Grandpa

Joseph John Sturm, Jr.

August 1, 1933 to February 27, 2020

Gum

For my 40^thbirthday, my sister Katey sent me a box full of forty snacks from the 1980s. Things like ranch Doritos, fruit roll-ups, Jello-pudding, Kool-aid cooler, and microwave popcorn. (Although we then had to discuss if we even had a microwave in the 1980s to pop the popcorn…) One of the highlights for Emry was Zebra stripe gum.

Emry has been asking to have gum for a while. I told her when she was five, we would try it. But with several packages of it right in front of her…I relented and said she could try one stick. I told her she needed to chew it only, not swallow it, and spit it into the trash when finished. I didn’t pay a lot of attention, being more aware of Ethan trying to drink his first Kool-aid cooler. I only knew the gum was not in her mouth and she had not been into the kitchen to throw it away. When I asked if she had swallowed it, she gave me a bewildered look as if to say, “Of course. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” So, we had another discussion on notswallowing gum, which led to all kinds of questions on her side. Which led me to wonder what the point of gum is anyhow.

My conclusion was it’s just a habit. A better one, perhaps, than smoking, chewing tobacco, or even vaping; but a habit all the same. After all, while it may lead to cavities, it’s probably not going to kill you. But it serves no practical purpose, outside of giving one fresh breath. No wonder it seemed to make little sense to Emry.

I looked it up. Of course, chewing something similar to gum has been around for centuries. Because humans love having repetitive habits. The first commercial chewing gum was sold in 1848, but no one patented anything similar until 1869. Ironically, it was a dentist who is honored for the first patent to manufacture and sell chewing gum. But since the main ingredients of his included charcoal and chalk, I doubt it was giving anyone cavities.

Sugar and corn syrup in gum came around later as inventors tried to find ways to make gum hold its flavor. Other ingredients had producers advertising it as a “digestive aid” or “after dinner treat”.  It grew in popularity when people like Wrigley sold their gum with packages of baking powder, cigarettes, and baseball cards. Now gum comes in hundreds of flavors and is used for medical purposes, to color teeth, and to break habits like smoking. But in the end…it still doesn’t serve much of a purpose. And now that Emry has tried it once, she hasn’t asked to again. Apparently the actual experience of gum left her very unimpressed.

40...Sigh

Today I am forty years old. Forty. When did that happen? But, somehow…it did:

Little me (1980)

Five! (1985)

Turning ten…with friends Laura and Bridget. (1990)

Fifteen..and a big sister again with baby Caleb. (1995)

 And twenty…not sure it was much better than my teens! (2000)

Twenty-five…with all my sisters: Abby, Jenny, Grace, me, Sally and Katey. (2005)

Thirty! The best birthday and one of the best years. (2010)

And thirty-five: a mom! (2015)

Valentine's!

Like most holidays in the Sturm family, Valentines has it’s traditions: order pizza, Dad gets an ice cream cake, exchange Valentines and candy, a candy search, and one wild “treasure hunt” complete with clues, lots of running around the house, and books at the end! Of course, the dynamics of these parties have changed. Now those of us “kids” that are there are grown adults. And three grandkids have been added to the mix. Which equals a lot of fun, and, thankfully no broken baby gates this year. As my party-loving-nearly-four-year-old nephew Beto exclaimed as he sorted through his candy stash, “This is the best party ever!”

Searching for clues that lead to the treasure (books).

Reading one of the books with Aunt Sally.

#3

Well, I am more than half way through this pregnancy…22 weeks. I already feel like a whale (despite not a huge amount of weight gain, just average), I’m still sick some portion of everyday, and I don’t think June can possibly come soon enough. Which is rather sad because I feel like I’m not enjoying winter as I usually do because I’m just counting down till this little one arrives. This active little one. I don’t recall Emry or Ethan moving quite so much at such a young age, which I’m not sure bodes well for the future. It’s almost as if he or she is already trying to keep up with the older siblings! Who are still very excited about the impending arrival. That can’t come soon enough. (Did I already say that?!?!?)

Our little one – approximately 19 weeks!

Ethan: 3 Years Old!!!

