A Dollop of Meringue

See? I Can Be Spontaneous!

Paul's firm decided they needed a presence at the National School Board Association's legal conference in Boston last week.  This didn't occur to anyone until about 10 days before it began, and Paul was the only one available so I called my mom: "Please, can we go?" and she said, "Why not? Your father and I can drop our whole lives and come stay at your house for five days and have your children wear us out with their adoration."

So we booked ridiculously expensive plane tickets and made loose plans for five days and four nights in Boston.

Paul was in meetings during the day, so I consulted a friend who lived in Boston and a guidebook and put together a little itinerary which made me very happy.

On Thursday the weather promised to be nice so I walked the entire Freedom Trail.  We stayed at the Boston Sheraton in the Back Bay, so I hopped the T to Park Street and began the journey at  Boston Common and the Massachusetts State House.

I stopped at the Park Street Church, the Granary Burying Ground and the King's Chapel & Burying Ground.

I followed the little red-brick line in the sidewalk and stopped by the Boston Latin School (now a steak house), the Old Corner Bookstore, the Old South Meeting House, and the Old State House.

I saw the site of the Boston Massacre and then Fanueil Hall.  There were a lot of people lined up for a citizenship ceremony that morning, so the Hall was closed.  I wasn't disappointed, though, because I think seeing that sea of hopeful faces was more moving than anything inside the Hall.

I popped into Quincy Market where I bought lunch (and should have used the bathroom, but didn't, and lived to regret the decision).  I crossed the street to little Columbus Park and ate lunch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  I picked up the trail again in the North End and took a tour of the Paul Revere House and the Old North Church.

I did pause for a moment to recite some poetry:

Listen, my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then I ignored the advice of the guidebook to take a break from the Freedom Trail and pressed on to Copp's Hill Burying Ground and then trekked across the Charles River to see the USS Constitution.  (I figured out what the guidebook meant as I passed many families with children who had completely melted down along the way.  That last push is pretty long, and there is no convenient T stop on that side of the river so you have to walk all the way back.)

It was worth it, though: very serviceable bathrooms (!) and a terrific tour of a glorious ship.  The navy servicemen and women giving the tours did a fine job of putting it into historical context. 

And, now I have to admit that I did not, in fact, walk the ENTIRE Freedom Trail.  I dropped out here, and just waved at the Bunker Hill memorial which I could see peeking up through some buildings.

Thursday night I took Paul back to the North End and we ate dinner in a tiny little Italian Restaurant on Fleet Street.  La Summa is family run with only thirteen tables, a terrific menu and such an authentic air.  We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

On Friday I took the T across the river to Cambridge.  I wandered around Harvard Square and then ventured onto campus to take a look at some of the historic buildings.  Cambridge is a weird place.

Friday night we hit China Town.  We picked a restaurant rather blindly and ended up at the China Pearl.  The food was fine, and it was fun to see big Chinese-American families traipse up the two flights of stairs to the dragon- and Chinese-lantern bedecked dance hall/restaurant.

On Saturday I went to the Boston Museum of Fine Art and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  The Gardner Museum is outstanding.  The woman who founded it was quite a character and built a castle in the Fenway to showcase her very unique and varied art and artifact collection.  Her will specifies that nothing can be moved, so everything is exactly as she left it.  I could have spent days wandering around.  I ate lunch at the Cafe G there, and ordered off the nasturtium-themed menu. What a treat.

Saturday evening Paul and I booked a Duck Tour. It was fun to get a narrated tour of all the places I'd been plus many more.  The guide took us for a spin in the river, so we got a great view of the city.

On Sunday, I toyed with the idea of attending church but my spoiled Utah-Mormon sensibilities balked at the idea of a train-plus-two bus trip (yes, I know: woe).  Instead we went back to Quincy Market for a bit of souvenier shopping, and then had an OUTSTANDING pizza lunch at Pizzaria Regina in the North End.  All pizza will now pale in comparison, and that is my punishment for not going to church, I suppose.  We stopped for cannoli at Mike's Pastry, and I may never be the same.

