12th Birthdays and Braving Slumber Parties

Hannah Mac turned 12 on August 29^th, and this birthday marked a first for me in the endeavors of motherhood; a slumber party involving 7 young girls ages 9 to 12.  Now let me precede this with the reasons why I have not attempted a slumber party up to this point: First of all, I am easily over-stimulated and our house is small, a one level ranch-style home, with Hannah’s room directly across from ours.  Imagining the amount of noise that a group of pre-teen girls can make is very frightening to me!  Second of all Mike and I like to sleep, and we are the early to bed type, I know what goes on at these slumber parties, and “slumber” isn’t high on the list of activities!  And last of all, what in the world do you do w/ a group of 4^th to 7^th grade girls to keep them entertained and all getting along?  I tell you slumber parties have always been on my list of most frightening experiences; I have always had the utmost respect & admiration for those moms who host slumber parties on a regular basis, but I am not one of them. 

     And then Hannah turned 12 and requested a slumber party; what choice did I have when this girl of mine, who rarely requests anything, specifically asked for a slumber party?  So I laid aside my fears and called my best friend Erika.  Erika is the Queen of kid parties of any kind, including those for pre-adolescent, giggly, emotional young girls; I needed her support as well as any and all ideas that she could give me!

     This ended up being a 24-hour birthday party, complete with a treasure hunt, a variety show, ice cream sundaes, and ending with a day at the lake.  I survived it, and more than that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don’t know how soon it’ll be before I’m ready for another one, but I think that I am now brave enough to try it again.

I planned on writing something sentimental and insightful about my little girl becoming another year older, and then I found a treasure as Hannah and I were looking through her 1^st Year Scrapbook.  It was an article that my mother wrote right after Hannah was born and right before my 26^th birthday for her column “At Home on the Range with Jody”.  It brought tears to my eyes and I thought that this would be appropriate to share with all of you now, 12 years later:

      “A New Grandma Reflects” by Jody White

     It seems like just yesterday that the doctor held you up for me to see and announced “It’s a girl”, or that I held you in my arms and rocked you while looking into those beautiful blue eyes and just loving you so much, thanking God that He had given you to us. 

     Jana, we remember your first tooth, and your first day of kindergarten.  Your father and I remember, along with your first tooth and kindergarten, your first pair of cowboy boots, and your first horse, very important rites of passage in the life of a ranch kid.  And we remember our reaction the night you told us you were asked on your very first date.  And all those subsequent nights after, that I stayed up waiting for you so we could talk.  I remember pigtails and toothless grins, proms, boyfriends, queen try-outs, victories and disappointments, and your high school graduation.  And your dad especially remembers that day when Mike asked for your hand in marriage.  What a sweet and old-fashioned thing to do.  And then a wedding; I especially remember when the pastor asked “And who gives this bride away?”  And your dad, with tears in his eyes, answered, “Her mother, her brothers and I do”.  A bittersweet time.  But in return we got a wonderful son-in-law and the knowledge that our daughter was going to be very well loved.  And loved not only by her husband but by his family too.

     And now as I look down at the little bundle in my arms and into bottomless blue eyes, very much like her mother’s, something indescribable wells up inside me.  Her tiny fingers wrap tightly around my own, and in that little gesture she wraps herself securely around my heart.

     Little Hannah, I hope you realize how well and how completely you are loved.  You are, shall I say very snugly wrapped in family.  From Grandmas and Grandpas, Great Grandmas and Grandpas, aunts and uncles, cousins, Godparents, and of course your Mommy and Daddy, you are loved.  Even the little community you live in, where you have been nicknamed “Holy Hannah!!” has welcomed you with open arms.  I wonder how old you will be when either your Grandpa White or your Grandpa Fraley puts you on a horse to move cattle?

     You know I also think back to when your mother told me after reading the book “Mrs. Mike” for the third time, that someday she was going to be a Mrs. Mike.  And who would ever have thought that that’s exactly what would happen!  Amazing! I am also amazed as I watch your Grandpa kiss and fuss over you, or Joel and Coby scoop you up in their arms, feed and change you.  Are these my men??  What wonderful qualities you have brought out in them.  And it has given me a glimpse into what they might be as fathers.  Thank you for the sneak preview. 

     And to think I’m a Grandma.  A Grandma!!  Wow!  What an awesome responsibility.  And although your mother and I thought you were a “Hank” right up to delivery, we couldn’t be more tickled that you’re a Hannah!”

     

End of Summer Meanderings

          

  Camping in the Big Horns
Kade enjoying his first Smore!

Relaxin' on the mountain

Hangin' out at the Buffalo pool

Fishin' buddies

Kade's 1st Fly Fishing lesson

Well, it's time to get caught up on my meanderings, I'm a good month behind on a few things that I wanted to share!  First of all I can't believe that summer is officially over; it went so fast and furious, I wonder if I was truly able to enjoy it.  But I do have to say that I am ready for Fall; which is honestly my favorite time of the year, the colors, the smells, the cool, crisp air, hunting in the Big Horns and my birthday!  But before I am able to begin sharing the Fall happenings of the Fraley Four I suppose that I should finish w/ our summer activities!  

August was of course filled with fairs, and once that was over we had the start of school to look forward to.  It's always so bittersweet to see school begin, I know that I'm going to miss having Hannah with me all day, and yet I look forward to the routine that the school year brings.  People are always asking the standard "How was your summer" and I always answer with the typical "It was good but fast".  I have to ask myself, how was our summer, really; and I have to say that it was good.  We made good family memories, Kade's first camping trip, Hannah's first time away at church camp, lots of fishing and playing at the lake, time spent with family.  We may not have done as much traveling as we have done in years past, but we managed to have plenty of adventures right around here.

So now Hannah has started the 6th grade, that means Middle School.  Now I have to confess that a couple of years ago the idea of my little girl being in the junior high struck terror in my heart.  It just seems so much bigger, more part of the world, than the elementary; but she was ready and so was I!  She was the most excited about the fact that she actually gets her own locker this year, that was a very big deal.  Hannah asked that I take her to school that morning, but that I not take her into the school, and that I NOT take pictures at school!  I couldn't believe it, the traditional picture of Hannah standing in front of the school, the one that I have taken every year since she was in Kindergarten, I was not allowed to take.  On one hand it broke my heart, and on the other hand I appreciate seeing the maturity and independence that our little girl is gaining, at just the right pace.  One of my favorite sayings is: "The two greatest gifts that we can give to our children are roots and wings."  My Hannah Mac is growing wings.  So, I had to resign myself to pictures of her at the house the 1st day of school and then in front of her bus the following day!

        

The other event that I wanted to share was my "7th Annual First Day of School Coffee".  The year that Hannah started kindergarten I realized that I was going to need a good distraction in order to survive the emotions of that day; so I hosted a coffee for other mothers who also needed the distraction and support of sending their babies off to school.  The coffee is something that my friends have come to look forward to and expect each year.  This year I was struck by some of the things that us "Courageous Mommies" have faced over the years; decisions of whether or not to send our kids on or hold them back, fears of how our children will get along w/ their teachers and other classmates, some of us moms were sending our last child on to kindergarten and some of us were watching as they entered high school.  Some of these women have been coming since the beginning, and each year we end up missing some moms who have gone back to work, but there were also some new faces this year that added to all of the fun!  There were a few tears that morning, but mostly a lot of laughter and LOTs of caffeine!  Each year I wonder if I will host the coffee or not but  I am always so thankful that I've opened up my home to these precious women.  We Moms need one another in order to be courageous.  So I suppose that it looks like I will be hosting the "Annual First Day of School Coffee" for another 17 more years until Kade graduates!