Christmas Memories 2014

Christmas came as a welcome reprieve to the emotionally-draining days that led up to Christmas. Even Christmas Eve day was stressful as I felt the pressure of not getting all my tasks completed prior to the deadline that I had set for myself (the deadline was David's arrival home from work). I wanted to have last-minute shopping done, presents packaged up and ready to load in the car, laundry folded and put away, my things packed but I was still running errands when David called to say that he was on his way home. Errands took longer than expected and I didn't get home until around noon and David had already been home for 30 minutes. Dave could tell by the harried expression on my face that I was overwhelmed and he didn't push me to hurry and finish so we could leave. Matter of fact, he let me pick the departure time. I figured I would be ready by 2 and that was just fine by him. Oh the welcome relief that came when I didn't feel like I was wrecking Christmas by being behind schedule.

With the pressure off, I relaxed. We were in the truck by 2 and on our way to Quincy to celebrate Christmas with Dave's family. I think in our 24 years of marriage this was one of the most enjoyable Christmases we have shared with his family. We laughed, we played games, we worked on a challenging puzzle (and completed it). Dave and I discovered that sharing a twin bed isn't too bad; actually, we both came to the conclusion that when at home, in our queen bed, we sleep in a twin-bed amount of space.

We missed Katelyn but were so happy to Skype with her. She is doing well and looked so happy. She had a crazy week leading up to Christmas so she wasn't able to e-mail us on Monday or Tuesday to let us know when she would be Skyping. She called us Christmas Eve day as we were on the way to Quincy to set up a time. We decided that 11:30 a.m. would be the time. Well, 11:30 came and went. Then it was 11:45. Since this was the first time Skyping from our laptop I was afraid I had messed something up. So I broke the rules. I called Katelyn (I had the number from her call the day before). She said "Mom! What are you doing?" I said "You're late. I just wanted to make sure I hadn't screwed up the Skype." Katelyn said "Oh, sorry. I'll be right there." And then 5 minutes later there she was on our computer screen. Talking with her and seeing her was probably the best Christmas present any of us received.

I love my family. I was grateful that we were able to spend time with Dave's family this Christmas.

Our 2014 Christmas Letter

Greetings Family and Friends,

This was an exciting year. There was sending off a missionary, a high school graduation, camping, hiking, running, boat building, adjusting to an empty-nest. So much was done and there is so much to be grateful for.

February 12th (or something close to that), Katelyn left for the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT. She has been called to serve in the Tempe, AZ mission. She will be home August, 2015. She has had some great experiences and some not-so-great experiences, but she recognizes that all experience can be for her good. Her current area is a little town called Ajo. She is teaching mostly single, older ladies in that area. She is learning a little Spanish and enjoying all of the javelinas that run around town. Javelinas are wild pigs that can be a little mean. We miss her but are grateful for her to have this opportunity.

Carson graduated in June. He took up cedar-strip boat building and finished a beautiful cedar-strip kayak and a cedar-strip canoe (both of which are for sale). He decided to gently break us into empty-nesting by attending a local college, North Idaho College. The parents decided he needed some away-from-home experience and insisted he live in the dorms at NIC. This has worked out very well. Carson also made the wrestling team as a walk-on. That was very exciting. He had his first college win at a tournament in Great Falls where he wrestled unattached since he is red-shirting this year.

Heather had an exciting year as she was selected with 3 other local school nurses to participate in the Johnson and Johnson School Health Leadership program sponsored by Rutgers University and Johnson and Johnson. She spent a week in July in New Brunswick, NJ attending the Institute. Because of her team's work at the Institute, they have been able to successfully implement "clinic in a box" immunization concept which brings immunization clinics to local schools. Their work has been recognized and her team has been asked to be presenters at the National School Nurse conference in June, 2015. Heather also ran her first marathon this past year. Not sure if it counted as an exciting experience, but she also didn't rule out running another marathon in the future.

Dave continues to work on some exciting projects with Advanced Input Systems. One of his projects was helping Flir develop a night-scope for nighttime hunting. Field testing was completed back in Georgia doing some nighttime hog hunting. The scope is now available for purchase; sadly, Dave gets no royalties or kickbacks for building the scope. Dave did want Heather to outshine him in athletic endeavors so he decided to participate in the "I Made the Grade" bike ride. It is a bike ride up the Lewiston grade--a winding, twisting 5 mile climb. It was a completely miserable day, weather-wise, but Dave had a good ride. His next goal is to ride Going to the Sun Road in Glacier NP next summer. Dave and his dad had a bucket-list elk hunt in Canada in September. He came back with a monster.

One exciting adventure was our Spring Break trip to Venice Beach, CA. Let's just say that was culturally-enlightening. We did have good weather and the boys were able to take some surfing lessons. We also got our roller coaster fill as we went to Six Flags Magic Mountain and rode the coasters so much that by the end of the day we all felt a little up-side down. Another highlight was our back-country hiking trip to St. Joe Lake. The hike was beautiful, but the fishing was terrible. The boys said we don't have to do that again (Heather might have done a happy dance with that declaration). We piggybacked a trip to Glacier on to the St. Joe Lake adventure. We were lucky enough to have Rich and Charlene join us for that. The boys enjoyed more fishing and we saw more bears than I have ever seen in Glacier.

As we wind down 2014 we are grateful for the good times and blessings we have received this year. We are looking forward to 2015 and the adventures that it will certainly hold for us.

The graduate, June 2014

The monster. No need to buy red meat for the next year.

Please buy this. Carson needs tuition money.

The happy missionary.

Photo op in Glacier

At the airport selfie. It was super early flight for Kate. She looks great. No judging the other two.

Fly-fishing on the Blackfoot River

Surfing, Santa Monica Beach

Waiting to start the Wenatchee Marathon

Yay! A downhill finish! 26.2 miles is a long ways.

He's a crazy dude. The Lewiston grade.

Hiking to St. Joe Lake. Carson is the Sherpa.

