Becoming Leona: What's in a (Blog's) Name?

Most women my age are scared of one thing: becoming their mothers. This has never registered with me. Perhaps it's because of the fact I never went through the process of "becoming" Karen Rush. I was simply born just like her. I have the Svendsen genes (and the bell bottom jeans) to prove it. Believe me... I have never worried about turning into my mother. Remember the time in middle school I wore go-go boots to a dance? I do. When people exclaim over how much I look like, talk like, act like my mom, I receive this as one of the greatest of all compliments.

And now, now I find myself in the process of "becoming" like someone else too... Leona, to be exact. To tell you the truth, I'm excited about it. Leona was my paternal grandmother, "Gran" to Amy, Kelly, Hunter, and me. Leona was ladylike in a way that only women born around 1918 could achieve. Remember Jesus' commandment to love God and love your neighbor? She loved God. She loved her neighbors. She loved her family. She went to church. She wrote in cursive. She read. She traveled. She made lemonade when children came over. She thought a full serving of coke was approximately 4 ounces. She saved everything. I mean... everything. She ate fresh foods, and most of the vegetables on her table came straight from the backyard garden. She was kind to everyone. Everyone. 

And so it is with happiness that I look at my own life and see glimpses of Leona. I love God. I love my neighbors. I love my family. I go to church. I (sometimes) write in cursive (although not with Gran's exquisite penmanship... I'm working on that). I read. I travel. I make lemonade when children come over. Coke? Who drinks Cokes these days? I save... well... I don't save much actually. Leona was a child of the Great Depression. So she saved. I am a child of The Treasure House. So I purge. I reduce, I reuse, I recycle. I eat fresh foods (*ahem* or try to) and since our last move we're in the process of building a new backyard garden (though I can only dream of the day that I have a garden as awesome as Pop's was). I try to be kind to everyone... but come on, let's not forget I do have that Svendsen gene. 

So, what's in a (blog's) name? Plenty. My hope is that this blog will entertain you, let you get to know me and my fam a little better (or just keep up with our shenanigans if you already know us well), and allow me to keep a record of the hilariousness that is Carolena as I work on Becoming Leona (see what I did there... you're not sure if I meant "work on Becoming Leona" like in life becoming more like my grandmother or "work on Becoming Leona" as in posting to this blog. Gotcha!).