Farewell Chip

Today is a sad day. We said good-bye to our 11 year old yellow lab, Chip. Well, actually he started out as our son Jay's dog. Then he became more of my dad's dog and friend. You can read about their story in my blog that I wrote in March of last year. Here is the link.

 

Last November we talked about putting Chip down before the cold weather hit because we knew it would be difficult for him to stay outside. However, we just couldn't do it and instead made a nice little bed for him inside during the bitter weather. He actually came through the winter pretty well. But we were wrong in thinking that spring and summer would be easier for Chip. The warm weather brought about things that Chip loved...lawn mowers, four wheelers and people outside. Unfortunately, suddenly he couldn't keep up with the things that he once so easily raced beside or ahead of. Just the short walk out to the shop would leave him so winded that he had to stop and take breaks. He limped badly and wheezed loudly.

 

Besides my dad, the other person that loved Chip fiercely was Megan. She was nine years old when he arrived to live with us and fell in love with him immediately. Through her teenage years and all the bumps and traumas that come with growing up, he was her confidant. She lost two grandparents, saw three older brothers move out of the house, went through the normal "first love" break-ups, and always Chip was there for her. He never let her down and always patiently listened to all her heartbreaks. Whenever, we discussed having Chip put to sleep, her eyes would fill with tears and she would insist that he was just fine. However, even she knew this wasn't true and finally after talking about it for a day, and spending a sleepless night crying over her childhood friend, she woke up with a resolve to get it done and she would do it. Jeremy agreed to go along for moral support.

 

And that is what happened. I called and got an appointment immediately. Shawn and Jared (the boys employee and also Jeremy's brother) helped Megan lift him onto the back of the truck and she picked up Jeremy at work and together they went to the vet's office. Once it was over, Megan said she felt so much better. She knew it was the right thing to do and it was the seeing him alive and knowing what was coming that broke her heart. Here is the picture of her and Chip that she posted on her Facebook wall.

He was a good dog and will be missed. I know it seems silly but I wonder if possibly an old man met Chip and as he gave him a good nose rub, said, "Ah Chippy Boy, how have you been? It's so good to see you Chippy Boy."

#hashtags

So, another phenomenon of this generation is hashtags. A hashtag is  "a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic." No spaces are used between letters or words no matter how long the sentence is. Two of the popular social media sites where people use hashtags are Twitter and Instagram. Someone may post a picture on Instagram from a European trip they are on and then they may hashtag it with #eurotrip. They will use that same hashtag for all the pictures they post on Instagram from that trip and by clicking on #eurotrip, anyone can see all the pictures that were posted. The catch is that other people may also use that same hashtag for their European trip and then all their pictures would show up as well. The trick is to try to get a unique hashtag that no one else has used if you really want only your pictures to show under it. So, instead of #eurotrip, I may hashtag it as #maryandsteveseurotrip. The chances that anyone else would be using that hashtag are slim.

However, there are some popular hashtags that people use and post on social media all the time.  One of the crazes right now is to use a hashtag for a theme that goes with each day of the week. Here are the current rages:

Monday - #MCM "Man Crush Monday" If you have a man in your life that you have a crush on you post his picture with the hashtag #MCM

Tuesday - #TT "Transformation Tuesday" People will post pictures of themselves before and after they lost weight, got a new hair style, had kids, ect.  Some people may even post pictures of their cars, houses, or lawns after a huge transformation.

Wednesday - #WCW "Woman Crush Wednesday" This is the same as Man Crush Monday although obviously this time it is for a woman that you have a crush on.

Thursday - #TBT "Throwback Thursday" Supposedly this is the hashtag that started it all.  People use this day to bring out old high school pictures or baby photos of themselves to  get that “aweeeeee you were so cute!!” comment.

Friday - #FBF "Flashback Friday" I'm not sure how this one is that much different than #TBT. People use it to post old pictures and reminisce on the good ole' times of the past.

