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I finally did it
Sep. 17th, 2006 08:47 pmThis day will go down in my own personal history as the only time in my life so far I have truly shocked, amazed, and absolutely delighted my mother.
The reaction to the news of her first and only grandchild on his way wasn't even close. She later told me she was in such disbelief I could have told her Martians were landing in Safeco Field and she would have had the same calm & measured response. All the rest of the stuff I've managed to pull off in life, both good & bad, was unflappable to her.
This was something I have had in the works since I heard of it last year, with things stepped up a bit over the past few months to the grand finale phone call tonight.
Hey mom, it's me. Got anything planned this night in October? No? Good. Wanna come down and see the Dead Sea Scrolls with us?
My church is huge. They bought several special night exhibits there when it's closed to the public next month and sold us greatly discounted tickets today only. I couldn't guarantee a time & date until I got the tickets, or even if I'd get them for certain in the first place, so I kept everything a secret. What I did not realize in doing so is that my mom had absolutely no clue about them being here on display to begin with. Media coverage just hit the paper here today but apparently hasn't migrated up north yet.
What I thought I knew in the back of my mind, and confirmed tonight, is that my grandfather (who died when my mom was 13) was extremely interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery and read everything he could about it. The fact that 3 generations of his descendants are going to see them in person together (I know full well Kieran won't appreciate this fact until he's substantially older) is cool on so many levels.
I remember being awed when I stood in front of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution during my middle school field trip to D.C. ... those papers were so old and full of history.
Mere youngsters in age and importance compared to this! I can't wait.
The reaction to the news of her first and only grandchild on his way wasn't even close. She later told me she was in such disbelief I could have told her Martians were landing in Safeco Field and she would have had the same calm & measured response. All the rest of the stuff I've managed to pull off in life, both good & bad, was unflappable to her.
This was something I have had in the works since I heard of it last year, with things stepped up a bit over the past few months to the grand finale phone call tonight.
Hey mom, it's me. Got anything planned this night in October? No? Good. Wanna come down and see the Dead Sea Scrolls with us?
My church is huge. They bought several special night exhibits there when it's closed to the public next month and sold us greatly discounted tickets today only. I couldn't guarantee a time & date until I got the tickets, or even if I'd get them for certain in the first place, so I kept everything a secret. What I did not realize in doing so is that my mom had absolutely no clue about them being here on display to begin with. Media coverage just hit the paper here today but apparently hasn't migrated up north yet.
What I thought I knew in the back of my mind, and confirmed tonight, is that my grandfather (who died when my mom was 13) was extremely interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery and read everything he could about it. The fact that 3 generations of his descendants are going to see them in person together (I know full well Kieran won't appreciate this fact until he's substantially older) is cool on so many levels.
I remember being awed when I stood in front of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution during my middle school field trip to D.C. ... those papers were so old and full of history.
Mere youngsters in age and importance compared to this! I can't wait.
