Memories of…Daniel!

I guess most people would remember when their first brother was born, especially one that was longed for since who knows when. But even though I was 6 ½ (and remember the births of the two sisters before with a few vivid scenes), my brother’s birth 28 years ago remains a bit foggy.

Maybe because one day – July 23, 1986 – he was just there. If I remember the story right, Mom had been to the doctor earlier in the day. She went back later and was induced. Then Joseph Daniel Sturm came along. And while I’m sure there was much fanfare when my dad discovered he finally had a son, I don’t even remember him coming home and telling Katey and me. You’d almost have to say I wasn’t impressed that I now had a brother.

And, honestly, Daniel and I never played together as Katey and he did. By the time he was of age to play, I had grown into books which left a gap in Katey’s fighting pirates from Swiss Family Robinson to be filled by Daniel. He was probably better at it, anyhow. I was more the playing school type.

Daniel was a funny kid. He went through a stage where he had to wink in every picture we ever had, giving him a kind of scrunched up look. I never met a kid who could get a whole crowd of adults to play tag just by running up to one of them, tapping them on the leg, shouting, “Tag! You’re it!” and dashing away. And when we lived in Connecticut, no one would ever get into his room – at least, not without a knife. He had yarn rigged up all over the place. Not to mention his dream of being Macgyver when he grew up.

In those ways he was different from me who had shut herself off from most of the world with a pile of books. But in other ways, we were two peas in a pod. Which is why we fought a lot. Mom said our fights went on forever because both of us had to have the last word. I’d like to say I’ve grown out of that problem, but I haven’t. Thankfully, Daniel’s too far away to fight with!

Right now, especially so. Daniel will celebrate his 28^th birthday in Jordan, serving our nation in the United States Marine Corp. And I am very proud of him and pray that the Lord will bless his day.

Memories

Last week my mom texted me that Uncle George had called her to say that Hiccups had died. It’s funny what memories one cat can bring back…

I suppose we decided once upon a time that if we had to move so often, then we needed to make it non-monotonous. I mean, there’s only so many times you can pack everything you own in brown boxes, put it on a huge truck, pack your own suitcase, load up in a car and everything arrives in a new state at a new home to be unpacked. And if having eight kids wouldn’t make it a bit more exciting, my parents thought we could have pets, too. Like fish, and turtles, and guinea pigs, and rabbits, and cats, and dogs. They drew a line at trying to put a horse in our van (although many siblings asked).

Sometimes you have to wonder if your parents love you very, very much or they’re just insane. When we move from Massachusetts to Texas in 1996, there’s probably good argument that the latter was true. After all, not many parents would load eight kids ages one to sixteen up in two cars with a Beagle, two rabbits, two cats and three kittens (fondly named Hiccups, A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Freckles). And my siblings can correct me if there weren’t more pets…it’s easy to get this move mixed up with the equally adventurous move back to New England three years later.

To add to the insanity, we decided to include within this a week-long conference in Knoxville, Tennessee and a brief stop to see family in Nashville before we actually made our way to Texas. (It was during this road trip that I had one of my training sessions on how to be a good wife. I was the navigator for Dad in the red, Nissan Stanza. This was in the days before GPS, Google and a smartphone. I used an atlas, TripTick from AAA and AAA’s travel books of all the states we went through. And so looking for a hotel in Memphis during greyhound racing season at ten at night proved to be a learning curve. Let’s just say I almost decided then and there that being a wife was not in my future.)

Among the many adventures of the Sturm family during this trip was a visit to a vet in Virginia (I think) for our Beagle’s horrendous cough. I nearly lost one cat who slipped the leash. There was a Basset Hound convention at one hotel with Basset Hounds dressed in every costume imaginable. Some of us got sick with a bug we decided to share. And never open a water bottle that uses a straw with coke in it. The stain never came out of the ceiling of the Stanza.

Yes, it all sounds like a good plot for a reality TV show…

Anyhow, we managed to survive the trip to Knoxville and somehow got through the exhausting conference (but not without the hours of choir practice giving me nightmares in my sleep every night). Then off we went to Nashville. It is very fuzzy to me now which uncle’s or aunt’s we stopped at for lunch, but everyone was there. And my cousin Rachel fell in love with the kittens who were just ready to leave their mother. She begged and pleaded with Uncle George for one…and in the end, Hiccups became a member of their family.

We went on to Texas, crossing the border in Texarkana with tears at the 100 degree drought in May. Three years later, we would give that trip a very promising sequel!

Pittsburgh in Pictures

Just thought I’d share a few pictures of my new city:

The fountain at “The Point”. This is where the three rivers (the Ohio, the Allegheny and the Monongahela) meet. It is also where Fort Pitt was built, the colonial defensive structure of the 1700s.

