Be the Bigger Person

Sometimes, it's just good to start Monday with some pictures and happy thoughts, especially after forcing myself to watch the presidential debate last night. Almost as disturbing to me are the comments on Facebook this morning from my friends and acquaintances - no matter their affiliation.

There is a great divide in this country. The mom in me wants to give the standard speech my kids heard a few thousand times during their formative years: "Be the bigger person." Instead of vilifying those who disagree with you, maybe there's a way to find common ground. I'm certainly hoping we can find it after all the votes are tallied. I'm feeling rather lonely in the middle.

Sometimes, you have to move over and share the road. (And, FYI, I'm not looking to get into a political debate with anyone. This is my little space on the internet, and I'm not interested in spewing hate. There seems to be plenty of that to go around.)

Anyway ... We took the weekend off, but we are back to planting wheat again today. We got only 0.20" of rain. As I listened to the rain on the roof early this morning, I hoped it was more. But I'll coin another one of my favorite phrases and say, "It is what it is."

We got together with family to celebrate a 4th birthday and a new baby in Manhattan before the K-State football game on Saturday. I didn't even get my camera out (REALLY?!) but my sister, Darci, who was there from Chicago, shared this photo of the youngest and the oldest family member on her Facebook page - my dad (Great Grandpa) and Clara, my mom and dad's ninth great-grandchild (5 boys and 4 girls) and my sister, Lisa's, seventh grandchild (2 girls and 5 boys)! Yes, the purple indoctrination has already begun for this newest member of the family, who was sporting K-State garb and bow.)

It was Harley Day at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. I didn't get a single photo of the motorcycles in the stadium because I was doing something much more important. I was holding Kinley so she could see the parade - not just hear the roar! And I was trying to answer questions during the revving and noise.

This photo was just after Jill and family had arrived. Brooke definitely had not warmed up to the loud environment and all the people then. (And she is definitely a mama's girl. She wants to make sure that mama is not leaving her behind.)

She was much happier later. After doing a little research, I think it was Brooke's first K-State football game. At age 2, it was long overdue for a purple-blooded family! Kinley has been several times. She knew enough about the proceedings to negotiate the purchase of  a "special drink" and popcorn before coming through the gate. (For the record, she did not drink the whole thing.)

Grandpa and Kinley had many conversations about the finer points of football strategy during the first half. After watching the band's halftime performance, Mommy and Daddy opted to take the littlest Wildcats home. (Dancing to the music can tire a girl out!)

Grandpa, Brent and I stayed to watch the K-State victory! We traveled to Topeka for a bed and breakfast ... and a little more time with the girls.

Kinley sang "Deep and Wide" with her Sunday School friends during children's time at Susanna Wesley UMC. (I was blocked in and couldn't get a photo then, but it was a wonderful surprise to watch Kinley sing the same song I'd taught to the Joyful Noise choir at Stafford UMC and had sung myself at Byers UMC many, many moons ago. 

 

I may not have immortalized the singing performance with my camera, but I loved this photo of Brooke's almost-bigger-than-her backpack and my three brown-booted girls as we walked to the car after church.

I relived my childhood by reading the 15 books I'd purchased at the church's book sale Oktoberfest weekend. I read some of them more than once, but it was like being with old friends to read "Fish Out of Water" and "Put Me in the Zoo" and "A Big Ball of String" to the girls. (Kinley listened to every word. Brooke breezed in and out of the book marathon in typical 2-year-old fashion.)

It wasn't all sitting still. Kinley took a bike ride and Brooke and I followed behind doing important things like talking to and petting the neighborhood cat. That was all well and good until the cat disagreed with how close Brooke was getting.

The girls then tried out their photography skills. Brooke did a still-life with the pumpkins that Grandpa Alan had brought from their Iowa garden. 

She also took a photo of the rest of her family.

I gave her a little help with this portrait of her sister, during which Kinley seemed to want to make the pumpkins into headgear.

Kinley had to have her turn as photographer, too.

This was all to work up to my true mission - getting a new photo of Grandpa and me with the granddaughters. It's hard enough getting a good photo of Randy and me. Throw in a wiggly 4 year old and 2 year old, and it's just not that easy. But this one has potential as a Christmas card photo. Yes, it might be better suited to a Halloween or Thanksgiving card with the pumpkins. But you do what you can to get the shot.

As I said before:  "It is what it is."

Speaking of family photos, my brother, Kent, shared a couple of my parents on his Facebook page on Friday.

Kent wrote:

Bob and Janis Moore celebrate the completion of their 60th crop year with today's (Friday, October 7) wrap up of corn harvest and topping off the bins. Many thanks for the bushels of experience, knowledge and love that you've given to our family.

My parents came back to the farm in 1956 after my Dad graduated from K-State, so 2016 marks their 60th harvest year since then. (They were married in 1953, so they've celebrated 63 wedding anniversaries!)

Today, instead of thinking about the presidential debate and my less-than-stellar options in the voting booth, I'll think about family and legacies instead. It'll make me much happier.