Tag Archives: Thoughts

Happy New Year!

by nebraskawheatie

We’re about to say goodbye to 2011 and ring in a brand new year. As I look back on the past year, I think about how each day brought new challenges and joys, bad days and good, lots of miles under the ‘ole belt and a new son-in-law. 2012 is anxiously being anticipated. One thing is for sure, there will be changes.

New Year’s Eve has never been a big deal to me and Jim. Most years it seems the girls (whichever ones are here) and I sit in front of the tv watching the ball drop. We quickly run to the kitchen, grab a couple of pans, spoons and start banging on them to make noise – lots of noise – to bring in the new year. And to help make them feel like they’re doing something special while everyone else in our little piece of the world is having fun. They enjoyed it – I enjoyed it. We usually had a meal of finger food and sparkling grape juice.

The day is coming, though, when I won’t have anyone to run outside with me and the “noise makers”. I’ll miss that. I’ll miss the traditions of this night when the final girl has realized there’s more to the night than what they’re used to. I hope one day, they will look back on the New Year’s Eve’s of the past and smile. Maybe even grab a pan and a spoon. head out the door and start ringing in the new year. I love that I’ve been able to share these past Eve’s with the girls, having our own special way of celebrating and looking forward to the new year ahead of us.

I expect your 2012 will be filled with good days and bad (just like any year). I pray the bad days are made a little easier with the help of family and friends and the good ones are so awesome you HAVE to share them with family and friends! Happy New Year!

Sounds of the Season

by nebraskawheatie

I LOVE Christmas music! I insist all passengers of any car I’m in endure the sounds of the season with me. I’ve even blessed them with my beautiful voice :). For those of you who have been with me during this glorious season, you know what I’m talking about! I’m sad to think that in one more day, the Christmas music will have run its course and I will have to wait another year to hear the sounds that bring back so many memories of Christmas’ past.

For me, there are two songs that really mean Christmas is on the horizon. The first one is Gene Autry’s “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. Actually, any of Gene’s songs or those sung by Burl Ives can get the ‘ole memories flowing and that’s when I really find my singing voice! The other song I dearly love is “Oh Holy Night”. Watch out when that one comes on the radio!! And…it doesn’t matter who sings this song – it ALWAYS brings the goose bumps!

For the girls, when they hear Nat King Cole’s “Chestnuts Roasting On an open Fire”, the radio is turned up way loud and they feel like it’s Christmas time once again.

This year, I have found a new song that meant a lot to me the very first time I heard it. This one, I’m going to share with you. Listen to the words very carefully and let them sink deep into your soul!

I pray that today brings you lots of great memories and it’s Christ’s birthday that you celebrate!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ENTIRE ZEORIAN CLAN!

Starting my day off with a tear

by nebraskawheatie

Yesterday, I mentioned that those of us who are doing the DC thing or anything to help with our organization sacrifice a lot for the time we give. Here’s one example – the Christmas concert I didn’t get to see Taylor and Callie perform last night:

As I sit here in my room with tears in my eyes, I am thankful for today’s technology! I love you Taylor & Cal and I’m sorry I missed your night. I can’t make it up to you but I do know you understand. Doesn’t help me feel any less sad though!

I. Am. Tired!

by nebraskawheatie

So, in my last posting I told you I would be heading to Hutchinson, KS and then to Washington, DC. For anyone who thinks the last few days have been a vacation…I’d like to say YOU ARE SO WRONG (yes, I AM yelling)! The meeting in KS went well and it was great seeing the rest of the team (USCHI Board of Directors). It’s always good to get together with people from our industry when it’s not in a working atmosphere. Building relationships is the best thing a person could do for themselves – my thought any way. From KS, we flew to DC. We’ve had two FULL days of constant walking and talking on “the hill”.

To be honest with you, I was definitely not looking forward to this trip. I had fallen into the negative trap of “this isn’t going anywhere”, “they say they listen but they really don’t”, “you’re not making a difference”, etc. etc. However, we started yesterday morning and things just started falling into place. It went from one good thing to the next. Each one of those “good things” fell into place just as they were meant to. Contacts have been made and when it appeared that it would be hard, it got easy again. Today, we learned more and even got to visit with two members of Congress – Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Ohio Congressman Bob Gibbs. I shook hands with Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson last night. He happened to be in the same restaurant as we were in. It’s a BIG deal when you actually get to shake the hand of one of our elected officials and give them the opportunity to have a conversation with real people. It’s fun to see them and their staffers actually loosen up and they themselves turn into real people. I can only hope the time I and the others have sacrificed will make a difference for our organization and for agriculture. It definitely has not been a vacation. One of these days, I’m coming to DC to see some of the wonderful historic sites and will be staying away from the “hill”!

