Surprise

The first weekend of November was my brother's 40th birthday. His wife invited my parents, sisters, and me to fly out for a surprise birthday party. He didn't know we were coming, which was quite an amazing feat--prayers were answered and the stars aligned.  It was great fun--the best party of 2011.

Danny plays bass guitar in an Italian polka band.
One accordion, one percussionist, a buttonbox--ie small accordion, guitar, and bass guitar.
They are all family members who have practically adopted him into the family.
They were in on the surprise . . . they told him there was a gig playing for an anniversary party. He walked in, thinking he was going to set up, and he found a large group of friends and family waiting to wish him a Happy Birthday.

Although I've heard a lot about the band, I'd never seen them play, so it was great fun.
My favorite was: O Sole Mio, which you can hear by the Three Tenors if you click HERE.
And HERE if you prefer instrumental

Sarah, Danny's wife, is also a caterer. Along with the 100 cupcakes, also made a very funny fondant cake with Danny sitting in a wheelchair. He jokes that he wants to have one pot and a spoon--everything else is unnecessary fluff . . . hence the pot under him and the spoon in his hand.

My dad rewrote the lyrics to some well-known tunes to tease Danny about being 40. We had fun singing them with the guests. Here's a sample:

To the tune of "On Top of Old Smoky."
On top of old Danny,
once covered with hair,
The dome is now shiny,
the dome is now bare.

The party was on Friday night. We spent most of Saturday hanging out and went for a walk in the Ohio woods. Dinner was lasagna, a Daniel Parks tradition.

Sarah, Emily, Danny, Sam

It was suggested that our family (my siblings and parents) get together on each of our 40th birthdays . . .
time will tell.

Thank you Danny & Sarah for the great party!
And Nathan for being home so I could attend solita!

p.s. When my dad turned 40, my mom coordinated a surprise party for him. We borrowed a wheelchair for him to sit in and a good friend read his eulogy. At the time, Danny was 14 and teased my Dad for being old. I was 9 years old and helped make the invitation. I used the computer program 'The Print Shop" and spelled "Suprise" on all the invites.

Peace and Quiet

This weekend Nathan had a professional conference at a hotel/conference center about an hour away. My mom (and dad) came to watch my kids so I could go with him. I'm not sure if it's because I knew I was going away or not, but Thursday seemed extra crazy. The conference was 8 to 5 both Friday and Saturday. We drove early Friday morning. We took one wrong turn, but it turned out to be a happy accident. Thankfully, we had enough time to correct it before the meeting started. We chatted in the car about how much less stressful traffic seemed since we had planned extra time into the schedule.

The view out of our window

We were able to check into the hotel when we arrived.
It was delightful to be by myself and hear myself think.
First thing I did was a little shopping. It's more enjoyable when I'm alone.
Then, back to the hotel for lunch (which I had packed that morning), and time to study. I am taking another class for continuing Ed and just needed time to work on it. A little nap later, and it was time to meet Nathan. We stopped at a grocery store for a quick snack and then went to the temple.
We did sealings together.
Finally, at 9:00 p.m. we went to dinner. I chose the Cheesecake Factory, because an acquaintance from Texas works for them, and I'd never been there. Nathan ate a giant burrito, and I had chicken and biscuits. We shared a BLT salad.


This morning Nathan went for a run on the golf course (in the dark). Then, he left pretty early for the meetings, and I took my time getting moving. At 8:30 I went to the hotel's gym and lifted weights for 30 minutes. They had really nice weights--I was excited to use the leg press and hamstring machines. Then, I went on a three mile walk. I went back to where we'd made the wrong turn, so I could photograph this wall.

Every now and then I wish I had an excellent camera. Today was one of those days.

I love everything about the photo above--the colors, the reflection of the yellow tree and blue sky in the window.

It was a visual feast!
Maybe that turn wasn't so "wrong."
After cleaning myself up, I went to breakfast in the hotel, again by myself.
I ate oatmeal and a fried egg.
More reading, and then I checked out. I went to buy my lunch, but the restaurant I wanted to try is in the Tech district, and is only open M-FR, which I found out at their front door. I went to the mall, (which was PACKED), and wandered through my favorite stores to browse . . . Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrell, Pottery Barn. More visual loveliness.
Lunch was a Philly cheese-steak. I wondered how many others were like me--once in a blue moon mall eaters, and how many were there every Saturday. Even amidst all the noise, it was still a quiet meal for me.
I went back to the hotel to listen to Nathan's presentation. He did a great job and acknowledged my being there. He spoke about Diabetic foot screenings. After him there was one more presenter, so I slipped out to read a little more for my class. When he was done, we drove home. Because of another commitment my parents had, I needed a babysitter for the last couple of hours.

I like having time to be by myself. I need to study and I enjoyed a little more freedom to set my own schedule and choose activities I didn't have to convince anyone else to do with me. It was nice to be interrupted only by my own thoughts. I learned I enjoy cooking and eating by myself and with my family. It sometimes is stressful to cook dinner with the many other demands at that time of the day, but I like the process of preparing food. It is very quiet to eat alone. And yet, I enjoy that peaceful time. I will have to find another time to sneak it in again.