I read an article this past Christmas that it is really the anticipation of Christmas that we are truly excited about. It’s why children can get so wound up prior to the holiday. And while that was certainly true in our household, I would have to say the day of Christmas was just as full of energy as all the days leading up to it. But when it came to Ethan’s birthday this past week…the anticipation of it’s arrival was much better than the birthday itself. In fact, he didn’t want to let the anticipation go for when I asked him the night before I put him to bed if his birthday was the next day, he stated, “No, Mama, not yet!” quite happily.

And yet the next morning he woke up shouting at the top of his lungs, “Mama, am I three now?!?!?!”

I’m surprised he didn’t wake up the whole neighborhood!

Being three is the most excited thing that has happened in his entire life. Every day he is telling me he is three now, and he can do this because he is three now, or he is fast because he is three now, or he is strong because he is three now…the list goes on and on. And he tells everyonehe is three now. He had probably a 5-minute discussion with the greeters at the door at church on Sunday, telling them all (who are certainly old enough to be his grandfathers) that he was three, and he can run fast, and he got this or that for his birthday, and he had a Spider-Man cake, and…well, just about everything you can possibly say about being three. They were all quite amused by his utter delight at the age of three.

He did have a good birthday. He enjoyed his gift, and his cake, and his whole day in general. But I would have to say the entire age of three has left me nothing but exhausted!

Opening presents was a group effort: Ethan, cousin Beto and Emry.

He was so excited about his Spider-Man 3-year-old cake and the candles, he blew them out before we finished singing!

One of his favorite gifts of the night.

Happy Birthday, Sally!

Sally – age 4

Dear Little Man,

This past weekend was the Super Bowl. Which is forever a reminder of you. For three years ago I lay on the couch (so not to wake up Papa) and followed the Patriots versus the Falcons as they went into overtime, praying my contractions would get closer so I could go to the hospital and have you! This is the first year of your life when the Patriots have notbeen in the Super Bowl – rather an historic moment for all of us!

Today you are three years old, which is rather hard to believe. It has been an adventurous year for you. For while you haven’t seemed to grow very much in stature, you have grown by leaps and bounds in many other ways. You talk a mile a minute from the moment you wake up. You wake up a lot like your Grandpa Sturm – as loud and as happy as can be, sometimes singing cheerfully and always loudly. (While the rest of us would like to sleep!) You hit the floor running, ready to play, annoy Emry, and go about your busy day. 

You enjoy doing “school” with Emry, for you hate playing alone. So, sometimes you color (which you love to do and are very good at), you enjoy your number flash cards, you like to color on the chalkboard wall (and erase it); but mostly you just enjoy being where Emry is. Because you don’t know what life would be like without Emry. And you adore her.

You’re no longer a mama’s boy, even though you do like being with Mama. But you love to go to your Sunday School class (and you talk their ears off the moment you step into the door!) and you also love going to Puggles on Wednesdays, jumping around and dancing to the Puggles song. It’s fun to see you enjoy being in your classes.

Your favorite thing in the world is Spider-Man: Spider-Man shirts, Spider-Man shoes, Spider-Man jacket, Spider-Man sheets, Spider-Man toys. And even though you love to dress up in your Spider-Man costume and run about pretending to be Spider-Man, if asked you always say you’re Ethan and just ‘tending to be Spider-Man. 

You are still my cuddler. You like to curl up with Mama with your blanket, chatting or giggling. You are not quite the reader Emry is, but you enjoy reading with Mama. Your favorites are The Little Blue Truck series, your Spider-Man book and any books with Elmo in it. 

But while you have your moments of cuddling, you are all boy. You like to rough and tumble. In the past couple of months, you are forever trying to do “tricks”, shouting “Mama, watch me!” You love to climb things, jump, run (although you can’t run as fast as Emry yet, much to your disappointment and tears), and throw things. You are exhausting, but I am glad you are an active little guy.

You can also be a challenge, for you know your own mind and like to make it clear. If you don’t want to do something, you simply don’t. You like to see how far you can attempt to “cross the line”. You refuse to be pushed around, which can be both a good thing and a bad. And you are always that way, which is often very tiring for me!

But as worn out as you can make me, I wouldn’t want to live without you. I love watching you grow and learn. I love it when you tell me something you learned at Sunday School or you repeat Emry’s Bible versus. And even though you do it loudly, I do enjoy hearing you sing. You are a very special little man. And I love you very much!

Love, Mama

It’s hard to believe this little guy who made me an aunt: 

...is now 7 years old!

Happy Birthday, Jay!