1

Inside this issue:

May Take-Out Lunch-

eon Information

2

Scholarship Report 3

Philanthropic &

Membership Reports

5

SIG Information 6

Bits & Pieces 7

Summer Plans 8

What the Heck

Editorial

10

Special points of interest:

• May Birthdays

• Scholarship Winners

• Summer Birthdays

• Artistic Divas Need your In-put!

• Executive In’s and Out’s

• Never

2 0 2 0 E d i t o r i a l

www.lvwomensclub.com

May is for Mothering

Thank you, mom, for be-

ing a staunch supporter

for me! I miss you !

Fran Plemmons

By Tamra Flournoy

(Mantle Picture: Anna Johndrow with her firstborn.)

What an amazing group of

outstanding women makes up the

Lago Vista Women’s Club! We have

always known our members are

not your common, everyday variety

of double X chromosomes…is it

something in the air or the water

that makes us particularly resilient

and supportive of our neighbors

and our community? Whatever the

reason, the current “shelter in

place” mandate has shown just

how strong we are!

April and May are the months

when much is done to bring our

season to a close. The cancellation

of last month’s luncheon and even

the cessation of SIG gatherings put

a particularly special burden on

that resilience.

Most of these tasks are usually

accomplished in face-to-face

meetings :

•The election of incoming officers

and EC members

•Tackling the administrative tasks

required to analyze our finances

•Prepare reports on the progress of

the year

•Establish those to whom we will

award scholarships and

community grants

•Collecting and organizing job

descriptions

•Receiving the end of year reports

from the EC members and Special

Interest Group leaders

respectively

Obviously, everything had to

change, but everything also had to

stay the same! We were not about

to change the foundation of our

organization and allow a nasty,

invisible, and virulent virus to

overthrow us. NO WAY!

With determination and

persistence, our leaders learned to

master the technology required to

carry on! Philanthropy, under the

expert guidance of Laurie Engels,

had multiple Zoom meetings to

review and analyze the applications

for grants. The Scholarship

Committee, led by Paula Fisher,

tackled the applications for

scholarships, also on the Zoom

platform. The Executive

Committee, a 22-woman panel of

volunteers who help to steer the

operation of our club, had a FOUR

HOUR Zoom meeting!

The most important result from

that butt challenging four-hour

meeting was the decision to create

a PayPal account for our club. This

opens the door to online payment

for luncheons and membership

dues. Having the ability to settle

obligations online will help us

streamline our tasks. The

treasurer, our 5th Vice President/

Membership Chair, our 2nd Vice

President/Social (Lunch Lady),

and the Yearbook Chair will

benefit. You, the members, will

also benefit from having the

convenience of payment from the

comfort of your armchair.

Our trial run using this new tool

has been our May Drive

Through/Pick Up/Reheat

Special. We are all very excited

about the solution we have put in

place to help compensate for

distancing ourselves from yet

another luncheon. At this writing,

this brainchild of Carolyn

Baranowski-Risi has been very well

received. If you are not familiar

with the event, check out the article

on page 2.

As always, Tami Flournoy has put a

lot of effort into our information-

packed newsletter. This month’s

newsletter is more crucial than

ever since it is chock full of the

information our members would

have received via other avenues.

Meet the Scholarship and

Community Grant winners, read

the message from Mindy Hensen

about next year’s Artistic Divas and

Fran Plemmons, our Membership

Chair. It’s all here in your

newsletter.

May is also Mother’s Day month.

Recently, in a conversational one of

the members asked me to repeat

the phrase for giving birth in

Spanish as she was unfamiliar with

it. It is Dar a luz . Literally, “To

give unto the light” It struck me

how poetic and insightful the

phrase is in Spanish. Mothers

bring their children into the light,

not just in the act of giving birth

but throughout their lives. They

continually shine the light of love

and life into their experiences.

Today, mothers are finding

inventive and imaginative ways to

continue shining light into the lives

of those in their circle, whether it is

their children, friends, relatives, or

a random acquaintance.

Congratulations to all the mothers!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Anna

2

NEVER

Page 2

May’s Luncheon & Program

Operation Celebration &

Drive Through/Pick Up/

Reheat Special

Is a go!

This Month’s Luncheon Date: May 12, 2020

Drive Through/Pick Up/Reheat Special!

Alfred’s famous homemade meatloaf

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Roll/Butter

Three-layer Godiva Chocolate Dessert

(packaged separately)

(If you require a gluten-free meal just don’t eat the roll or

the dessert)

Yes, we’ve been to Grandma Tami’s house.