I remember a conversation I had with my dad shortly after staring my first job. I asked him how he was able to work so much, day in and day out. I can't remember word for word, but he told me that he just did it. "And there are breaks."
Nice to have a break.

Vintage Me

Wearing dresses I wore as a little girl. The red and white one was a favorite of mine. It is one of the best spinning dresses I ever wore.

After they are done wearing them, what should I do with them?
Keep them?
Donate them?
Re-fashion them into doll clothing?

Tremendous

"You did a tremendous amount of laundry today."

There's noting like a couple of days in bed to teach gratitude for the ability to lift, bend, and twist.
Remember this?
(I know it has a different title, but I will always remember it as the "lift, bend, twist" talk).

 

My favorite part of laundry is hanging up the clean mens' dress shirts. When I was a girl, I remember hanging my dad's shirts on a doorknob to help my mom. She taught me to do it quickly and carefully, so they would not wrinkle. I remember feeling happy that I was contributing. I still hang up shirts, though more frequently now. I still love it.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day
But knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

by Robert Frost


My seventh grade English teacher, (who I REALLY liked), had us memorize this poem. I've never forgotten the message, even though I can't recite it word for word anymore. I love this poem.

Questions:
Why is the title of the poem about the road he didn't take?
What is the "road less taken" in our case?
Where do the paths lead? He never mentions destination, just the road to get there.

We are at a fork in our road.
After 9 years of post college training,
Nathan has two great job offers for a career we hope will last for 20-30 years.
We are deciding this week.

Please give us any advice you have on making life/career/big decisions.
We are listening.

Finished Woodworking Projects

The lowest grade I ever received was in 9th grade woodshop. The reason? I never finished my final project. I think my teacher was generous with the grade he gave me. At some point during the class, I got scared of the tools. I don' t know how I spent my class time--because I obviously never finished my stool. Wonder if my dad has that wood sitting around somewhere . . . ? Hope not.

In Cub Scouts, (at least at Andrew's level) some woodworking is mandatory. I approached it hesitantly, but am happy with the finished project, seen here. Nathan talked me through it from shopping at Lowes all the way to the last screws. Thanks to him--it's done. And thanks to Scouting, I can now say that my most recent woodworking project is a finished woodworking project.

The Webelos and Bears made this toolbox, the Wolves boys made bookends. Each boy got to use a handsaw, measuring tape, C-clamps, and screwdriver. I think they had fun, too. One finished toolbox left my home tonight, two in varying stages, and two more stayed here because they need quite a bit more work. Three sets of completed bookends and one more than halfway done. Oh how I love a finished project!

I also enjoyed working with wood growing up. My dad had a box of scrap wood that he let us use without needing to ask his permission. I don't remember making anything spectacular out of it--anything for that matter--just fun to use my imagination and my hands. I remember practicing driving nails and pulling them out again. Dad also made the wood blocks we played with, which he did keep for his grandchildren. They are a treasure.

I almost forgot the best part of this project. The first day I cut wood, Caitlin came out into the garage, watched me pushing and pulling the saw back and forth and burst into laughter, saying, "That's funny. A mom working?!"

Andrew stayed home from school today with a headache, so he spent several hours working in the garage with me getting wood ready for tonight. Hopefully he will remember that we were together the first time he used a saw, because he's my unfinished project.

(p.s. I am giving this toolbox away, but will be building another one with Andrew when he's a Bear. Thanks to grandparents, he already has tools to store in it).

"My Country 'Tis of Thee" memories

In 4th grade I tried out for the Casper Children's Chorale, a youth choir (4th-7th grades) in my hometown. "My Country 'Tis of Thee" was the audition song. I remember being very nervous. It was my first "Try out" experience, and happily, it went well.

I loved being in the choir, meeting children from all over the city and became close friends with some of them. We learned a lot from our very talented director and she broadened our horizons. We did the Church Tour, singing in 4 or 5 different churches each year, a unique learning opportunity. In addition to an annual WY tour, in 5th grade she took us to the Big Apple and we sang in Lincoln Center. An unforgettable experience for a small town kid. All 3 girls in my family were in this choir, and the director moved up to my high school when I was a senior, so I sang for her again.

While Aretha Franklin sang this song at the Inauguration, all I could think about was the song and my memories of it. My favorite is the most recent, on Sunday. Andrew and Trent sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in front of about 20 women at church. (Trent is one of the boys in Cub Scouts). A few weeks ago I was asked to prepare some music. I couldn't decide what to do, but wanted the boys to have that experience, so they sang and I played the piano. We did the first and last verses. Great fun. At the end everyone clapped for them--a rare occurrence at church. This is their 2nd performance, the first was a few weeks ago, 3 boys singing "Choose the Right" to the other children. Their next requirement is "The Star-Spangled Banner." I think I need to hire out for the pianist on this one. Takers? My dad plays it, perhaps a good excuse for him to visit.

Thanks mom, for all the rides to Chorale, and thanks Dad for paying the dues! I love America.

"Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light
Protect us by thy might,
Great God our King!"