The Invasion of the British

The still spring air hung heavy with the sweet fragrance of Lilac. I didn't know it yet but God was about to alter my life completely with just one loud knock at my door. With coffee in hand, and little Jer (wearing nothing buy a pair of Superman underwear) hiding behind my robe, I opened the front door. That was the morning Catherine came into my life.
"Good morning" she said with a big smile and a heavy British accent. "We just moved in up the road and I saw your swing set out front",she continued. I was so captivated by her accent that I hadn't noticed the two young boys standing shyly behind her. "Do you have any children"? she asked.

"Good morning" I answered, "yes I do", as Jer slowly stepped out from behind my robe. "Won't you come in for a cup of coffee?" I replied.
As our two youngest sons, settled down in front of the television for morning cartoons my oldest son Adam showed her oldest son Justin his basketball card collection.

Over coffee Catherine introduced herself and filled me in on her life since leaving England. As a young woman she took on a job in the states as a nanny to Carly Simmons young children. From there she met Tom her husband who was in the Army.

Tom's military career moved him all over and that is how this British lady landed on my doorstep. We have a military base located just miles from where we live and as luck would have it Tom was relocated here that spring.

It turned out that Catherine's oldest son was the same age as my son Adam and her youngest son was one year older then my little Jer. They all hit it off wonderfully. The street we lived on didn't have any small children to play with till Catherine showed up.

Now our kids traveled back and forth from her house to ours sharing basketball cards and games as two countries traditions collided. We would never be the same again. Through out the summer and into the fall our houses were opened to each other as we shared cups of coffee, pot luck dinners and Barbecues. Larry got to know Tom and as our children grew so did our friendships.

Dinners out were a blast as Catherine easily commanded the evening and captivated our waiters with her British accent and charm. By the end of the evening she had everyone eating out of her hand. My dear country husband adored her and she him. She always called him "Laure" and he would do anything for her. The British are known for their dry sense of humour but not "our" Catherine. She had a wonderful sense of humour and in the end it would some to serve her well.

I can easily remember the one snowy Christmas eve having my hands full calming little Jeremy down to finally go to sleep so Santa could come and deliver his toys. I was reading to him when I heard the now familiar knock and a high pitched "Hello everybody!". It was Catherine. She came into Jer's room and cuddled him into her arms. "Eee", she whispered to him. "When I was a wee little girl in England on Christmas eve my mother would put me to bed as I waited for Santa to come. My dear mother tied a sock to the end of my little bed and I crawled to the bottom and felt my sock, it was empty. I soon fell a sleep and woke with a start. I heard something! So I crawled to the bottom of my bed....(now my young son was completely enthralled with her story) and guess what? My sock was full! Santa had come and filled my sock with oranges, candy and small toys!" Her story did the trick for my son who finally snuggled down into the covers as Catherine wished him a Merry Christmas and tipped toed out. I'm sure as a grown man Jer has never forgotten that night.

Months turned into years, seasons passed and our friendship grew as we shared our dreams, goals, successes and failures. We saw each other through spouse arguments, school problems and school successes. If you ever wondered if the British are scrappers you better believe it! One Saturday Catherine took all our sons to the local library for a wonderful day of reading. Distracted by a book search Catherine didn't notice the mischief our two young sons were getting into (climbing on shelves) till the head Librarian asked her to "curb in her children or leave". Well from what my oldest son, Adam could tell me Catherine sat "her" straight about the fine points of being a librarian! She came fuming into my kitchen with children in tow and threatened to call the Librarian back and give her another piece of her mind. It took a lot of tea that afternoon to calm one hot headed British woman down.

Catherine and I became each others eyes as we kept watch over our now teenage boys. The day Adam got his drivers license was the scariest day of my life as he loaded up Justin, Jer and Tommy and drove them to school. He had my whole life in that car!
Catherine and I let our teens try out their new found freedom but on one particular night we both felt the need to jump in my car and follow our boys as they went to a classmates party. The party was to be held at a boys house with only one parent who was always a way at work. I pulled my car to the side of the road still within sight of the house where my sons car was parked out front with them still in it. Within minutes of arriving there I could see the red and blue flashing lights of a police car. A neighbor had reported the party to the local police before our sons arrived. Our two young teens looked scared to death as the police man asked them why they were there as the boys caught a glimpse of us standing behind the officer. I never seen two teens thrilled to death to see their mothers on a Saturday night!