How could you tell?

Mindy Hensen’s mother, who had a schol-

arship to college as a feature twirler!

It’s a first! We’ve never done this before, and we certainly

hope we never have a situation that demands we do this

again! But, we ARE going to have a May luncheon, even if

it is while sheltering at home!

Here’s the plan…Alfred has prepared a very scrumptious

menu that will be packaged in special microwaveable con-

tainers (no Styrofoam). He will provide reheating instruc-

tions. The dessert comes packaged separately. Members

will order it on our website, drive by the front of K-Oaks

Clubhouse and pick up their order and then go home and

tune in YouTube to see a pre-recorded program. We will

attempt to live stream the procession of cars on YouTube.

Search for Lago Vista Women’s Club on YouTube. We’ve

never done this before, so keep your fingers crossed!

Before Luncheon

Order as many meals as you wish on our

website, luncheon page by Monday, May

4, at 5 pm. GO THERE NOW

Click the PAY NOW button provided there.

Meals are $11 each (thank you, Alfred, for the

special pricing)

Print the receipt that PayPal will email you

OR have it on your smartphone to show to a

volunteer on the day of pick-up.

ONLY PREPAID MEALS CAN BE DELIV-

ERED. To maintain social distancing, there

will be NO ONSITE PAYMENT AVAILABLE.

May 12, 2020 Luncheon PART 1

On May 12-Drive to K-Oaks Clubhouse be-

tween 11:30 am and 12:30 pm.

Drive up to the volunteers who will be check-

ing receipts. They will place a placard with a

number under your windshield wiper, repre-

senting the number of meals you will be pick-

ing up.

Roll down the passenger side window of your

car.

Drive to the front door of the clubhouse.

A volunteer will put your ordered meal(s),

reheating instructions, two complementary

face masks donated by Mr. Paul Roberts, and

an information sheet with instructions on

how to tune in to the pre-recorded program

on the passenger seat.

May 12, 2020 Luncheon Part 2

Go home and heat up your lunch

Enjoy your meal while tuning in to the pro-

gram.

Program found at the following link:

Lago Vista Women’s Club Operation

Celebration

Or by typing the following address into your

internet browser:

https://www.youtube.com/results?

search_query=lago+vista+women%

27s+club+channel

Step-by-Step Instructions for Unprecedented, History-Making, Luncheon

3

The Lago Vista Women’s Club (LVWC)

recently presented eleven Lago Vista

Seniors with scholarships totaling

$15,850. The young ladies have plans

for careers in such areas as medicine,

forensic science, equine science, archi-

tecture, interior design, and art history.

The recipients are:

• Itza Cantera-Guerrero, The Univer-sity of Texas

• Marie Chan, The University of Tex-as

• Sophia Kent, Colorado State Uni-versity

• Monserratt Martinez-Osorio, Texas A&M University

• Karina Nieto-Peña, Monterrey In-stitute of Technology

Page

erations through Zoom meetings and

emailed documents. Elanna Hylander,

Counselor at Lago Vista High School, worked

diligently with the committee to scan appli-

cations and transcripts and send them to the

chairperson for distribution. Unfortunately,

the committee was unable to personally in-

terview each applicant, so that portion of the

process was eliminated.

Since the first year of the program, the club has awarded over 200 scholarships. The monetary grants have contributed to the making of doctors, attorneys, educators, personal trainers, nurses, clergy, actors, and women in other important professions. Ap-plication for a scholarship was open to any female student who has been enrolled her entire senior year at Lago Vista High School and will be attending as a full-time student (12 hours or more) in an accredited institu-tion of higher learning.

Thanks to everyone for rising to the occasion and celebrating the excellence of our young ladies! (Pictures on next page)

Scholarship 2020 Recipients By Paula Fisher

• Ashlyn Pasak, Texas A&M University

• Haily Pham, The University of Hou-ston

• Kayleigh Ray, Blinn College

• Lindsay Sheffer, Pearl River Com-munity College

• Madeleine Van Tassell, Austin Community College

• Mallory Webb, Tyler Junior College

Because of the unusual circumstances

of the pandemic, the Scholarship Com-

mittee members, made up of Paula Fish-

er (Chairperson), Kay Schneider, Donna

Nash (Club Treasurer), Peg Olson,

Laura Alcorta, and Anna Johndrow

(Club President) conducted their delib-

Lynn Tannehill

and her mother

while Lynn was

in 5th grade.

