My first insights about love I learned from my mother. She patiently answered my inquiries, explaining in terms I could understand that love is multi-dimensional and that love for others can be equal but different. Even as a child I struggled with the “fairness for all” issue, asking if she loved me, my sister, or my dad more. I was hoping she loved me the most, but she always said, gently but firmly, that she loved us equally but differently.

Not exactly the answer I wanted, surely I was her favorite, but her explanation helped me understand her love was not a competition and she would always have love enough to share. Not everyone is blessed to learn life’s basics from such a caring teacher, although her wisdom did not always impress me.

She had a few one-liners that were annoying. “It’s only because I love you that I have to punish you.” The solution as I saw it was simple, love me a little less and we’ll both be spared some pain. Or “My punishing you hurts me more than you.” I wanted to yell, “Want to bet?” but even with limited worldly experience, I sensed that remark was not appropriate. And the all-time contradiction to a child, “I love you but I don’t like you!” Well, I didn’t like her either at those times so we were even! But I was the only one keeping score.

My parents were firm but fair, and I always knew they loved me. But not everyone had my best interests at heart. Or maybe they did initially, but young love is fickle and not necessarily fair. There was the bruised heart, the broken heart, and the knowing heart, knowing love was going to walk away without looking back. My friends and I consoled ourselves poetically, repeating as necessary, “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved.” The words were more profound than our thoughts.

Along the way I learned mom was right, love has many dimensions. Sometimes it has little to do with feelings, sometimes feelings of infatuation are an obstacle, and sometimes love starts out as like and grows quietly over time. It can grow forever, as love isn’t designed for completion.

With the birth of each child, I learned love is never depleted, but not even love takes away fatigue or frustration. Love isn’t something to be measured, but my children tried their best to find ways to prove individual theories as to whom Mom loved the most. Sometimes the best love can do is show up each day and other times it comforts an ailing parent, soothes hurts among siblings, and remembers wedding vows long after the thrill is gone.

Genuine love, the enduring, real kind, doesn’t give up as time leaves its mark on appearances or challenges arise that were never part of the original plan. And love does mean having to say you’re sorry. Many times.

Love multiplies not divides and isn’t reserved for a chosen few. But it must be expressed, not just once, but many times. Three simple words, “I love you,” but they can change lives forever for those to whom they’re said and for those who say them and live what they mean.

The City of West Peoria will have a “Community Night” with the Peoria Rivermen Hockey team at the Peoria Civic Center Sunday, March 9. There is a “Fun on the Run Family Fun” event from 2:00 -3:00 p.m. Enjoy $1 Hotdogs, $1 Cokes and $1 Chips! Also, there will be Fun-on-the-Run inflatables along with The Unique Twist balloon animals and face painting by the Zoo Lady! Come watch our West Peoria mayor, Jim Dillon, drop the puck to start the game! The official start time for the game is 3:00 p.m. There is also a post game skate with the Rivermen, so bring your skates and come skate with your Rivermen players for 30 minutes after the game! Admission is only $1 for kids 12 & under! Tickets at the Peoria Civic Center box office are $18 for lower bowl and $13 for upper bowl. Exclusive West Peoria tickets ($16 for lower bowl and $11 for upper bowl) are available for purchase at West Peoria City Hall until Friday, February 15. See you at the game!

Now at Franciscan Recreation Complex: Winter Walkers! Come walk in a heated gym this February and March. Walkers are welcome Monday through Friday, 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. This is a free service!

With winter here, the City would like to remind all residents in the case of snow storms, the snow removal policy is CURB-TO-CURB PLOWING, as there is a need to clear streets so that Fire & Rescue vehicles can travel safely, and for the availability of on-street parking. priorities are to ensure that Swords Hill and the main thoroughfares in the community are cleared for emergency vehicles. Emergency snow routes in West Peoria are: Heading, Rohmann, Ayres, Callender, and Waverly Avenues. As those routes are cleared, the City will focus attention on clearing secondary routes and side streets. Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding. When a snow fall is imminent, you can help the City by parking your vehicles in your garage or driveway, and by shoveling the sidewalks in front of your residence. Please assist by shoveling out fire hydrants wherever you may see them.

The Jamboree Race is back and we want YOU! In order to give the race a running start, volunteers are needed to help coordinate and organize the event. If you would like to be a part of this year’s success, please contact Krystiana Bronny at 309-674-1993. The committee has already met and there is great need for help from the community. Assistance is needed the day of the Jamboree, June 7, 2008. Respond if you are able to help get this fun West Peoria event back on track.
West Peoria Township is providing a listing of upcoming community events for you. The Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be Sunday, March 16th. The Annual Town Meeting will be Tuesday, April 8th at West Peoria City Hall. This event presents the opportunity for all citizens to come and have a say in their local government. Mark April 26th from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. for the Annual Clean Up Day.