Looks like a few tax dollars are being spent on some repairs.

The Christmas tree in front of the Capitol.

Heading for our first appointment-ready to change the world 🙂

Inside the Cannon Building.

Railing inside one of the House buildings.

I feel so left out with my “dumb” phone!

Inside the Senate Hart Building.

Waiting…waiting…waiting

Senate offices in the Hart building.

We were able to poke our head in the Library of Congress on our way back to the hotel when our day was over. Beautiful!

Kansas ornament on the Christmas Tree in the Library of Congress. I couldn’t find Nebraska’s.

The PERFECT Tree

by nebraskawheatie

The above picture is the end result of an afternoon spent looking for the PERFECT tree!

After what seemed to be an untraditional Thanksgiving weekend due to Grandma being in the hospital, it ended on a holiday note.

Grandma is doing MUCH better! After watching her struggle for every breath for a couple of days, it appears she’s progressing well enough to be moved out of ICU tomorrow. Thank you for the prayers! Once again, I am reminded God IS in control!

I LOVE Christmas! And will try to do all I can to enjoy it as long as I can. The tradition of getting the Christmas tree up and decorated over Thanksgiving weekend began long ago in our household. After growing up with an artificial tree for most of my childhood, I decided that when I got married, I would have a real one. My tree of choice is a cedar tree from a local farmer’s pasture. Through the years, it has been Jim’s job to find the tree. He would take the older girls along with him while I stayed home with the younger ones. As the years have gone by and the kids have grown, we all go. Our tradition is being carried on through the newly established Hermesch household.

We headed for the pasture yesterday afternoon. The temperature was a little on the “nippy” side but the sun was shining. If you didn’t have a hat and mittens, you certainly would have been wishing for them. The brisk air definitely helped remind us that Christmas is just around the corner. Hey…at least we didn’t have to walk through snow!

 

Curt & Jamie found their tree first.

Some years, it takes us forever to find the PERFECT tree. There’s usually too many decisions and you never know if the one beyond will be better than the previous one spotted. By the time the PERFECT tree is found, we’ve walked further away from the pickup than you would have ever guessed.  This means that all the hills you’ve just gone up and down will have to be retraced dragging a tree. It tends to be a good workout!

“Give me the saw, Taylor, this one’s mine”. Jenna

We ended up finding four trees – one for us, Curt & Jamie, Jenna and Taylor. It’s just fun carrying the Christmas spirit into your own little world (bedroom).

This is our PERFECT tree!

 The PERFECT tree is always in the eye of the beholder. And, through the years I’ve found that even the not-so-perfect tree will look beautiful once it is decorated. Our trees tend to become a part of the family (silly, I know) and are dearly loved. The Christmas music is turned on while we put on the lights and the decorations. The girls make sure their special ornaments are put on year after year – as do I. It wouldn’t be right not to put on the same ones that we’ve always put on. Once decorated and boxes are put away, we turn off all the lights and admire our newest member of the family. Magically, the tree has become more than a tree. As far as we’re concerned, it grew in that pasture specifically for the purpose of providing us the memories of searching for it and becoming a part of our Christmas traditions. It’s so hard to take it down when Christmas is over. Probably because that means one more year of Christmas tradition and memories have come and gone. For now, though, welcome to the family dear PERFECT tree!

It wasn’t supposed to be like that.

by nebraskawheatie

Thanksgiving…a day of family, food and memories. That’s how it’s supposed to be!

Yesterday morning, Jim’s mom called me early to let me know she wasn’t going to be able to attend our Thanksgiving meal. She and I had talked the night before and I knew she wasn’t 100%. I could tell she was out of breath. Yesterday morning, though, she was a lot worse. Worse enough that I woke Jim up and told him he had to take her somewhere for help. He didn’t even argue with me. He got up, got dressed and called his sister. Here’s an instance of seeing how God works in our lives. Maureen (Jim’s sister) usually has a house full on Thanksgiving. Not this year. She had Thanksgiving on Sunday (a little weird, I thought) and wouldn’t be celebrating on Thursday. So, when Jim called her, she was able to drop everything and head to Omaha with him (without leaving food preparations and a house full of people). God is so good all the time!

