Graduation Day for Josh

When I was a young mom, I thought how clever I was to have my kids right in a row. They shared clothes and toys and stages of life. Just as one child was outgrowing a set of shorts, or a jacket, or a tricycle, there was another little one grateful to inherit a hand-me-down. HOWEVER, I didn’t really think about how fast life goes and what happens at the other end of childhood when they start leaving home—quickly and right in a row. Now, I’m finding that that is the hard part—just when your tears have dried and your heart has mended from your first one leaving the coop, another one is right around the corner. And you feel the flood coming all over again…




May 2011 Graduation

May 2011

May 2011 Graduation

So, today marks my month—I have exactly one month before I send Josh on an airplane where he begins his adventure at BYU. I feel like I just did this….and I realize I just did—18 months ago! Now I’m thinking I wasn’t such a clever mom after all.

Sometimes I’ve wondered if I have a rare case of maternal attachment disorder; but really I think that I just love the company of my kids and I love knowing they are close.

Josh was born on October 25, 1999 in Orange, CA after the hottest summer on record. We lived in a little duplex with no air conditioning and I credit my friend Marilyn Fisher and her swimming pool for saving both Josh’s and my life that summer.

When he was little, Josh’s first word was “baaaalllll”—everything worth playing with was a “ball” in Josh's mind.... Not much in his life has changed!  He had locks of curly hair and big eyes. A great mix between Scott and my Dad. 

Zach’s sole purpose in life was to torment Josh and Josh quietly accepted his torment. The two boys were night and day—Zach and Josh. Zach was social and boisterous, Josh showed his love in quieter ways.

Josh rode a two-wheel bike at three years old—(I am not lying about this!) Our neighbors would sit on their decks and watch this little peanut of a boy riding a two wheel bike. It was kind of unbelievable. From the time he was 5, Josh loved soccer and would spend hours and hours kicking a soccer ball against a wall or a garage or into a net. His soccer idol was Jonny Walker of the Universidad Catolica Soccer team in Chile. He collected all things Jonny—cards, posters, jerseys, news clippings. He also grew to become a fine pianist...not many people know that Josh is a great musician. My favorite piece is his Chopin Nocturne--something that he plays with such precision and feeling, I am absolutely moved every time I hear it.

But his passion has been his love for soccer. People who are passionate about something think and dream and talk and work for their passion—and Josh has done just that. His passion will take him to BYU beginning this summer as he joins the Men’s Soccer Team. I envy his passion. I am proud of him and I will miss him greatly.

Josh can be found and followed at http://www.byusoccer.com/. 

Thanksgiving in Chicago



Took a little trip to the Windy City to spend Thanksgiving with Family---that has such a nice ring to it...Thanksgiving with Family!! It is such a treat when we get to spend the holidays with family.




Freezing in Chicago! I think it is colder than Ohio...is that humanly possible?

We had a tasty traditional Thanksgiving feast (with a little Japanese flair), did a little Black Friday shopping and Harry Potter, walked the Miracle Mile and Christkindl Market, went to a real Japanese grocery store, ( I'm stocked with goodies for a few months!), made mochi, and played lots of games!  Thanks Jason and Risa--it was soooo much fun!  

Jason and Risa



Jason and Jake...Grandmas's oldest and youngest grands








  

Dinner at Francescas...GREAT pizza!



This is Scott...unplugged.  Such a nice holiday!



Check out these pigeons warming themselves by the fire! Smart pigeons!

Moms and Missionaries



I asked him to "Smile"...he tells me he will do GQ

 We have a missionary..it’s been official for nearly two months! I’ve concluded that life snowballs once your kids reach high school. They start out as freshman and the next thing you know, you are ordering graduation announcements and taking senior pictures.



Preparing a missionary is not for the faint-hearted. There are suits to buy, pants to tailor, books to be read, doctors visits to make. All of this is so carefully outlined in the Missionary guidebook, but it says nothing (let me repeat… “NOTHING”) about preparing moms to say goodbye to their sons for two years. I’m not going to sugarcoat it and tell you that it was a wonderful, peaceful, and spiritual experience. In reality, It was hard and gut-wrenching watching him walk away knowing that we wouldn’t have the regular phone calls and texts and our weekly Skype sessions. So why do we do this??!! I have had many friends ask how we can do this! Some of the more common and highly-rational questions are: 


I couldn't get them to give me a great pose!!