A Moment of Panic

I was in charge of our running route this morning. We had about 45 minutes for our run and we were supposed to me another gal along the way. So I began to plan what route we could cover in about 45 minutes. Part of today's route included an area that I occasionally run through. The last time I ran through this area it was during the day and we covered a new portion of the neighborhood that we hadn't run in before. I decided that was a good route for this morning.

Off we went along familiar roads until we got to the neighborhood. Once in the neighborhood we continued past the regularly run section onto the new section that I had run the past Saturday. All was going well until we came to a T in the road. At the T, I became completely disoriented. I couldn't tell if I was running east, west, north or south. I had no idea which way to turn.

It totally freaked me out to be so disoriented and completely without the ability to get my bearings. My running partners told me where we were, what roads were to the left and right. They ran in the direction that would take us out of the neighborhood and back to the main road. I just had to follow them. I think it was a good 400 yards before I finally was able to get my bearings and begin to recognize where we were.

Note to self, don't run new routes in the dark when it is difficult to find landmarks to get your bearings. And always run with friends who have a good sense of direction.

Whew, It Was a Difficult Day

One of the responsibilities of my job is to be a member of the district's crisis team.

I have been called out twice this year.

Today was the 2nd call.

A senior at University High School died sometime during Friday night.

 

 

Sometimes it is hard to watch people grieve.

It is even harder when you know there isn't a dang thing you can do to "fix" things.

It's also hard when you can't answer the "Why?"

Because all you know is that she died during her sleep.

Accepting the death of a friend,

who died without any apparent rhyme or reason,

Is hard.

 

But at some point in time, you do have to accept the death.

You have to be prepared to move forward.

You have to recognize that there will always be a hole,

but that time will create a scar across that hole.

You have to find a way to strengthen your heart,

in spite of the scar.

You have to develop resilience.

 

One of the hardest things for me today

Was realizing that I don't think these kids

have the skills necessary for resiliency.

 

I wondered if, in our attempts to encourage,

"Use your words" instead of displaying anger, frustration, disappointment, etc.

We have not allowed our children the room

to experience real emotion

and learn effective ways to

deal with emotion.

I wondered if the helicopter parenting

Has stunted the emotional growth of this generation.

I wondered if our insistence that

every mean word or every name called

is bullying

and all bullying must be reported

because kids can't be expected to react appropriately

or efficiently solve the problem.*

 

I wondered if anyone else has ever had the same observations or thoughts?

Am I unbelievably calloused and uncaring?

I don't want to seem uncaring

Because I actually care quite a bit.

I want to make sure we are helping our children how to be resilient.

 

 

*I don't think it is ever said out loud that students can't effectively, efficiently, and appropriately solve the bullying problem, but that seems to be the message that is sent when every bullying awareness program preaches "Report bullying."

 



Bah Humbug! I Lost the Battle

There has been a battle of wills going on here at the Graham house.

The first shot across the bow was fired sometime this summer

When David indicated he was interested in expanding our family.

Um, no way Jose`! I said.

I dug in my heels.

I fired off my own best counter-moves.

 

David continued to push, although more covertly.

Until this last weekend when I caught him

Actively looking at ways on how to expand our family.

 

I again reaffirmed my stance of NO!

But those dang dimples of his...

They are my Achilles' heel.

EVERY.SINGLE.TIME!

He flashes me those dimples and

I melt.

 

So this morning, during my morning workout, I confided to my best friend that David had won.

Then I went home to raise the white flag.

But first I had to toy with Dave a bit.

So I again told David that I wasn't ready to expand our family

(I'm really liking this empty-nest stage)

But if he truly believe that we needed to expand,

We could go ahead

 

 

 

And get a puppy.

 

But not until this summer.

When I have time to deal with a puppy.

Puppies are like babies.

And at the beginning this will impact me more than him.

My schedule (especially in the summer) is much more flexible

So housetraining and socializing the puppy becomes my burden.

That fact was one of my biggest reasons for saying NO WAY!

That and it is harder to find care for 2 dogs when we got out of town.

And I really want to do some more travelling

Now that we are supposed to be empty-nesters.

But he wants to expand.

BAH HUMBUG!

 

 

 

PS Don't think for a minute that I am not actively planning my own version of a "push present" that he is going to owe me.

I have my own ideas, but I'm also open to suggestions.

Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving 2014

Another wonderful family get-together

Where one wonders how all the family dynamics will shake out.

I'm happy to report that everyone was on their best behavior

Meltdowns were avoided

And good memories were made.

 

Some of my favorites include:

 

• The every other year tradition of seeing a movie and going to dinner on Friday after Thanksgiving. This year we saw Big Hero 6. I always enjoy Disney movies and this one didn't disappoint.
• Raking leaves with my dad on Saturday afternoon.
• My 3-year old niece crying to her mom after her dad got after her for pulling on her baby sister..."Momma, daddy is bossing me." Her momma responds, "Daddy can boss you. He is the boss." And then the best comeback ever,"Nuh huh. You are the real boss."
• Carson expressing his appreciation for being home by saying "You know, homes are so much cozier than dorms."

 

My family may be large

And a bit quirky

But I love when we can all get together.

Looking forward to the next time

And hopefully at that time

All of us will be able to make it.

Teaching the Littles

One of my callings right now at church is working in the nursery.

I'm actually in junior nursery so I have the little littles that are 18 months to not quite 3.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this calling.

It's been a long time since I've served in nursery.

The last time was when Carson was in nursery.

He's now 18.

It's been awhile.

 

The primary president was so grateful that I agreed to serve in the nursery.

The moms of the littles have said,

"Thank you for being here. I can't believe you said yes."

"Oh, but it's wonderful" I say

"Mostly because it is not my every day life."

"You have to live this every day but for the couple hours you get off on Sunday."

"I can understand how you might go a little crazy."

 

Here is what I love:

I love the jabbers and trying to interpret what they all mean.

I love how they want to sit on my lap so I can read them a story.

I love that they love to sing and dance with me.

I love that they will let me hold them if they are sad.

I love their smiles.

I love their independent natures.

I love that they know Jesus.

 

I'm grateful to be serving in nursery right now.

The littles are certainly a bright spot in my week.