Our plane was that afternoon, so we headed home to "real" life with full tummies and great memories.

Tae! Kwon! Do!

Grand Master Kwon invited Will to test for his yellow belt.  This was very exciting, because Will had been participating in Tae Kwon Do for just nine weeks and this felt like a great honor to Will.

Testing was yesterday, and was our first experience with the pageantry of Korean martial arts.  David was home for the day so that he and I could fill out the very complicated and confusing Peruvian visa paperwork and send it to the Utah Secretary of State for a $15 apostille certification on each one.  That was a bit frustrating, but it was worth it because David was able to attend the testing (and the celebratory dinner at Noodles & Co afterward).

Grand Master Kwon (who, seriously, could be right out of Hollywood central casting) oversaw the events while Master Soon, Master AJ and Master Rob put the students through their paces.  One of the grooviest things about martial arts is that students are not segregated by age but by mastery.  Will's testing group ranged in age from six to sixty.

The students showed off some sparring techniques.

Then they went through the white belt form.

Master Kwon gave a short speech about mastery and striving to improve.

Then each candidate got to break a wooden board.  That was very exciting.

Will got to keep his splintery board, and also brought home a certificate, his new yellow belt and a red rose.

Tae! Kwon! Do!

Bedroom Re-do

I mentioned I had pre-misson call mania?  You should see what I have accomplished!  My 72-hour kits are a thing of beauty, but first I'll show you some decorating.

I've been itching to add some paint to our bedroom lately.  One day a few weeks ago, William showed up and said, "Let's go buy paint!" So we did! And he helped me move furniture and paint.  We hadn't finished by the weekend, so Paul got roped into helping, too.  I think it turned out beautifully.  We painted the bedroom two different shades of blue with a shimmery bronze paint to highlight the crown molding.

There is a little nook by the window so I bought some beautiful wallpaper (on clearance).  This picture is a little over-exposed, but the wallpaper is a bronzy gold with a blue vine motif meandering through it.  We tucked a really comfy leather couch in there (my Christmas gift to Paul) and outfitted it with some blankets and a down pillow and now Paul has a spot to relax in the evening.

We flanked the nook with a black bookcase and a black end table.  I just love this lamp from IKEA, and I was able to tuck in three hand-made items from my mom: a log-cabin crocheted blanket that was a wedding gift, a lovely blue afghan she made when I was expecting Will, and a quilt that she pieced out of the many fabric scraps she had left over from all the dresses she made me as a girl.

I chose a pretty aqua for the bathroom and made some new curtains.  I chose brown to warm it up a bit in there.  The counters are very light, and the floor is white marble.

The upstairs hall and stair well looked so terrible in comparison that we warmed it up with a champagne color.  I took a cue from Jenny and put a big map by the kids' reading nook.

I am really happy with how it all turned out.  I've now turned my attention toward new carpet and repainting the living room.  Stay tuned!

Birthday Wrap-Up

Happy Birthday to my darling Amelia!

She turned 12 on Thursday, and she is one to do it up in style.

Last Saturday, her grandma took her shopping.  I'm so grateful to my mom who has the patience and stamina for the marathon (five hour!) shopping trips Amelia craves.  They had a fancy lunch and then wandered the mall and found wonderful birthday items.

On Wednesday, Amelia went to the combined activity for the church youth group for the first time.  They cooked in Dutch ovens in the parking lot and she came home triumphant and smoky.  (And here, may I interject an observation about the differences between my two daughters?  Dorothy has very little use for socializing for socializing's sake.  There must be interesting people and interesting topics to discuss, or she is just not willing to endure it.  Amelia on the other hand? She revels in the whole experience.)

On Thursday, it happened to be Look 'n' Lunch at her school.  Parents and grandparents are invited to bring lunch to enjoy with the students.  It is a thinly veiled plot to get parents to buy books at the Scholastic Book Fair, and it works.  My mom and I bought Subway sandwiches for Will, Whitney, Gavin, Amelia and Catherine and sat in the cafeteria and doled out food to the rotating children (and one teacher) as their grades moved in and out.  It was fun, and Amelia pretended that it was really in her honor.