“Can you go visit him on his mission?” “You mean that you can’t talk to him on the phone except for twice a year??!!” OR “ He does get to come home for the holidays, right??” Um that is a “No”, “No”, and “No”.


Zach pretending to not love his sister...



I think that the best answer to these questions came when I read the letter that came from the Missionary Training Center for our Church. To paraphrase, it said that missions are a sacrifice for both missionaries and their families. Complete sacrifice means that missionaries leave routines behind and devote their full energy to service. Families help missionaries to focus on service when they provide support through positive and encouraging letters. In this way, their lives become immersed in serving and not distracted with routines from home. So…this is both Zach’s sacrifice and MY sacrifice!



I am so happy to report that in these two short months while he has been serving in Colorado, it has already been life changing for him and for our family. I miss him every day-- he is never far from my thoughts, and I look forward to my Wednesday morning email--- BUT I also know that I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is making him into the man I know he can become.



These are some memories that we made just before he left. He is now serving in Eagle, Colorado teaching and helping the Latino people in that beautiful part of the country!

One last one..."See You in Two"!











Goblin Valley

I have been a delinquent blogger for a while now!  I counted and I think I attended 45 soccer games in about 8 weeks! I'm also busy savoring a Senior year...AGAIN! (Didn't I just do this with Zach?)

But just for memories, I am going to post some pictures of our Goblin Valley trip this past summer.  I lived in Utah for 10 years and only remotely remember hearing about Goblin Valley--it is only a 4 hour drive from Provo!  But after visiting I think it is a "Day Trip Must" and a "highly recommend" for the Utah traveler!  The only thing I should prepare you for is the accommodations--or lack of--in Green River, Utah.  I recommend the Holiday Inn Express--the other hotels look like set scenery from an old western, ghost town movie...the big question being flush toliets or outhouses?

Check Out These Rock Formations!

Looks Prehistoric!

My Family near the Geiser

Seth on a rock plateau--a very nice climb!

The Three Amigos..the 4th was working in Ohio!



The Spring near Goblin Valley





One of the caves that we explored...



BYU Police Blotter

BYU is in a world of its own--I think that is what makes it unique.  While on campus this summer, I picked up a campus newspaper (remember, The Daily Universe??!)  I found a very funny column called "Police Beat"..and for posterity, I am going to share a few snip-its. 

PUBLIC PEACE
July 9: A person was reported sneaking around Wymount Park, throwing pebbles at a window and knocking on doors and running away.  An officer searched the area but could not find the person. 

July 12: Students were reported yelling outside Wyview Park. An officer asked them to be quiet.

SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR
July 7: A man was reported drawing circles on the ground and throwing balls into the circles. The man was gone when police arrived.

July 8: A student reported a sex offense occurring at Wyview Park. When an officer arrived, he found a male and a female making out. Both parties were clothed. The officer suggested they find another location to continue such activities.

July 9: A woman at Wymount Terrace reported hearing noises coming from a vacant apartment.  When police arrived, the found the noise was wind blowing a door open and shut because a window was left open.

July 9: A man was reported running outside in army fatigues, holding a gun. When police arrived, they found the man was an ROTC student and the gun was a replica.

AND FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE BYU POLICE BLOTTER...

July 4: A man was reported making a suspicious phone call to a female in Helaman Halls in which he claimed he was doing a psychology project and then proceeded to hypnotize the female student on the other end of the line. The roommate of the female came home to find her asleep on the floor. The female is reported of reacting strangely when certain words are spoken. Incidents of a similar nature have occurred about two dozen times in the past. There are no suspects, but the incident is still under investigation.



July 6: BYU police were called out to assist Provo police who had pulled over a man for a traffic offense who did not speak English. Upon arrival of the Spanish-speaking officer, the man realized he was getting a ticket despite the language barrier and was able to speak English fluently.

In contrast, I work at the University of Akron and just last semester I received a text message from campus police notifying and students/staff of a shooter at large on campus. We were to be on the watch and report any suspicious activity. Scary!! I'll take "Ding Dong Ditching" any day of the week. Heres to the idiosyncrasies of BYU!