 

 

Funny Words

The other night Dave had left his wrist watch on the floor. I asked him why he had left his "wrist clock" on the floor. He laughed, not about leaving the watch on the floor, but at the fact that I had called it a "wrist clock"(a phrase then-3-year old Katelyn used for watch). He wondered if we were weird for incorporating that phrase, and others from our children's' childhoods, into our every day language.

I don't know if it is weird or not, but I did stop and think about what other words have stuck around. Well there is Carson's word spider...siper; and his word for spoon...soup; and his word for skunk...sunk (yes, for awhile he had quite a difficult time with s blend words). All of those alternate words are still words we use on occasion.

And we rarely call chapstick, chapstick, instead we use Katelyn's word...lip chap. And when asked what a rooster says, we will often respond with Katelyn's cockadoo instead of cock-a-doodle-do.

And Dave will probably always be referred to as Uncle Tiny Whiskas, a name given to him by his niece Maddie. Her cuteness and inability to say her r's, caused Dave to immediately adopt that moniker.


Having children has been such a blessing and I am grateful for their unique words that have manage to find a way to stay in our family vocabulary...even if it makes us weirdos (said minus the "r" as if Maddie were saying it).


Other funny words that haven't stuck (much to some family members relief), but are still in my memory...

Katelyn called Dave's sister, Kim, Aunt Duwah for the longest time. And Katelyn referred to my brother Michael as Uncle Ditty.

Remember Carson's trouble with s blend words? Well, my sister named her boy, Skyler and I don't know how long it took Carson to be able to Skyler instead of Psyche.

I love the memories.

Taking Care

On Tuesday night we had a Relief Society activity night where the project for the night was to prepare care packages for the missionaries serving from our ward. A group of about 30 women showed up to cut out felt Christmas trees, ornaments, put bows around Joy to the World  CD's, and creating gift cards. As I looked at all of the women in the room, I was touched. Out of the 30 or so that were attending, only about 5 of those women currently have missionaries serving. As a mom of a missionary, it was heart-warming to see those ladies come out on a Tuesday night to put together those packages. I was grateful for their kindness, compassion and generous giving of their time. They were doing their best to take care.

Then last night I hosted our "Missionary Moms" group. As the name suggests, our group consists of moms who have missionaries currently out (or just recently returned). We share how our missionaries are doing, share concerns, share joys, offer suggestions; the conversation is free-form and we roll with whatever. One of the awesome things about this group is that somehow, without formally establishing the norm of "one speaker at a time", we seem honor each other's speaking time and give each sister who own time with undivided attention. I think that is one of the best things and is what builds the connections; when people feel heard and can tell their whole story uninterrupted. It took me awhile to  make it to the group, but when they made an effort to move the night to a night I could attend, I made the effort to attend. I'm glad I did. I truly have felt these sisters doing their best to take care of the fellow Missionary Moms and offer support in various different ways. I am grateful that a former Missionary Mom had the foresight to start such a group (another example of someone doing her best to take care.)

Freedom

While I was visiting my grandparents this past summer I had the opportunity to read the history of my Great Uncle Nile. He served in the Marines during World War II. The Marines was not his first choice; he wanted to serve in the Navy. Well actually, he wanted to serve in the Army, but when he first tried to enlist he was too young and they wouldn't take him. He and his friends were anxious to get in the action so the kept pestering the secretary at the Navy office until their numbers were called (at least that is how I remember the story going). My uncle notes that as they were being processed, there was a "really angry looking officer" who was keeping watch over the whole process. When the new Navy recruits were processed the angry-looking officer stepped forward and asked who would like to join the Marines. Not a single one of the guys raised their hand. The Marine officer then asked who had someone currently serving in the Marines. A friend of my uncle's raised his hand. The officer said to him "Welcome to the Marines, boy". The officer then turned to the other guys and asked who would join their friend. Again, no hands went up. But the next thing my uncle knew, he was walking out the door as a new Marine. He spent a great deal of his service during World War II on Iwo Jima. It was a horrible assignment and he saw many injured and killed.

 

Oh, beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

 

 

My uncle was a hero. My grandpa Bud, my Grandpa Lee, my Uncle Brian, my cousin Justin, my great-grandpa Chatterley, my father-in-law Rich, my uncle Alan, my cousin-in-law
Rob, my brother Nathan...all were and are heroes. Each one placed their country above their own lives and made the commitment to protect the freedoms that are laid out in our Constitution. How different my life would be if there weren't such heroes who stepped (and step) forward when our country needed them. My hope is that we will always have this sense of altruism and patriotism; that when push comes to shove we won't be a nation of selfish, entitled persons who think someone else should do the job. I am so grateful to my family, friends, and countrymen/women who have taken up arms to protect us.

 

Long may our land be bright

With freedom's holy light.

Protect us by thy might,

Great God, our King!

Out My Back Door

When we found our house here in the valley almost 15 years ago, we almost instantly knew this was the house. We had spent many countless hours (oh so many hours!) looking for just the right place. Nothing ever felt just right. And yet, when we got to this house and stared out the hole that would become our family room window, we knew we had found the right place. And even though it was still in the framing stage, and then-4-year old Carson was quite concerned about living in a "stick" house, we knew this was home.

During the first couple of years looking out our back window we saw the pond and alfalfa fields. We twice saw a momma moose and her baby. There was a coyote who came trotting down the trail with a fresh kill of some sort in its mouth. And I certainly won't forget the time I looked out the back door and saw a stampede of cows...they had escaped from a field down the road aways. We've had deer and rabbits. And once, during a hail storm, we had a family take refuge under a rock in our backyard. For the longest time I wouldn't let David move that rock, because, what if those quail came back and needed a refuge again?

The quail aren't those only creatures that have refuge out our back door. Our children used to play out there quite a bit, especially when there was nothing but big piles of dirt to crawl all over. I've taken refuge out my back door on more than one occasion. The back of the house has a southern exposure, which means lots of sun. During late spring, summer, and early fall I will escape, even for just a few minutes, to sit on the deck and stare at the hills and mountains across the way. And during the winter, when it is too cold to venture outside, I will open the blinds in the family room, snuggle on the couch with a cozy blanket, and just stare out the window absorbing has much vitamin D as the short Inland Northwest days grant me.