Thursday afternoon she fielded calls from her Aunt Susannah and Grandpa which made her very happy.

Thursday evening, she invited us to take her out to eat.  She chose her favorite Mexican restaurant -- Costa Vida.  She ordered a pork salad and relished every bite. She opened gifts and got quite a random assortment of things she loves:

• an electric blanket
• an old Marsha Brady style pink phone (that works! although it sounded daunting when I explained that there is no memory in the phone and she will have to memorize phone numbers to use it)
• work-out clothes for soccer
• school supplies and desk organzing supplies
• three bags of potato chips
• a new and very fancy lunch box

On Friday, there was no school.  She pretended that was in her honor as well.

Tonight she has six girlfriends here for a Girls Night In.  She also invited her cousin Gavin.  He has been to EVERY birthday party since age three (ten in a row!) and she and he were not willing to break that streak now.  The kids made their own pizzas, played charades, opened presents, had cake and ice cream, and are now watching the original Muppet Movie with bowls of popcorn.  Amelia planned the entire party, and has been quite a wonderful host.  It's quite nice for me to not be exhausted from entertaining them non-stop, I must say.

Tomorrow she attends with the Young Women at church for the first time, and then we will have family over for another celebration.  That makes an 8-day celebration by my count.  And that darling girl is worth every moment.

A Big Day

Untitled from Mel on Vimeo.

David's mission call arrived last Wednesday -- Leap Day.  Calls generally arrive on Wednesdays in these parts so we knew that it would almost certainly come that day.  I ordered German-chocolate brownies from the bakery, and we made plans to drive the packet to Provo.  David wanted to meet for dinner and then go back to his dorm to open the call with his friends and ward members, and serve the brownies as refreshments.  It was sweet that so many of them made their way to the lobby to participate in his big moment -- he said his hall is opening two or three mission calls a week right now.

His call is to the Peru Lima East Mission.  He will go to the Provo Missionary Training Center for three weeks, and then head to the CCM in Peru for another 40 days before he is placed in the care of his "trainer" in his first area.  This plan sounds very inspired to me.

My parents came along for the big event.  My poor mom was a nervous wreck thinking about her baby grandson heading off to potentially unsafe parts unknown.  We could hear the relief in her voice as she jumped around (like a monkey, Will said), holding her Peruvian necklace aloft.  She had a bit of a religious experience -- she and my dad traveled to Peru last year and had a marvelous time, and she could picture David as a missionary there.

I feel good about it, too.  I surprised myself with how nervous I was.  Tuesday morning I woke up and ripped apart our 72-hour kits and then made the list of all lists for the best and most perfect packs ever.  I spent all that day and the next shopping for axes and shovels and meal replacement bars and propane.  There's no logical reason why I felt such urgency, other than I needed a diversion.

Paul spent Thursday trolling mission blogs and other Peruvian sites of interest on the internet to reassure himself that this would be a good place for his boy.  The mission looks absolutely beautiful for the most part and a wonderful place to labor in the Lord's service.

We are both so proud of our boy.  He's turned into such a wonderful young man.

 

All Things Bright and Beautiful

I'm still a little out of sorts here.  There are lots of changes on the horizon and I've been indulging in  a healthy dose of navel gazing.  But, four things made me smile today:

• the sight of bed-heady Paul sleeping in past 5:30
• William stopping by and being willing to help me hang three really weird mirrors (and then going to IKEA with me on a Saturday!) while Paul took Amelia to her piano evaluations
• David coming home to retrieve the electric razor he left here on Monday and having dinner with us
• the hyacinths I accidently bought in November and decided to force in January blooming this morning -- they smell fantastic and I hope the four pots I gave away to ladies in my ward are brightening those houses, too

February Frenzy

It's been a wild week. 

There were some great things -- Susannah has been in town and we got to spend the weekend with her, K and their gorgeous kids.  We all went to the cabin on Saturday with the idea that we would return on Monday.  However, a lack of running water (frozen pipes!) and an accident involving a snowmobile, a fence, Sus, K and Max made it seem like a good idea to cut our losses on Sunday and come home.  We reconvened on Monday for waffles, games and general silliness so it was all good.