My Summer Picks

This summer has been my reading BLISS…

I was thinking back and wondering… “When was the last time I have actually read a book for fun…for me…for no reason at all??” It has literally been YEARS! During graduate school, my textbooks were my best friends. Then I started teaching and the faculty members who choose textbooks for instruction played cruel jokes on us lowly part-time faculty and changed textbooks EVERY semester. Translated, that means that I have officially utilized six new texts over three years! For me, that is like reinventing the class—complete with new lecture notes, presentations, handouts—the whole time-consuming enchilada.

But this summer??...No new books, no changes in Fall classes and that means I am reading for PLEASURE! What a thought! Since my perusal time is limited, I waited for BYU Management Society’s Summer Reading List. I have not been disappointed. The list is chosen by BYU Management Faculty, Staff, and Students—most of which are much more well-read than me. I am grateful for their insights.

I now have a new “Top Ten” book that I LOVED READING-- “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It is a well-written, easy read book that follows a series of pen-pal relationships in post-Nazi times. The stories take place between London and the Guernsey Islands and they give a wonderful human look into the lives of people from the villages of Guernsey. This book has a new space on my top shelf! I also enjoyed“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak—a book that was released a few years ago. It is the story of a young girl growing up in Germany during wartime and her adventures of book thievery that helps her cope with her changing world. It is worth the read. My last book to read before school starts will be “From Poverty to Power” by Duncan Green. It was marketed as a book that helps people to view themselves as powerful agents that can initiate and inspire personal change and make the world a better place.

One final note: I did come across a bit of a dud this summer…and I hesitate to ever discount a book, for fear that it might hold some great benefit or insight for someone. But I did read “Eat, Pray, Love” and found it to be dull and a little annoying! In a nutshell, it is the story of a woman—thirty-ish-- who sets out alone on a one year quest to find herself. She leaves behind husband, family, friends and travels to Italy (to “Eat”), India (to “Pray”), and Indonesia (to “Love”) in hopes of discovering who she is. She walks away from her home and her relationships in her quest for self-discovery. As alluring as it may sound to travel unaccompanied and eat your way through Italy, I found myself thinking of the great women in my life and their path to self-discovery. The women I know have a pretty clear sense of “who they are”. They didn’t need to abandon their home or their husband or their jobs to find an inner peace—quite the contrary. It was their families, their friends, their service, their faith that helped them to discover their potential. And they most certainly did NOT need to travel to Italy, India, or Indonesia to figure it out…their life’s lessons came closer to home through, what I am sure, were less-than-exotic experiences. (For me, it has been cleaning the bathroom for three boys...)

“Eat, Pray, Love” was not on the Management Society list, for obvious reasons! And, yes I probably will go to see the movie just in case I missed the point!

Spring Snip Its

Spring Tulips by Carly Hunter

It seems that we wait all winter long for Spring Break--then it comes, and before you know it...school's out! The kids tell me there is 9 days of school left this year. Time flies when you're having fun!

For Spring Break, we visited Baltimore. What a great city... I recommend it, highly! Very family-friendly, easy to drive, lots to see--a great weekend get away. We also visited Rehoboth Beach, bought a beach kite, flew it in 45 degree weather in 45 mph winds! It was freezing, but it was a beach. We saw the famous Washington cherry blossoms--they are as beautiful as the tour books describe! Zach came home, celebrated his 19th birthday, opened his mission call, and we accompanied him to the temple--it's been a whirl.

All-in-all a great Spring.

Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Kite Flying in Rehoboth Beach, Maryland.

Did I mention it was COLD??!!

Japanese Cherry Blossoms on the Mall, Washington D.C.

"The Mission Call"--live and in stereo via cell phones and Skype!


Jake caught the garter at a wedding we attended.

We tried to explain that it should really be for "eligible bachelors". He felt eligible.

Zach and his good friend Kristin, Medina Prom.
Check out her corsage. I painstakingly helped the florist find just the right color match...
pretty sweet, eh??


Jake and Dandelion

A summer now to look forward to...a missionary ready to serve, soccer camps, campfires, grandma and cousins and friends to see. I feel very blessed!