Back to School

Well, school has started. I can remember the excitement I had as a child when school would start. It meant seeing friends on a regular basis. (No play dates in my era). Even in high school, the beginning of school meant football games and fun school activities. I studied, sure, but the fun was friends, new clothes, and activities.

As a young mom I looked forward to school for all the reasons my kids do.  Fewer kids to take to the store. More quiet time with less fighting. Fewer little people asking for help. You get the picture.

In 1987, my husband bought me a poster with a stuffed bear standing on the porch. She was dressed in a print dress with a flowered hat on her head. If a bear could look forlorn, that was probably the attempt. Kurt said it was a Mama Bear contemplating the last of her cubs leaving the den. (Jake was starting first grade that year). I had had twelve years of someone home with me all day. My thought was that when she saw the school bus pull away from the curb, she would throw the hat in the air and shout for joy!!

I had three school years home alone. After the school bus left, I wouldn't turn on a TV or radio, just listen to the quiet.  I woke my six kids and made their beds while they were in the bathroom. I hurried to do the  paper route with Thad and get home to fix breakfast for the kids attending Seminary. I usually had the dishes done by 8:30 - the bus came at 8:00 - and the rest of the day was mine!! I could read a book, take a walk, whatever I wanted.

I loved it!!

When we moved to Utah, we had two mortgages for a while. I went to work part-time to help out. Then there were missions, college tuition, weddings, etc. I have been working ever since.

My job now, you guessed it, is with the school district. This year as all the kids and moms were excited for school to start, I was the one wishing for more summer. I wanted just a few more weeks to take geneology trips, go to the park, see grandkids, visit with my mom and have her tell me stories.

It was actually hard to start school this year because I so enjoyed the summer. I guess the whole starting school thing depends on your perspective and I think I've seen it from all sides now.

Laundry Woes

I had a large family, six kids, and often got behind in the laundry. The washing and drying I could handle just fine. It was the endless folding and getting it to their rooms that was the problem.

In Kansas, we lived in a big house with the laundry in the basement. The laundry room was about 12' x 14' with hanging racks and a banquet table for folding. Great set up, but impossible to manage. Each morning I would collect the laundry from the third and second floor and carry it to the basement. Every other day, I would sort and wash. Folding took hours so often the clothes would end up on the table in various piles. Notice -  the house is tilting toward the laundry room!!

The older boys, whose rooms were on the third floor, would often get dressed in the basement. (It was their job to carry up their own laundry) I had to make curtains for the windows as the laundry room opened into the alley. Later I attempted to have them do their own laundry and then the clothes never got folded. Anyway back to dressing in the basement... I really thought those days were over.

Now there are only three of us in this house. The laundry room is on the main floor and is about 8' x 6'. There is one hanging rod and only enough room to open the door. The blessing is that I am never behind on laundry and folding, or so I thought.

This morning I was downstairs cooking breakfast for Andy before I took him to work. I heard him muttering as he came down the stairs. He was dressed in his socks and BVDs. He went straight to the dryer to find a pair of pants and his favorite shirt! 

I guess, even though it has been eighteen years since we lived in Kansas, he still remembered where to find the clothes he wanted.  So much for having the laundry dilemma solved!

Just a Bike Ride

Yesterday our son Zac took a "grueling" 100+ mile bike ride through the Uintah mountains. It started in Park City , wound through Rhodes Valley and the mountains above Kamas, Utah. To him, it was an training race for Lotoja (riding from Logan to Jackson Hole in one day).Zac will tackle this 250 mile trip for the second time this fall. 

For me, this ride in the mountains had far greater 

significance. My mother's family all came from Rhodes Valley so I know the stories of their struggles and joy there. I couldn't help but wonder if I had imprinted on my children the wonder of their heritage. 

I know the time is not right for them to have the interest I do. They have young families and are surviving day to day to raise and provide for my grandchildren. I couldn't help but wonder, as I was waiting for Zac to ride by, if he thought of  those who had gone before and their sacrifices.

As he passed the cemetery where his great-great-great grandfather lay, did Zac know John Lambert was the first settler in Rhodes Valley. Did he know Morgan Lewis fought in the Indian wars to secure the Valley? In his mind, did he

see the three small graves for greatgrandma Mary's first three children? She went on to have nine others of which grandma Weez is #5. 

On the road from Kamas to Francis and Woodland, did he know Daniel Bowen Lewis delivered the mail for his life's work,using a horse and sleigh in the winter. Did he know Adelia Lambert had given birth to a still born daughter in the fields on foothill road. Did he imagine her crying silently to herself, wrapping the babe in an apron, and walking home to start dinner for her family.

