Family, Gifts, and a Math Problem

We enjoyed visiting with Jeff, Kathy, Renee, and Jame last evening. They arrive around 6:00pm. The rush hour traffic in Minneapolis delayed their arrival time by at least an hour. After showing them their rooms and a house tour, we sat down for a late dinner. We visited for a bit before calling it a night.

This morning after breakfast, Kathy, Renee, and Jami headed over to Mall of America to explore and shop. Joe and Jeff spent an hour in the garage talking about tools. After Jeff came in from the garage we sat and talked for about three hours. Among other topics, Jeff shared with me his experience as the first safety coordinator for a small business. I am not sure of his actual job title, but his job was to research and inform the company owner of where they were out of compliance with OSHA. The owner wanted to argue with Jeff about the need to comply with each regulation. I could really appreciate Jeff’s experiences.

We also had the opportunity to talk about our parents and growing up. Jeff’s memories and experiences were different than mine. He was four years old when my dad was injured on a construction site. With a crushed pelvis, my dad lived with constant pain until his death twenty-three years later. I was ten years old, and my brother Kenny was nine when dad’s  accident happened. At least Kenny and I knew the “fun” dad. The dad who would come home from work and play ball with us or would roll around on the floor playing acrobat (One example was when he would lie on the floor, put his knees up, we would put our hands in his hands and our feet on top of his feet and then he would raise his legs until our body was parallel to his and we looked like we were flying).

Our dad also bowled in a league once a week and Kenny and I were old enough to take turns going during the summer months to watch dad’s team. Our sister Jeni was six and our youngest brother wasn’t even a year old when dad’s accident occurred. Todd’s experiences were more like Jeff’s experiences with our dad. I can’t ask Jeni what she remembers as she died in 2019. It has only been in recent years that we have openly discussed our childhood and the vast difference in how we experienced life with dad. Our mom did her absolute best to keep life on an even keel for all of us.

During this conversation, Joe went off and read and napped.

Today was my day for receiving gifts! Our friend Linda from Pennsylvania sent us a hand-blown piece of art as a housewarming gift. I love the piece and have it displayed on the closest windowsill to my desk in the sunroom.

Kathy, Renee, and Jami brought us back taffy from the Mall of America! I love saltwater taffy and it is all I can do not to eat every single piece before I go to bed tonight. They bought four dill pickle flavored pieces. When Megan, Jeremy, Caleb, and Charlotte came for dinner tonight they taste tested the pickle taffy. Jeremy and Charlotte were definite in their vote of “no” to pickle taffy. Caleb liked it okay. Megan thought it needed more flavor.

While they were at the mall, Renee texted that they had found Caramel Apples and asked which of the four flavors I wanted them to pick up for me. My response: One of each!!! So, they did. One is peanut covered, one was cashew with chocolate and caramel coatings, Pecan covered, and a Snickers Covered Apple. I ate the cashew and made a complete mess dropping the coating all around the house.

As I was eating my apple, Jeff, Kathy, Joe, and I started our driving tour to check out boat ramps at four local lakes. The drive also gave them a glimpse of the countryside. It was enlightening to learn more about fishing and boat fishing on lakes.

While checking out the lakes we did a drive by of Megan and Jeremy’s house and neighborhood to show Kathy and Jeff where we had lived for nine and a half months.

Once home we began getting dinner on the table. Tonight, Megan’s family joined us, and we ate tacos!

Toward the end of dinner, Megan mentioned a math problem and the application of PEMDAS. Jami is a sixth-grade math teacher. Megan’s question turned into a two-hour (at least) discussion (Jeff, Jami, and Joe) on the correct answer. Megan’s contention was that “new” math broke old math. Joe hauled out math textbooks. Megan texted her brother (Nate is the family math guru) and did not get an answer as it is Friday night, and he is most likely out with his girlfriend and friends. The math dilemma was eventually resolved to Joe’s satisfaction. Megan was regretting that she even mentioned the issue. Jami was a trooper even though she thought she was out of school for the summer!

Jami and Renee helped me to clear the table, put leftovers away and wash and dry dishes.

I am so happy Jeff and family have been here with us for the past twenty-eight hours. I truly hope they can all visit us at least once a year. Even with four guests our house feels spacious to accommodate all of us comfortably. They are excellent first overnight guests!

AS I mentioned I received gifts today. Two gifts were physical like the beautiful hand-blown art piece from Linda and the taffy from Kathy, Renee, Jeff, and Jami. Other gifts fed my spirit – spending time together, talking about shared experiences, and having our Minnesota family altogether for dinner.

I am blessed beyond measure.