I am so grateful for the view out my back door. Over the years it has brought me much joy, peace, and happiness. At times the view has soothed my aching soul as I see all of the beauty that God has placed before me to enjoy. And even though the alfalfa fields have largely been replaced by houses, and it has been years since I have seen a moose in our backyard, the initial feeling of "this is the place" is still with me, planted deep within my heart.

Gratitude Month

I try to live a grateful life every day. But November seems to nicely lend itself to being even more intentional in noticing my blessings and expressing my gratitude. I also have noticed that the more grateful I am, the more generous I am with others. I'm not necessarily talking about monetary generosity or even sharing my time; I am more generous in giving people the benefit of the doubt, in extending grace and understanding. And since over the last two days I have had a few experiences at work that my initial reaction was to take offense and rebut strong and hard, I need this month to regroup and find that charity again. (PS Fortunately I did engage brain before I engaged my mouth so the words remained in my mind and confrontations were avoided).

So to start this month of gratitude I am going to talk about yesterday.

 

 

 

Yesterday was election day. I remember the first time I voted. I remember going to polling place (it was a church not far from our house), waiting in line, and then proudly wearing my "I Voted" sticker all day long. And even though all elections in Washington are now conducted through mail-in ballots, I still feel the same sense of pride for the privilege I have to vote.

 

I am grateful that I have the opportunity to be involved in the governing process in our city, county, state and country. And while my votes are sometimes on the losing side of a measure, I take comfort in knowing that I did my part and that I have every right to speak up.

 

The right to vote came at a great cost of life. When I take the time to be an informed voter and participate in the process, I am expressing my thanks to all those who sacrificed to give me this right.

Mars vs Venus

There have been many Mars vs Venus moments that have occurred in our household over the years. During these moments, the desired outcome is achieved but the route to get there is definitely not the same for each person. Most of the time the routes seem to fall along stereotypical lines.

I was going to use parenting as an example, but on further reflection I think the differences had more to do with personality styles more than chromosome differences. Dave was always more about the fun, jokes, and playtime, while I was more focused on rules, discipline and work. Fortunately we were able to balance each other out and achieved (I hope) the desired outcome of raising children  into well-adjusted, successful and independent adults.

So moving on. Let's consider folding clothes. The goal is to get the clothes folded, but Dave's way is not my preferred way. Or consider the way the guys seem to look for things. If something isn't found right away, or if finding something requires more than a cursory glance in the general area, the guys usually aren't going to find it. I go to look for the same object in the same place that I just told the guys to look and viola! the object is found right away. I don't do anything special, but I do look a little harder and don't give up until the lost is found.

And our most recent example of Mars vs Venus adventures in our house...

The desired outcome:
Our bed is made every morning

What it looks like when I make the bed:

What it looks like when Dave is in charge of making the bed:

It's really not a big deal that the pillows are just thrown haphazardly on the bed when Dave makes the bed because the bed is made. It just cracked me up to see yet another example of how the two of us often approach the same task differently and still arrive at the desired outcome.

Runa Clean Energy: I Won't Be Doing That Again

I'm not an evening exerciser. I have way more energy at 4:30 in the morning than I can ever muster up in the evening. But last night Dave wanted to go to a spin class and he really wanted me to go and since I may have felt like I owed him one for hacking his Facebook on his birthday, I told him I would go. But as the time for the class drew closer, I began to dread the thought of putting on work-out clothes, head to the gym, and then spend an hour participating in a class that is a non-preferred activity for me. With the dread of going reaching a critical point, I remembered that I had a Runa Clean Energy drink in the refrigerator. It was in a swag bag I got for volunteering at the Happy Girl race. I had put it in the fridge to have at some later time.

Well, I couldn't think of a better "later time" then last night, when I needed a bit of a pick-me-up to get me out the door to meet Dave for the spin class. So I cracked open the can and had about a quarter of it. A whole can has 120 mg of caffeine. I didn't think I needed that much of a pick-me-up. And then I was off to meet Dave for the spin class.

I can't say that I noticed much performance boost from the Runa drink during the spin class. I don't think I really felt any effects from the quarter of a can, which is probably why I decided that finishing the can after the spin class was a good idea. And that is where it all went horribly wrong.

I found myself wanting to call and talk with my parents, but decided to spare them of that. I could feel the nervous energy coursing through my body and I would have been on fast forward if I had called them. I tried not to talk to Dave because every time I did it was at hyper-speed.

Usually exercising at night wires me so much that I can't sleep and I probably should have been thinking about that when consuming the rest of the Runa. I am so fortunate that I was still able to go to sleep at 10:30, my normal bedtime. What was not normal were my dreams! No scary dreams, just really weird dreams. And then at 4 a.m. BAM! Wide awake, heart racing, mind spinning, and no way I was going back to sleep. I also wasn't going to be able to meet my friend for our Thursday morning run. I was worried about running with my resting heart rate already being at 95 beats per minute.

So yeah, a whole can of Runa Clean Energy is out for me. I should have just stayed with the quarter can and called it good.

Today's Dave's Birthday

David Graham

13 hrs · Spokane Valley, WA ·

Happy birthday to me. 44 years of awesomeness is what you see. So glad to be me.

 

 

So that was Dave's Facebook status that was posted this morning about 6 a.m.

I may or may not have hacked his Facebook to post the status.

But on the way to work, and before he knew what his Facebook status read,

he said this to me

"You know, I look pretty dang good for 44."

To which I said,

"Yep, 44 years of awesome."

 

Then this morning about 10 a.m. he sends me a text saying

"You are in big trouble!"

Whatever.

I know his bark is worse than his bite.

 

 

Settling In

When Carson decided that North Idaho College would be where he would start his college career, he thought that meant he could live at home. His father and I gently, but firmly, told him he needed some away-from-home experience and, therefore, would be living in the dorms. Carson was not very happy with this decision. Of our two children, he is the more "homebody" of the two.

