Monthly Archives: August 2010
Where There’s Smoke…
Image via Wikipedia
I woke up to the smell of smoke this morning. Well, that’s a bit of an understatement. My bedroom was engulfed in smoke, and the smell was sickening and overpowering.
“What’s on fire?!” I yelled to Eva.
“I was making pretzels!” she said.
Eva has permission to prepare her own milk each morning; however, she does not have permission to use the microwave to “cook” anything.
Dear Lord.
I made my way down a hallway filled with choking black smoke and entered the kitchen, scared to death of what I was going to find. The kitchen abounded in smoke. The family room, the living room, the staircase, everything was engulfed. I choked and tried not to throw up.
“Go back to your rooms!” I yelled to my children as I hustled them in a panic back to their bedrooms where the smoke hadn’t yet reached. Why didn’t I put them outside? I don’t know. I was in a panic.
I ordered them to stay there while I assessed the situation. I remembered from a true crime show that fire cannot spread without oxygen, so I kept the microwave shut as I turned on every fan around and opened every window and wondered if and when I should call the fire department.
The fire in the microwave miraculously went out, but the smell and the smoke it left behind was horrendous. I tried not to throw up as I ran back to Eva’s room and found my son and daughter snuggled together in her little bed, tears streaming down their faces, her comforter pulled up over their mouths and noses.
We held hands and prayed, and thanked Jesus that he protected us as he promised to do, and that he watched over our household during what could have been an all-out disaster.
I do believe that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. By the time G finally comes home, my strength will be immeasurable.
Thank you, Jesus.
“Momma, Remember When…?”
Right before George left months ago to catch a seemingly endless amount of Alaska halibut and blackcod quota, our family took a little three-day trip. On that trip, I went to a small bookstore and bought a great hardbound journal entitled “My Quotable Kid: A Parent’s Journal of Unforgettable Quotes.” 
I’ve entered a few quotes from each child, including these:
“Vincent, I’m in charge, and you need to follow my directions.” –Eva (4)
“Momma, I hungry and firsty.” –Vincent (3)
The most recent quote was spoken by my 4-year-old Eva from her car seat on our way home from running errands.
“Momma, remember when I was really young and Daddy was here? Remember I used to sit in his lap and read books? And we’d watch ‘How It’s Made’ on television and Vincent would fall asleep in his lap?”
Stunned for a moment, I quickly regained composure and smiled.
“You are still really young,” I said. “And Daddy will be home again. You will sit in his lap to read books and watch ‘How It’s Made‘. And I know he can’t wait, either. He told me so.”
I hope that was the right response. Would you have replied differently?
Vis Anchor. Picture by David Hills. www.fishingpix.net
Allison is the Best: Thank You!
Over a year ago, I was in a total freak-out. I had a three-year old daughter, a two-year old son, two big dogs, and a husband who was nowhere to be found. Yes, G was either fishing or getting ready to fish. Still, he was nowhere to be found.
Our daughter was seriously ill. A potentially fatal infection went undiagnosed for weeks until a secondary illness, pneumonia, kicked in. Little Eva underwent procedure after procedure and antibiotic after antibiotic until doctors finally discovered what was wrong and began proper treatment.
I spent that fall and winter worried, tired, anxious, upset, nervous, and sad.
I held Eva in my arms all day and all night as Vincent napped in his crib or played nearby. Because of Eva’s illness, nobody could come over and we couldn’t go out; it was just my two babies and me.
When Eva broke into the clear (Thank you, God!) one of my Jazzercise mentors talked with me.
“You need to hire some help,” she said. “Even if you don’t use it to teach Jazzercise, you need a break and so do your children.”
I placed an ad with our local University’s job board and was astonished by the amount of resumes I received. In addition to resumes, I also received an e-mail from an out-of-town friend I’d known since kindergarten.
“Are you the same Jen who posted the ad?” he asked. “My niece applied for the job. She’s great, but I’m sure she can speak for herself.”
I called his niece–Allison–first.
It was the only call I needed to make!
Allison came to help us out right away and it was the best decision I’d ever made as an often-solo parent. My only regret is that I didn’t place the ad the moment Vincent was born.
