Circle of Life | Bead Happily Ever After

Growing Pains

Posted on May 9, 2013 by crystal

It was the spring of 1961 and Easter was just around the corner. All the girls were chattering about the new outfits they’d be getting to wear to church on Easter Sunday.

And it wouldn’t be just the usual spring clothes. Oh no!
After all, the girls were in the 5th grade now, so they’d be wearing “grown-up” fashions. And for the first time – they’d wear NYLONS and “SQUASH HEELS”, which were the latest craze in footwear!

Crystal thought it all sounded pretty wonderful. Honestly, who wouldn’t feel like a full-fledged woman in the attire described by these preteen fashionistas? Besides, she was tired of wearing ankle socks and looking like a “baby”.

That evening, she broached the subject at the dinner table . . .

Crystal: “All the girls are going to wear nylons and shoes with little heels this Easter.”

Her father: “Absolutely not!”

He added that she was much too young; there was plenty of time.
Her Mom looked at her with a touch of sympathy . . . but Crystal knew there was no way her mother would disagree with her father on parenting policy.

~ The matter was settled. ~

Crystal was desolate. She could clearly picture herself looking like a little kid next to all the other girls. She did need an Easter outfit, however, and so a few days later – her mother took her dress shopping at a local department store. Their second stop was a shoe store, where the salesclerk brought out a selection of flats for Crystal to try.

Suddenly, Crystal’s mother asked the clerk:

“Can you show us some squash heels?”

Crystal could not believe her ears. Her mother smiled and motioned for her to try them on. Crystal slipped her feet into a pair of black patent leathers, accented at the toe with twisted leather trim and a little gold embellishment with a mabe pearl center. Oh, they were gorgeous and those little heels were divine. Within moments, her Mom had paid for them and they were back at the department store. Crystal was puzzled, at first, and then shocked to see her mother heading straight for the hosiery counter!

Crystal: “Oh Mum! Squash Heels AND nylons?”

Her Mom: “Well, you can’t wear socks with THOSE shoes!”

Crystal: “What about Dad? What will he say?”

Her Mom: “Well, I’m making this decision. I will talk to him.”

Crystal was touched and very grateful – she had never felt more loved. Her mother understood and was going to bat for her!

~ Easter Sunday arrived. ~

Crystal jumped into her new dress and then carefully put on her nylons (wearing a pair of cotton gloves just as her Mom always did to avoid snagging them.) The tissue paper rustled as she uncovered her pretty new shoes. She loved the clicking sound the heels made as she walked….

She arrived at church early and when she entered, the scene was awash with colorful new hats and dresses. She walked down the aisle and quickly spotted some of her friends who gestured for her to join them.

After a few seconds, Crystal noticed that her friend, Julie, was wearing ankle socks and flat shoes. A further glance revealed that Pauline was, too! In fact, Crystal was astounded to discover that hardly any of the girls were wearing nylons and squash heels!!!

~ It had all been just talk . . . ~

Or perhaps wishful thinking. Either way, it seemed as if there were lots of parents who had not given the green light for the “grown-up” wardrobe.

Crystal learned a couple of things that day —-

* That she should never again allow peer pressure to influence her desires.

* That her mother loved her very much.

A few notes . . .
When the events described above occurred:

* Crystal was close to 11 years old.
* Her mother was 32.
* Pantyhose had only recently been invented (in 1959) and were not yet widely available. Ladies wore sheer stockings or “nylons” until pantyhose became very popular during the 1960′s.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Click the envelope to leave a comment!

An Extraordinary Afternoon

Posted on April 23, 2013 by crystal

On this blog, I usually avoid discussing national and world news. I figure we’re already over-dosed with the 24/7 news cycle from TV, print, and social media.

This week, I’m making an exception – not so much to discuss the recent events, but to talk about what happened afterwards . . .

If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know that I LOVE Boston.

I was born and raised there. It’s the city where Sir Beads and I met and fell in love. The surrounding areas are home to most of my family.

So, as you can probably imagine, we were devastated by the horrific nightmare that began at the Boston Marathon and continued over the next several days. We were glued to the reports and life seemed to stand still for a time.