The first few weeks were a little rough on him. Our boy, who is a bit resistant to change, had several challenges to overcome. He was learning to live with three other guys who are vastly different from him. He is a bit stubborn and opinionated so learning to be accommodate several roommates has been a stretch. I wish I could report that this has been wildly successful, but no.

He had to eat cafeteria food. This is a boy who had consumed hot lunch at school maybe once or twice in his entire school career. And now he had no choice but to eat "hot lunch" (and breakfast and dinner) every day. This challenge is still a challenge as he feels that the variety of food offered is limited and sometimes not very palatable. However, it does make him appreciate my cooking a little bit more.

NIC has a nationally-ranked wrestling team and that made it an attractive prospect for Carson. Unfortunately, Carson wasn't recruited by NIC so he had to try and make the team as a walk-on. The space available at the 125-lb weight class was limited and the number of prospective wrestlers were many. Those pre-season weeks were filled with sleepless nights, nausea, canker sores (from stress), and just plain old stress and anxiety. Carson and his dad talked on an almost daily basis. When he was home on the weekends, he slept and slept. But Carson's heart was set on wrestling for NIC and he poured everything he had into practice. His coaches noticed and he was granted a spot on the team. I can't put into words how proud of him we are (and relieved).

Making the wrestling team was a huge burden lifted from Carson. Living in the dorms has proved to be a good thing as he has made friends that he wouldn't have otherwise made. What were once almost daily phone calls have turned into an occassional text. He is finding his way and settling in. It makes my heart happy to see that he is adjusting, and did I mention, making friends? If there is one thing that I was worried about was him making friends. Carson doesn't enjoy going to activities where he doesn't know anyone and won't put himself in those types of situations. But he must have taken some risks to meet some new people since he brought home several new friends for Sunday dinner this past week. That was super fun to see happen.

I love to see the growth in our children.

"Well, At Your Age" and Other Signs of Aging

My gynecologist was the first one to say to me, "Well at your age..." I was 37 and was sharing my frustrations about my menstrual cycle. Beyond the phrase "Well at your age", she really didn't have much else to say. And "Well at your age" certainly wasn't very helpful. I can remember walking out of the appointment completely incredulous that she would have the audacity to imply that I was somehow "old" at 37 years of age.

But I knew that aging was creeping up on me. I mean, I had noticed that there were a few little lines around my eyes. I had some sun spots on my face and arms. Cellulite that could be toned and burned off when I was in my 20's had become stubborn and unwilling to melt away.  I wasn't living in denial that I was getting older. I just wasn't ready for someone to be so blunt with me that day and shine a flashlight on the fact that I was closer to 40 than 30.

Now it is 6 years later. I'm 43 years old. And now when things creak, pop, or wrinkle I find myself saying "Well at your age..."

I had a few of those moments today.

First up, this morning's experience. I had some pants that I needed to get hemmed. So I found Katelyn's sewing kit, got out the needle and thread and discovered...I couldn't see to thread the needle. ARGH! The dreaded far-sightedness of aging eyes apparently is beginning to set in. If I am wearing my contacts, doing such tasks of threading a needle or affixing the clasp of a necklace is an effort in futility. There, I admit it. "At my age...far-sightedness is a common occurrence."

I didn't get the pants hemmed. Instead I opted for using safety pins to hold the hem in place.

So I was still absorbing that "Well, at your age" moment when I had another one. I was looking in the mirror at my outfit for the day. I thought it was pretty cute and worked. It was the slacks, a nice shirt and a cardigan.

A cardigan.

I realized this morning that somewhere a long the way a cardigan has become my go-to "finish off an outfit" accessory.

A cardigan.

Doesn't that scream "old"? It did to me this morning.
Tonight I tried to shake the "Well, at your age" thing as I was shopping. My friend was hosting a LulaRoe party. This company sells mostly maxi skirts, dresses and leggings. As I was trying on the different skirts all I kept hearing myself say is "Yeah, these don't work for you. Maybe if you were 10 years younger, but at your age..." And I definitely didn't try on any of the leggings. I would have to be 20 years younger to get away with those.

But "old" didn't win tonight, well not completely. I bought 2 skirts. But as I was leaving all I could think was which cardigan would go with which skirt.

"Well, at my age" some habits are hard to break.

The Birthday Package Is in the Mail

Katelyn's birthday is a week from Saturday.

I mailed her package yesterday.

I'm grateful that she is in a place where I don't have to plan weeks

ahead just to make sure I get the package

in the mail soon enough.

 

I had a couple of thoughts as I was mailing her birthday package.

First, she should be one well-dressed missionary.

I realized that I have purchased her more clothes in the last 6 months

than I have in...well ever, I think.

That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

Is it bad that I wanted to give her birthday outfit a "trial run"

before I mailed it down to her?

Of course I didn't.

But I was tempted.

I can't wait for her to come home so we can share all of those

awesome clothes.

 

The next thought I had was "Holy cow, I can't believe she is going to be 21!"

TWENTY-ONE!

Seriously rocking my world just a bit.

I don't recall having these bits of panic when she turned 20.

Why is 21 a whole different story?

Could it be another stark reminder that I, too, am getting older?

Do I just live in denial on my birthday

and only realize the passing of time

when my children have birthdays?

Probably.

Whatever it is...

21 seems to be a slap to the face.

"Monday-itis"

The kids did not want to come to school today.

Their parents made them come any way.

That meant a constant stream of

"I feel ick"

"I'm super sick"

Was seen in the health room all day.

 

"No fever, no vomiting. Now back to class," said I.

You can do it.

Just give it a try.

 

"Okay fine," said the students,

"But you know this may not be prudent."

"What if I barf?"

"What if I faint?"

All seemed to have a further complaint.

 

But back to class they went.

Not to be re-sent.

The day finished without further ills.

I hope tomorrow won't bring this type of thrills.

Whoa Dude

I had a minor medical procedure (it was a uterine ablation) yesterday.

I had the option of being put fully under or being mildly sedated.

I hate being fully put under.

That means they have to put down an endotracheal tube.

That means I always wake up with a sore throat and hoarse voice.

So I chose to be mildly sedated.

 

Whoa, dude.

The mild sedation included one hydrocodone, one Xanax, and one anti-nausea med.

