

(Left) Mom and Tif sit in Dad's shop one evening; (Right) The sunset and barn silhouette outside Barb and Stub's house in Hazelton.

I once heard someone say, "You know you're in Kansas when there's a tornado warning, and everyone goes out on the porch to look for it." Yep... that would be my family. Here, we were all sitting on the porch during some gusty wind and rain strikes. It rained almost every day I was home (which was wonderful, since I hadn't seen rain for a very, very long time), and a good number of nights were spent watching storms. Dad and we three girls were outside in the yard one night watching the lightning, and Dad asked, "Does anyone have even an ounce of fear right now?" Everyone responded with a definite "no."

Upon reviewing this in my mind, I think perhaps that those answers could denote a complete lack of fear... or an incredible amount of stupidity. I'm not sure which... ;)

GRANDPA RUDY'S CATFISH

From the time that I was little, every trip to Grandpa and Grandma Bahr's house also meant a trip to the Catfish pond. Grandpa Rudy bought bags of fish food, and we would fill a pail with these pellets, bump over the cattle trails in his old, orange Chevy pickup truck, and feed his special catfish. As the pickup lurched across the field, the fish could hear it's engine and from all sides of the pond, ripples would appear as his "pets" would come for feeding time... definitely an amazing experience for little kids.

What am I saying? It's pretty cool as an adult, as well... :)

Visiting the pond: (left) Dad was going to attempt to catch a fish... and I was going to help him really enjoy the experience. Never mind that I would have been dead shortly thereafter... lol. (right) Tif and Chel... doing... something interesting, I'm sure. :)

(left) Chel also attempted to catch a fish... I think she might have touched a fin... :)

(right) Both grandmothers watched as their kids and grandkids fed the voracious fish.