She lost her

mother to cancer

at age 72.

Mother’s Day Retreat

Lynn Tannehill with

mother on a girls trip

to Mount Baker in

Washington State

mothers!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Anna

Cheryl Macken 2

Cynthia (Dennie) Scoggins 3

Marie Woloch 4

Susan Hashem 5

Linda Longstaff 5

Beverly Olsen 7

Sherry Bailey 8

Linda Brown 9

Dinah Scott 10

Vickie Bain 19

Judy Eagle 19

Claire McSwain 20

Ro Cass 21

Vicki Perrin 22

Klee Lee 23

Rose Melican 23

Karen Rhodes 23

Laurie Nord 24

Michelle Farkas 28

Lago Vista Women’s Club May Birthdays!

4

Our 2020 LVHS Scholarship Recipients

Kayleigh Ray

Blinn College

Karina Nieto-Pena,

Monterrey

Institute of Technology

Itza Cantera-Guerrero

The University of Texas

Lindsay Shefferr

Pearl River Community

College

Mallory Webb

Tyler Junior College

Monserratt

Martinez-Osoria

Texas A&M University

Sophia Kent

Colorado State University

Marie Chan

The University of Texas

Haily Pham,

The University of Houston

Madeleine Van Tassell

Austin Community College

Ashlyn Pasak

Texas A&M University

5

Philanthropic Committee Reporting In

The Philanthropic Committee, on behalf

of the Lago Vista Women’s Club, was

pleased and proud to award 15 grants this

year to local non-profit community organi-

zations. Thanks to the generosity of our

membership, we were able to fund several

new grant requests. We were also able to

reserve a modest amount for future

emergency needs that will no doubt

arise during the coming months.

Many of our members may not be

familiar with our new grant

recipients.

Broken Hearts and Calloused Hands is an

emergency help center for victims

of domestic violence

Open My World Therapeutic Rid-

ing Center is a riding program for

disabled children and adults.

Cox Springs School is a res-

toration project for a historic

building dating back to

1909.

We were able to continue

our commitment to support

many beloved North

Shore organizations, including:

Hill Country Singers

Jonestown Library

Friends of Jonestown Library

Keep Lago Vista Beautiful

Lake Travis Music Theatre

Lago Vista Blue Santa

Lago Vista Players

Lago Vista Public Library

Friends of Lago Vista Library

Lago Vista Volunteers

Twilight Concerts

Lago Vista Middle School

Culinary Program

Lago Vista 4th of July

All grant recipients expressed a heartfelt

thanks for our support and for all the effort

the Lago Vista Women’s Club puts forth for

the betterment of this community.

I would like to personally thank my hard-

working committee members;

Laura Carr, Klee Lee, Annette Stokes, Paula

Riddle and of course Anna Johndrow

Ladies, you made it a pleas-

ure!

Sincerely,

Laurie Engels

Philanthropic Committee

My Mom bringing me

home from the hospi-

tal. I love you so

much Mom, you’re

the best!

Tami Flournoy

My mom holding

my youngest son,

David, when he

came home from

the hospital.

Tami Flournoy

Nancy Meierhoff &

her mom a few

years ago. How I

miss her!

Christine Snitkin and her

son, Ryan. Ryan is recov-

ering nicely from his re-

cent heart transplant.

Carol Watson

having a bar-b-

que with her two

children

Cox Springs School

be able to pay ONLINE with a credit card! Right from your computer, phone, or tablet! Pretty cool, huh? If you still prefer to send a check, by all means, you may do so, but please be reminded that physical checks must be transported to the bank, and this puts our treasurer at risk. Until May 31, you may also call our current treas-urer, Donna Nash, and provide your credit card information over the phone. After May 31, you may call our new treasurer, Joy Modawell, to provide your credit infor-mation. (512-267-6082) We value your membership and appreci-

ate your involvement with the fellowship of the women of Lago Vista, Jonestown, Point Venture, and others from the North Shore. Next year promis-es to be full of fantastic opportunities! Let’s make it so!! If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact me at 512-547-9135 or e-mail me me at frogfran19@gmail.com. Fran Plemmons LVWC Membership Chairwom-an