As he rode up the canyon, did he know his ancestors had a sawmill that provided for the building of the town? Did he know the days his grandmother (my Mom) spent in the mountains with her family while her Dad cut trees and tended sheep to provide for his family? 

I know Zac remembered his great uncle Dan (the toe popper) and his great uncle Dick who owned Dick's Drive In as he passed by. He surely remembered all the free milkshakes and great food there. He probably remembered fishing with John and four wheeling. Thad would remember fishing  in Kamas and learning that the fish he caught would die. I don't think Thad ever fished after that. Jake would go fishing, but only as a catch/release kind of guy. My question remained if my boys knew what a remarkable fisherman my Uncle Leo was. Did they

know Leo caught fish to trade for candy for his eight siblings?

Did my children comprehend what is was like for Grandma Weez to be raised in a three bedroom house with ten other people. This was also the house where she was born except it only had two rooms then and an outdoor john!! As Zac turned the corner toward Marion, did he know I started first grade in Kamas and used to get apples at the service station on that corner from my great Uncle John?

The stories could go on and on. But have I, as a mother, imparted the significance of their heritage to my children? Do they, now that they have children, understand how much they were loved before they were born? I hope they cherish their little ones as well as appreciate the sacrifices of those who have gone before.  I hope they know life is never just a bike ride.......

Forty Years Later

We just returned from re-creating our wedding day. We attended the Oakland Temple. We then ate at the same restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf and went to the wax museum, just like forty years ago.

In 1968 we went to Haight-Ashbury to look around, but this time our youngest son told us to

"steer clear of there". The next activity was a drive down the coast highway to San Simeon. It's a beautiful Drive, however, when you are used to traveling at 70 MPH it is hard not to go over 35 MPH! It makes for a long drive. I don't think we will do it again.

We drove back using the interior freeway and flew home. Andy stayed with Zac's family in St. George while we were gone.

I then went to St. George and tended Zac's girls while they went to Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and Greece. Andy and I went to Zac's for nine days, then brought them back to Bountiful. The girls spent the next nine days with various cousins. They had a good time but were very glad to see their parents again.

Next, we had a family reunion with my side of the family. I am the oldest of three children that has now blossomed to fifty plus. We had a photographer and the whole works. It was so fun to be with family. My mother is eighty one and said with tears in her eyes, "That picture will really be something." That one comment made all the hassle worth it.

Sarah and her family from Washington, as well as Zac's family came to the reunion. They haven't been able to attend for several years.  It was great to have all of them there. Family is where  it's at!!

Attempting to Blog

This is my first attempt to blog. I love hearing about my kids and grandkids on their blogs. Today Sarah spent close to an hour on the phone trying to teach me the basics. What a job . . . but she had the patience to try!  

I'm not all that clever as evidenced by my spending at least an hour compiling a list of all my passwords! It's easier for me to go to the store than check Ebay and remember the login, password, URL, etc. I don't even speak the language! I guess it's time to learn something new and keep up with the kids.

We're flying to California next week to celebrate our fortieth anniversary. It seems like just a little while ago we made the trip to Oakland to be married. 

What an adventure. . .We left in the early morning as we had to get our license in Sacramento before 5:00 pm. I fell asleep at the wheel somewhere in Nevada and woke up bumping across the desert at 60 mph.

Next, we blew the engine in our loaner volkswagen (another story) just outside of Sacramento and limped into the VW dealership luckily located at the exit where the engine blew. It was about 4:15.  A stranger waiting in the dealership offered to drive us to the courthouse to get the marriage license before 5:00 so we could keep our appointment the next morning in the Oakland Temple.

After we got the license, she took us back to the dealership for the news about our white loaner car. They could fix it  and would give us another loaner (green) to take to Oakland. We were on our way.

We were married on June 4, 1968 in the Oakland Temple, the newest one in the church. We ate lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. Then we went to Golden Gate Park and the corner of Haight-Ashbury.  In 1968 that was a big deal. Next we visited a wax museum and an art museum. Both of us had the newly married jitters so our next stop was the movies.  We saw "Dr. Dolittle" and I fell asleep.

We didn't have reservations for the night so started searching for a place to stay. Finally at about midnight we found a vacancy at a Best Western. Kurt carried me over the threshold and then went back to get our luggage out of the car.  He had locked the keys in the ignition!

The next morning we called a locksmith to open the car so we could get it back to Sacramento and pick up the white VW. Then down the coast highway and on to Lompoc.

This time we're flying to California and renting a Mustang. We have all our reservations and scheduling done. We'll eat on Fisherman's Wharf and walk in the Park. I'm not sure about the two museums but definitely not see a movie at 9:00 pm!  We'll drive down the coast highway to San Simeon to Hearst's Castle. Then drive back to Oakland and fly home. We've learned a little in forty years.