A Nostalgic Evening

Jeffy was sick on Wednesday, picked up some sort of flu bug at school. . . But he was not sick enough to stay home from Classic Family Fun Center Thursday night! : ) Every six months our pediatric dentist rents the place out. Children who’ve had good check ups are given free passes, and can bring their whole families! Jeffy wasn’t about to miss this long-sought-after opportunity, and miraculously became ‘better’ around lunch time! : ) I ended up taking him, Eric, and Aleia over to this circus of Family Fun later that evening, where we had a great time amidst the chaos of scootering, skating, pizza, hot dogs, raffle tickets and colored lights. Eric, with his amazing talent and a whole bunch of tokens, somehow rigged one of the games in the arcade so that it spit out a seemingly endless amount of tickets, thus enabling us to choose from an “amazing” assortment of cheapo plastic prizes! This brought enough excitement and smiles, I’m sure, for any one evening. : ) One of these treasures ended up being a pair of toy handcuffs. Jefferson was enraptured! He kept us waiting the next day, walking home from school, when he obligingly offered to demonstrate this amazing new toy, and handcuffed one of the neighborhood kids halfway down the path, hopefully not to the fence. . . Both kids were grinning. Boys, and their toys, right? I haven’t seen his eyes light up like that in a while! Jeffy and crew played Cops and Robbers in the backyard all afternoon!

Pizza Quest!

Thursday before last, Jeffy and Aleia got it into their heads, around dinnertime, that they wanted to pool their funds/resources, and see if they had enough to buy a pizza at Little Shleazer's. : ) We drove over there, Jeffy with his little plastic baseball bank full of change. He dumped it out on the counter and we started hurriedly separating the coins. Some might think that the cashier, or maybe the other people waiting in line might be annoyed or impatient at the prospect of waiting while some little kid counted out his pennies for a 5 dollar pizza purchase, but happily, the be-aproned, heavyset cook/cashier was beaming, and when we came up short, and Charlie found some random coins in his pocket that made the 5 dollars, plus one penny, there was not a person in the store that wasn't smiling. Jefferson held out his little arms, and was given a whole pepperoni pizza, with a “Here ya go, little man!” and a grin the size of a slice of watermelon. Aleia and Jeffy had accomplished their purpose. We took it home, and they shared their prize with the whole family. : ) It may seem like a small thing, but these are the moments that memories are made of.

Macey’s

We were just at the store. Jeffy spotted the big, green coin-counting machine. Somebody was using it.

He was shocked.

“Did they fix it?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“Yeeaah, it usually works. . .” I droned wryly. “Just not when we use it.”

: )

On the way out to the parking lot. . .

“Hey, Jeffy, check out those ducks!” They were straight ahead, between us and the sunset, off in the distance. I pointed them out. “They’re flying south for the winter.”

Jefferson watched them move in formation for a moment.

“Do they always fly in a ‘V’?” he inquired placidly. . .

“Yes. They do.”

He grinned up at me, understanding.

“Maybe they’re all friends!”

: )

You can learn a lot from a duck. . . Maybe even more from a 6 year old boy.

Seriously?

Okay, since when is our current President, the President of the United States of America, or any President, for that matter, featured on the traditional class ring? I don’t seem to recall this option last year. If memory serves, there sure wasn’t any George Dubya Bush engraving available! What is up with THAT!?

Evidently our Commander in Chief has reached new celebrity status. The thing is, he’s not a celebrity. He’s a guy, who happened to get elected to public office! Job description might read “Public Servant” numero uno. Maybe this is a hip new brainstorm on the part of the Jostens Jewelry company, but it follows a rather disturbing trend. . . Elevating this man to something higher than public servant status! Yes, he is our president. Yes, we should be respectful. But no, he is not a celebrity, or a god, or a king. He is an elected official, deserving of no higher recognition than of any of the other elected officials, who happen to be serving their country 9 to 5. Hey, wait a minute! Maybe this isn’t so bad. . . Do you think, if I ask nice, do you think maybe I could get a Jason Chaffetz insignia put on my ring? Or maybe we could take it to the next level, and have available engravings of ALL people with political affiliations! Rush Limbaugh, first pick! That’s what I want! A Rush Limbaugh class ring! We could even get jazzy, and carve “What a Rush!” as an inside engraving. Good times!

