Grandma's Poem

I believe everyone received Fred’s email earlier as it was addressed to the whole family.  I have copied the text of the poem into this email so that it can be easily read by everyone.  It has also been posted to the family blog so that you have access to it if you are away from email.  I’m sure I am not alone in being awed by my grandparents’ love for each other.  As such great parents, it is fitting that one of their greatest lessons is still being taught.  I’m also personally thankful for the sacrifices, sensitivity, and communication by Fred, Marianne, Krys, and Alex.  You have not only done so much for Grandma and Grandpa but also for the rest of us.  I hope this message finds everyone well.

Nick

 

TAKE MY HAND

Take my hand and walk beside me,

I'm just as scared as you.

I promise not to stumble,

And I'll be there if you do.

I'm not sure how far we'll travel,

Or if the road will ever bend.

For you and I will never know,

Just when our walk will end.

 

Take my hand and walk beside me,

Hold me gently as we go.

I will never let you see,

That your steps are getting slow.

Don't worry if you see me cry,

Those final tears good-bye.

It's hard to hide my sorrow,

When a loved one has to die.

 

Take my hand and walk beside me,

I won't let you be alone.

And if we can't cross mountains,

I will let God take you home.

Sometimes I find I'm weary,

With each step I often fall.

But we will journey on dear,

Until we hear God call.

 

Take my hand while we're together,

It's this time that means so much.

I'm so glad that I and others,

Have been blessed with your loving touch.

 

Take my hand and walk beside me,

Let me hear your gentle voice.

God has given us a special gift,

When others have no choice.

Don't worry about the little ones,

They’II do what must be done.

For you have taught them how to care,

And how to live as one.

 

Take my hand and walk beside me,

The road ahead is long.

But I will always love you,

And will keep our family strong.

Let the sunshine light the way,

As we take from day to day.

Hold my hand as the gentle breezes blow,

You've touched me in ways you'll never know.

With all my heart I'll miss you so,

When you walk with God someday.

 

Take my hand while we're together,

It's this time that means so much.

I'm so glad that I and others,

Have been blessed with your loving touch.

A handy new word...

I subscribe to this wonderful nerdy little email called "Word-a-Day", which goes thematically, and entertains me greatly. I thought all of you Zdeblicks (and Wamboldts) might appreciate this one:


"Laurence Urdell, former editor of the Random House Dictionary, became
tired of standing in line in alphabetical order because he was always
down near the end. To remedy this (from memory) he coined the word
ZYBETICAL which would list the letters in the reverse order.

Soldiers ideally would line up alphabetically on even-numbered days
and zybetically on odd-numbered days."


Anyway, I'm in the library, on a Saturday afternoon, and needed a little break. I've been reading Constitutional Law all afternoon, punctuated only by searching around legal databases for information relevant to my thesis, and once I saw Aunt Joy's pleading email, posting this little trivia seemed like the thing to do. :)

I'm doing well. I hope everyone else is also.


Love, (Cousin/Niece/Granddaughter/Daughter/Sister) Krys

Anyone Else Have Photos??

Okay, Family... I've started the ball rolling!!

Now I'm encouraging everyone to take the time and upload all your photos from Tortola!

I can't wait to see!!!

AZ

Re: california update

Nice stories. Keep up the good work. I'm finally retired from coaching this season. I'm enjoying watching from the sidelines. A little more stressful since I have no control over what happens on the field. Drew made varsity and was the starting sweeper. He has since been moved to outside fullback and is the first one off the bench. Hopefully as the season progresses he'll find his way to outside halfback where he belongs. At least he made varsity. His first real game is today at 3:45. I can't wait.

Lauren is trying out for her soccer team at school today, she's actually trying out for goalie and defense. So it looks like I'll be spending the fall at the soccer fields as usual.

We leave for Villanova this weekend for parent's weekend. Kaity seems to be doing OK. She had a date with an engineer last weekend and she said he was a nice guy. We'll see what develops.

Talk to you later. Ted

---

Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.

california update

Well, summer is nearing an end, and that means the start of soccer season again! But... before we say goodbye to summer, I'd like to record a milestone for Grace and a summer poem by Daniel.

