Waiting for October (& November)

It's almost October and I just can't wait!  I can't wait for our traditional "31 days of Arsenic & Old Lace".  I can't wait for special edition Halloween Reeses.  I can't wait for pumpkin patches.  And to take it up a notch, I also can't wait for November 1st.  Mariah suggested that we celebrate "Dia De Los Muertos", like from the movie "Coco".  We are going to do a lot of celebrating of my Dad's life, but also see if we can get to know some of our other ancestors through their journals and life histories that are tucked away in the house.  I've already had a fun trip to Michael's for some "Dia de los Muertos" decorations.


It's great to have things to look forward to!  But I guess, first of all, I need to get my camera fixed so I can take pictures of everything. 

"sup"

When you are the new kid on the block, or the new adult at a Jr. high school, you often don't get much of a response when you greet the children.  But I think it is worth the effort anyway, especially on days like today.  One kid that I see regularly was coming towards the area where I was sitting, and before I had a chance to say "Good Morning!" I got a head nod from him.  A head nod!  That is huge!  It was a greeting - one he initiated.  I didn't actually hear a "sup" (which means "what's up" in certain circles) but that is what the head nod meant, so I was happy.  I think I'm starting to fit in!

Art Therapy

I was already having a pretty good morning - traffic was light, the sun was out and as I was getting ready I had a tv show on in the back ground that was giving me a few good laughs.  And then I went to school.  Every Friday a professional art teacher comes to our class with different projects for the kids.  Art is not my talent or my passion.  But, again, trying to be a good example and participate results in some really good things for me.  An art teacher brings the advantage of a huge supply of materials that most people don't just have at home. Today she had lots of stencils for us to make autumn drawings and paintings.  I loved it! - and made some for my grandkids.  (But shhhh, don't tell my daughters!)
This made an already good day a great day for me. 

Oskar Schindler

In my pursuit of life-long learning, one thing I like to do is watch documentaries.  I especially like the ones done by "Ken Burns".

I blogged recently about a book I am reading about the Holocaust, which has led me to want to know more; not only about the Holocaust but about a history of the Jewish people in general.  Maybe this interest originated from the one year that I taught a religion class to the teenagers in our church (seminary); the book we studied for the school year was the Old testament.

So my novel led me to a documentary-type of book of the Holocaust.  This book led me to looking up biographies of many of the people named in the book.  One in particular was Oskar Schindler.  I have heard about the movie "Schindler's List" but have never watched it.  For religious reasons I avoid "R" rated movies, but ones that are done respectfully and seriously about important moments of history tempt me.  But then again, I worry that movies like this are so well done that the images and horrors of it will stay with me forever.  It is a conundrum for me.

But anyway, I did read a biography of the making of "Schindler's List" and am already so touched and amazed by it, without even seeing the movie.  Here are some things from the biography that I think are worth noting:

 - many people involved in the making of the film, and many people who turned down the opportunity to be in the project,  had family that died in the Holocaust:
*Billy Wilder "expressed an interest in directing the film as a memorial to his family, most of whom died in the Holocaust."

- Spielberg bought the rights to the book that the movie is based on, but then was hesitant to do anything with it.  "Spielberg was unsure if he was mature enough to make a film about the Holocaust, and the project remained "on [his] guilty conscience".  But he kept it and eventually made the film because "Spielberg finally decided to take on the project when he noticed that Holocaust deniers were being given serious consideration by the media. With the rise of neo-Nazism after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he worried that people were too accepting of intolerance, as they were in the 1930s."  That right there, in my opinion, shows why we need to keep history alive and not just forget and move on.  The truth needs to always be known.

and then something that makes me think maybe I can't handle watching the movie:
-  "Several actresses broke down when filming the shower scene, including one who was born in a concentration camp."
- the article mentions many of the actor's and Spielberg's experiences and emotions as the filming was done on location near Auschwitz and other places of the actual Holocaust.  

So anyway, even if I choose not to see the movie I appreciate the sincerity with which it was made.  I feel a responsibility to know about the Holocaust and to know of at least a few of the victim's and survivor's and hero's stories as a way of honoring them.  I am grateful for the opportunity to continue learning, and am grateful to those who tell these true stories in such respectful ways.

Mariah & Ross are in the House!

Well, we have new tenants.  It is fortuitous how everything worked out.  We were expecting Julia and Lester to be here another year.  Meanwhile, Mariah and Ross were hoping to move closer to the city for some specific education and employment opportunities, and were trying to figure out how they could make that work.  Then, unexpectedly, the first school Lester applied to for medical school, which is in Boise Idaho, called him and said they had an opening this fall but that he had to get there in 2 days.  So Julia started packing up and we called Mariah to say there was room at the house if they wanted it.  Within 2 weeks Julia and the kids joined Lester, and 2 weeks later Mariah, Ross & Avonlea joined us.  We are thrilled to have them here.

available in time of need

I read this quote today by Elder Richard G. Scott and I love it:

 “Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need." 
Certainly a good case for taking notes, like if you are in a class, or at the doctors or when you are reading.

I think you can also change some of the words and have an equalling profound statement:
"Blessings carefully recorded are blessings available in time of need".

I feel like that is the main purpose of this blog.  Life is not perfect but recording the good stuff/the blessings make them available to me whenever I need them. And on particularly difficult days I have taken to writing in a notebook, just for me, at least one good thing that happened today, or yesterday, or the day before.  Blessings often repeat themselves just by our remembering them, and writing them down helps me remember.

Anywhere and Wherever

A few years ago, when our oldest were just starting to leave home, we gave them each a copy of the book "Wherever You Are my love will find you".  It is a sweet, sentimental book that hopefully expressed to them how much we love them.