Before the family togetherness David turned in his LDS mission application.  It's an on-line process of filling in information, understanding our medical insurance, taking a handsome picture, and visiting the doctor and dentist.  It culminated in appointments with our bishop and then stake president on Sunday, February 12.  The papers have been in for a week and a friend "in the know" peeked at the system today and let us know that David's assignment will be looked at this Friday and then mailed next week.  I was raised to be averse to counting chickens before they are hatched, so I will say no more about any of that until then.

In between those two events, I had an encounter with a neighbor who I work closely with at church.  It was three days of hurt feelings and discussions, and re-hashing in the car mirror what I should have or could have said.  It was really awful and upsetting.  And, it felt very personal.

I decided some years ago that when something like that happens -- something that really unseats me -- I have an obligation to really look at it and see what truth I can find there.  I prayed about it.  I picked the events apart and looked them over, from every angle.  I chose a few very close and truthful confidantes to re-tell the story to and get their take.  I found some opportunities to serve those around me who are really suffering to help regain my equilibrium.  And, I think I came pretty close to the lesson God intended for me.

Today, I read a former roommate's blog post.  Jenny wrote about the second decade of her life -- a very difficult time for her during which she was bullied and felt like an outcast in high school.  She joined Paige, Anne, Lisa and me during our sophomore year at BYU.  It was an apartment of six girls, and the four of us were already fast friends from high school.  I have to admit I held my breath as I read through her time-line until she got to her first year at BYU.  She was a year younger, and I have always wondered if we treated her as well as she would have liked or needed.

We added a sixth 'unknown' roommate to the mix, and she chimed in today, too.

I was self-centered during those years (aren't we all?), and pretty sure that my way was the right way.  I did not tolerate anything that challenged my 'sophisticated' world-view and gave up on BYU and roommates after that year.  (The joke was on me, though, when I married Paul and spent the next five years as a BYU spouse.  And now I'm a BYU parent.)

It was a relief to read that both Jenny and Robin felt welcomed into our close-knit little group of four official and several other honorary roommates.  The criticism I received last week left me wondering if I am too closed off, too judgemental.  There is some of that -- I'll own it and I work on it.  But I also like to think that, on my best days, it's mostly that I value order and quiet and time to do my own study and projects.  I place my relationships with God and my family ahead of all others.   I am also loyal and careful of other's feelings.

I'm a work in progress, but I think I am on the right track most of the time.  Thanks, Jenny and Robin, for seeing the best in me, too.

I Lost My Wallet

My wallet went missing last week.  I realized it was gone while out running errands on Thursday.  I hunted in all the usual places, and cleaned out the van hoping to find it in some nook or cranny.  The van commercials do not tell you that Stow'n'Go compartments are really just receptacles for the misplaced and gross.

I asked my kids for help -- both girls have an uncanny ability to recall seeing something out of place.  They didn't know.  Paul went through the garbage, and then told me not to worry.  He was just glad to know I'm "human sometimes," which I thought was a fantastic compliment.

I called the places I had been on Wednesday -- Sam's Club, the piano teacher's house, the elementary school where Amelia had basketball practice.  I looked at our accounts on-line and decided it was more on the "lost" rather than "stolen" side of things so I went to bed hoping my subconscious would lead me to it in a dream.

On Friday morning, I gave up and cancelled all our cards.  I pulled out my marriage license, birth certificate and social security card so I could get a new driver's license and then got in the shower.  From the bathroom, I heard the doorbell ring and Dorothy answer the door and thought to myself, "Huh.  Someone's returning my wallet.  I wonder who it is?"

I was right, and Dorothy had no idea who had returned it or where she had found it.  The poor child recognized the neighbor but could not come up with a name.  Fortunately, I know her well and asked for the make, model and year of the woman's car and was able to figure it out with that information and make a grateful phone call.  Lovely Marsha had found it in the gutter at the bus stop with everything (including $2 cash) still inside.