The West Peoria Neighborhood Watch will next meet on February 21, 2008 at 6:00 and in City Hall. The West Peoria Residents Association meeting will follow at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

2008 dues remain $10/individual and $18/families for the West Peoria Garden Club. If you are interested in joining please mail a check to Pat Sharp, 609 N Swords Ave, West Peoria, IL 61604. Plans for 2008 include building containers, learning about raised bed gardening and touring local gardens.

The Lions Club is not merely a social or fraternal club; it is a pledge by local civic minded men and women of all ages who are willing and anxious to give of their time, energy, and resources in service to their own community. Lions keep uppermost in their minds those who have not been blessed with good health and opportunity, and try to create an atmosphere where everyone will think and feel something about the “other guy”

West Peoria Lions would really like to get to know you and invite you to join us, so you too can help others in our community. Meeting night is on the 2nd and 4th Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the basement of the United Disciples Church 2018 W. Kellogg Ave. The Club has a recycling program for used eye glasses, hearing aids, keys, ink cartridges, cell phones, aluminum cans, and tabs. The Club is now selling 100% Soy Candles, soaps, and air fresheners. Soy candles burn cleaner, longer, and the scents last through the whole candle. To order candles or for any information please give a call to Linda 673-6409, Jim or Carolyn 673-6207.

We are now into the New Year by a month, and like previous months, it has flown by. I notice as I get older, time goes so much faster. I’ve talked with others who are close to my age, and they report the same thing. What happened to those long-ago-teenage years where time seemed to slow down and wait for us? Not, so anymore, the months go whizzing by, and we wonder, “When did that happen?”

A couple other changes that I notice is how much I have been able to let go of irritation about things or other people and how much I do appreciate much more simple things. For example, I do so notice and enjoy the beauty of nature even more than I used to. I do appreciate in this cold, cold weather (today is minus six) that sunrises and sunsets have such beautiful colors. From purple to pink to coral and all the shades in between, they are truly magnificent. I wonder if the cold air or perhaps the moisture in the air really does enhance the colors in a brighter and more vivid way. I guess only a meteorologist could answer that, but I don’t need to know the answer, I can just truly look up into the sky each morning and evening and let the beauty overwhelm me. Taking Kaja, my dog out in the early morning and evening allows me the opportunity to experience this beauty which is another good reason to have a dog living at my house.

All my life I’ve read that when we react to something negative in another person, it is a sign that there is a trait in ourselves that we need to be aware of and work on. Others only reflect what is going on inside us. I can see that so much more clearly now, and try to become aware of that particular negative behavior and change it in myself. I don’t always succeed, but I’m doing better. For me it has taken many years to realize so much that should have been apparent in earlier times. I do so remember my late, dear husband, Jack, telling me after I questioned him about leaving me before we were married fifty years. At that time, we had to keep things light, because we knew his cancer was terminal, and I didn’t want to cry all the time, so tried hard to laugh. He said “I don’t know why I’m going, and you’re staying. Maybe I have finished what I’m here for, and you haven’t.” Such prophetic words. He was such a wise and wonderful person.

I know that I see such fabulous traits in many people and some rather petty ones in others. I work part time for Home Instead, Senior Care where I go into homes, nursing homes and even hospitals just to offer time and comfort to older people. I have two clients right now in nursing homes that are truly inspirational, and I feel good after I leave them. One who has quite a lot of physical problems is so cheerful and elegant, and appreciates so much what I do for her. And what I do for her is very simple. She loves her room, the opportunity to see the weather in any of its phases, the birds, who come and eat in a feeder outside her room, enjoying the wheelchair ride as we visit the library and I read to her or going to a function at the nursing home to play a game, do crafts or listen to music. She is so grateful for each small thing I or anyone else can do for her, and thanks me profusely for being there with her. What a glow that adds to my day!

I am also blessed to have another client who is equally positive who can do more for herself, but thanks me for each thing I do, even if it’s just listing a television program or a program for the next day, or just sharing our life stories, about our children, work, favorite authors, spiritual life and our thankfulness for all of that. I am blessed to be able to give the little I can to these two women, and it provides me with the opportunity to look into my own heart and become a better person. I always thought that what Jack was telling me was that I needed to learn more patience, and maybe I’m finally getting a little more of that virtue. I hope so.

