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Smurfs and Waffle House memories
Every Dad wants to brag on their children but what I want to do is tell you about the great memories of raising my daughter and the rewards of spending time with your children.
Wynter was born in Hoffman Estates, Illinois (pronounced Illinoi) at a very early age on November 26th, 1979. It snowed that day and that gave us her name. I was working for a bank and developing computer systems to make processing checks faster and less labor intensive. Anyway, shortly after she was born about December 17th, 1979 we flew to Oklahoma for Christmas vacation to share our first child with the rest of the family. Dad met us at the airport and I was shocked as he looked like he was not doing very well. As it turned out he had colon cancer and had surgery in 1980. But that shock made me evaluate living so far from Oklahoma and our roots. It also reminded me how important it was for me to grow up with my grandparents, Olaf and Mary Olson, in Grainola. I wanted the same for my children (only one at this point). So February 28th 1980 we moved back to Oklahoma where the WIND swept NOT gently down the plains.
In defense of Oklahoma here is a side story. Shouna and I lived in Chicago area for five years where I worked for EDS in downtown Chicago and Shouna went to the Conservatory of Music on Michigan Avenue across the street from the Chicago Art Museum where Kenny Kelsey worked. What a small world? Well I have to tell you the wind in Chicago is brutal during the winter whipping around those buildings while dragging the moisture off Lake Michigan and temperatures near zero most of the winter, not just two weeks a year. We walked well over a quarter mile to a half mile in that weather from the train each day. The first year there we got a small snow October 3rd and I think that same snow was there in May the next year. I want you to know we loved Chicago and both days of summer are beautiful (that was a joke). Spring and fall are fabulous but winter is brutal. One last piece of trivia, Shouna got within a couple of feet of Prince Charles when he visited the art museum. Oh ya, and one more piece of trivia. Sally (Shumate) and Darrel Stinchcomb came and visited one year and on July 4th we were out on the lake in a boat and we like to froze to death because it was cold and we had no coats.
Back to Wynter (my daughter not the weather), she changed my life. I slowed down my driving because of her the day she was born. I used to sit and hold her everyday after work and rock and sing to her (I worked way too many hours). At least I sang to her until she was old enough to say, "stop singing". Come to think of it, Maggie Olsen did the same thing to me but she kicked me out of choir. I am sure I did not deserve it and if I did Jon Tanny should have been kicked out too because he was always part of the same problem I created if that were possible. Anyway Wynter and I watched the Smurfs every Saturday together and we went to the Waffle House every Saturday to eat those buttermilk waffles. Wynter could talk for hours even when she was a baby. She would make up jokes and tell stories like you have never heard. My two boys never got those two privileges and I don't really know why. But those memories of spending time with her have been great for me and great for her.
A small side note: Her most famous joke was, "what is green and makes holes?" There is only one person who ever got the answer right and it was John Bernard who now lives in Wichita Falls. Did I ever tell you about how John kicked out our bedroom door and shattered the glass?
I would like to take credit for how she turned out but the truth is her mother had a much greater influence. Wynter went to OBU in Shawnee and then became a missionary in Chicago and San Francisco helping the homeless. After about five years she moved back to Oklahoma via Texas (another story) and now she is the director of Wings (www.wingsok.org) a non-profit that is focused on providing jobs and improving the lives of adults with special needs. She also married the guy living in our cottage, William, a very nice guy from Columbia.
Well you must wonder what this has to do with the Osage. Values!
What did Wynter learn from the Osage?
gary@thepioneerman.com
Every Dad wants to brag on their children but what I want to do is tell you about the great memories of raising my daughter and the rewards of spending time with your children.
Wynter was born in Hoffman Estates, Illinois (pronounced Illinoi) at a very early age on November 26th, 1979. It snowed that day and that gave us her name. I was working for a bank and developing computer systems to make processing checks faster and less labor intensive. Anyway, shortly after she was born about December 17th, 1979 we flew to Oklahoma for Christmas vacation to share our first child with the rest of the family. Dad met us at the airport and I was shocked as he looked like he was not doing very well. As it turned out he had colon cancer and had surgery in 1980. But that shock made me evaluate living so far from Oklahoma and our roots. It also reminded me how important it was for me to grow up with my grandparents, Olaf and Mary Olson, in Grainola. I wanted the same for my children (only one at this point). So February 28th 1980 we moved back to Oklahoma where the WIND swept NOT gently down the plains.
In defense of Oklahoma here is a side story. Shouna and I lived in Chicago area for five years where I worked for EDS in downtown Chicago and Shouna went to the Conservatory of Music on Michigan Avenue across the street from the Chicago Art Museum where Kenny Kelsey worked. What a small world? Well I have to tell you the wind in Chicago is brutal during the winter whipping around those buildings while dragging the moisture off Lake Michigan and temperatures near zero most of the winter, not just two weeks a year. We walked well over a quarter mile to a half mile in that weather from the train each day. The first year there we got a small snow October 3rd and I think that same snow was there in May the next year. I want you to know we loved Chicago and both days of summer are beautiful (that was a joke). Spring and fall are fabulous but winter is brutal. One last piece of trivia, Shouna got within a couple of feet of Prince Charles when he visited the art museum. Oh ya, and one more piece of trivia. Sally (Shumate) and Darrel Stinchcomb came and visited one year and on July 4th we were out on the lake in a boat and we like to froze to death because it was cold and we had no coats.
Back to Wynter (my daughter not the weather), she changed my life. I slowed down my driving because of her the day she was born. I used to sit and hold her everyday after work and rock and sing to her (I worked way too many hours). At least I sang to her until she was old enough to say, "stop singing". Come to think of it, Maggie Olsen did the same thing to me but she kicked me out of choir. I am sure I did not deserve it and if I did Jon Tanny should have been kicked out too because he was always part of the same problem I created if that were possible. Anyway Wynter and I watched the Smurfs every Saturday together and we went to the Waffle House every Saturday to eat those buttermilk waffles. Wynter could talk for hours even when she was a baby. She would make up jokes and tell stories like you have never heard. My two boys never got those two privileges and I don't really know why. But those memories of spending time with her have been great for me and great for her.
A small side note: Her most famous joke was, "what is green and makes holes?" There is only one person who ever got the answer right and it was John Bernard who now lives in Wichita Falls. Did I ever tell you about how John kicked out our bedroom door and shattered the glass?
I would like to take credit for how she turned out but the truth is her mother had a much greater influence. Wynter went to OBU in Shawnee and then became a missionary in Chicago and San Francisco helping the homeless. After about five years she moved back to Oklahoma via Texas (another story) and now she is the director of Wings (www.wingsok.org) a non-profit that is focused on providing jobs and improving the lives of adults with special needs. She also married the guy living in our cottage, William, a very nice guy from Columbia.
Well you must wonder what this has to do with the Osage. Values!
What did Wynter learn from the Osage?
- The value of people
- Time is more important than material things - spend time with your kids
- Love is learned by what you do not by what you say but say, "I love you" anyway
gary@thepioneerman.com
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