But, it’s what occurred in the aftermath that I want to focus on today.

A week or so had passed and by then we really needed to shop and do a few errands, so we headed to the stores.

Generally, people at the mall seem detached, or rushed, sometimes grumpy, even rude. But on this day, after such a difficult week, there was a distinct change.

It’s hard to explain how I became aware that the mood of people around me was quite different than usual. Very gradually, as I negotiated the aisles with my shopping cart, I began to notice that people were making eye contact and then smiling. I don’t ever remember receiving so many smiles from strangers in one day. But even more amazing – people were kind. Several times, I encountered another cart in my path but invariably the person pushing it would jump out of my way . . . even apologize for the inconvenience!

At one point, I came upon an older lady who was waiting for a prescription. She was sitting on a store bench but leaning into the aisle area. I realized I couldn’t easily get by, but I didn’t want to bother her so I began to turn my cart in the reverse direction. Immediately, she stirred and said, ”Oh wait, please come ahead. I’m sorry. I must be asleep.”

Such a contrast to the customary aloofness of passers-by . . .

It was as if the events of the previous week had reminded everyone that we are truly one very large family . . . that we need to appreciate each other . . . be good to each other. Surely we knew that already . . . but it’s so easy to forget.

As we headed for our car, a young man, smiling broadly, called out to Sir Beads: “Hey, I like your jacket!” (a Red Sox jacket)

It had been a day of unexpected healing. The young guy’s comment was simply the icing on the cake. We drove home feeling better than we had in quite a while.

Life may be frighteningly uncertain, Kids, but there’s great comfort in knowing that when things get really tough, we are surrounded by good-hearted people.

Extra hugs for all of you,

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Click the envelope to leave a comment!

Still The One

Posted on February 26, 2013 by crystal

When Sir Beads was a young man, he met his future bride at work.
At first, Crystal had no idea they would eventually marry.
He claims he knew it from the start.

She adored his sense of humor and soon they began to spend lunch hours together.
Sometimes, he’d leave his desk to buy a snack and return with one for her, as well.
She loved his thoughtfulness.

One morning, when Crystal arrived at work, she found a gum wrapper on her desk.
It was actually the silver foil paper that is the inner liner on a stick of gum.
She was puzzled.
A closer glance revealed that there was something written inside the silver wrapper.
She unfolded it and read the words:

“Every office has its silver lining and you are ours.”

Needless to say, this deeply touched Crystal’s heart – the words, the clever presentation, the romantic idea of it all.

Fast-forward 4 decades.
Crystal had been thinking about getting an Ipad mini.
Sir Beads said: “I’ll order it for you for Valentine’s Day!”

It arrived a few days later.
When Crystal opened the box, she let out a little gasp.
The iPad was white… but the back was silver.
There was an inscription . . .

As she read it, she was immediately transported to a day long ago -
and her heart skipped a beat.

Hugs,

Post Blizzard Communiqué

Posted on February 11, 2013 by crystal

Fingers still not totally thawed… Brain not up to a well-written account – just too wilted…
Hope you won’t mind this stream of consciousness kind of post…

* Safe and sound but have had a very wild ride since Friday afternoon.
* 20 inches of snow, ice, and hurricane force winds.
* Large tree down in our yard – took phone and TV cable with it.
* No electricity for 2 days and 2 nights.
Translation: No Heat, No Lights, No Water, No Cooking for 48 hours – in the winter!

* Snow began in earnest Friday afternoon. Lost power early that evening. Temperature inside the house went down to 50 degrees that first night – which made for a very COLD sleep. On Saturday morning, we woke up sore and shivering with no chance for a hot cup of anything.

*Our daughter was texting us constantly. She wanted us to drive to her place in the city where the power outages were not so widespread. That was out of the question as our Governor had placed a state-wide ban on all travel for the 24 hours surrounding the storm.

* When the ban was finally lifted, we attempted to drive somewhere nearby to search for a motel in which to spend our 2nd freezing night.

* Found vacancies but no power at any of the motels. Nothing open for miles. A thick crust of ice covered the face of the all big stores and restaurants, hiding their signs so we only recognized them by the shape of their buildings. No traffic lights anywhere.