Our meal was supposed to be ready at 12:30. It was placed on hold until further notice. Our crowd was slim as Jamie and Curt were in Kansas with Curt’s family. Jim wasn’t there and neither was his mom. So, those of us that were here just sat around the kitchen table and in the living room watching tv. The time seemed to drag. Once in a while Jim would call with an update. Finally, at 1:00, he said he’d be home at 2:00 to eat. The cooking began, once again. At 2:00, Jim called and said he didn’t feel like he could leave the hospital and we were to go ahead and eat without him. We said our grace and began feasting. It sure didn’t taste as good as it should have. As I was staring at my plate, I got to thinking about the previous years and it hit me – this was the first time in over 30 years that I hadn’t been sitting at the table on Thanksgiving with Jim. Weird. He was where he needed to be. We all missed him. He showed up – about 3:30 – with information about Grandma. She was in ICU and was resting but had a very tiresome day. Her Thanksgiving included a lot of poking, prodding and testing. The doctor diagnosed the shortness of breath was due to fluid built up around her heart and in her lungs (as a result of congestive heart failure). She was wore out from struggling for every breath she took. How often do we take that next breath for granted? All the time. Makes me want to take a DEEP breath right now!

(The girls in their after turkey coma state)

God prepared us for yesterday even before we realized why. Grandma is still in ICU but is resting more comfortably. Today, she was tired but thankful for the company she had throughout the day. I hope she rests well tonight and knows that God is watching over her. Thanksgiving wasn’t supposed to be like that. We were supposed to celebrate the day just like we have every other year…

A day full of thanks and giving

by nebraskawheatie

Today is one of those days that we can all sit around the table and give thanks for whatever we’re thankful for. My thanking would be way too long. What I’m most thankful for, though, is the time I have with my family – ALWAYS!  We’re not together like we used to be all the time so when we are, I never want it to end. My heart goes out to those of you who are missing family members today – and every day. The pain of not having them at your Thanksgiving table hurts.

Not going to write much today as I’m trying to get our feast prepared and I’m sure you have more things to do than look at the computer. So, I’m going to post two videos. The first one is Adam Sandler and his turkey song.  It will always be a tradition of ours simply because when we would go to Jim’s sister’s house for Thanksgiving, this is the one song we were guaranteed to hear on the radio. The lyrics are a little to be desired in places but that’s Mr. Sandler for ya! The other video is of Callie and one of her many songs that she “belts” out while playing her guitar. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s official – I’m getting OLD!

by nebraskawheatie

No school today…ALL day. I say this because the kids usually have to go to school at least 1/2 day the day before Thanksgiving. For whatever reason, they had a full day off today so, by gosh, we’re going to take advantage of it!

Callie’s been studying and studying to take the written Nebraska driver’s test. She’s 14, so she’s eligible to drive to school. However, she’s required to have the learner’s permit first. We went to the DMV office this morning. Poor girl, I could feel the butterflies in her belly the whole way there, while waiting in line and while talking to the nice-lady-behind-the-counter. It was finally time to take the test! About half way through, the computer decides to unexpectedly stop. I happened to still be in there talking to the nice-lady-behind-the-counter when this happened and, of course, heard them saying, “this has never happened before”. Times like this seem to be reserved only for the Zeorian’s! The issue got fixed but it meant Callie had to take her picture again after learning SHE PASSED! The last one of the four girls is now legal to be behind the wheel of a car. If that doesn’t make your hair a little more gray, I’m not sure what will.

Because Jamie had the day off work too, she was also at the DMV office to get her name officially changed from Zeorian to Hermesch. Jamie will be 26 next month. Do the math…12 years between my oldest and my youngest.  When Jamie was a senior in high school, Callie was starting kindergarten. The name change on her driver’s license was the last piece of I.D. that needed to be taken care of. Jamie’s visit to the DMV wasn’t an easy one either. She started at the Douglas County DMV with her certified marriage certificate from the State of Florida.  She got there early this a.m. only to encounter a not-so-nice-lady-behind-the-counter. She was told that even though she can change her Social Security number with the certificate via the US Federal Government, it was not enough for the name change on her Nebraska driver’s license. “You must call the county office in which you were married and get more information before I can take care of this for you”, she was told by the not-so-nice-lady-behind-the-counter. She calls me because she’s frustrated beyond belief. I don’t blame her! A brief thought enters my head, “tell her to go to the Sarpy County DMV”. So, I did and she did and she encountered a nice-man-behind-the-counter who had no issue with the certified marriage certificate and took care of the issue for her. Hmmm……..interesting, huh?

Back home now. The sun is shining and two girls are a little happier than they were a few hours ago. Callie got to drive home – on the highway with rock trucks and a speed limit of 60 mph. I’ve been through it three times already so I’m convinced that I’ll make it through one more time. What I’m not so sure of, though, is Jamie being officially un-Zeorianed (the BEGINNING of a new trend in this family, I’m sure).

 

94 years of life

by nebraskawheatie

My Grandma turned 94 on Saturday. This means she was born in 1917.

