I just found my great-great-grandmother last week.  I didn’t know she was  in the same town in which I reside.  In fact, she’s only two blocks down the street!  Imagine my surprise when I found her!  We had a rather one-sided conversation, however, because unfortunately, she died in 1862.  How I would have loved to ask her a hundred questions. 

What was it like being the wife of a large plantation owner in Virginia?  Did you lose the plantation when your husband died?  Why did you and your three married children and their families all move to the midwest in 1851?  Did you have a say in this adventure or did your children insist you come along?  What was it like traveling across the country with five grandchildren, ages 9, 6, 2 and two infants?  What was our town like in the mid 1800s?  Why did you settle in this town?  So many questions I’d like to ask.

Moving is not easy for me.  But when we came to this town six years ago, I didn’t have to pack up a wagon and ride hundreds of miles across rough terrain.  I didn’t have to say goodbye to a childhood home I would never see again.  Somehow, it’s comforting to know that my great-great-grandmother came before me and that for some reason, we have both been destined to leave our marks on this place. 

Thank you for being brave, Sarah Roe Newbill Powell, and venturing out to the new state of Wisconsin.  I don’t know what brought you here and I don’t know if you were happy here, but I’m glad you were here.   I’ll stop by every once in a while to say hi.

This is Bo, our Boggle (Boston Terrier/Beagle combo).  She is usually camera-shy, but gave me this sweet look before running from the camera.  Bo is pretty much scared of everything.  If the big blue exercise ball is in the room, she won’t come through the door.  When the vacuum cleaner starts up, she high-tails it to the farthest corner of the house.  When the camera is pointed in her direction, she turns away and tiptoes out of the room.  She won’t play fetch because she’s afraid of the tennis ball.  It’s a sad way to live.

When she goes to bed at night, we put up a flimsy piece of cardboard to keep her in her corner.  If she wanted to, she could knock it over with the tip of her nose, but for some reason she thinks the cardboard is impenetrable.  Bo is convinced that she is powerless.  This dog is fed, bathed, petted, walked, given treats, talked to, and loved.  But something is holding her back from her true dog-ly-ness and we’ll probably never know what it is. 

Know anybody like that?

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the undogly… I mean, ungodly.  Romans 5:6  (Sorry.)

It’s been a glorious few days, with all the little birdies back in the nest.  That means all the kids were home at the same time for a stretch.  For the life of me, I can’t remember how I ever managed to cope when they were all under the roof all the time.  I must have had more energy.  I must have been younger.  I must have never slept.  Add in a son-in-law, and a few girlfriend/boyfriends and kapowie – we don’t even all fit around the dinner table. 

The prospect of all four children going forth and multiplying someday is mind-boggling.  If all four of them get married and have four kids, that will mean…. um……  hold on, I’m getting out the calculator…. that will mean I will need to cook for 26 people.  And if I am blessed to live long enough to see great-grandchildren and they keep procreating at the same rate, I could wind up with…. just a minute…. 64 great-grandchildren.  How will I remember all their birthdays?  How many batches of chocolate chip cookies will I need to make?  I don’t have enough silverware.  Or chairs.

I’m getting a little ahead of myself I suppose. 

It’s been a glorious few days.  But it’s been a little like a Tilt-O-Whirl ride.  Time to get back in the swing.