 

Heinz Field – where the Steelers play – from the Point.

The Incline – a fun way to get up to Mt. Washington (which overlooks the city). During the Industrial Age, they were used by the steel workers and miners to get things up and down the mountain. Now it’s a local and tourist thing, which I haven’t done yet.

Heinz Field at night from Mt. Washington. Just beyond that is PNC Park where the Pirates play.

The city at night from Mt. Washington. The camera doesn’t do it justice.

Fireworks!

Pittsburgh in Words

Well, let's see. How do you describe Pittsburgh? I think most of my family and friends who journeyed here for my wedding would use words like: frustrating, maze-like, confusing, easy to get lost. And that's about right.

I have had one person (from Michigan) tell me that in Pittsburgh there is no straight line from Point A to Point B. Ed and I have been watching documentaries on Pittsburgh from the library (interesting, but I think he finds it more so since Pittsburgh is his home and not mine). On one of them, the narrator remarked that he tells newcomers it takes five years to find your way around. My response, "You mean I have to live here for five whole years?"

I think part of the confusion is that Pittsburgh has, like, a million suburbs. They are called townships or burroughs. What the difference between the two I have failed to discover. Even Google doesn't explain it well. They all, technically, have Pittsburgh zip codes. However, my license says "Bellevue" even though I live in "Avalon". To make things worse, the legal address is "Pittsburgh". However, there is an Orchard Ave both in Bellevue and in Avalon. Things can take a bit to get here...and it confuses the UPS guy to no end.

All the suburbs also confuse me. For one, I don't know where half of them are. And when a Pittsburgher (yes, they call themselves that) says "Southside", I think I'm suppose to know what townships/burroughs are down there and so know what they're talking about. But I haven't a clue. I live in "Northside". Kinda. It's really more northeast, but they're not that particular about directions.

And if I'm not confused enough, then my GPS is really turned around. It can't always keep up where I'm headed. Nor does it give very good directions. Or directions fast enough. In fact, I've just about given up using it.

People in Pittsburgh have funny accents. I ran into a couple of guys at the laundry mat I couldn't understand to save my life. To give you an example, let's say you want to watch "Downton Abbey" - they say "Donton Abbey". It's worse than Minnesota!

But they do have a good firework show on the 4th! We watched it from Mt. Washington, the overlook of the city from the Southside. They shoot the fireworks from a barge out on one of the rivers near the Point (where the three rivers meet). And it is breathtaking. But, as the little girl standing next to me informed her friends: "They only come out once a year."

A Job!

Seems like married life keeps your pretty busy. Actually, I don’t feel any busier than I ever did. I’m just not near an internet connection often, so my blogging has fallen between the cracks. Hopefully I can remedy that with frequent trips to the library (which is only a half mile away!).

But we are settling in. Got a dining room table and chairs on Craigslist. (Yea for not sitting on the floor anymore! Yea for a place to beat Ed in Qwirkle!) Got a washer. Working on the dryer. We have one…it’s just not in the basement yet. Long story…

Changing my name has been more of a hassle than I thought it would be. And it’s still not changed 100% the way I want it 100% all around. Why? Well, to make a long story short: the Northern politicians continue to enforce a reign of aggression upon the South and their traditions. We will leave it at that.

But I do have a job! If I had had my way, I would have had a job already lined up before I even got here. But, as usual, God’s ways are much better than mine. I think I would have been a little bit more overwhelmed than I already was if I had started a job immediately following the wedding. So, I started sending out letters to anyone and everyone instead. And got NO responses. I was about ready to apply at Barnes and Noble or the local grocery store when I got a call one morning. Just that week I had started praying for one thing: one interview. Just one. And I got it. Followed by a job offer. Followed by a part-time (moving to fulltime) job I started last week.

I can’t say it’s what I ever imagined myself doing, but then most of my jobs haven’t been things I’ve imagined anyhow. And I’m always up to learning something new. So, now I’m going to learn about landscape architecture. And I already know that while I will learn much, I will never be able to apply anything. I mean, I’m just happy the grass (I’m sorry, clover!) in my yard grows. Waterfalls, flowers, pathways…I wouldn’t know where to begin. But, thankfully, creative people need black-and-white dull people. And I certainly fit that bill!

It’s a very quiet office – quieter than any office I have ever worked in. And it’s a small company, casual and friendly. Best of all, it’s only three miles from my house. And in Pittsburgh, that’s saying a lot. And it’s a job where I can use my skills and hone ones that have been left on the back burner for a while (namely, accounts payable). Plus starting out part time is great as I also maneuver keeping a home and being a wife.

God has answered more prayers than I dared to ask Him for, even though He knew I wanted a small company, casual atmosphere and near home. As usual, I just didn’t have enough faith to ask for what I thought I wouldn’t get. Will I ever learn?