If Only.....What If

If only.... What if....

Have you ever had thoughts like these? What if I had gone to  college? Or moved to a different city? If only I had followed up on that one business opportunity, or joined that one group. What might my life have been like then? Would I have been happier? Wealthier? Healthier? I think all of us have a tendency to look back and wonder what might have been, if only I had done _________ (fill in the blank).

However, I like to think I have been fairly successful in looking to the future instead of the past. When it comes time to make a decision, any decision, I tell myself to make the best choice (or what I think is the best choice) at that moment in my life, and move on. Do not look back. This reasoning has kept me fairly sane throughout my life. (Please don't ask my sisters if I am reasonably sane; they could give you a different answer.)

Anyway, I think that this kind of logic is what makes it hard for me to read a book like

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard. Because this book is about a local man—Garfield's home was, and still is, in Mentor—I had to read it. is a very well-written and compelling book about the assassination of President James A. Garfield.  It intertwines the life and death of Garfield with inventions by Alexander Graham Bell and discoveries by the French scientist Joseph Lister. Although the book was very good, I had a hard time reading it because it concentrated a lot on What If... and If Only, making me a bit depressed about what might have been. But if you like history and/ or biography, you will want to read this book. It gives us a picture of a man who would have made a great difference in this country, if only he had lived to serve out his term, or terms, as President.

Chaos in the Home

Chaos reigned at my house yesterday, and I loved it!

My granddaughter, Heather, and her two sons came over in the morning to make nisu. Nisu is the old name for the Finnish sweet biscuit now called pulla; and I have been making it once or twice a year, using my Mumma's recipe, since I was a teenager. While Heather and I were working, Den was hauling boxes of Christmas decorations down from the attic, and trying to keep an eye on Peyton, who had to make sure everything in the house was in exactly the same place as the last time he visited, which was about a week earlier.

Heather put on Christmas music while we worked; we needed to get in the Christmas spirit. Just as we finished kneading the dough and putting it to rise for the first time, my daughter-in-law Beth came in. She and Heather, with Peyton's sporadic help, decorated the tree and managed to make the house a bit more festive.

Heather and I then added the eggs to the nisu dough, more flour, and kneaded well; and put it to rise, once more, behind the wood burner. Next, Peyton, Landon, and I decided there was just time for a quick swim before the nisu needed to be braided and put in the pans. Actually, Peyton decided and I just went along to hold Landon. Soon Landon and I were done in the pool, so we dried off and got dressed. Peyton stayed in the pool a while longer, with Paappa on guard. 

Unfortunately, Peyton didn't stay in the pool long enough; he had to help with the nisu dough braiding, which took no time at all. After rising for the third time, the nisu was ready to bake. By now, son Adam had shown up, bearing takeout salad and sandwiches. Assorted drinks - coffee, milk, and water - were gotten, and butter taken out of the refrigerator. 

With Heather baking pan after pan of nisu, and the rest of us trying to find room in our small house for drinks, toys, dogs, plates, babies, and napkins, we were ready for fresh, hot biscuit. The girls had done a great job; it was delicious!

Somehow, we had managed to get everything done. The dogs were fed, Landon had a nice long nap, Peyton played and worked as hard as only a three-year-old can, the tree and house got decorated, everyone got fed, and there was nisu for everyone for Christmas. What a wonderful day! Thank you all.