Today is Barbara's birthday! My wife turned 50 today, a major life milestone and before we get into the usual coronavirus stuff, I want to wish her a very happy birthday!
Our birthdays are only ten days (and three years) apart, and they are usually not celebrated very well. With both of us being teachers, August is always a hectic month. We are always super busy at this time rushing to prepare for a new school year. There's generally not much time between meetings and planning and class room preparations to take time out for some of our favorite things. Indeed, when we lived on Saipan my birthday would literally get skipped as we left principal's meetings and new teacher orientation in Hawaii on August 2 and arrived in Saipan in the early morning hours of August 4. Even today as I write I've spent all morning in Zoom meetings, Barbara's on one now, and I have another one coming up in less than half an hour. There will be a cake and a chorus of happy birthday from me and the boys but that will probably be about it.
Thankfully, with more than a little help from my friends, I was able to pull together something really special for Barbara's 50th this past Sunday. I virtually gathered about 50 of her family, friends, former students and colleagues--all loved ones, some from each of the five decades of her life so far--to wish her happy birthday and describe a special memory they share with Babs. I figured it would run maybe an hour.
A sampling of Barbara's birthday party guests on Zoom. This photo was taken early on in the party. Many of these guests would eventually leave after having shared their stories, while others joined later in the evening. From the TOP ROW, left to right: Joy Lacorte (former Grades 1-2 student from Saipan), Barbara and Me, my uncle Roland Thomson, Carol Paez (Barbara's best friend, who lives in Oregon), Pastor Mesikt Idechong(former second grade student from Palau), SECOND ROW: Tess Marhberg (fellow student missionary from Babs' year in Palau), Barbara's uncle Gene Brocke, Everdil Tohill (former second grade student from Palau), Barbara's cousin Connie and her husband Larry Norman, George and Denise Hartshorn (dear friends from Saipan and the parents of one of Barbara's former students, Leah, who was also there though not in the frame at the moment), THIRD ROW: Gina Rankin (wonderful friend from Saipan), I actually can't make out who this person is, Keisuke Yoshida (former grades 1-2 student from Saipan), Trish Parker (fellow student missionary from Babs' year in Palau), FOURTH ROW: my sister Dawn and two of her sons, Barbara's mother Carol Leen, Heidi Starling (a treasured friend from our days as students at Andrews University), Marc & Lisa Lavalas (Lisa is a co-worker of mine), my mother Rosalind Maycock, BOTTOM ROW: Susan Deen (Barbara's high school friend), Virle Gaytin (Barbara's friend, colleague, and indispensable right hand as school secretary when Babs was principal of Saipan SDA School)and Joeie Verona (one of the teachers at Saipan SDA School who began working there during Barbara's tenure), Lydia Levy (Barbara's current colleague at Worthington Adventist Academy ), Robyn Bernard, not pictured, but that phone icon is her--she called in and remarkably remained on the phone the entire 4.5 hours despite not being able to see anything (Barbara's best childhood friend from her Cincinnati days), Robin Tucker (one of Barbara's former colleagues at WAA).
Four and a half hours later, one of the most remarkable experiences of my life came to an end. I knew Babs was a good teacher, an able administrator, a great organizer, a trustworthy friend, and a solid Christian. I had no idea the impact that all of those qualities had on the people in her life (though I guess I should have, since I've experienced them all myself). As person after person shared heartfelt stories of the difference she's made in their lives, we were all moved by the impact of one ordinary person on so many others. It was like It's a Wonderful Life come to life.
When it came to the soursop tree story, there was hardly a dry eye in the Zoom. Ever since she taught her second grade class as a student missionary, on the last day of school she's always asked every class to promise to meet her under the biggest soursop tree in heaven. It's a challenge to them to hold on to their faith and love of Jesus through all the challenges that life will bring them. It's a message of her love for them and her desire to be connected to them always--in this life and in eternity. More than one student recollected that promise they made to meet Ms. Leen (or Mrs. Maycock) under the soursop tree, and in some cases it was that promise that literally kept them going when all seemed lost.
There's only one person who looks fifty in this photo, and it's not the birthday girl. We took this photo after the end of the party. Man, she's hot!
Barbara said it was the best birthday party she'd ever had, and, despite the length, so many of her guests said the same thing. My takeaway, other than a sense of awe at this incredible woman that I've known for more than half my life, was that this was something worth repeating. This is the sort of thing we normally do when it's too late--at memorial services where the person can no longer hear our words of love and appreciation, nor can they respond (and Barbara's desire to respond personally to each of her guests was at least part of what added to the long evening). I would encourage you not to wait. Look for a good excuse to plan a gathering like this for someone you love. Reach out to people that they have known and love--get them together on Zoom or Go To Meeting or Google Meet and have them share their stories. I promise, you--and they--will never be the same.
In these troubled times we need to remind those around us that they are loved, that they make a difference, that they matter to someone. Whether five, fifteen, or fifty it's the perfect gift.
We got this gorgeous and delicious birthday cake today for Barbara's actual birthday. The cake was the exquisite work of Cakes by Chantal. The master baker happens to the mother of one my students and an excellent pastry chef.
In the time of coronavirus, I'm especially grateful to celebrate another year-- indeed, another day--of life with my wife. We are healthy today, and we hope to be tomorrow. Many others, unfortunately have not been healthy. Today our total case count stands at 5,260,986 with 163,160 new cases added in the last three days. That's about 10,000 fewer than I predicted. Deaths on the other hand, as I noted yesterday have exceeded my forecast, with a total of 167,122 deaths, 4,163 of which occurred in the past three days. This is about 1700 more casualties of the virus than I predicted. Based on these numbers I'd expect 5,429,337 total cases by Sunday, August 16 and 171,300 deaths.
Florida's new cases have dropped but not enough to get back into my graphs, at 20,176 new cases over the past three days. Ohio more or less held steady with only a slight uptick, and Nebraska has also marked a slight increase as well.
Total Cases:
Florida: 557,129 total cases, 2.5% of the population.
Ohio: 105,426 total cases, 0.9% of the population.
Nebraska: 29,660 total cases, 1.5% of the population
Deaths are up in Ohio and Nebraska, down some in Florida, though still high enough at 636 that I can't chart them. There's not much more to say than that.
Total Deaths
Florida: 8,912, a rate of 1.6%
Ohio: 3,755, a rate of 3.6%
Nebraska: 362, a rate of 1.2%
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