Our Lago Vista Women’s Club is grow-ing, and we were so excited to have wel-comed 358 members for our 2019-2020 membership year! It was a bumper year, for sure! Despite the distancing we have had to endure, we continue to receive renewal dues for our 2020-2021 membership year, which begins on June 1, 2020. This year, spurred on by the difficulty of get-ting together, we have started a new tradi-tion. All our members who had not yet paid their dues have received an e-mailed

invoice and will

Membership Renewals Due

Lorrie Fish and

Mom Bernice

McEldowney wed-

ding day June 12,

1982 in Lansing

Michigan

Tami Flournoy

with daughter,

Loriel Smith

6

Artistic Divas Present the Year in

Review and Looking Ahead

What a fun year we have had to do arts and

crafts! The Artistic Divas began the year

working on birdhouses made from wine

corks and various other materials. They

turned out so cute! We donated them to the

Garden Club so that they could auction them

off as part of their yearly fundraiser! The

next activity was making

Christmas ornaments out of

popsicle sticks. It was amaz-

ing what was made, and the

ornaments covered an entire

tree in K-Oaks at Christ-

mas. Bev Lee led a group

in hand-crafting Christmas

cards in November. In

December, we covered

Styrofoam cones with vintage jewelry. The

results were gorgeous!

Our January craft, perpetual

calendars, was postponed

until May. Due to COVID-19,

it has been delayed again.

The good news here is

that if you are interested

in participating, you can

still join us. Just let me

know. We will be gathering sometime in the

summer to do that and also to go on a field

trip to Cedar Park for painting pottery, an-

other activity that was canceled.

Our acrylic paint pour class in

February was by far the most

popular activity. We had more

people sign up than we had

room for! The art created was

so beautiful, and each piece was

totally unique. Everyone that

attended said they wanted to do it again! We

may need to have two sessions next year to

accommodate the high demand of those in-

terested in learning and those wanting to do

it again.

That last paragraph leads me to the ques-

tion I have for you: What would you like

for your Artistic Divas activities to be

next year? I will be planning the activities

for our 2020-2021 year real soon. I need

your ideas! We have created a survey for you

to answer (it should take 5-10 minutes) to

help us make decisions for what we should

do next year. If you have an activity to sug-

gest, please let me know. And, if you know of

someone who can lead us in an activity,

please give me their name and contact infor-

mation so I can contact them to see if they

would come lead us. Thank you for giving

me the opportunity to lead this special inter-

est group. It has been fun!

Mindy Hensen

mindyhensenlvwc@yahoo.com

The C.A.R.E. Group is a

group of Compassionate,

Attentive, Reassuring,

and Encouraging ladies ready to help.

Our mission is to provide cheer and

encouragement to all club members,

but especially those that may need a

little extra CARE.

Upon being notified of a need, we

can run errands, make check-in phone

calls, pick up & deliver groceries, or

provide a ride to the monthly lunch-

eon. In certain circumstances, we will

happily do a home visit (once the

threat of Covid-19 has lessened.)

Another service we provide for

LVWC members who are ill or home-

bound, in cooperation with the Lago

Vista Library, is check out and deliv-

ery of items within the library

Email us at: lvwccare-

group@gmail.com *Primary communication among

CARE members is through phone

calls and emails.

Trish Aikman Bonnie Rup-precht Coordinator Co-Coordinator 512-786-9615 443-695-1604

CLICK HERE

FOR Artistic Di-

vas Survey

Texas Hill Country Olive Company

2530 W. Fitzhugh Rd. Dripping Springs, TX

Open Mon-Sun, 10am - 5pm Food Service stops at 3:30 pm

TOUR INFORMATION & PRICING

Cost: $6 per person Length: 60 - 90 minute guided

tour of their orchard & mill. Bistro & Tasting Room

Tasting Room Hours: 10:00

am to 5:00 pm daily

Bistro Hours: 10:00 am to 3:30

pm daily.

Visit their Tuscan style tasting

room. We have two

olive oil & balsamic

tasting bars where

you can sample our products

before you buy. We also have a

bistro and wine bar with a great

selection of Texas wine. We also

carry ample gourmet products,

cooking accessories, and gifts.

Olive oil tasting is free in their

tasting room, and they can

accommodate any size

group. Please call ahead for

groups 7 or larger. The Bistro &

Tasting Room look forward to

hosting you! Email:

store@texashillcountryoliveco.c

om

The Seaquist Home Tours- 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Adults - $15 A local reverend built a stately,

one-story house

and then sold it

in 1891 to a

banker from New

York working in

Mason’s first bank. Although it

was already the finest house in

town, the banker saw room for

improvement. He commissioned

German architect Richard

Grosse to make significant

improvements, and five years

later, the house looked much like

it does today. In 1919, the

Seaquist family bought the

house, and the name stuck.