* The roads were so dangerously clogged with snow, it was touch-and-go just getting through without becoming stuck. We didn’t dare go any further.

* Made it back home to an even colder house. In the waning daylight, we were now in almost total darkness (flashlights and small battery operated lanterns only).

* The weather report we’d just heard on our car radio said that temperatures were about to “plummet to the single digits” overnight. Our hearts sank. A second night with no heat?

* Inside our home, the thermostat was hovering in the high 40′s – and it was only 5 p.m. We couldn’t imagine how much further that would drop during the wee hours when it would be near zero outside.

* Figured our only chance to get through the night in an unheated house would be to spend short spurts of time sitting in our car with the heat on – staying there just long enough to thaw ourselves, then back into the house to brave the temps for another hour or two, and then repeat the process. I’ll tell ya, kids, it was feeling pretty scary about that time. All I kept thinking was: This must be what it’s like to sleep in a snowbank.

* Suddenly, a neighbor appeared. He told us they had a whole house generator and it was toasty warm there. He said his wife had just made a fresh crock of chicken soup and his daughter had made apple muffins. He INSISTED we go with him right away. When we arrived, they said we must sleep there, as well. Normally, we would never want to impose, but they were so sincere and simply wouldn’t take no for an answer. Heaven bless them!!!

* After a warm sleep and pancake breakfast, we thanked them from the very bottom of our hearts… and headed home. It was 9:00 a.m.and the outside temperature was 1 degree below zero. When we opened the door of our home – the thermostat read 38 degrees!
I don’t know how we ever could have slept there…

* We spent Sunday afternoon looking for stores that were open – just to have some warm shelter. As the day progressed, the sun was out strong and it began to feel much warmer outside than it had been in our house!

* We returned home from the stores around 6:00 p.m. Sunday evening. The solar effect had warmed up the house during the daylight hours – so the inside temperature had risen to 46 degrees. Let me tell ya though – it is amazing how cold that feels when you are inside a house! We’d heard on the car radio that the power *might* return by midnight.

*It did… actually, a few hours before that. The heat came on but it would be many, many, hours before we could take off our coats and hats and scarves – never mind get into a hot shower.

*This morning we woke up to a comfortable house and made a hot breakfast. Pure balm for what had been ailing us.

*There’s a refrigerator to deal with – have to sort the food that’s ok from that which could be questionable. We go by the old saying: “When in doubt – throw it out.” I don’t think we could handle tummy aches at this point.

* I know once my bones stop aching (from holding them so stiff while shivering), that I will have a better perspective on the positives of this experience. Right now, I’m just too exhausted to think of them….

Love you Kids!

Hug somebody you love for me, today, ok?

Playing with Dough

Posted on January 9, 2013 by crystal

Comedians sometimes confess they use the antics of their families for joke fodder. This practice isn’t always applauded by the family members, however.

As someone who has a blog, I can identify with a comedian’s plight. When you write – you always need new material! Bless my own family for tolerating my gleefully raised eyebrow whenever I spot one of them involved in something with “blog-topic” potential.

Today, the thanks and kudos go to Sir Beads for allowing me to unexpectedly accost him – paparazzi-style – as he attempted to recreate a baked treat he had watched his grandmother make when he was a kid.

Although I never met her, I’ve heard much about this wonderful cook, who was “Grandma” to Sir Beads and his brothers. She was born in old Czechoslovakia but came to the U. S. as a young girl. She eventually married, raised a large family, and was dearly loved by all of them. Sir Beads says he can still see her fingers nimbly handling the dough while she deftly braided a large loaf of bread called “hoska”. And he can still taste the delicious wheel-shaped pastries she made by the dozens called “kolache”.

From Wikipedia: “Kolache (also spelled kolace, kolach, or kolacky) from the Czech and Slovak is a type of pastry that holds a dollop of fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough. Originating as a semisweet wedding dessert from Central Europe . . .”

Luckily, I had the camera handy and the batteries charged last week when Sir Beads made “kolache” . . .

I was impressed with how he handled the dough. (It must be genetic!)