A post without pictures. My favorite Barry stories...

Okay...I just wanted to show that a post doesn't have to have pics although we have some excellent ones to share.

My friend Donna and her sibs get together once a year and share stories about their childhood. They started doing this first to remember their mom or dad. I was lucky enough to be an honorary Collingwood allowing me to sit in on some of these gatherings. In recent years, it's sort of morphed from rememberances of their parents to funny stories about each other. I love the idea, so thought that would be fun to do for the blog. Nothing hurtful here, only fun and/or fond memories. 

So, today, I want to relate two stories about Barry that I love to tell. It sorta shows how his mind works...

MUDDIN' BEFORE IT WAS A THING
So when Barry was about four, one Sunday afternoon, a neighborhood girl* knocks at the door. My mom answers the door, and the girl says, "I just thought you should know Barry and Neil ** are up at my house sitting in a mud puddle!"

So my mom goes up there and sure enough there's Barry and Neil sitting in the mud having a good ol' time. My mom reams both of them, though, for getting their Sunday best clothes all covered in mud. (yes, back then we went to church Sunday mornings). She drags Barry home and cleans him up, puts some play clothes on him and sends him back out.

About a half hour later, there's another knock at the door. The girl is there once more and says, "They're doing it again!" So my mom goes up there again and, yes, there is Barry and Neil whopping it up, covered in mud — but this time they are butt-naked. My mom scolds Barry who looks at her very perplexed.  He didn't understand what the problem was.

"We didn't get our clothes dirty! We took them off!"

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Although we've never been a deeply religious family, we did go to Episcopal (aka Anglican, aka Church of England) church when we were kids. In fact, Barry went to Episcopal private school at Zion Episcopal. As I recall, they started the school after I was already in public school at Fishkill but Barry was there a year or maybe two?

One day he comes home for lunch and my mom asks him, "So, did you learn anything today? What did you do?"

Barry says, yes, we got to go upstairs to the church to see the Father (I can't recall his name). Then, he proceeds to tell her what he saw.

"Well, there were all these grownups there up front. First Father took this cup. And he was talking to the cup. But...the cup didn't answer. So, everybody took a pill."

So went Barry's first communion. :)


*It was Nancy Meyers if I recall. The Meyers ran a day care center in their house that I think Barry attended.
** Neil Ruger, Barry's BFF in New York. They were great pals!

Littlest Gee of all shows off her pretty hair and party dress. Check out Francesca!

Francesca is getting big! And her hair is even bigger. I love her sun hat. The last pic taken with brother Finn on the maiden voyage of Cinci's new street car. :)

The many faces of Elizabeth

Taken in August 2016 at a trip to the store...clowning around with Mommy Dernaline. :)

I'm baack, and since it's September, some back-to-school pics.

I'm baack! In more ways than one. In 1995, I packed up and moved to Madison, Wisconsin. It's too long to go into detail here and most of you know this but it will always be dear to my heart for a number of reasons. In some ways Madison was a perfect place for me...it's where I really feel I came into my own and found out what really matters to me, politically, socially, spirtually...

BUT one of the things that matters to me, that being "away" really drove home was that I love my family and I want to be more a part of their daily lives, especially now that we have new adult members (the best group of spouses one could ask for) and lots of new little Gees running about.

So, I'm back in Cinci. :)

I didn't even remember that I tried to revive this blog one more time before I left Madison
Josh tried to post to this blog but couldn't. I've since sent him, Jodi and Brandon invites to be "authors" and hope to get emails from all the Gee adults to make them authors.

I hope that y'all will take advantage of this space to write Gee-related news. I will continue, as family genealogist, to use this space for that BUT I hope to see soccer game pics, birthday wishes, funny stories, anything you want to share with other Gees.

Facebook is great and I'm addicted. Texting is nice and immediate BUT this is a space for family news and good times. I hope you will find it fun to connect with. We're now all in the same state and most in the same city so maybe a blog isn't necessary BUT I'm gonna power through for my own amusement and I hope you'll chime in from time to time.

So...I'll start with these photos. It's September and school has begun for Lucy and Finn. Everyone else is too little or done with school but I've got some cute photos of the little ones later as they enjoy their first years before becoming "just another brick in the wall." BUT, hey, we're Gees...THAT is never gonna happen. :D!

From August and September 2016 —
Finn on his first day of school, Kindergaryen, followed by Finn on his new soccer team.
Lucy walking to school on her first day of Sixth Grade, followed by Lucy the day before school starts at tea with Maggie and Nana (Robin). We went to the Downton Abby exhibit. I think she learned to hold up her pinky from Jodi at an earlier tea outing. She's into tea like her Nana. Her great grandma Louisa Gee would be so proud, keeping Gee British roots alive! :)