Marriage Memoir by Ron and Crystal Meinstein

Why do we set off fireworks on New Year’s Eve and the 4^th of July?  On the 4^{th of} July, we celebrate our freedom because of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  On New Year’s Eve, we celebrate the old year and the beginning of the new year.  I think this is about hope. We also have fun on both of these occasions.  On the 4^th we go to parades, picnics, and family gatherings.  We go swimming, boating, play baseball and barbecue.  We might even dance as the sun goes down.  Then we watch fireworks in awe.  On New Year’s Eve we attend parties, with all kinds of appetizers, goodies, drink Champagne and make toasts.  We wish each other good luck, kiss at midnight and sing Auld Lang Syne– a song we don’t understand but we sing it anyway. In the warmest time of the summer and the coldest time in the winter, we celebrate.  We stop our lives for a time and are happy and hopeful and I hope grateful.  I am grateful for what I have and who I have in my life.  I am happy that there is something to celebrate and honor and cherish as I do my family, my friends and my faith.

As you make your new year’s resolutions this year, take a minute to be grateful for last year.  It wasn’t the best for me health wise, but we worked on our memoir, I wrote the proposal and we sent out query letters and sample chapters.  We also wrote many blog posts and got more involved with Facebook.  I read many memoirs and have more on my Kindle to read.  We attended the Buckeye Book Fair.  My writers group has a great workshop and I gave a presentation on the many ways to get published. I presented my Harriet Beecher Stowe program and it was very well received.

This year we are going to continue to look for an agent/publisher and send out articles, essays, fiction, etc. We also celebrated holidays, birthdays and more occasions with our family, visited my Dad and Larry and Linda in Cincinnati, explored some new places  with Ron’s father including book stores, quilt shops and restaurants.  In many ways, it was a good year and this year will be even better.  (I am the optimist in our family.)  We hope you have a good year also.

I do write New Year Resolutions, but to me it more like organizing and being more specific about what I want to accomplish this year.  I have a planner and I also keep a journal so I will have a record of my progress.  I think the key to keeping resolutions is to be very specific about what you want to do and not generalize.  But many people generalize and accomplish their goals.  Writing something down on paper is a good start to begin any project or objective.  I hope to write memoir reviews in this blog this year.  I have read many of them so it won’t be hard.  There are some very great ones out there.

Ron’s Corner:

I have to apologize to Crystal for not getting this in to our Blog earlier. She will forgive me. She always does. That is one of the things I am thankful for in the New Year and always.

As for her topic, the key to the resolution is to be as the root word resolute. Pledging, or promising, or writing something down isn’t enough. As in anything in life, the key to achieving is persistence. How many of you have already forgotten what you pledged at midnight after those glasses of Champaign. Be Honest. Crystal’s idea of writing it down only works if you put it somewhere where you can see it, and apply it every day . What was my New Year’s Resolution, and how am I doing with it, you might ask. To be honest, I stopped that practice years ago, when I failed to keep one or two. You know the old saying; those who can do. Those who can’t teach!

Have a Great Year!

These fireworks were fro the 4th of July, a couple of years ago, at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds

Last Tuesday was the Meinstein annual cookie bake. You know Christmas is just around the corner when the smell of fresh baked cookies wafts through the air. I usually find something else to do during this event. This year I was assigned to drop Crystal off at Elizabeth’s house and do some last minute Christmas shopping. After successfully completing my mission and visiting a friend in the hospital I returned to the cookie party. As I entered, I was immediately overwhelmed by the enticing aroma. Then along came the all too familiar sound of my girls talking up a storm. Along with my wife, it always sounds like four women engaged in about three simultaneous conversations. There are brief, but frequent breaks filled with giggling, and an occasional pause, which I assume is where the actual work is done. As I entered the kitchen, I saw everyone hard at work in some kind of cookie assembly line. Liz was by the oven, Michelle was rolling dough. Lisa, still dressed in her Tim Horton uniform, was helping Crystal with the baked cookies. I stealthily snuck a sugar cookie. It was still warm and Oh so buttery. After a quickly passing acknowledgement of my presence, and a report of my successful mission, I stood back and listened for a while as the symbiotic activities continued.

I hadn’t noticed the new or rather different refrigerator. The old used one, which Liz had proudly gotten, for next to nothing, about a year and a half ago was gone. The latest version apparently, and as most things in Liz’s life, had a story attached to it. About a week earlier Liz had time for a quick swallow of sustenance during her usual frenzied mom routine. She opened the frig. and grabbed the milk container. She took a quick swig. It tasted funny, but at least it was something. Later that day, Keylan stood in front of his mom with the container. Having a little more time than his mom, he had actually looked at the milk before partaking. He pointed out the lumps in the container. Of course Liz felt instantly sick. When her husband Brad heard the humorous anecdote, he examined the refrigerator. It was only slightly cool and would not continue to function no matter what he tried.

After Liz’s panic attack ended, Brad called his dad. Apparently his dad had a spare refrigerator in a storage building for just such an emergency. It was fairly new when it was put into storage some fifteen years earlier and would be a great early Christmas present. The next problem was getting the refrigerator to their house. Normally Brad could use his truck. Unfortunately it was at that time out of service and awaiting parts. I don’t know where the inspiration came but Brad’s old red radio flyer wagon came to mind. To make a long story short, picture two grown men steadying a refrigerator on top of an almost buckling children’s wagon and pushing it down the middle of the road for about two blocks.

Life is funny. Someday I’m sure Liz and Brad will laugh about this story. It helped me to recall many of Crystal and my survival stories. You can’t say God doesn’t have a sense of humor. You have to hand it to him though. No matter what the situation, somehow he will provide an answer. In some cases he will even help provide a humorous perspective to record in your blog.

Christmas at our house 2010

Merry Christmas!