I’ve been quite busy and have been working with my dear son, Jason and took my grandson, Kaid in for therapy. Unfortunately he had to have the second knee operation, but seems to be doing much better this time. The other time about a year ago, he had to be on crutches for four to five weeks, but this time I picked him up after school four days after surgery, and he limped out without crutches. I am so thankful for that and much more.

I have read a couple lighter novels this month: one by Maeve Binchy entitled Scarlet Feather, and the other by Nevada Barr about one of my favorite characters, Anna Pigeon, a forest ranger. Each of these stories is set in a different national park. The book is called Ill Wind. I enjoyed them both and they were quick reads. In between I read American Legacy: the story of John and Caroline Kennedy. It was a little meatier than the other. It covers their childhood in the White House, the dark aftermath of their fathers’ assassination, their uneasy adolescence, and the many challenges they faced as adults. It’s a realistic look at real people who have been greatly altered by the media in most accounts. I enjoyed getting the real story.

I’ve just begun Diane Ackerman’s book, The Zookeeper’s Wife: a War Story about a zookeeper and his wife who hid Jews from the Nazis during WW II. One of my joys at this age is to get into my flannel sheeted bed on a cold night, pull up the covers and read until I get sleepy. It is the best time of the day. Stay Warm!

A person my age should be rewarded for taking care of the problems of others. Instead he gets saddled with all sorts of physical aliments, aches and pains and a variety of petty complaints. As I recall, when I was growing up it was always proper to inquire after an older person’s health. So far, no one has ever been curious of my welfare.

In the 1920’s away from electrical strung wires, the biggest challenge was leaving a warm comfy bed to visit a drafty privy on a cold wintry night. Why? – mull it over. Even the catalogue pages were partially frozen together and we usually wore our shoes without socks to and from that family sanctum.

Changes? You ‘betcha’ and plenty of them. Before 1929 paper currency was physically larger than it is today – twenty five percent larger. With the coming of smaller bills, came smaller billfolds. Smaller billfolds placed in the same size hip pocket, made it more tempting for the pick-pocket and easier to be jostled out and lost. So, smaller hip pockets appeared. The end result was that a greater number of wallets could be made from the same size slab of cowhide. I was nine years old when those smaller bills first rolled off the printing press.

Back during the generations before my time, women and girls didn’t wear underpants, they wore “bloomers.” Nowadays they don’t need bloomers because they usually wear male clothing which hide whatever it was that bloomers hid. I have no comment right now as to why some missies wear short shorts and “two-ribbon” swim suits that almost isn’t there.

When those before us went to town, they rode in a horse-drawn buggy, a surry, a buckboard or a wagon. If it happened to be on a Sunday, those bloomer girls were most likely dressed in a hoop skirt, a corset and button shoes. Or, a dress with a bustle plus the button shoes. Whichever, there was always a parasol nearby. In their wardrobe you probably could have found a petticoat.

The names of common items have also undergone transition. The sense of smell has always been a strong memory provoker. In the spring of 1999, I was treated to one of my favorite dishes – good ole pond-raised catfish. The aroma took me back to days of yore. Sammy and I would go fishing most every Saturday during school vacation. By noon we each had a string of bream almost too heavy to carry. Curious? Bream is really an early name for a variety of sunfish such as bluegill, crappie, etc., etc. Sometime during the generation gap (the lost generation), words and names got changed. Today’s sportsmen just dig fancy names for some reason.

Seen a big front or back porch lately? People just don’t sit out on porches anymore. They build a high fence around their backyard and relax on a thing called a “patio.” The men folk while away the evening hours sippin’ on a cool one and smoking big cigars. They want privacy instead of talking to their neighbor. Neither he nor his wife knows the neighbor well enough to even borrow a cup of sugar. Borrow? – a lost tradition, gone the way of the five cent hamburger, not dogs and soda pops.

People just don’t strike up conversations as they did in days gone by, especially with people my age. “Senile” is the word they use so they won’t have a pay attention to what we have to say, should we dare butt in with a comment of our own.

One of the consequences of our “roller coaster” temperatures has been the stress it creates in trees. David Robson, Extension Horticulture Educator from the Springfield Extension Center, provides some insight into addressing this stress.

“Frost cracks, separation of bark and wood in trees, are likely upshots of the recent intense cold in December followed by the unseasonably warm spells in January.

Frost cracks most often form in periods of wide temperature fluctuations, such as those we have experienced this January, he says. The openings may be large enough that you can fit your hand into the wood. The splits may go in to the center of the tree or beyond.

