Prairie Ponderings: February 2008

In 1973, Mom made my Valentine's Day cards from Great-Gramma Lura's ginger cream cookie recipe. She cut them with a heart shaped cookie cutter, frosted them and wrote the names of each of my classmates on them.

I tried to re-create that moment with Jacob. We used the same recipe and used a heart shaped cookie cutter. I didn't write the names of his classmates. He decorated them with cinnamon hearts and jimmies. He did most of the work.

This whole moment ended when he got to school the next day and asked in near tears where his Valentine's Day cards were at. I tried to explain about the cookies, but.........it's a good thing there were extra cards in the Kindergarten classroom and that the prinicipal (former Kindergarten teacher) knew exactly which closet they were in. (The cards were left overs from when she was in that room). I sat in her office addressing cards for my son. So much for the memories.

Rolling out the ginger cream cookies.

Cutting out cookies.

The finished product. Beautiful!

The same week, a 14 year old girl in Garrison gave a pony to Jacob.

Jacob lost his beloved pony, Lightning Larry, in November. We tried in vain to find him. Posters were made, I stalked hunters to see if they'd seen LL or shot him, a colleague of mine hung posters all over Garrison and Minot Livestock Auction and had the country music station air a message.

Anyway, I received a call at work from a lady who was giving a miniature horse away. After she mentioned where the pony was kept (prior to their moving), I knew I didn't want the pony. The pony, Jamaica, used to live in the mailman's pasture and he mentioned that he didn't care for the pony because she was always out.

I asked the lady if the pony stayed in and she said that she did get out, but thought a better fence would keep her in (I don't think so, but whatever). She said that the pony was being kept at a friend of our family's place and I could go and see her.

In my mind, I convinced myself that this pony would be a bad idea.

"She's a mini and Jacob is ready for something bigger. She gets out. She's a she. Really what are we going to do with a TINY horse?"

I went to see Jamaica (a perfectly stupid for a horse). I was already to tell her that we wouldn't be taking the pony and into the barn walks Jacob Elmer John. The lady asks him if Jamaica is the pony he wants and he nods his head yes. Jamaica walks up to Jacob and nuzzles him (Okay, where is Allen Funt and that camera?) and he pets her. We left the barn to go eat supper trying to figure out when we were going to pick up this pony.

Moral of the story: "Never take your children along when you go to "talk to a man (or in this case, a woman) about a horse"".

On the way to supper, I asked Jacob if he wanted to keep calling the horse Jamaica. He replied, "No" (smart boy).

LL (LuraLynn not Lightning Larry):"What do you want to call your new horse?"

J: "Lightning Larry!"

LL: "Lightning Larry is a boy's name and your horse if a girl."

J: "Hmmm, let me think."

Pause. Check rearview mirror. See Jacob sitting in his booster seat with his head cocked and his index finger tapping his chin.

J: (finger going up into the air) "I choose Ceci!!"

So we have a little horse named Ceci. This horse could have come home in the back of my Tahoe or Mom's minivan (think "City Slickers". "Seatbelts, Norman"), but she came home in a big stock trailer when one of the neighbors was on his way home from selling some cows.

I told my cousin this story and she asked,

"Your Grandmother's name wouldn't be Arlene, would it?"

I told her that I thought maybe that was my Gramma's name.