Monday, October 19, 2009

NANCY - I mean - TINA NURSE

My little sister just got accepted into nursing school!!! I am so very proud of her. For starters - she had to go back to college after a L O N G hiatus and she has maintained a 4.0 GPA. She's also had a grandbaby during that time, helped to care for our dad and mother, grieved their losses, went through a major relocation, held down a full time job plus worked diligently for her church and she is 51!!! Did I mention they only accepted 50 students?

Tina is the middle child of our family. She will tell you it was a hard spot to be in. I kinda think it made her who she is today. Anyway.....she will be an awesome nurse. She's old enough to know what she wants and she's been around the block enough to know how to treat people and to empathize with their hurts. She's young enough - in all the ways that matter - to contribute a lot to the medical community. I can't wait to see where God places her. I dread to hear her tell me how "long" I've been out of nursing and how "behind" the times I am. One of the trials I will have to bear over the next two years. :)

So here's to my sister!! Way to go DD! We are so proud of you. We knew you could do it. You are a marvel.

Monday, October 5, 2009

BOYS! Oh Boy!

In the fall of 1981 we added our third child in less than four years to the Kulwicki family! It marked the beginning of the craziness that was to be our life for many, many years. We were seriously outnumbered! I know it was only 3 to 2 but they were so full of energy and we were so sleep-deprived that it felt like there were 10 of them! Seriously, life revolved around formula, diapers, food, snacks, naps, laundry, dishes and baths for years. About the time they learned to sleep we began SPORTS and we just exchanged one set of time-consuming, mind-numbing activity for another. We were busy, busy, busy!

I don't think I ever took a bath without an interruption for at least 10 years. Pretty sure I never got to go to the bathroom without a question being thrown my way, a door being opened or a fight breaking out! Life was never boring. They were loud, stinky, constantly in motion, always picking on each other, loved to fight and were highly competitive. Nothing was sacred in their quest for superiority one over another - be it a job, a car, a girl - noxious eruptions, belches or the size of any anatomical part, their prowess on the football field, soccer field or academia. It didn't matter - they were ruthless. Dinnertime was the stage and they were "on." We laughed our heads off at their stories and refereed when competition turned personal.

Here are just a few of their more notable quips:

On the sizing of the proverbial "cup" during baseball season: "You'll need a Dixie cup. I'll need a route 44."

On missing their mother during the college years: "We'd miss you if you'd ever leave!"

On the required physical for sports: "I'm giving him (the dr.) 5 seconds then I'm coming up swinging."

On our frequent moves: "I picked up Kitty (our cat of 21 years) and she said, "Oh, we're moving again?"'

Those are the printable ones. They are witty. They are full of themselves. They are so bad.

We've since added two darling girls to our family and I'm sure they have been a little overwhelmed when we have family dinner. To their credit, they have held their own in a family that has few social graces. They have even been known to throw a few punches themselves.

I love watching the girls with their men. They don't take much flak off them. They roll their eyes. They give them the eye. But boys will be boys. They don't usually notice the eye. I do. I get it. Now they say things like - "I don't understand. She says it's my TONE!" Billy just nods his head in silent affirmation.

As for me. It's about stinkin' time. About the time my estrogen is gone a fresh supply has come into my house. Life is getting interesting again. My boys are finally getting what they have deserved - some refining. In all fairness to them - they are fighting it tooth and toenail. For far too long their inner man has been allowed to go free. But these girls are reining them in - gently, kindly and with love.

Reminds me of another inner man that left to itself was obnoxious, loud, and smelly. And then we choose Christ and He sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and change us from the inside out. Ever the perfect gentleman, He does so in love. Transforming our thought life, cleansing our heart, taming our tongue - resulting in a new creation. A new man (or woman) who puts others before himself, whose speech is wholesome and whose life is a testimony of what it means to be part of a family - far from perfect but perfectly loved.