Something I Need to Remember

A Tribute to My Heritage

Recently our family genealogist discovered that my sisters and I are the descendants of Margaret Stephenson Scott.

Why is that so interesting? Mrs. Scott, it turns out, was convicted of being a witch and was hung at the Salem witch trials of 1692.

This qualifies me and my sisters for membership in the exclusive Associated Daughters of Early American Witches. In order to join you must be "at least sixteen years of age and able to prove descent from an ancestor or ancestress who was accused or tried or executed for the practice of witchcraft prior to 31 December 1699."

And guess what! For only $100 we can get a life membership!

Thrilled at the thought that I had a witch for an ancestor, I immediately wanted to test my witching skills, seeing as they have lain dormant for several generations. The best place to do that? My kids elementary school!

Naomi, me and Dan Dan the Skeleton Man.

With my supernatural powers I convinced a good friend of mine to join forces with me. She brought along Snow White. (Still not sure if either of them are qualified to be a member of the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches, but not everyone can be so lucky.)

From the wart on her nose to her fish net hose, I knew I had chosen the right person.

We each have two other children attending the elementary school, so we had four classes to visit.

Here is Angie, putting the trimmings on our poison apple wagon.Angie says the skeletons are kids who didn't do their homework.

The school children were thrilled to see us and even more thrilled to try our poisoned apples. Sorry I don't have any photos of all the action, but we were very busy witches.

Sometimes we had to wait for the appropriate time to enter a class.

In between classes my witch friend tempted little Snow White to take a little bite.

The effects were immediate:This is me and my apprentice witch whose birthday happens to be today. Happy #5, Naomi!

This is Dan Dan the Skeleton Man after the third class room:

I wish we had photos of the classrooms we visited, cause the kids were a lot of fun, and they enjoyed the apples very much. It appears I need some work on my poison apple recipe since I believe all the children are all still living.

(Actually the apples were part of the "Smart Snack" program that New Hope Elementary gets to participate in. Every day the school gets fresh fruits and vegetables to give the kids. How great is that? We were lucky to be able to hand them out.)

My friend made an excellent witch. It is just a hunch, but I wager she has brew in her blood. If she doesn't have a witch ancestor I must find a way to make her an honorary member.

Thanks, Angie....that was a lot of fun!

Once a Grandpa, Always a Grandpa

I haven't been posting much because I am working on a *TOP SECRET* project that will be revealed on my blog soon. In the meantime, I just wanted to share with you this special photo of Naomi.

Naomi is in a stage where she gets really scared at night. I told her she didn't need to worry because my dad (grandkids called him "Big Dad") is an angel and he is alwasy watching over her. I found this framed picture of my dad and put it in her room and told her she could look at it when she was scared. About two weeks ago I found Big Dad in her bed and I took this photo. Since then, she's slept with Big Dad every night. When she's really scared she'll come down stairs to our bedroom, bringing her blanket, her bear and....Big Dad. During the day she sets Big Dad up while she is playing so he can watch her play.

My dad died 8 years ago this June, long before Naomi was born. She has no memories of him. I've always been sad that my kids never knew my dad. But in a way, I guess Naomi will have memories of Big Dad.

(By the way, I wouldnt' tell Naomi stories about angels watching over her if I didn't believe they really did.)

After the Tantrum

This weekend Naomi suddenly started throwing temper tantrums. I thought I knew what a temper tantrum was before, but apparently I was very wrong. Our strong willed little firecracker turned into a raging, foaming-at-the-mouth monster for several hours during the day and at one point I asked Scott, "Do you think we should take her to the emergency room?" After one of her tantrums she quieted down and we went down to the creek to "cool off." She was very serene and meek and TIRED as she let her feet hang in the cold water. It was actually a wonderful moment for both of us because I had my little girl back.

Happy to say that it has been two days and we are tantrum free. My fingers are crossed.