Trees that develop frost cracks are susceptible to repeated splitting and can become infected by cankering or wood-decaying fungi. Frost cracks aren’t really due to frost, but to drying and shrinking of the wood.

When trees are exposed to freezing temperatures, water leaves the cells and freezes in the spaces between the cells. This freeze-drying results in drying of the wood in much the same way as green lumber dries and cracks when exposed to the sun.

The cells shrink, and the tree trunk tries to shrink as well. But at the same time, the temperature in the center of the trunk remains much higher, and little drying or shrinking of wood occurs there. The unequal shrinkage between outer and inner layers of wood sets up a great strain that is released only by the separation of layers.

The break happens suddenly along the grain of wood, and it’s usually accompanied by a loud “crack” that can be as loud as a rifle shot if you’re around to hear it.

Cracks formed this way usually appear on the south and west sides of the trunk since these are the last places heated by the sun’s rays. A tremendous temperature drop can occur at sunset. If all sides of the trunk were heated and cooled evenly, tension and frost cracks wouldn’t develop because all tissues would expand and shrink at the same rate.

The lower temperatures fall, the greater the drying—creating conditions in which a tree is more likely to crack and in which the wider the cracks can become.

Apple and crabapple (Malus), ash (Fraxinus), beech (Fagus), Goldenraintree (Koelreuteria), horsechestnut (Aesculus), linden (Tilia), London plane and sycamore (Platanus), certain maples (Acer), tuliptree (Liriodendron), walnut (Juglans) and willow (Salix) suffer most.

Exposed trees are more susceptible than those in woodland areas, and trees at their most vigorous age (six to ten inches in diameter) are more susceptible than old ones. Probably because of the higher moisture content in their tissues, trees growing in poorly drained sites are more subject to cracking than those growing in drier, better-drained soils.

In spring sap rises, the wood absorbs water and the crack closes. The cracked zone in the heartwood never completely heals, even though the surface may be sealed by callous formation; and the same cracks tend to open again each winter. The repeated splitting and healing eventually results in a mass of callous over the crack.

Some trees eventually grow large enough in diameter or grow enough bark that cracking ceases. Until that happens, there is little that can be done. Don’t fill the crack. It will close by itself. Bolting frost cracks closed seldom works because the forces are so great that new splits will open along the bolts if split-inducing conditions recur.

When it is closed, trim away loose bark so that nothing can take up residence beneath it, and paint the wound with tree paint. It does not help the tree; but it looks better, and you will feel better.”

If you have other horticulture questions, call the Peoria County Extension Office. The number is 309-685-3140 or on the web at: www.extension.uiuc.edu/peoria.

ADDICTION RECOVERY CENTERS OFFER FREE INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS

The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery offers free, individualized, informational meetings for anyone with questions or concerns regarding addiction. All meetings are confidential and are held on-site. For more info call: 1-800-522-3784

Or contact: The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery at Proctor Hospital, Peoria, 691-1055. Or visit: www.addictionrecov.org

Weight Loss and Weight Management – The Healthy Way will be presented Wednesday, February 13 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Hult Health Education Center on the campus of Proctor Hospital. Presenter Scott Blank, MS, RD, LDN, Proctor Hospital, will discuss the causes of obesity, treatment options, nutrition and physical activity and why a healthy approach to weight loss is important. Participants are encouraged to bring a family member and/or friend along with them to this important FREE program.

Healthy Living classes are sponsored by Proctor Hospital. Call 692-9595 to register for these FREE seminars held at the Hult Health Education Center, 5215 N. Knoxville Avenue, Peoria.

Proctor Hospital’s discounted Coronary Risk Profiles during February in honor of American Heart Month

This venipuncture blood test measures: Glucose, Total cholesterol, HDL & LDL, Triglycerides, Blood Pressure, Height & Weight as well as an individualized heart health analysis! The price has been reduced to just $20.00 through February.

Visit the following sites:

• Friday, February 8 – Associated Family Physicians, 1506 W Garfield Ave. – Bartonville - Screenings from 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
• Friday, February 22 – Proctor First Care Knoxville Square, 9118 N. Lindbergh Dr. – Peoria - Screenings from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Call (309) 689-8334 to schedule an appointment.

NOTE: This test requires a 12 HOUR FAST (You may have water & black decaffeinated coffee or tea only)

If you cannot make one of these appointments, testing will also done most Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the Hult Health Education Center during the month of February! Please call (309) 692-9595 to schedule a Tuesday or Thursday appointment during February!