So I could write at great length about all the feelings/stress/anxiety/excitement about starting work and poor Adam has had to live through all of them. I will spare you and if you're wondering how I feel, you can ask Adam.
He knows.
Anyway....
We had such a lovely time on our trip to Washington that I want to write all about it and get it down so that it will be part of our family story--which is what this blog is.
Because I am starting work this week and haven't exactly put everything to rights since the trip, I will have to dispense trip memories gradually.
It was wonderful.
The car ride there was quiet. We listened to music all together for awhile (someone picked a song, then the next person picked a song that began with the last letter of the previous song...it was all fun and games until Mark started picking techno stuff that I purely hate). Mostly though, the kids each did their own thing with their headphones on and Adam and I might as well have been by ourselves. That isn't terrible, because I love being with Adam.
On the way home I did have a mini temper tantrum though and said I was tired of looking at the tops of their heads and I wanted them off their phones. The last day there wasn't a headphone or phone in sight and it was great to all be together.
Our first stop in the Pacific Northwest was church. We went to our old ward which made everyone happy and maybe a tiny bit wistful because we miss those people. By a happy coincidence, Leif was speaking, having just returned from his mission.
It isn't the most fun you've ever had sending a kid on a mission but they surely come back new and improved. I was impressed with Leif (and he was pretty great to start with).
Here's Leif and Braeden with Griffin and Corwin, two of their high school friends:
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| picture "borrowed" from Braeden's instagram |
It has been 4 years since we lived in that ward but so nice to feel so much love from the people there. A lot of the kids that were "my" primary kids are now teenagers. It melted my heart a little when a boy, Kylan, who is 15 now, came up to me to shake my hand. I loved him in primary and I love him still.
After church, we went to Geri's for more happy reunions. She had invited a lot of extended family over. We ate a delicious meal and sat around and visited. Adam's aunts and uncles and cousins are all incredibly kind to me. They always make me feel like a welcome member of the family. Geri shared some pictures with me.
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| Braeden and Scott |
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| Mark and Emma on the tire swing |
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| Emma, Linda, Ed (Adam's aunt and uncle) and Adam |
One of my favorite parts was catching up with Adam's cousin Kristie. We have kids about the same age (her oldest is close to the same age as Mark) and the two boys orbited around each other all evening until the very end when they started playing catch and didn't want to stop. Emma played her guitar and she and Braeden sang and then Kristie played the guitar and Emma was blown away and then Kristie texted the chords later for Emma so she could learn the song too.
It was just that kind of happy time.
Monday I had playdates. I went over to Pinehurst to walk with Jill. My van died in her driveway (as in, blocking their cars) and I called Adam and then took the walk anyway. It was like no time had passed and Jill and I took the familiar route through our old neighborhood and we chatted about our kids just like we always did (except now we have college kids and her son is engaged to be married).
I was supposed to meet my writing group friends for lunch and Jill said she'd drive me there. She adventured across her neighbor's lawn so she could back around the van and away we went. There's something just indescribable and wonderful about friends that are the kind of friends who will drive across their neighbor's lawn and deliver you to lunch even though you haven't seen them for 4 years (we have never managed to reconnect since we moved until then). Friends + talking like no time has passed = one of the great blessings of life.
Adam went to pick up the van while I was at lunch and took it to get repaired which was the least fun part of the trip. We were very grateful that it waited until we got there to break and grateful for the use of Geri's van while ours was getting fixed!
I loved having lunch with my friends. We ate at MOD, because why wouldn't we? It was the kind of lunch that lasts a few hours and we talked about all the things. Four of us have Mark-aged kids that are learning to drive so we talked about that adventure. Mark was in nursery and primary with those kids. If I ever mention here that Mark was a holy terror as a toddler and preschooler, people don't believe me. All they see is this stoic and civilized boy who is as even keeled as his father. Those women remember Mark though. JoLyn told me that when she compared Sam, who is her oldest, to Mark, she felt like a really good mother. "Then," she said, "I had other kids...."
Maryanne's daughter, Taylor, was the only one who could hold her own against Mark in nursery. I was the nursery leader at the time which mostly meant trying to keep Mark from terrorizing everyone. I have loved Taylor ever since she could stare Mark down as a two year old--one time she gave him a big shove and I felt like high-fiving her.
We laughed a lot remembering and realizing how we once naively thought we had a whole lot of control over our children and the outcomes of their lives. Ha! It is wonderful to be around people who knew you then and know you still.
Reconnecting brings a great deal of perspective and joy but also a sense of mooring. Happy times.
Later we went to Martha Lake and Megan and Geri let everyone (except me--they would have let me, I just didn't want to) try out their paddle boards. It was fun to watch and now we're contemplating if we need paddle boards in our lives.
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| smoky skies from fires in B.C. |
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| blurry shot--it's a picture of a picture, but you get the idea |
2 comments:
Your kids make cute yell leaders, but they don't look as dreamy as Adam. Maybe they needed to be more blurred? It's great to read about your trip.
What's the difference between a yell leader and a cheerleader?
The difference between a yell leader and a cheerleader is where you put the hem line.
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