September 2014

I have wanted to start a blog for the longest time and controversy about the name has plagued me. I wanted to call it "A kick in the pants." I thought it was funny, which it is, but my children disagree. They see "kick in the pants" as a negative phrase like some one kicked them. I think of it as someone who makes you laugh for example, "He's a kick in the pants!" That's the way my Grandma used it. Phrases like that and "knee slapper" combined with folk songs were part of my childhood. My Grandma would sing -

"Oh, I went to the door, just to ask for some bread and the lady said

'Bum, Bum, the baker is dead!'

Hallelujah, I'm a bum,

Hallelujah, bum again,

Hallelujah give thanks and revive us again!"

I didn't know what the song meant or why we should be happy to be bums, twice even, but I knew Grandma was happy. While she worked folding clothes or making a bed, all of a sudden, she would sing one of these wonderful songs. I hope you had someone in your childhood who gave color to your world through story or song. Someone who loved you and included you in their world and made you whole. That's what we need more of - sharing, remembering, singing. I hope you enjoy an unexpected laugh because I have always considered myself - a kick in the pants.

May your day be beautiful and full of God's blessings!

Stefanie