Oh and a shot in the butt of Tordol.

 

The doctor gave me the medications about 40 minutes prior to the procedure.

When they brought me back, I was alert and awake.

The doctor was a wee bit surprised.

I had warned him that for whatever reason one hydrocodone doesn't ever seem to work.

He said "You're all of 90 pounds, I'm not giving you any more."

I said OK.

I can remember him starting the procedure.

He talked about the speculum.

He said I might feel some needle pokes.

I did.

He asked if I wanted him to adjust the monitor so I could watch.

I said I could see the monitor OK.

 

And that is the last memory I have of all of yesterday.

 

I don't remember how I got dressed after the procedure.

I don't remember talking with my mom, who is the one who came to get me.

I don't know if I said thank-you to her.

So, thanks Mom. Sorry if I didn't say it yesterday.

 

I  don't remember eating yesterday.

I don't remember Carson coming home.

I don't remember asking Dave anything.

 

But this morning, Dave replayed, in words, what yesterday was like.

He said every time I talked, I would talk louder than usual.

You know I'm a loud talker so that must have been horrible for him.

He said I was on "repeat" cycle with several questions...

"Did I eat?"

"Is Carson home?"

"Where is Carson?"

"Is your truck done?'

 

Carson said when I saw his new shoes I said in a very slow, but loud voice

"Dude, those are sooo cool"

 

Today I am feeling much better.

So far, no pain or cramping.

Grateful for that since that means no need for pain meds.

The boys got the heck out of dodge and went fishing.

I think they were afraid to be with me a whole day if I had to be on pain meds again.

The only things that I seemed to be bothered by are nausea and a headache.

Those might be related to the drugs from yesterday.

 

At one point I texted my friend "better living through pharmaceuticals".

Now that I am back to my old self, I don't believe that.

 I hate not being able to remember yesterday.

But it sounds like I created some interesting memories for Dave and Carson.

The Week in Review

Monday was Labor Day and a nice to day to just chill, enjoy the sun and get caught up on a few things. I had planned on doing some back-to-work shopping at the big Labor Day sales, but I put myself (and Dave) on a buying moratorium. I have this crazy dream to pay off our house by the end of 2015 and to do so means a bit of purse-string tightening and better accounting of where the dollars are going. Being a two-income household has lulled us into a bit of laziness about carefully managing our money. I don't think we are completely frivolous, but there certainly have been times when we could have been more intentional about a purchase.

Anyway, back to the week in review...

Tuesday was officially my first day of work for the school year. It was a crazy, hectic day. I'm trying to start the school year off invigorated and excited to be doing what I am doing. But I spent a lot of Tuesday doing stuff that I don't enjoy...PAPERWORK! And by paperwork I mean care plans. Lots and lots of care plans. Actually making up the care plans isn't what I dislike. It is all of the copying and distributing that is tedious and time-consuming. Fortunately this year I had extra clerical support to get all of that done. I kept that gal busy from 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. with nothing but copying and distributing care plans. Crazy, right?! Just so glad it wasn't me doing all of that copying.

Wednesday was the kiddos first day back to school. It was a rainy, grey day but that didn't seem to dampen many kids' spirits. Pretty much all the ones that I saw were all spiffed up and excited to be at school. That night Dave asked me if I had seen any kids. Sadly, I had not because I was still working on care plans and paperwork. There are some parents out there who just can't seem to get their children's medication and doctor's orders in prior to back-to-school night. I find that beyond frustrating. They have all summer to get the paperwork filled out. But it's the same story every year. I should be used to it after 13 years as a school nurse.

Tuesday and Wednesday reminded me that I need to get in the habit of planning a lunch and dinner. Many of my colleagues just do a quick drive-thru meal for lunch or dinner, but with all of my stupid food allergies that doesn't really work for me. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday a little bit hungry at work because I had failed to plan. Fortunately, Dave had customers in town on those nights so the fact that I hadn't planned anything for dinner was easily overlooked.

I still didn't have lunch planned on Thursday or Friday, but at least it is now on my radar and I'll do better next week. My biggest problem is that I think eating is a hassle in general and hate trying to plan on what to eat.

Thursday was the return of regular season football and guess who showed up at home to watch the Seahawks. Yep, Carson did. He and a buddy from the wrestling team borrowed a vehicle from one of Carson's roommates and drove home so they could watch the football game. It was a bit of surprise when he came in through the garage door, said "Hey Ma, I'm here to watch the game" and then plunked himself down on the couch. And as soon as the game was over, he kissed me on the forehead and headed back to school. But he did head back to school with instructions from his dad not to borrow his roommate's car anymore.

And then it was Friday, which thankfully was quiet and uneventful. Dave and I made a small Costco run after I got home from work. Carson (he comes home on weekends) worked on homework and rested. And that was Friday.

The boys have been gone most of the day today enjoying one last summer hurrah. The new elder's quorum president invited them to go waterskiing and wake surfing. I finished up laundry and enjoyed a day by myself. I did walk down to get my car after dropping it off this morning to get new tires put on it. I estimated that it would take me about 40 minutes to walk the 2.12 miles. I beat my estimation by 10 minutes. It took my only 30 minutes to walk. Not sure if I should be proud of a 15 min/mile for walking but I did work up a bit of a sweat.

So that's it; our week (well my week mostly) in review.

First Day of School 2014

Today was the first back to school for me. The kids return to school tomorrow. Sadly, I do not have any children at home to take the traditional "first day of school" picture.

I do have this picture that Carson sent me last week on his first day of school...

 

 

 

Isn't that the most special first day of school picture you have ever seen?

 

Processing

I remember reading that word, "processing", as the only caption on a friend's picture of her son as she dropped him off at the airport to begin his missionary service. I remember trying to picture what it would be like to be in the "processing" state.

I found that word an exact description of how I felt yesterday.

Dave and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary yesterday by dropping Carson off at college. It wasn't too hard to process or believe that we have been married 24 years. But what is strange is this new phase of life that we find ourselves in. The phase where, if you have done the parenting job correctly, your children are now permanently out of the house. Yes, the kids will return for visits, school breaks, and in Carson's case, every weekend for food and laundry, but that's all. It's weird and I am processing.