Oscar Seaquist was a

bootmaker who arrived in

Mason after escaping the

Swedish army. The Seaquist

family made some alterations

(including stained glass) to the

house, and after Oscar’s death in

1933, his wife looked after the

residence for forty more years.

Still on Tap, Out & About’s

Trips to Dripping Springs

and Mason, TX

Dates to be Announced

7

Our Wine Tasting Around the World SIG group

went virtual for an out-of-the-norm club meeting.

No wonder they all look so happy!

Lana Keaster her daughter

Kelli, and oldest grand-

daughter Alexa LaNa

Mindy Hensen and daughter, Heather

Before and After!

Grandson, David,

thinking about

his Grandma

Mindy!

Mindy Hensen with

her mother, sister,

and nieces.

Mindy

Hensen’s

Bridal

Shower

Betty Hunsaker,

Tami Flournoy’s

Mom

Grandma Ruth helps

toddler, Tami Flournoy

hold her new baby

sister, Mysti

4 Generation Photo,

Grandma June, Mom,

Tami Flournoy, and

son, Michael

Three Generation photo,

Grandma June, Mom,

Tami Flournoy, and sis-

ters, Mysti and Sholette

8

Sun Mo Tue We Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

June 2020

Su Mo Tu We Th Fri Sa

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 112 13 14 15 16 17 119 20 21 22 23 24 226 27 28 29 30 31

July 2020

Sun Mon Tue We Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

August 2020

Have you heard about

the new state recently

admitted to our country?

It is the State of Flux

I hail from another state

recently admitted to our

great union. Perhaps

you’ve heard of it.

It is the State of Confusion

With such states freely roaming in our

country, it is probably best to check-in of-

ten to both the Lago Vista Women’s Club

Facebook Page and our website to keep

appraised of club updates as they happen!

One of the great traditions we usually

enjoy at the May luncheon is the install-

ment of the upcoming officers who will

serve on the Executive Committee. The

results of the email vote we conducted

are in, and we are pleased to introduce

the generous ladies who have agreed to

serve the goals and objectives of all the

membership. You have elected them, and

we are sure they will enjoy your support

and gratitude throughout the year.

Please extend a warm welcome to

them! Their official installation will be

held during our September luncheon.

President- Anna Johndrow 1st VP (Programs): Laurie Engels 2nd VP (Social/Lunch Lady) Carolyn Baranowski-Risi 3rd VP (Ways and Means/Gala): Ruth Lloyd 4th VP (Publicity): Carol Watson 5th VP (Membership): Fran Plemmons Secretary: Merilea Pannell Treasurer: Joy Modawell Historian: Lorrie Fish

In addition, new appointees to standing committees will be announced and in-stalled in September.

With the integration of new members

on the Executive Committee, we need to say goodbye to those who have diligently and generously served their terms. As President, I would like to express my personal gratitude, and I am sure I speak for the entire membership in so doing.

Freth Carrol presented us with out-standing and diverse programs that en-riched us and entertained us. Thank You, Freth!

Marilyn Hamblin was always in command, providing publicity and pro-motion for our many activities and mak-ing sure that the general public was aware of what we were up to. Thank You, Marilyn!

Judy Guthrie produced one of the most beautiful scrapbooks we have en-joyed. We were deeply saddened that her husband’s ill health interrupted her de-sire to continue serving, and we share her grief with his passing. Thank you, Judy!

And I have saved for the last of the elected officials, my deep, deep apprecia-tion, respect, and gratitude for one of the most amazing women I have ever had the privilege of serving with and who I now consider a friend, Donna Nash. After serving as President for two years, Don-na assumed the role of Parliamentarian only briefly, relinquishing it when we lost our treasurer after a long battle with can-cer. Donna bravely took on this responsi-

bility, one of the more demanding jobs within our club. She was faced with unu-sual challenges that often come with an unexpected and sudden change, with the impact of considerable growth within our club and then, to top it all off, with the cancellation of the transition luncheons of April and May and not being able to meet with the incoming treasurer and our newly appointed bookkeeper. She has been a source of advice and inspira-tion. Unafraid to point out my errors or omissions, she has guided me and helped me because her sole interest and guiding light is the wellbeing of our club. Thank You, Donna!