Saturday - In my google research I couldn't find that there is a Saturday hashtag. I guess no one could come up with a good one.

Sunday - #SS "Selfie Sunday" On this day you take a selfie (if you don't know what that is, check out this post) and display it on social media for everyone to see.

Well, I don't have a huge desire to use these week day hashtags but I suppose if I had to pick one I would use the #FBF along with this picture.

I could add some other hashtags to it such as #theyear2000 #motheranddaughtermatchingdresses #everyonelookssoyoung

Things tend to be popular for only a short period of time. I would imagine that in 10 years, these hashtags will be a thing of the past. For now, I kind of enjoy them, probably because I like words and so I find it challenging and fun to come up with creative hashtags.

#justanoverfiftyladytryingtostayupwithmoderntrends

Starting a New Family Reunion

As you grow older, you realize that those family reunions that used to be so much fun to attend when you were little, don't mean anything to your offspring. Your children really don't have a huge desire to get together with their parent's cousins or aunts and uncles. If they are going to make the effort to pack their own little children up and take them to a family reunion, they would prefer it to be with cousins and aunts and uncles that they knew in their childhood and that they would enjoy catching up and re-connecting with.

So when is it time to stop a family reunion and either start another one or discontinue getting together altogether? I certainly don't have the answer, but obviously when one generation dies off, it is often not feasible to continue, simply because they are usually the glue that holds it together. For instance, now that both my parents are no longer living, it doesn't seem as "necessary" to have all their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren together for a reunion as it did when they were alive. The flip side is, that if we siblings don't attempt to stay connected or have a family reunion, we never see our brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces and their children. My dad has been gone for two years and we no longer have a Christmas get-together, but we are still planning to have a reunion in the summer. I don't know how well attended it will be or how long we will continue to organize one. It makes me very glad for Facebook which allows me to stay connected with nieces and nephews that I otherwise would rarely if ever communicate with.

On the Lehman side, both of Steve's parents are still living and so we still get together at Christmas and a few other times during the year. I know that when they are no longer alive, the times spent together will decrease dramatically. Steve and his siblings have wonderful memories of the Lehman reunion that was held (and still continues to be held) the third Sunday of August each year. There was always games and prizes for children and adults and they enjoyed playing and talking with their cousins. In recent years, attendance has really dropped off, as many of the next generation don't make this a priority to come to. I really can't blame them, as they have no idea who Uncle Harold or Aunt Betty are, or any of the other extended family members that attend.

On Sunday, we got together to celebrate my mother-in-law's 79th birthday. Steve's sisters, Doris and Nancy, suggested that we make the second Sunday of June a yearly Lehman reunion. They realized that most of our children no longer attend the other one in August and thought it would be fun to start a new one with Dad and Mom being the first generation. The cousins have plenty of memories from family times together in the past and probably until their children grow up, will make this one a priority to attend. We all agreed that it was a good idea and so begins a new family reunion.

Here are some photos from our 1st Lehman Family Reunion. There were also kid games, adult games and a cake walk, but I didn't capture any of those events on camera. Some of the adult games were pretty intense and competitive so it's probably best that none of that got recorded!

Steve's favorite bright, aqua-striped shirt has been a family joke. Imagine our surprise when Joel showed up in an identical one. Mel appears fascinated by them as well.

David asks Grandpa for advice on what is in the container that Kaylene is holding.

 

 Dan mimics me holding my camera (with my bifocals) while Megan and Jeremy look on amused.



 Julia turns 60!

 Dan & Krista both turn 50 this year!

 Chatting around the tables in Mel & Nancy's basement.

 Mom's birthday cake.

 Mom with 12 of her 22 great-grandchildren

 Awstin missed the group picture so he gets an individual picture with Great-Grandma

Doris purchased helium balloons for Mom's birthday. In the first video, the great-grandkids sing Happy Birthday to her and in the second one they help her open the balloons. Each child got to take one balloon home. I love these videos! Who doesn't love balloons and to hear children sing?!?!