Before I knew it Catherine and I went from taking our kids to summer camp to leaving them on the front steps of their college dorms. We had raised our kids together and all of them became like brothers.

During a long and snowy winter in 1990 I fell in love with a movie called "Steel Magnolias". It was filmed in the writers home town of Natchitoches, Louisiana. I had never been down south and was completely enthralled with the story of all these wonderful southern women. I must have watched that movie a hundred times that winter and by spring I knew I just had to go there. In late April Catherine and I packed up our two youngest sons, filled the back of my van with tons of snacks and pillows and blankets and set off for the trip of a lifetime. "Louisiana here we come!" The trip itself was priceless. Catherine couldn't read a map if her life depended on it and we found our selves lost most of the time. Tired and hungry Catherine told me that the map showed a town up a head a "little" off my outlined route if we just made a right at the next turnoff. She said the map said MS 2 miles. She thought MS stood for miles instead we found ourselves on the scary side of Greenville, Mississippi! Oh well, we found a nice hotel, had a good meal and the kids got to swim. Very late the next night we drove into Natchitoches and I woke up the whole van with my screams of "We're here!" I saw all the houses that were in the movie and knew we had finally made it. We spent five days there taking in all the sights and even sneaking into private yards to have our picture taken where the star of the movie, Julia Roberts, wedding reception was held. To say we had a good time would be an understatement. Our sons learned more from that trip then any class book ever could. They discovered that the city of Natchitoches is the oldest part of the Louisiana Purchase and that Arkansas's main crop is rice. When it was time to go my eyes filled with tears as Catherine made fun of me. Catherine did admit that as much as she had traveled Louisiana was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen. If I had known what lay ahead of us I would have stayed another week. A few years later our perfect life would come unraveled.

Adam and Justin were in their first year of college when disaster struck. On a rainy night Catherine lost control of her new truck and flipped end over end, throwing her out into a ditch. A wonderful neighbor heard the crash and called 911. He was first at the scene and saved her life. A month later in intensive care we would learn the sad news that Catherine was paralyzed. Through everything she went through afterwards Catherine's spirits always remained high. Her two boys became her mainstay and she grew to depend on them a great deal. Though they never complained, they lost most of their carefree youth the night of the accident. She never lost herself through it all and remained their steady parent and mentor. We shared cups of tea in her little kitchen and talked about old times. Her mother flew in from England and it was fascinating the way our two mothers became fast friends with so much in common even born a sea a part. Catherine's sisters flew in too and met all my sisters till we all felt like a "complete" family.

Catherine had many set backs as she tried to regain some of her freedom, finally succumbing to an infection 7 years after her accident. It seemed to me she held on till her son finished school. I made a promise to her that I would always be there for her children and even though she could not speak her eyes held mine so strongly that I knew she would hold me to that promise.

The years have gone quickly by and Justin married and had twin boys. I am the proud Godmother to Ian and Nick (both with their British "Grandma's" red hair and smile). My how she would have spoiled those two and heaven forbid should any librarian ever reprimand one of them!

Now as I watch my two grandsons, Cannon and Noah play in my kitchen with my God Sons, Ian and Nick, I can see Catherine smiling down on all of them. God had a plan that one fateful spring morning, when a British woman came knocking at my door.
Open yourself up for new relationship and new friendships, for you never know who God will lead into your life. Till next time......Aunt Onie

Two tea cups sit
upon a window sill
One cracked and worn
the other still

A friendship born
from a sea apart
Like no other
right from the start

Laughter and sadness
we shared all together
the best of ourselves
we gave to each other.

Though time travels on
since the day you left us
I'll cherish your gift
The gift of your friendship