But we didn't look too concerned yesterday when I snapped this selfie as we were waiting for Carson to finish his check-in procedure at the dorms

Spokane to Sandpoint 2014: The Race Report

Wow what an adventure!

The adventure started back in May as I was walking through the Bloomsday trade show. I happened to walk by the Spokane to Sandpoint booth just as the video clip of Totally Tubular (my team last year) was playing on the TV. Memories of the fun times had with that team flooded my mind. I was sad that we couldn't get the team together for this year's S2S, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from running this year's race. So, next thing I know, I am signing up as a "runner looking for a team."

As I was signing up, I didn't actually think there was much of a chance of a team asking me to join their team. Boy was I wrong. About a week later I was contacted by Art, a guy from Issaquah whose team was looking for a runner. My first response was "Ack! what have I done? I don't randomly sign up to run with people I don't know. What was I thinking?" But then I decided "what the heck" and e-mailed Art a series of questions that I hoped would help me decide if I would be a good fit for the team.

These are the questions I asked:

1. Are you in it for the competition or to have fun?
2. What are the ages of the other teammates?
3. Female to male ratio?
4. What are the paces of the other racers?
5. Previous relay race experience?

Art was a good sport and answered the questions right away. After I received his response, decided I would be a good fit, and verified that US Department of Awesomeness was registered with the S2S, I mailed in my check and it was on. I was now a member of US Department of Awesomeness. I have to admit that I was still a bit nervous about fitting in with the team, especially since I wouldn't meet them until the night before. But when they walked into the restaurant looking like this

I knew that I was on a team that didn't take itself too seriously and the race was going to be a lot of fun.

So Friday morning I assume my familiar position of "navigator in Van 1"and are our adventure begins. First adventurous moment at the starting line, a guy on another team, who happens to be wearing the same Speedo that the little dude on our shirts is wearing (red, white, blue striped with stars). I will spare you the picture that we took with him at the starting line. I'm still trying to recover from that scarring moment. Next starting line adventure moment, our first runner sees that people are lining up at the starting line so she goes over and as the race gun goes off she starts with the group. But wait! It's only 8 o'clock and our start time is 8:30. We finally get her attention after about a minute to tell her that she has started too early. Talk about a buzz kill, but fortunately she was able to psych herself back up and was ready to rock it when the 8:30 gun went off.

I was runner number 2 and had an 8 mile run. My run was 5 miles of a gentle grade as I finished coming off Mt. Spokane and then 3 miles of mostly flat. That last 5k felt incredibly long and hard. It was a little warm and muggy, but I think the hardest part was just hitting flat ground after running down hill. I managed a 8:07 pace for the 8 miles, but I certainly was glad to reach the exchange point and hand off the baton to the runner 3.

Things stayed pretty adventure-free until runner 4 was about a mile from his exchange point. We were already there waiting for him to come in. We had passed in on the road and he was looking good. His pace was nice and even and he was passing runners. So, as those runners that he had passed began to come in and still no Art, I was beginning to wonder what had happened. Next thing we know, Art is behind us, in the parking lot, saying "Here I am and here's the baton". What?! Some time after we passed him, he had a horrible cramp in his calf and couldn't hardly walk. He was fortunate that another team's van was happening by and could pick him up and bring him to the exchange point.

Runner 5 was off and an adventure-free run. The baton is passed to runner 6 and we think "yes, the home stretch". Now, since I have been in Van 1 on my previous two S2S experiences, I knew that runner 6 had to veer off the road and run a trail across some empty acreage. I had our van stop to make sure she made the trail turn-off; no problems there. We then proceeded to the lane where the trail ends. It's a good thing we stopped because another adventure was about to occur.

The trail T's into a dirt road. For some reason the race organizers did not mark which way to turn off of the trail. Going to the left goes up a hill and is the wrong way. However, going to the right looks like the wrong way because there is a gate across the dirt road and it would be easy to decide there was no way through, although there is a small trail along side the gate.

Our runner was closing distance to the runner ahead of her and just watching that lead runner. We were watching from the end of the lane (about 400 yards away) and cheering her on. But then we had to change our cheers to yelling "Come back! Turn around!" because the lead runner had turned to the left instead of the right and our runner followed right behind her. We continued to yell and caught the attention of a couple of runners who were behind our runner. They also tried to yell up the hill to get our runner and the other runner to turn around. Our runner had slowed down because she thought she had heard us yelling "Turn around, wrong way" but she wasn't sure until she heard the closer runners yelling the same thing. Oiy! She wound up running about an extra 400 yards because of this adventure. (We never did see the lead runner turn around so we have no idea how long it was before she realized she was going the wrong direction).

Finally we make it to the first major exchange and happily hand off the baton to Van 2. Yay! Now time for food, shower, and rest. Or so we thought. We have gone about 5 miles down the road when we receive a phone call from Van 2 asking us to meet them at their next exchange point. They have picked up a stray dog and want us to take care of it. Seriously, people?! We are in a race and you pick up a stray dog? I have to admit that I was a bit annoyed at this disruption in my plan on what Van 1 should be doing. In fairness to Van 2, they thought we could just take the dog back to the major exchange point because Spokanimal was there collecting pet supplies and offering kittens for adoption.

Unfortunately, Spokanimal no longer has animal control licensing so all lost/stray animals must be taken to SCRAPS out in Spokane Valley. So here we go. Instead of heading to my house for a shower, food and rest we are taking this lost dog 30 miles from his home to SCRAPS. It takes about 30 minutes at SCRAPS because the intake officer couldn't decide if the dog was a schnauzer or a wire-haired fox terrier. It was eventually decided that it was a fox terrier and after we received a case number (Art was very concerned about the dog and wasn't ready to leave him without knowing how to find out if the dog made it home), we were on our way again. We made a stop at the grocery store and then eventually made it to my house. I ate and took a shower and was NOT the hostess with the mostest at this point in time. I told people where the bathroom was, had food set out, and then pretty much let them fend for themselves as I took care of myself.

