Hey Cow
Hey COW (annyeong so) shouted Pyp. The two and a half year old was sitting on her restaurant high chair and kicking her feet in joy…laughing at the sound of herself.
The last time Filly heard “Hey cow” was when she was driving to Colorado and Tater had rolled down the window to yell when she saw a cow…while she was holding Filly’s wallet and credit cards, which then blew out the window. This shouting game was what they loved to do and Pyp had just learned the game. Only there was no cow and it was Mothers day…thank goodness no credit cards at risk.
Someone stood up to shush the little girl and upon standing, the complimentary orange juice mimosa was knocked over onto the table and over the dinner rolls.
The family recovered quickly, mopping up the spill with a kitchen towel and smiling. Some had pizza, others ravioli, and Filly had salad and beef tenderloin in olive oil. The day progressed past lunch as they went home to an outdoor pool.
Little Mister kept humming a song he was learning on the little organ at his house and looking at his drawing of cartoon characters. Tater was changing from one outfit to another in order to go into the pool.
The house was bustling, people all around and yet Filly was thinking back to the week before…when she had celebrated her mother by visiting her two weeks prior to mothers day.
They had spent many days walking and talking. Her mom was stoic and fit, partly from her upbringing and partly from her German and Spanish Ancestry. She was also very frugal and saved pennies where she could so that she could afford to pay her taxes at the end of the year. She saved by turning off the hot water heater when she was not using it, and saved electricity by using her dishwasher as a drier for dishes that she washed by hand…and by not running the heater or air conditioner very much..it had to be hotter than eighty degrees or colder than fifty degrees. She did her own gardening and her own grocery shopping and her own driving. She shopped mostly at Walmart, and even though she loved the upscale grocery stores, she could not justify the added expense.
Frugal for her by no means meant stingy, as she contributed to the Catholic seminarians who were to become priests, to the soup kitchen, to conservative politicians and she made meals regularly for Filly’s sister who lived nearby. Filly wanted to do more for her mother and yet she lived far away. How could someone celebrate their mom in a meaningful way when they lived so far away she wondered.
Her husband put on their outdoor music and as the music started to play, Filly thought of her mom’s music, always classical and always WCPE radio station which she loved. As the music played when she was at her mom’s, Filly had been inspired to paint three new paintings…two boys fishing, Blackberry picking, and Girl in tears. Her mom had provided her a large space for painting that space allowed her to have an her activity when her mom was resting or working on emails. At night she had painted while her mom and sister played scrabble or watched the FIVE, lamenting the fact that the show gave too much air time to the one liberal participant,instead providing news more relevant to their conservative listener base. She did love Judge Jeanine however and her clear no nonsense approach.
She went back again in her thoughts on how to be a help for her mom which seemed like an impossible task from afar…though she did a lot when she was there. They had talked about the pope, and who would be the new pope. They had prayed about it and Filly had felt divinely directed in her prayers and yet it did not seem like the church was going in the right direction. Praying for church to be more Christlike also seemed as impossible as taking care of a mom when living far away.
The sound of children splashing in the jacuzzi which had been warmed, brought her mind back to the present. She gave some Emergen C to her son in law because he was feeling drained and she got in the jacuzzi to hold on to the new baby girl who was learning how to float in her pool floaties. The child laughed with joy, too excited now to say HEY COW lol.
The “water” activities she had done with her mom were to fertilize and water the entire center island in her cul de sac. It was full of trees and plants that her mom had planted. It was one of the projects her mom wanted to tackle when Filly was there.
Every morning when she woke, her mom would check her fit bit and then would drink her juice and vitamins and do her planks. Filly did her walks in the morning and when she returned they would talk some more while her mom cooked breakfast…usually bacon and eggs. . Her mom told her how proud she was of her home which was in Brownsville, TX. and how grateful she was that Elon Musk had picked Boca Chica beach for Star Base. She felt like his industry had given a wonderful economic boon to the area that was much needed. Her mom wanted to go back to Brownsville and Boca Chica to see the progress.
All these things seemed far reaching and difficult. But Filly had just heard a lecture about how important it is to have faith when things do not make sense or seem difficult. The point was made that the woman in the bible who had nothing, still went to collect jars of great size…and the quantity she collected, even when it did not make sense, was about her faith in action. Those jars were eventually filled with the oil that saved her from poverty and death.
Filly had prayed and had based her proclamations on what she believed was the truth. And when things seemed impossible, she wondered why she saw things one way which seemed impossible.
It looked like she was mistaken.
But she trusted God so she picked her randomly chosen bible verse. A few days earlier she had picked her bible verse on her phone and it had been about the fig tree that Jesus said would not produce fruit any more. When the apostles were incredulous, he went on to say that what seemed impossible could be done if they believed…and that they could even move a mountain.
The condition of the world, the condition of people she loved who were struggling, the condition of the climate…all fit into the realm of what God controlled and was responsible for, and Filly could believe that the impossible was in fact not impossible. And what was even more interesting was that God wanted this to be really clear to her because the random bible verse she picked was again the one about the fig tree, reiterating the importance of trusting God.
The bible verse went on after that story, to say that the actions or behaviors are evidence of what is believed by the person.
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Filly believed that Jesus was saying that those who do good, even if they initially say no or complain, or make mistakes ARE with their behavior, doing God’s will, but those who say yes, and then in secret do NOT do what they promise, are not doing God’s will and will not be rewarded.
This bible verse helped Filly know that even though it seemed impossible, those who struggled would be provided for, and her mom would be cared for…and the churches would go in the right direction and those who did evil would be stopped, and she did not need to worry about how God would accomplish the impossible.
Pyp was still in the jacuzzi calling to her older brothers and sisters blending the word for older brother with Mister’s name in Korean and blending the word for older sister with Tater’s name in Korean. It was a cute and endearing mistake. Filly smiled.
Her mom got the shoes she had sent her for Mothers day so that was good. She loved them. Her family members who had been struggling seemed to have a better mind set about the future. The president was keeping his words to the people who elected him. Filly smiled again to herself. It was indeed a happy mothers day… because God still is in charge.