Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain . . .
And was it ever windy - a different kind of wind than the kind we get in Minnesota. Not the cold and biting sort that makes one hunch over and tighten up (like that makes you fell any warmer?!) but a warm wind, alive and full of energy. The blooming redbud trees (OK state tree), pear trees, tulips and pansies were a welcome sight for eyes that saw six inches of snow just a few days before!
First stop:the Courtyard Marriott in the Bricktown district of OKC for a six night stay. Comfy, spacious and relatively new - a priority for a germ-a-phobe mom with a scootin' baby.
Second stop: My grandmother's old house where my mother and her four siblings grew up. After being rented out to all sorts from Catholic nuns to crack addicts since my Grandmother's passing, the current owner is doing a marvelous job restoring this nearly 100 year old home. I had intended just to drive by and take a picture, but the owner was in the yard and I couldn't help getting out and introducing myself. He was happy to show us around after hearing that my grandmother used to live there -
I just have to share a very funny story about this gravestone that the owner had recently dug up in the garden bed -
I recognized the name of my great grandfather but had no explanation for the current owner as to how it came to be buried under a bush. He had researched the name and found that the body of of E.C. Rohkar was buried elsewhere, so at least he knew that his shovel would not be hitting a corpse as well! I took this photo I headed to our family reunion to surprise my mother and Aunt Joan.
Third Stop: Family Reunion. My Aunt Joan's jaw dropped to the floor for a full minute after seeing the photo of this tombstone. It only took her about five minutes to solve the mystery (you should see how quick she solves Wheel of Fortune puzzles!). She remembered a stone being buried by the east steps, but the top was smooth as she recalled. She never know what it was. Must be, she reckoned, that after her grandmother died, a new tombstone was made with both her grandparents' names and the old one with only her grandfather's name was taken home and buried upside down. Now to retrieve the family heirloom!
Visiting with relatives on a gorgeous spring day sure beats those oppressively hot summer reunions I remember from childhood. The big reason for our visiting in April - to coincide with my cousin Sarah's visit to OK.
- She is my only cousin my age (2nd cousin once removed or something like that).
- I hadn't seen her since 1988 - 20 years - the year we graduated from high school and also the year that her mother and my father died.
- She now lives in Kent, just outside of London, is married and has two lovely children whom we met for the first time.
- We've been in touch via email for maybe eight years or so, we're both still Catholic and her children attend St. Margaret Clitherow Catholic School.
The lads busied themselves building a boy's club.
Not to be outdone, the lassies constructed a girls' hideout.
Of course we had the pleasure of seeing an abundance of relatives including my mother and sister. My kids always take delight in noticing the ways in which I look like their beloved Aunt Terri.
Fourth stop: The very same evening we met up with a friend whom I've known since the 5th grade, roomed with two years in college and have not seen for, oh, fifteen years?! We took our eldest daughters to the OKC Philharmonic concert after dinner. I don't know why I don't have a photo of my olden golden friend, but here are our girls outside the Civic Center:
To top off the day, we paid a visit backstage to see a former clarinet student of mine who now plays principal in the orchestra. When I was in college I taught lessons once a week to budding clarinetists in his hometown band program. Chad was one bud who flowered in a big way, going on to earn degrees from Northwestern and Yale. Read all about him here.
Time for a break before the next installment. As soon as I got home I got a bee in my bonnet about cleaning the mudroom, washing and storing winter gear and of course all the unpacking and organizing. Today I get to work with the hum of a chainsaw transforming the fallen pine into firewood!