About an hour later it was time to head to the next major exchange point so we could start our second set of run legs. Now, the one good thing about having all of the extra travel time in the van as we were dealing with the dog, was we had time to figure out how we were going to accommodate Art, the runner who could no longer run. It was decided that I would run legs 14 and 15 which would give me just a little over 6 miles. Julie (runner number 3) traded places with Lori (runner number 6) and Lori ran Art's leg 16. Whew, craziness. Of course, Art was super bummed that he couldn't run and probably a bit annoyed at his team for insisting that he sit this one out, but as one of my teammates said "We have to save Art from himself."

Since my leg was going through a section of the Centennial Trail that isn't far from Liberty Lake I had asked a couple of my running friends to join me. Jen was able to join me for Leg 14, which was 3.3 miles. It was so nice to run with her and catch up since we haven't run together all summer. Our original plan was to run 8:45's but once I found out I was running double the distance I asked her to help me keep the pace at about 9's. We hit the exchange point for Leg 15 right about 9's. Dave was able to join me for Leg 15, a 2.8 leg. I finished the whole 6.1 miles in 58 minutes. Initially I was not happy about my final pace (which worked out to be about 9:50), but I later realized that I had stopped for about 1:30 between the two legs to put on my lights, reflective vest and get a few swallows of water to wash down my Gu.

The rest of this set of exchanges was again, adventure-free. We met up with Van 2 in Coeur d'Alene and passed off the baton again. And then we were off to our sleeping place at the next major exchange at Timberlake High School.

This was the first time that I had experienced sleeping at the major exchange point. I was spoiled in my previous S2S races to have a house to crash out and a bed to sleep in. I missed the bed, but what I mostly missed was the dark and quiet. Sleeping in the school with 100 racers was not so quiet although it was dark. I will need to remember an eye mask and ear plugs if I find myself in a race situation like this again. We arrived at Timberlake at about 11:30 and got the wake-up call about 3 a.m. I wish I could say that I got some sleep but mostly I was just lying still with my eyes closed.

Van 2 arrived at the exchange at about 3:30 a.m. and Kristen (runner 1) was off. The rest of us spent a few moments chatting with Van 2 and planning on how to tackle the rest of the race. Art was feeling better, but we were facing our toughest legs yet. He probably wouldn't be able to run the tough 9 mile run that he was scheduled to run. Van 2 was feeling bad that we were facing such a tough situation so it was decided that they would take our final 9.4 miles (giving them 7 legs for the final stretch and us 5; up until this point it had been 6 and 6). That proved to be a very serendipitous decision for our next adventure was just up the road.

We decided we better get on the road and check on Kristen. It was pitch black and the highway doesn't have a very large shoulder. As we are driving we see a runner down. It is clear that the runner is hurt and can't get up. When we get closer we see that it is Kristen. She has stepped off the lip of the shoulder and twisted her ankle quite badly. Ugh. She is almost a mile into her 6 mile run but it is clear that she is done. Art gets his wish. He is going to get to run after all. He finishes up her leg without incident or further cramping and passes the baton on to me for my final 6.01 miles.

Now you might think this would be my worst leg, but it wasn't. I was running in my element. It was early (about 4:30 a.m). It was cool (about 60 degrees). And I had runners to chase after. I passed my first runner after about 5 minutes. That gave me a little confidence boost. I kept my eyes on the blinking red lights on runners ahead of me and just fell into "the zone." It took me another mile or so to pass the next runner. After I passed that runner I could see in the distance a glowing green light. I was like a moth pulled to the flame and that green light beckoned me to come catch it. It took me almost 3 miles to catch that light. But with a little under a mile left I almost caught the lady running with the green light. I say almost because once I was upon her shoulder, she started running again. I said in my mind, with a smirky smile, "That's fine. You go ahead a run. I've been watching you run/walk for the last mile so I know this burst won't last long." And I was right; about 100 yards later she was walking again. This time she didn't have any juice left to start running as I grew close so I was able to pass her. Because I had been so focused on passing that runner I hadn't realized how close to the finish I was and before I knew it I was at the exchange point. I slapped that wrist baton onto Julie and did a little happy dance because I was DONE! I felt a little guilty for being so jubilant about being finished but honestly, I couldn't help it. After running 20 miles in under 24 hours I was happy to say "I'm done" I think running 20 miles this way is more difficult running 20 miles straight for marathon training. It's the starting and stopping, the sitting in a van, and the not stretching that makes it so hard and makes my muscles so stiff.

The rest of our race was adventure-free. We finished about hour slower than our projected finish time, but considering all of the adversity we faced we were pleased with how we did. Would I run S2S again with US Department of Awesomeness? Absolutely. But next year I want to be in Van 2.

Van 1 couldn't let me leave without a group hug

US Department of Awesomeness: still smiling at the end

Picture Out takes from Summer

Great picture, except Dave's eyes are closed (as expected).

Water break on the hike from St. Joe Lake

A cab-full for sure. Carson isn't visible in the picture, but he is there too.

Ice cream in a bag. Oh, they were squealing like little girls because their hands were so cold.

Fellow GMS employee at the top of Logan Pass. Always strange to run into people you know when you're away from home.

Nobody really wanted their picture taken, except maybe Rich. He has a nice smile.

Went home by way of Butte just so I could pick up the one with her mouth open full of food (also got her big sister and brother)

Another full truck cab.

Carson always brings out the best in me when it is picture time.

And Now...Glacier Day 2

Since the fishing on day one was a bust, the boys were more agreeable to my wish to just do touristy things. In my mind, touristy things include visiting the visitor center at the top of Logan Pass, hiking the Hidden Lake overlook nature trail, and stopping to take random pictures.

This year's hike to Hidden Lake was a little more adventurous. Usually there is a nice boardwalk to follow all the way to the overlook, but we were there a little earlier in the season and the boardwalk was covered in snow. Matter of fact, it was pretty much just a giant snowfield and people were forging their own trails. It was quite interesting to pick our way across the squishy, slippery snow. But it was worth the trouble as the sights were just as spectacular as I remembered them to be.

One of my favorite sights along this trail...mountain goats

Hidden Lake still covered in ice in places