My parents, George, my children, and I all love Allison. She not only supervised the children and provided for their needs, but she played with them. She interacted with them. She taught them. She enjoyed them. She laughed with them and smiled as she told stories about them.
In addition, Allison was (is) a really cool girl.
She never judged me, our lifestyle, our household, refused to help, or held any strange look or attitude whatsoever. And when you are dealing with us and our crazy selves, that is no easy task!
Allison, you rock. We are all blessed for having you in our lives the past two years, and I wish you nothing but the best as you continue on and go with Mr. Moon Head to the next state as he pursues his Master’s and PhD. You are a stable, steady, smart young gal and we love you to pieces! Thanks for coming when we needed you most and sticking it out with us for so long.
We Love You!
“Rigging Gear…or Drinking Beer?” (via Highliners and Homecomings)
Image via Wikipedia
This is a post I wrote almost three years ago when I first started this blog.
I was reminded of it recently after my friend, Beth, mentioned that she’d mistakenly lost some of her blog posts. I wrote and told her that I, too, had lost a post before and this was the one. I’d spent all of one night three years ago grieving its loss and trying to re-write it when I discovered the Internet and taken a snapshot of the post and saved it.
Hence, I was able to retrieve and re-post it.
Beth and I each got a chuckle out of this post the third time around, so I’m posting it again for those of you that weren’t with me from the very beginning. :-)
Jen’s Favorites of the Week
Jen’s Favorites of the Week
(In No Particular Order)
- Accompanying my younger sister as she registered for her first baby shower. My niece will be only the third grandchild in our family, and she is sure to be as spoiled with love, attention, and care as my own two have been for the past four years.
- Spending the weekend with one of my lifelong best friends. We discussed blogs, parents, husbands and children over morning coffee and took care of all the children together. A blessed weekend!
- Taking my children to our local County Fair for the second year in a row all by myself. My children love the fair and one of their favorite parts is riding the shuttle bus there and back. My favorite part this year was this quote by our usually unflappable Eva after she went on a ride that turned out to be a little too scary: “I HATE that ride and I’m never going on it AGAIN! I’m ready for ice cream and to look at horses!”
- Teaching lots and lots of Jazzercise the past two weeks and the way instructors from three different Jazzercise centers have taught all over the chart to cover illnesses, injuries, and vacations.
- Receiving a phone call from George. He finally arrived in some sort of civilization within cell phone range. I felt renewed energy when I heard his voice and immediately began texting picture after picture to his phone while coverage was good. He’ll be leaving civilization again soon, but for now I feel totally satisfied.
On a side note, I need to give a shout-out to my other lifelong best friend, Kim, whose “Favorites of the Week” idea I actually borrowed from her blog. Thanks, Kim! :-)
Commercial Fishing Is America’s Most Deadly Job
CNN Money.com has released its list of America’s Most Deadliest Jobs and readers of this blog will not be surprised to learn that commercial fishing once again ranks as our country’s top deadliest job.
Here are a few of the top most deadly jobs according to the report:
- Commercial Fishing: 2oo deaths per 100,000
- Logging: 61.8 deaths per 100,000
- Airplane Pilots: 57 deaths per 100,000
- Farmers and Ranchers: 36 deaths per 100,000
Check out the article here. It’s pretty interesting and it always astounds me how far ahead of the second most deadly job commercial fishing ranks.
I can’t even think of anything to write other than there is a reason we celebrate like crazy each time George returns from sea. There are too many fishermen who do not come back home.
Photo By David Hills www.fishingpix.net
A Perfect and Wistful Vacation
Eeeks!
My birthday was on Friday the 13th this year. I know—scary! I spent the morning of my birthday watching my little children graduate from swimming lessons and felt so proud when they received permission to advance to Level Two next summer!
Next, I treated myself to a massage and a birthday lunch all by myself. It was actually a treat to sit calmly rather than eating and drinking in a gigantic rush. It was also nice just eating my own meal rather than mine plus whatever the kids left over. That evening, we went to my parent’s house and had a pizza party and watched the kids ride all around their driveway on new bicycles. Or rather, Eva rode around on a new sparkly pink bicycle while Vincent enjoyed his hand-me-down.