 Now, just when I thought that Kenny Chesney was about to "de-throne" the Zac Brown band in my musical enjoyment, I heard a song by the Zac Brown Band with the chorus having the same sentiment as that book (though a little louder and faster than the book implies!)

So anyway, to my children don't forget, my love - and maybe even an airplane - will find you wherever you are.

p.s. I do love Kenny Chesney's new album, "Song for the Saints".  But that is another post for another day.

Samantha's turn

Well, another semester is on the horizon for Samantha.  She is leaving us on Saturday, headed to Hillary's for a few days, and then back up to her side of Idaho for college.  She is thrilled and I am thrilled for her.  Samantha is a light in our lives.  She reminds me what a great place this world is and how blessed we are for all of our opportunities.  I am going to miss her, but it's impossible to not be excited for her.

Those beautiful mountains are a fair trade-off for our ocean.

So now 3 of my girls and their families are sort of living in a triangle.  They are all within 5 hours of each other in different directions.  I don't know if they will get to visit each other anytime soon, but it is comforting knowing they can if they want or need to.  And I love that they have cousins near by.  Idaho and Utah were such a part of my growing up years, and such a part of our ancestry.  I didn't anticipate, but I am thrilled, that it has become such a part of my children's lives.

Now, with 3 of them up there, Mariah & Ross and Luke are grounded.  They are not allowed to leave California until someone is ready to trade back with them.  Ha! Ha!  With Luke getting ready for college and Mariah & Ross with different career possibilities on their horizon who knows where everyone will be in the future.  I just have to tap into Samantha's enthusiasm and feel blessed that my kids have so many opportunities.

The Librarian of Auschwitz

In trying to be a good example, I've decided that I will participate as much as possible in the assignments given to the kids in our class.  Math - not so easy, but I try, and some of the kids even help me!  Writing - that is where I shine and the kids see me enjoying it.  Reading - well, at the risk of falling asleep during silent reading time, I am participating in that too.  We went to the school library and I checked out a book, just like the kids.  The one I chose is "The Librarian of Auschwitz." It is based on a true story and the main character is real:  Dita Kraus.  I guess it's true - you're never too old to continue your education in one way or the other.

From Amazon:  "Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.

Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope."

On a side note, I do want to say that this job is hard - a new kind of hard compared to other classes I've been in.  Again, thank goodness for a team of kind, positive people to work with.  And thank goodness for perspective and purpose and small miracles.  Most days I am not dreading work but feeling like "okay, I've got to get in there and try to help these kids".  I never anticipated this and I am so grateful!

retaining wall, 2018

Twenty nine years ago Reggie built a wooden retaining wall in our backyard, with a little set of stairs for the kids to get up on the hill if they wanted to.  It has served us well.  Through all kinds of weather it held the dirt back while the kids played on the cement floor below, climbed up onto the hill, etc.  We've had numerous days of bbqs, sandboxes, bandmitton games, etc.  Some of my favorite memories are the American Girl plays we did in the backyard.  The plays were performed on the main floor, and we had mezzanine seating on the main floor and balcony seating on the little hill.  It was great.

Backyard demolition derby back in the day!

But, even though we did not have a lot of rain in 2017, there was enough to take it's toll on our poor wall.  The wood gave way and the hill began to descend on the backyard floor.  This of course made the backyard un-usable.  In 2018, when we realized that all of our grandchildren and more would be home for 2 weeks we decided that we really wanted a backyard for them to play in.

This time we thought it would be nice for Reggie (Grandpa!) to not have to build it.  He started getting quotes and realized that no one was going to do it for less than $10,000 dollars.  So he started thinking about doing it himself.  He watched lots of you tube videos on how to build cement-block retaining walls.  He looked into the pricing of the materials at Lowe's and Home Depot.  He decided it would be do-able, especially since Luke and his friend Andrew were willing to get in on the work.

the picture doesn't do justice to how big this pile of dirt was
that they dug in order to make room for the wall

Through much sweat and tears (luckily no blood) the wall got done.  It took most of the first half of the year.  We put off fun things for most weekends so that they could work on the wall (in between the many business trips that Reggie had to take).  The finished product is wonderful!  We just love it!  And since the wall cost less than 1/4th of the professionals estimates I suggested that we add in a few backyard toys into the budget.  

Reggie & I picked out brand new cars!
Notice the wall in the back!

The usefulness of the backyard actually exceeded our expectations.  For those two weeks, since every room in the house was being used for bedrooms, the backyard was like an extra room in the house - like a play room or family room.  The kids were out there from morning till dark.  The toys were also worth the money spent because not only were they used in the backyard but we took them up to the family reunion and the kids, plus more and more cousins had a great time with them.

The backyard is a pretty quite place these days with all of the children gone.  In fact, when I was looking at it today I could have sworn I heard the toys say "where did everybody go?"  I whispered "they'll be back" and I think that made us all (the toys and me) feel better.   In the mean time our beautiful autumn weather is on it's way and I hope to sit in the backyard a bit and enjoy it.

September 1st

After saying goodbye to Julia & kids early Saturday morning (and Reggie & Luke as they drove the moving truck) the day became all about time with Samantha.  She is leaving exactly one week later - another semester of school is on her horizon.  So after going back to bed for a couple of hours we went to the movies, then to Costco for groceries and pictures she had developed for her wall at school, and finished the night off with her favorite: Round Table Pizza while we watched Bewitched.  (According to Samantha there are no Round Table Pizza's anywhere near her side of Idaho).  It was a great day.