Here’s what a friend of mine wrote during a discussion about the President’s address to school children Tuesday:

“Clearly the President should be able to address the nation's citizens including school children. I am happy to allow my children to be inspired by an ordinary citizen who has risen to lead the country. However, that's exactly what the President is...an ordinary citizen who is temporarily elevated to a position of leadership who will then return to his place as an ordinary citizen like the rest of us. It's important to me that my kids respect the office of the presidency and realize that anyone can (theoretically) achieve the office. The tone of the directives to teachers in advance of the speech (what can the kids do to help Obama) concerned me because I perceived we were elevating the man and not the office. I'm not sure if the boys are watching today because the school hasn't said and I haven't asked. Either way, we regularly have discussions at dinner concerning politics and I'm sure tonight will be no different.”

My personal favorite was the question worded “How does President Obama inspire me?” How indeed.

My Laenabug

If ever there was a girl. . .who personified ‘Sugar and Spice’. . .

We’re missing our baby girl, but we’re excited to see her fly. . . So much fun up there in Rexburg! Great roommates, cute apartment, beautiful campus. . . Can't beat it!

Monday, Labor Day, we dropped Laena off at BYU Idaho. We made the trip up with just her, Aleia, and baby Lincoln. Wish we’d been able to take the whole family, but the boys had flags, and Jeffy wanted to stay with Evan. . . Plus our Suburban’s still not quite ready to go. . .

It was somewhat surreal. . .  Kind of a long drive. We actually ran into Charlie’s Uncle Tom and wife Denise at the family Restaurant in Blackfoot. The state fair is still going on, and things were hoppin’! Uncle Greg, who still runs the place, hooked us up with warm cinnamon rolls for the road. It was nice to see them again. Once in Rexburg, we pulled into the parking lot there at the Colonial House apartments, walked into the front office, and almost literally ran into Charlie’s boss, Jeff Edwards! Turns out, their daughter Becca will be living not only in the same complex, but next door to our Laenabug! : ) What are the odds!

After checking Laena in, and listening briefly to some valuable advice about boys from her fabulous overseer/house mother, Faith, we started unpacking the car. . . Lea and Lincoln had a great time helping carry little things up the stairs, Binky as fast as his 2-year-old legs would let him. . . : ) So cute! Laena’s on the 3rd floor, smack in the middle of the complex. Fantastic view! We got to meet some of her roommates, Britney, Auslinn, and Sydney. Laena is sharing a room with Auslinn, who is about the most perfect, sweet ‘roomy’ a mother could hope for. It’s a bittersweet experience, dropping your kid off at a University. . . Sigh.

I knew all this was coming. Laena’s been a big girl for a while now. . . but I didn’t think that it would come quite so soon. But there we were, off to lunch, and the Get Connected program! Twelve thousand kids out on the football field, in their I-Groups, playing “get to know you” games. :) It’s set up so beautifully up there. . . Nothing is left to chance! Leaves you with a warm, comforting feeling. We were privileged to hear President Clark speak at the welcome assembly, first to everyone, and then just to the parents. . . I think my favorite part was during the ‘question and answer’ segment, when one gentleman stood up and expressed his ‘concerns’ about his daughter’s dismay upon discovering that she was not able to access Facebook from her dorm room. He was informed that the students would not have access to Facebook, and other such websites, on campus, until after 6 pm during the week. You should have heard the applause! Smiles broke out, faces lit up, parents stood and cheered! If anyone in the crowd had been hesitant before, they now support President Clark, and the staff at Brigham Young North, one hundred percent! Hilarious! : )

Later, we dropped by Wal-Mart, where we briefly lost the Binky. Talk about scary! Eight thousand people in there, college kids everywhere, picking out bed sheets and last minute items. . . It had to have been the busiest day of the year. But we found him, and got what we needed. Aleia insisted on buying Laena a Beta Fish, ‘to remember us by’. . . We picked up a glass bowl and some pretty rocks to go with. : ) A trip to the local grocery outlet, to familiarize the Boogsie with her options, a jog past Sonic for some grilled cheese and a lime slushy, and it was just about time to go. . . She was all squared away, nothing left to do but to give hugs, and say goodbye. It still didn’t seem real when we left her unpacking dishes at her new apartment. . . She seemed okay. . . A wave and a smile, and we were out the door. Aleia made us run back inside for one last smooch.