 

Grace and I went to the local pool last week and she declared that she wanted to do a flip off the board, having seen her brother do one a week earlier. So she went up to the board, walked to the end, bounced ever so slightly, jumped and did a 3/4 flip: ended up flat on her back and you could hear the smack from a good distance. She tried again... about 3 or 4 times with similar but not quite as painful results. Eventually, she had enough and we went into the 5' deep section of the pool. There, I launched her from my hands a few times until she got the hang of flipping off of my hands. Each time she did a flip off of my hands, she would break the surface and immediately sing out "Ding Ding!" Of course, I gave her a bit of upward and "flipping" momentum, but she got the sense of how fast she needed to go to be able to land on her feet. Then, we moved on to other games until Melanie and Daniel showed up from one of his soccer games. She immediately got out of the pool and declared she wanted to do a flip off the diving board. "This I gotta see" said Daniel.

 

So Grace walks slowly up to the end of the board and a small audience paused to see her try again (Her flips off of my hands got quite a few parents trying to do the same with their similar-aged kids). She walks to the end, bounces ever so slightly and flips: sticking it perfectly; landed right on her feet! It was pretty cool! Even Daniel was impressed - and supportive. She broke the surface and sang out "Ding Ding!"

 

SO... she's got that goin' for her, too... which is nice.

 

Other news: her soccer team, after today's battle against a team that had three of her classmates, is still undefeated. Grace scored a goal: kicked it through the goalie's legs at point blank range. In fact, 7 of the 11 girls have now scored goals in just two games. Looks to be a good season. This is my 10th season coaching (if you count Winter, Spring and Fall as 3 seasons, which i do because they're always different kids), but the first with Grace. So... I gave my 3-P's speech, as usual, at the beginning of the season: "There are three things you need to focus on: Passing, Positions, and Passion..." Now, the boys at this age would look at you kind of funny, and ask you what "Passion" means. After you tell them that it basically means you gotta want to win if you're gonna win, they nod their heads and say... yeah ok; obvious. The girls... also ask what passion means (I guess they don't teach that word in 1st grade). After you tell them, they look at you and say (I swear, 3 or 4 of them did say it) "Why do you want to win?" Well, as their record shows, we got past that, and they're havin' a blast.

 

Daniel's in a competitive traveling league, and his team is not faring as well. They tied today; so far they are 1-2-1 for the season. Could have won today, but had a goal called back for a dubious pushing call against the guy who scored during a breakaway. Daniel, playing halfback, almost cost his team the game as he dragged down an opponent who was on a breakaway with minutes to go. Even though it was clearly out of the 18 (it was in the semi-circle), they gave the other team a PK, which fortunately the good guys stopped. So, at the end of the day, maybe he saved his team from losing. (As Mick wrote in a recent post, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!)

 

Finally, our boy has had one of his poems he wrote last spring published in Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans, 2006 Ed, Vol XCVIII, p 167. He submitted it following a suggestion by his 5th grade teacher . Reminding me of a long-ago summer evening in Chicago, here it is:

                       

                                       FIREFLIES

 

While I walk through tree and flush

I see a field while passing by

And then they rise with light of such

Like air it fills the entire sky.

And while I watch I'm struck by awe

By all the golden lights I saw.

 

And as sky is filled with light

They dance like stars with sudden vigor

As moon is down this summer night

I must watch and linger.

As fifty leagues are filled with them

Infinite specks rise rise from their den.

 

And as I lie back and and watch them all

From which all good things must be wrought

To think if all of them would fall

I pause and wonder in pensive thought.

And here our sure friend lies

In this giant world of fireflies.

 

Daniel J. Zdeblick Age: 11

 

Re: another test

melanie chose that book for our next book club book, so I guess we'll be reading it as well. Actually, melanie already finished and enoyed it; whe's recommending if for Daniel, but I don't know if he'll bite.

 

The current book club selection is about the Lewis and Clark expedition. I'm enjoying that one, but wouldn't call it one of my favorites.

mark

 

another test

I'm with you, Marianne. Tomorrow is "wear your watch on the other arm" day.  Keeps your brain young..right, Nick?

I'm wearing my pirate girl t-shirt with a demin jacket today and feeling quite caribbean. Thinking of all my pirate girl sisters today.

I'm recommending a book to read.  I just read The Omnivore's Dilema.  Fred gave me a quick review in Tortola.  I'm so glad that I read it!  Thanks, Fred. I enjoyed it for so many reasons.   Very well written.  It's about food!   It's about how our food gets to our table. What the hidden costs of what we eat are.  How we can make better decisions about what we eat.  Why we grow so much corn and how much oil is required to grow  it.  What free-range chickens are about...and is choosing organic always a better choice?  It's a really good read. It would be a good family read, if you're interested.

Thinking of all of you
in my head...
now.

Aunt Joy