The whole experience reminded me of a classic Bert story.   Not long after Doreen died, Bert called to tell me that his wallet was empty.  It took me a minute to understand that he had misplaced the entire contents of his wallet and had no idea what had happened to all his ID and credit cards.  I helped him look for a bit, and then we made the phone calls to replace everything.  Luckily he had made a photocopy of everything and that made it pretty easy.

About six months later he was getting ready to move to the condo near us and had a garage sale.  A young man was checking out the printer/fax machine/copier that Bert was selling, and lifted the cover.  He discovered the entire contents of Bert's wallet neatly lined up on the glass to be photocopied in case he lost his wallet.

Update

I have been working on some after-Christmas projects.  Our friend William and I have been painting nearly the entire upstairs.  We redecorated the master bedroom -- new color scheme all around, including a metallic border and wallpaper.  The hallway and stairway are now Champagne Gold, and the laundry rooms and bathrooms got a fresh coat of paint.  I'm retouching the trim today, and then I will have pictures.  It is lovely, and I am so happy.

I have also been busy with my school obligations.  It's time for another round of Community Council Meetings, and I've been offering my two-cents about where to spend the schools' shares of Utah Land Trust money.  The grants are fairly sizeable and can make a big difference in the life of a struggling student.  It feels good to know that I can affect the lives of other children.  That is one of the blessings of public education -- every kid gets a shot, regardless of how interested or invested their parents are.

Catherine roped me into teaching math once a week.  The 6th grade teachers want to send a few teams to the district Math Olympiad, and our fifteen 6th graders need a little coaching before they go.  Despite my winning the 6th grade grand math prize in my own youth (which was for speedy timestable work) I don't know what qualifies me to teach intermediate algebra.  But, I'm muddling through and it is fun to spend time interacting with Amelia and her pals (and the boys that drive her crazy).  They are doing well.  I've only had to ask Dorothy to help me with two practice problems that were giving me trouble.

The high school band director is getting excited for next season, so we've had a few meetings.  The show will be about butterflies and the tour will be to Washington DC.  That's if he gets all his ducks in a row, and I'm learning that band directors seem to share a scattered approach to life.

Paul's dad's condo is listed for sale.  We finally got the go-ahead from the mortgage company and an approved listing price.  It's a little melancholy, since this is the final chapter in our dealings.  The place is almost empty, and clean.  An acquaintance of ours came to get the piano for his granddaughter last week.  We have done some painting and tidying up, and the work is almost over.  The real estate agent thinks it will sell quickly, and I hope she is right.

David has been working on his mission papers.  He hopes to submit his application next week, and then we will see how the rest of this year will go.  It is very exciting, but also so very BIG to enter into this chapter of parenting.  We're proud of him.

And that is a good life right there.

Not to Be Out-done

Will asked for and received a jacket for church.  Isn't he the most handsome EVER?  (Love the CTR ring, too.)

I was thinking about Sunday church services yesterday.  It's an interesting thing to go to church every week.  It's not required in the sense that there is a paycheck or grade attached, and it can be a bother to get everyone dressed and ready to go.  Yesterday was Fast Sunday, so I was plotting and scheming all morning to put together a tasty meal that could be ready immediately when we walked through the door in the afternoon before everyone expired of hunger.  And, let's  not even discuss the fact that we are there for three hours! 

But, despite the bother it is so worthwhile.  I think it is worth it for all of us.  I love being taught by my brothers and sisters in the gospel, I love the relationships that have been built out of years of shared experiences, and I love knowing that my kids are experiencing something of the same thing.

Church is not perfect.  There are folks there at bug me with a capital B.  I disagree with some politics, parenting, even interpretation of scripture.  But, when Brother K got up to voluntarily speak over the pulpit during Sacrament meeting and told us that it is his goal to get up once per decade I just loved it.  He's one of the smartest and most accomplished gospel scholars I think I'll ever know, and I was pleased to hear his humble and quirky list of things for which he is grateful.

So I'll keep going, week after week.  It gives me hope for my own wrinkly little soul.