Newsworthy

     For those relatives that read this: I think there will be a Funeral Service for Jasin's Mother Saturday, December 13. Not sure of the time yet.

     It has been rough on the family, coordinating everything from NY, while she is in Savannah, while also working around the holidays. I honestly stood in my kitchen making Thanksgiving Dinner, while reading the "Legal-eze" of the Funeral Home Contract to Jasin and his sister. It was surreal, to plan for the sad, while getting ready for a celebration.
     Kids excited for Christmas lights on the porch, while we decide who's house his Mother gets sent to. It was pointed out that WE had a mantle, so maybe she should be sent to OUR house. Think what you will, but, I vetoed that. I just can't wrap my head around parking Bearded Man's mother on the mantle, and explaining to the kids that Grandma is hanging out in the living room, while we decide what to do next. So, I think the Savannah funeral home is sending her to Jasin's sister for now. There may be a burial in the spring. I don't know that any concrete plans have been made for that yet. Because: holidays and stuff.

     Speaking of holidays, in spite of everything, Thanksgiving was one of the nicest days ever. Dinner was perfect, and the house was full of family. It was so so nice. I brined the turkey this year, and made my own homemade stuffing for the first time ever. Even though I completely love the Stove Top dressing, I always felt like something of a failure, for mot making my own. So, a sausage apple and pecan dressing was whipped up, and it was fabulous. The Earth Mother was able to save a little face, over dinner this year. Even Joe ate!

     Ah, Joseph. This has been mentioned on Facebook, but, I want to be "That Mom" and mention it here, too.
    
      The Sunday after Halloween, right after we arrived home from church, Joe began to talk about wanting to help hungry people. Especially kids. When Joe has an idea, or a thought that has his entire attention, he does not let it go. He paced around the living room, and climbed into my lap, and went on about what he wanted to do, to help. He just knew he NEEDED to. He wasn't completely sure HOW, though. I had recently read an article, in which it was suggested that change be collected for a month, and then donated to this charity online. I told Joe I would give him a quart canning jar, and he could collect change, and we could donate it someplace local. Then I threw it out on Facebook, asking for suggestions as to local places we could take it.
     For the last month, Joe scrounged for every coin he could find. In furniture, under furniture, my purse, bedrooms, my vehicle, sidewalks, parking lots. Everywhere. Kaila and Lexi threw in babysitting change and tooth fairy money, and everyone began throwing spare change in. It took Joe the entire month, but he even talked Bearded Man out of the jar of change on his dresser.
     It was decided that he would donate his money to the local food pantry around Thanksgiving. So, the day after, I contacted Mrs. Sweet, the lady that coordinates things for the food pantry, along with a small group of friends, and explained about Joe's change jar. We made arrangements to take it to her yesterday.
     Joe was completely unaware that this was anything exceptional. As far as he was concerned, this was something he needed and wanted to do, and so he did it. This was not anything out of the ordinary, or anything worthy of attention or even a "Thank you". He just wanted to help hungry people. Especially kids. His thought process being "Maybe if someone helps them now, they will grow up to not be hungry, and their kids won't be hungry either." He plans to keep collecting change, and to donate again next year, too.
     He even took his favorite soup, the soup that I buy specifically for him, the child who hates nearly everything, and donated it to the school food drive.

     Anyhow. Last night, I received a message from the editor of the local newspaper. Mrs. Sweet from the Food Pantry had been so touched by this, that she wondered if it might be mentioned in the newspaper. So, my permission was requested to run the story. Evidently, this has never happened before. No kid has just randomly up and decided to collect money to feed the poor, and donate it, and not been affiliated with an organization such as Scouts.
     Joe still has no idea why this is news worthy. He handed over the jar. We apologized for not knowing the exact amount in it, and I apologized that it was unwrapped, and Joe chatted with Mrs. Sweet about her dog, who was a smaller version of Buster, our dog. And then he got back into my truck, and we went home as if nothing had happened.

     There are no words, for how proud of my kid I am. In this world of so much emphasis on the bad, this was something truly good. Made even more so, because it wasn't done for anything other than the completely pure thoughts behind it. There was absolutely nothing in it for him, nor did he expect it. He honestly does not understand why this is thought to be exceptional.
And, that's all I have to say about that.

     Thanksgiving also brought yet another deer. Bearded Man took down a beautiful 8 point buck. I admired it before I told him he had zero access to the kitchen till the day after Thanksgiving. He decided to take this deer to a friend to be processed, and thought maybe he would have just the top of the skull and the rack mounted for the wall. We even decided on a few locations that it would look okay.
     He came back from dropping his prized buck off, and announced that the guy processing it had taken one look at this deer and announced it would be" a CRIME if Bearded Man did not have the entire head and half the shoulders mounted!! He was told that the EYELASHES on this deer were beyond compare! And the PERFECT BEARD!!!! LOOK at the BEARD on this deer! You cannot NOT mount this  deer down to the shoulders! It would just be a waste of the most perfect, symmetrical deer EVER in the whole wide darn WORLD!!!!" All caught up in it, Jasin began scouting the house, looking for the perfect place to hang half a deer on the wall, and looking up taxidermists.
     So. It seems that, there is the possibility that, within the next year or so, the most perfect deer EVER, with long eyelashes and a beard, may be hanging out with the Dick family, giving Mama Dick the heebie jeebies while I try to eat my toast under the gaze of his beautifully eye lashed dead eyes. We will probably have to name him at some point.
    

     Till next time!