1917…so many years ago and so many changes she’s experienced. I didn’t go visit her on her birthday because I assumed she would have a lot of other company there helping her celebrate. Taylor and I went to see her yesterday and found out no one was there on her special day. That was the beginning of several “twangs” I felt in my heart and my stomach. I should have been there! Grandma’s level of anxiety is so much less when there’s not so much activity in her room and in her life. Too many at one time overwhelms her because she can’t see very well and she can’t hear very well. She wants to be an active participant in the conversation and can’t focus when there’s more than one conversation happening.

Yesterday, while Taylor and I sat there with her, Grandma was in a very chatty mood. She smiled a lot and offered stories I had never heard before. I told her about going to Lincoln on Friday night to watch Taylor at All-State Choir. She asked what songs they sang and the only one I knew she would know was “My Country Tis of Thee”. She smiled from ear to ear, “Really? My Country Tis of Thee?” and then broke out in song. It was a moment that melted my heart! I really didn’t know Grandma liked to sing. She said she sang a lot as a kid and whistled all the time. Really? That’s Taylor! Whistling all the time. And in shrill notes that aggravate the heck out of me! Grandma told us the story of whistling really loud each time she had to go out and call the cows in. The cows got to know her whistle and when they heard it they’d know she and her dog were on their way. This brought tears to my eyes. My Grandma was once a little girl – someone who sang and whistled and enjoyed being with her 9 brothers and sisters. It was at this moment that I wished that I could have one of those days that I mentioned in a previous posting. A day that would take me back in time to allow me to see my Grandma as a little girl and view the simplicity of her life at that time.  Grandma can’t whistle anymore. When she got dentures, the dentist took away her whistle. When she told us that story, it was Taylor who started to cry. Whenever Taylor whistles, I will probably still get agitated with the shrillness, but it will forever take on a whole different feeling – I will think of my Grandma.

Grandma also told of the time that she (as a 5 or 6-year-old girl) had to go up on stage for a school play. She could STILL remember her line. It goes something like this:

When I got up on stage, my heart went twitter pat, twitter pat.  I heard someone in the audience ask, “Who’s sweet little girl is that?”

I can picture a little blond-headed 5  year old being scared to death up on stage and Grandma said, “My heart really was going twitter pat, twitter pat”. 🙂 Grandma was once a little girl, someone’s daughter, sister, and best friend. I have always known her as Grandma.

The memories I hold near and dear to my heart include her famous fried chicken with bread and gravy, Christmas and Easter, fishing, her cookie drawer, sitting in her lap, and “fixing” her hair. When I was little, we didn’t get to go see her very often. She lived 2 1/2 hours away. But, when we did, it was the BEST! I can still remember the overwhelming feelings of sadness as I would watch her house go out of sight in the rear view mirror. I felt that same feeling yesterday.  I love you, Grandma! And I hope that one day, I’ll be a grandma just like you who unknowingly creates that sort of love in a little ones heart!

Our little songbird

by nebraskawheatie

The same day we were getting ready to celebrate Jamie and Curt’s wedding (October 15), Taylor was making her way to Lincoln to audition for the 75th  NMEA All-State Choir. She stressed over that morning long before it finally rolled around. Well…all the stressing and the hard work paid off! We found out 10 days later that she made the choir. And – not only did she make it but she was rated the #2 Alto from her site. I was told the Lincoln site was one of the harder ones to audition at because of the Class A schools. I was (and still am) pretty darn proud of our little songbird.

Tonight was the payoff for all her hard work. She’s been away from home, living in a hotel room with several of her friends (and chaperones) since Wednesday night. I’ve received text messages from her throughout her stay letting me know how things were going. My favorite text from her was the one that said the sound coming from these people’s mouths had to be what heaven would one day sound like.

“There were moments in our final rehearsal where I couldn’t even sing. It is SO amazing…I was completely overcome with emotion haha AND I had goosebumps throughout the ENTIRE rehearsal.”  Taylor

I have to admit, she was right! As the sound of the very first word from the very first song was made, I was tearing up. By the time the song was over, I was wanting to really sob. The hour went way too fast! I’m sure it felt like that for Taylor, as well. What an awesome experience for her and for the other 400+ singers in that ALL State choir!

Over 3,000 kids from the state of Nebraska auditioned for this night and our little songbird was one of three from our Class C school that got to be on stage at the Lied Center in Lincoln. I’m so very proud of Taylor, Megan and Sophie! Thank you Mrs. Colbert and Mr. Hanson for all the time you’ve sacrificed and invested in these kids!

I wish I had a picture to share and/or video but we weren’t allowed to take any. You’ll just have to take my word for just how amazing it sounded!