You can see the temple for quite a ways, when you’re pulling out of Rexburg, and onto the freeway. . . Charlie was comforted by this. Such a good environment for young peeps, for anyone really. . .

Just as we were getting up to speed, settling in for the drive back, the Binky recognized an empty seat, and bewailed Laena’s absence with his plaintive whine.

“Naena!”

And a very deliberate

“Waaahhhh. . . ”

She was gone.

It didn’t hit me until later. I guess I was still euphoric about her choice of school, and still am, for the record. But when I opened her bedroom door, after saying good night to the boys, and she wasn’t there. . . That’s when it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. Laena was gone. Someone said last Sunday that they never come back the same. . . We have a picture of her, as a tiny four year old, sleeping in her toddler bed. For some reason, I couldn’t get that image out of my head.

An hour later, I was still awake. It’s terribly quiet in our home after everyone finally calms down and passes out. . . I got up and wandered into the living room, The bathroom light was on, which gave me something to work with, and I could see her picture on the piano, with everything else, just sitting there in it’s silver frame, like nothing had happened. I curled up on the couch, and looked around. We have a picture of the Savior, with his arm around a little child, centered on the wall opposite. Below the picture, inscribed in brass, is the quote: “Teach me to walk in Your light.” I guess that’s the question, isn’t it? When our children finally go, we ask ourselves. . . Is she ready to face the world? Have we taught her all she needs to know? Have we taught her of Christ.

And this was it. This was the night. Our golden haired baby girl is all grown up, and off to college. I guess all we can do now is be there for her, and help her when she needs it. The time to teach is over. All sorts of thoughts and feelings flooded my mind and heart. Had I prepared my daughter for all that she would face? Our golden angel had flown away. We would both have to rely on a higher power now. On faith and love. . . I kept seeing that picture of her, asleep, clutching her pink bunny. . . just a baby child. Time is something that I don’t entirely understand. Tears made their way silently down my cheeks. My baby girl was gone.

I sat there in the dark, hugged my pillow, and wished her four again.

Silence can be overwhelming.

Downsizing. . .

Last Saturday, we got rid of RJ, the turtle. Yesterday, we said goodbye to Daisy the cat. Yes, my friends, we are downsizing. : ) It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing!

At one point, our home was quite like a zoo. . . Over the years, we’ve had two dogs, 5 or 6 snakes, 800 or so goldfish, a pair of bearded dragons, a frog, 16 parakeets, and at least a dozen kittens. . Many of them at the same time! Thankfully, I've been able to whittle it down to just the 3 now. . Well, four. . . Yesterday, the kids finally talked Charlie into letting them keep one of new kittens. The fuzzy one. But hey, I think we’ve come a long way! 2 of the cats hardy come indoors. : )

Now, don’t get me wrong. We really do like cute little baby animals. Someday, we may have to get a puppy. . . Certainly, there’s been talk. But for now, we’re looking forward to a lot less poop! : ) No more fish water, no more cleaning out cages. . . Such a relief. The Mason Residence has been reformed! Zoo status no longer applicable! Yippee!

BTB, If anyone is in the market for a little black kitty, (and just a month before Halloween, I might add. . .) feel free to give us a call!

A Necessary Evil

Last Wednesday, I was subjected to my first Arithmetic instruction in over 20 years.

Math class. Bleck!

Some people say, a necessary evil. . . I disagree. Having resigned myself to the task, however, and having driven all the way to campus, I located (dragged myself to) the correct building, and gingerly searched for the classroom, noticing to my chagrin that the place literally smelled like Math. Everything was square, and bare, and beige and BROWN. There ought to be a law. No personality, no color, no fun. I HATE MATH. If every right brained person this side of the planet got together and migrated to some other galaxy, I’d be okay with that! Sigh. Well, okay I suppose we need them, because somebody’s got to do all the dirty work, but cold calculations are just. . . so clinical! I loathe and despise them. “With a fiery loathing passion!” as Laena would say. That is correct, sir! There simply is no good reason for a Visual Arts major to be required to endure . . math. Ick.