Snow

One week ago today, I awoke to 5 inches of snow on the ground.  Woo-hoo!  After dragging my sister outside like a little kid, I tell her, "Do you know how far I have to travel to see this stuff?"  She's from Wyoming and her unimpressed expression told it for her, "Do you know how far I have to travel to get away from this stuff?"

Remember where you are ...

My sister and I were walking on campus at BYU and just having a regular conversation.  During this conversation, she is telling me how she didn't eat when she was suppose to and now has a migraine coming on - and that she's decided to go back to the hotel, strip, and take a nap.  Laughing at her choice of words and not wanting to find her like that when the rest of us return, I tell her, "You better not get naked ..." right as a BYU male student starts to pass us on his bike but instead rides off the sidewalk, almost crashes into a tree, and wobbles on the bike trying to keep his head down and get back to the pavement.  Oops.

Where is that?

Another fun moment in the airport (come on, gotta take them when you can) - there is a lady standing about two feet away from me talking very loudly on her phone.  This is what I hear:

"We're in Utah waiting to switch planes."

"It's a state ..."

Am I at the airport?

You know the routine at the airport security.  Shoes off - shuffle your stuff around - everything out of your pockets - are you wearing a belt? - good luck with the kids and strollers - and the just the general mayham of it all.  Well last week while I'm getting ready for my turn, I pause.  Am I really hearing what I think I'm hearing?  Looking around to survey, yup - there is a lady on the other side of security playing an accordian of carnival music.  Very fitting.

Timeless

Here's your advance notice - this posting isn't one that is funny ha ha, but it is one that absolutely puts a smile on my face.

The past few days I've been able to witness half of "whole".  This particular half is a very intelligent man, in my (accurate) opinion.  He has a quirky sense of humor, is thoughtful of other people, and has been visiting us for a very important event even though his wife wasn't able to.  And he's missed her terribly.  I don't know that he would say that's the right word, terribly, but a part of him is definitely different without her - you can tell that part of him is more settled, happier, and at peace when she is around.

I love that.  I love the example they set.  In this world there is so much heartache.  So much distrust.  So much malice.  It's wonderful to see firsthand that after many decades together, the kindness - love - the changes that take place when you give yourself to someone else's care - that couples do this and years later it's still so tender and such a wonderful thing.

There's a change that takes place when you trust your heart to someone.  Trust them with your dreams, your hopes, your fears.  Trust them with everything possible.  You do change.  How wonderful it is to see couples years further than yourself who have done this very thing and still are doing it.  Still are taking care of each other.  Still love each other.  And it's something more cherished.

I love to see this.  It gives me hope for my own future.  It reassures my insecurities.  It makes my heart happy.  So thank you for this.  Thank you for being an example to me.  Thank you for being an example for my children.  And it always will put a smile on my face.

Happy Easter

After tucking my daughter in bed, she calls me back and tells me, "Mom - will you please tell the Easter Bunny that I appreciate her?  Cause I wouldn't want anything to happen like in the movies when they decide to stop coming cause something bad happens.  And Santa Clause.  I appreciate him too!  Will you please let them both know?"

"Oh, and tell daddy that the Easter Bunny is a girl cause boys can't lay eggs.  And bunnies can't lay eggs either!"

Visit from the Tooth Fairy

My daughter lost a tooth last week and is old enough to know all about the "tooth fairy".  Lucky for us, she still has enough kid magic in her to wonder and so she determined that with her new tooth in hand, she was going to find out.

(I can honestly tell her I'm NOT the tooth fairy.  That really is her daddy's job.)  After putting her tooth under her pillow for the night and reaffirming to her that I'm not the tooth fairy, I was fairly certain she had gone to sleep.  Lack of noise, all that good stuff.

As my husband pushes open her bedroom door (it's older and sticks right at the beginning so you have to jerk it right at first) - it hits her cd player and then a loud cow bell starts clanking out.  Ha ha!  She made a trap for the tooth fairy!  She put a ribbon with a cow bell on the door and her cd player right in the way to stop the door causing the loud cow bells to clatter.

The tooth fairy was lucky and complete his mission undetected - this time.