Standing Committee members also de-serve our heartfelt appreciation. Please join me in thanking the following mem-bers who are either leaving the EC or starting in a new capacity:

Lana Keaster-Chamber of Commerce Liaison-To be filled by Judy Eagle Judy Eagle-LVISD Liaison-Currently open Paula Fisher-Scholarship Committee Chair-To be filled by Kay Schneider Laurie Engels-Philanthropic Committee Chair-To be filled by Laura Carr Carol Watson-City of Lago Vista Liaison Nancy Meierhoff-Member-at-Large-To be filled by Beth Breault Yearbook-Fostelene Halcomb-Currently open

THANK YOU ALL! Anna Johndrow

Meet Your New Executive Board

9

Linda Barrick 1

Karen Bell 1

Joan Scherz 1

Laurie Engels 3

Joyce Coleman 4

Fostelene Halcom 4

Mary Elizabeth Hughes 5

Donna Nash 5

Joyce Chong 6

Shirley Sherwood 6

Andrea Nathanson 8

Ethel Ruszkowski 12

Karen Reeve 14

Melinda Sebesta 16

Kathryn Tidwell 20

Kathy Helm 22

Adrienne Johnson 23

Pat O’dea-Rosen 23

Becky Alvey 26

Karen Guess 26

Fran Rimmer 27

Beth Coletta 29

Pat Pratt 30

Lago Vista Women’s Club

July Birthdays! Janice Baker 2

Harla Herman 3

Cathy Petross 3

Debbie Ventura 6

Lori Perry 7

Deborah Reed 7

Terry Potter 8

Donna Macina 9

Laura Alcorta 10

Ruth Dahlstrom 11

Sue Woodall 12

Jan Roehrig 13

Kara Trissel 14

Stacey Gibson 16

Bobby Bohn 18

Marilyn Hamblin 19

Holly Zarate 22

Marie Brookshier 23

Diane (Judith) Thompson 24

Trisha Jacobson 25

Kay Ross 25

Sandra Schaffner 25

Arlene Fisher 26

Sue Paulsen 27

Jo Anne Jaschke 29

Bea Rodriguez 29

Donna White 29

Lago Vista Women’s Club June Birthdays!

Lago Vista Women’s Club August Birthdays Tina Koester 1

Patty McCormick 2

Nadine Joli-Coeur 3

Jacqueline Brotschul 5

Mickie (Carole) Smith 5

Dawn Thompson 6

Gladys Ables 7

Sue Howell 7

Stefany Morris 7

Joan (Roberta K)

Weindorf 7

Nanette Langan 9

Debra Fuller 11

Janice Keezel 11

Lindi Pollok 12

Sherri Shafford 12

Carolyn Johnson 13

Lynn Tannehill 13

Jerry Blake 15

Cathy Blanchard 15

Alice Casey 15

Linda Becker 17

Anna Johndrow 17

Judy Gutherie 18

Carol Morrison 18

Becky Pfife 19

Mary Beth Kubecka 21

Joy Bleil 22

Viola Peek 22

Dana Zink 22

Cynthia (Cindy) Jolly 26

Patty Nixa 26

Annette Stokes 26

Carol Bell 28

Donna Mowrey 28

Nancy Isbell 29

Colleen Wilcox 29

Debora Bernal 30

Dru Chrisman 31

10

By Tamra Flournoy

NEVER May 2020 Editorial

“Never say never,” my grandmother once told me. Too

bad the wise adage didn’t register in my mind, after all,

there is only so much a four-year-old can comprehend.

Years later, as a young mother, I recalled, often with

chagrin, the many times I had said never. Often it was

done as a teenage babysitter watching other’s children.

“Oh, my children will go to bed on time—not stay up with

pretend trips to the restroom, or needing one more

drink, etc.,” or as a college student watching children

misbehave at church and silently tsking in my head, “My

children will never do that! My children will sit quietly

and listen in church.” After all, I had taken a child devel-

opment class, babysat for years, and been the oldest of 5

children. I had all the know-how needed to be an excel-

lent parent. I was wrong. I believe there must be some

kind of heavenly karma reserved for those who say nev-

er. Not only that, but it seems that as parents, we are

often plagued with the same drama our own parents

dealt with, or as a comedian once put it, “paying for our

raising.”

Back to when I was four. My best friend, Julie, lived

next door. Every day I watched from my front yard as

she left to walk to kindergarten (yes, it was a safer time

then). Then I suffered interminable boredom until she

returned in the afternoon.

Often my mother remarked, “When you turn five, you

too can go to kindergarten.”