Next, I did something I’ve only done one other time; took the kids on a vacation all by myself! We went on one last year for my birthday and it was so much fun I just had to do it again. So, I packed us all up, got the dogs ready for a visit at Grandma and Grandpa’s, and then hit the road for a six-hour drive.
Traffic was awful and it was 100-degrees (literally) outside, but we had air conditioning to cool us off, country music to listen to, and we discovered a great new place to stop and eat.
One of the things I’ve had to learn as the mother in a commercial fishing family is how to do most everything for the children by myself and be brave enough to see things through. A part of me always feels bad—not because I’m often without their father, for he is working hard and risking his life for us. I know that if I wasn’t strong and determined to show our children a fun time, they would miss out on so much.
No, I feel bad because getting the family ready for a vacation is something George actually loves to do. There is honestly not much he enjoys more than packing up food, getting the dogs ready, and hauling our bags out to the truck.
So, for much of the trip I kept thinking things like “George would love this restaurant,” “George would love to swim in this pool,” “Wouldn’t it be great if George could see Eva jump in and get her head wet,” and “I feel guilty that we are having such a wonderful time in the sun with friends, and he is so far away in terrible weather fishing in Western Alaska that I can’t even talk to him.”
I have to forge ahead, though. It’s worth the hassle of getting us all ready and feeling bad that we aren’t all together to watch the smiles and the joy, and to hear the laughter and squeals of our little angels as they play on our friend’s playground, swim in their pool, drink chocolate milk, and race tricycles down a huge lawn of rolling green.
And I have to think that there is nothing George wants more than for his two children to play, run, swim, and feel so free and happy.
Thank you, Beth, for opening up your beautiful home to us. We love you all and our time together with your family could not have been more wonderful.
The Salmon Princess: An Alaska Cinderella Story
I wanted to let you know about another commercial fishing-related book we’ve had in our baby and toddler collection since Eva was born.
The Salmon Princess: An Alaska Cinderella Story, written and illustrated by Mindy Dwyer, is a longtime favorite in our home.
As you’ve gathered from the title, the book is based on the Cinderella tale but with an awesome Southeast Alaska fishing twist!
Instead of going to a palace ball, Cinder longs to attend the Silver Salmon Festival on the mainland. The wicked step-mother tells Cinder she cannot go, as there are too many fish to clean at home. Instead of climbing into an elegant carriage, Cinder jumps into a skiff and drives herself to the Festival. And instead of a glass slipper, it’s an Xtra Tuff rubber boot she loses in her haste to get back to the island before dawn!
In the end, Cinder’s wicked step-brothers wind up cleaning salmon for long hours at a cannery, the wicked step-mother moves to the Lower 48, and Cinder’s new husband takes over his family’s fish biz.
It’s a great book with amazing illustrations; add it to your collection!
Commercial Fishing Book for Babies and Toddlers!
My son, Vincent, recently turned three. The tradition in my family– in addition to giving the birthday child a gift– is to also give his/her sibling one gift.
This year for Vincent’s birthday, Eva received a book called “Fishing A to Z.” At first, Eva didn’t know what to make of her gift. She’d expected something pink or fairy-related and was a bit disappointed when she opened her book to find a real picture of a purse seine vessel fishing for salmon in Alaska.
Upon closer inspection, however, we found out that her gift was WAY better than another pink fairy book or trinket!
Her new book actually went through the alphabet, demonstrating each letter with commercial fishing lingo!
For example:
B: Buoy
D: Dungeness
H: Huge Halibut
O: Orange Gloves
S: Seiner Skiff
X: Xtra Tuffs
My goodness. There could be NO cooler book for babies and toddlers of commercial fishing families than this!!! Buy it now!!
No, I don’t personally know the writer, photographer, publisher, or press. But I do know this is one awesome book, especially for your little ones. Get it!
Oh, by the way–you can also buy a copy of the book in person or by mail-order through Vis Seafoods!
Commercial Fishing Photo Gallery is Up!! (Halibut and Blackcod Longlining Pictures)
David Hills, who takes some of the world’s best commercial fishing photos, has published a gallery of the pictures he took while on board our fishing vessel last winter during round one of the Alaska blackcod and halibut longline season.
If you want to see what it’s really like out there and see some extraordinary tough guys at work (including my dear husband, G, of whom I could not be more proud) check it out!!!
David, you ROCK!