I must’ve repeated the comment to my friend because

one day, I woke up to the joyful strains of Happy Birth-

day, and I was told I was officially five years old. My

birthday is late in April. After breakfast, I sat out front

to say hello to Julie as she walked to school.

When she stopped to talk to me, I told her it was my

birthday. Julie began jumping up and down with excite-

ment. “Do you know what this means?” she asked joy-

fully.

“No,” I answered, confused.

“It means you can go to kindergarten with me today!!!”

Realization suddenly dawned on me, and I jumped to

my feet, linked arms with Julie, and off we went to kin-

dergarten.

The room was a buzz of excitement—everything I had

hoped it would be. Apparently, in the buzz of excitement,

the teacher hadn’t noticed the extra child. In short order,

she had everyone sitting on a large

carpet for show-and-tell. Among

the many hands that raised in the

air was my friend Julie’s. When

the teacher got around to her and

asked what she brought for show-

Me age 10 with little

brother, West Hunsaker

11

and-tell, Julie turned to me and proudly announced,

“I brought my friend, Tami. It is her birthday today.”

“Does your mother know that you are here today?”

The teacher asked, her eyes getting wide.

Before I could respond, Julie piped up, “Oh yes, she

said that when Tami turned five, she could go to kin-

dergarten.” I nodded in agreement.

“I see,” the teacher announced. She cleared her

throat, “Well, welcome to kindergarten.” She quickly

settled everyone into an art project and quietly

slipped from the room and informed the office of her

stow-away.

The school was quick to discover through Julie’s

mom, who my parents were, and how to contact

them. Still, it had been about an hour and a half since

I’d left the house with Julie when my frantic mother

received the call from the local elementary school. By

that time, she’d already looked every single place she

could imagine I would’ve gone. Next, she’d called the

police who’d begun combing through every street in

the town, knocking on every door looking for a little

tow-headed girl.

To say I got in trouble would be an understatement.

At the time, I was also confused as to why I was in

trouble. What did I know about school years? I was

just barely five years old. Later, as a young adult,

times were changing, becoming less safe for young

ones. Often when I saw young children outside of

any neighborhoods, I wondered where their parents

were and if they allowed them to travel so far unat-

tended. “My kids will never do that!” I’d think, al-

ready forgetting my own childhood adventure.

So, of course, I was setting myself up big time! I

had five children pretty close together (as in, my old-

est, Michael, was six when my youngest, David, was

born. All little miracles, since I had some female

problems.) While recovering from a hysterectomy,

David, then two, took off with the dog from the fenced

back yard by squeezing his way between the gate

hardware while my back was

turned. He was there, and then he

was gone. I looked everywhere for

him to no avail before calling the po-

lice. They saw Luke (age 3), and at

first thought everything was fine. I

had to explain that it was his little

brother missing. I was potty train-

ing the two boys together, and I

was so distraught that I didn’t even

notice that Luke had apparently

removed wet training pants and

was wearing only a shirt. There

was a city park with a lake a few

blocks one way and a busy street

a block in the other direction. The search began. In

the end, it was a neighbor who found him, going from

the back alley and thinking to himself, “If I were two,

where would I go?” Of course, as he rounded the cor-

ner with David by the hand and the dog in tow, I was

too relieved to notice that he too must’ve removed wet

training pants. The neighbor exuberantly explained

how he found David two streets over in someone’s

backyard.

I took my two butt-naked toddlers by the hands. I

walked them into the house, trying to still my heart

while offering a silent prayer of thanksgiving. I sud-

denly realized that this must have been the feelings

my mother had all those years ago. I felt a kinship

and new appreciation for my mother, one that over

the years has been strengthened as I have, in many

ways, dealt with the same challenges she did as a

mother. I also, as a mother, had a new appreciation

for all mothers working hard to raise their children.

Kids aren’t cookie-cutter prodigy, that fit convenient-

ly into a mold. I have many times shaken my head at

my own naivety from my youthful thoughts of “My

kids will never…”

Now medical science has a label for people like me

and my kids, ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder.) It

helped explain the why of my inability to get my chil-

dren to pay attention at church and school but not

how to cope with it. That came from remembering

how my own mother coped with me. I have had chil-

dren burn down the doghouse, flush hot wheels re-

peatedly down the toi-

let, accidentally break

windows, and deal

with a bevy of stray

dogs, cats, lizards,

frogs, and turtles that

the children brought

home with them.

Once I walked into the

kitchen just in time to

Me FINALLY graduating with

son, David & Daughter-in-law,

Beth, and son Daniel. Holding

granddaughter, Marci

Daughter, Sarah &

Grandson

Me with my firstborn,

Michael. Born in Al-

ice Springs, Australia

12

find Daniel, Luke, and David taking my

sharp food knives out of their resting block.

“What do you think you’re doing with

those?” I demanded. They explained that

they were going to play Power Rangers and

needed to use them for their magical

swords. Of course, I ruined their fun that

day.

I have received Thank You notes from the

public library explaining how thankful they

were that Daniel had learned to read the difference be-

tween the words Men’s Restroom and Emergency Exit. I

also received numerous phone calls from neighbors

when a movie starring Dennis the Menace was coming

out, and the local radio station was having a look-alike

contest. The consensus was that Daniel WAS Dennis the

Menace. Once, we had some neighbors from Bangladesh

who didn’t speak English. Whenever we visited them,

they always gave us something. One day Daniel came

home with a huge bag of popcorn. He explained that the

neighbors gave it to him, but as he explained to me,

“Don’t worry, mom, I told them thank you in Spanish.”

Too bad Spanish and Bengali aren’t from the same root.

Once David came staggering up the street after playing

basketball with his friend, Eddie. Eddie raced ahead to

get my attention, “Mrs. Flournoy, David is hurt because

we were playing basketball with a brick, and it hit him in

the head!” Yes, you heard right—a brick! He threw it up,

and not only did it not score him any points, but it also

came straight back down, smacking him in the forehead

with the same results found in the Home Alone show.

The brick outline clearly showing on his head. David al-

so got himself a shiner to rival anything

on the Little Rascals show when his

cousin thought it would be neat to see if

he could fly David and Luke around at

the same time and then clunk them to-

gether. Luke proved that day that he is

very hard-headed.

Probably the most shocking mo-

ment as a mother I had

was one day in Plano

when I was making dinner. The kids

were out front playing with friends, Sarah

had received a cotton candy machine for

her birthday, and she was making the

treats for all of the neighbor kids. Appar-

ently, a neighbor up the street had allowed

someone to stay with him, and he surprised

the visitor by showing up unexpectedly

while the visitor was robbing him. The sit-

uation quickly escalated, and the visitor stabbed our

neighbor, who made it out of the house. Somehow he’d

managed to call the police already, and he ran down the

street with the hooligan following him. The police

showed up and nabbed the guy right in front of our

house, while an ambulance worked its way onto our

driveway. I tried to get all the children out of the way,

telling the friends to go home and my kids to come in and

get dinner.

While I was still serving up spaghetti, my children, riv-

eted to the action literally right outside our door, raced

outside with their plates, slurping up dinner while they

watched. To them it was better than television. When I

realized the kids were not up to the table, I immediately

went outside. None of the neighbor kids had left, and

Daniel had left his plate of spaghetti on the sidewalk and

was singing to the robber now on the road hands cuffed

behind him. His song rang loud and clear, “Bad boy, bad

boys. What’cha gonna do, what’cha gonna do when they

come for you bad boys, bad boys.” This time I got all the

kids back in the house just as their dad got home for

work. With reinforcement, the kids stayed inside, while I

wondered what the bad boy might do when he got out of

jail and now knew where the annoying kids lived. Hap-

pily, it was shortly after that when we

moved to Lago Vista, where the adventures

continued. The children grew up and

thrived in the LVISD, and we welcomed an-

other teenager into our family.

I often heard during those overfilled days

that one day the kids would all grow up, and

I would miss all of the chaos. Others told me

it would be in the blink of

an eye, and it would be

13

over. I thought that would NEVER happen. My days

began before I realized I’d even gone to sleep, and I was

nearly sleepwalking by the time I made it to my own

bed. I should have remembered to never say never be-

cause everyone was right. The kids all grew up, and I

am proud of the men and women they have become. My

days are not spent as a maid, a referee, a cook, a teach-

er, a counselor, or a taxi driver.

However, there is something that makes all of the

years of chaos and noise worth it. Something that I

rarely heard from the many who comfortingly told me

it would all end. That something is grandchildren!

They walk in the door, and I am a rock star, I hang the

sun and moon, they want my love, my stories, my hugs,

my advice, my songs, and my attention. And they com-

mand my attention. Plus, I rarely need to be the bad

guy and discipline grandkids. They’ve got parents for

that! While there were certainly moments of joy with

my children, having grandchildren is better than living

in Disney World!

M a y 2 0 2 0 E d i t o r i a l C o n t i n u e d