Wasn't It Just Yesterday?

Driving home from Salt Lake City yesterday after marrying off my only baby girl, I found myself consumed by a plethora of memories. I began to put together this blog post in my mind, filled with so many humorous and heartwarming scenarios of the past 23 years. When we were around Idaho Falls, Shulamith called me to say they were back at their apartment getting ready for work. No, I'm not kidding. They actually worked last night. It was Shulamith's fifth Valentine's Day at Macaroni Grill, and I guess she felt that she couldn't let her boss down on the busiest day of the year. At least they were together, right?

Anyway, talking to her brought my already tender emotions right to the surface. Gerald said, "Don't cry too much, or I'll get pulled over." He was referring to another trip to Billings from Salt Lake City 5-1/2 years ago. After leaving Shulamith at Westminster College for her freshman year, I cried so hard we were stopped by the police. For details, see the May 21, 2009 post entitled "Angst." Fortunately, I didn't cry quite as much this time.

As this blog post continued to brew in my mind, with memory after sweet memory, I suddenly stopped cold and thought, "WAIT. NO. This sounds like a freakin' eulogy!"

Okay, Terrianne, get a grip. No one died. Shulamith is alive and well and happier than ever. I am alive and well and happier than ever for her. So no eulogy.

Instead, dear readers, if you would indulge me in just a couple fun memories, I will leave it at that. I promise. Because wasn't it just yesterday.....

Wasn't it just yesterday when she was two years old. People had such difficulty with her name that they tended to think it must he she who was mispronouncing it. They would say, "Is it Sheila, dear?" or "Shelly?" When she was perfectly fed up with all this, she would plant both her two-year-old feet securely on the ground, look people right in the eye and declare, "IT'S SHULAMITH. S-H-U-L-A-M-I-T-H!" So maybe you can see why my pacifist leanings are utterly forgotten and I want to claw people's eyes out when they massacre her beautiful name and call her "Shula" which is not even remotely pretty. Only in Utah do they do this, by the way.

Wasn't it just yesterday....

And wasn't it just yesterday when she was nine, and we were in Las Vegas together at a dance competition. Her first time there, she was positively awestruck by all the glitz. "Mom, put some money in those machines. We can be rich!!" I listened to this for three days. I tried a couple different angles to explain why I would not put money in the machines. First, I tried the religious approach: "Honey, our church leaders have counseled us not to gamble. It's just not a good thing to do." Absolutely no effect. "But Mom, look at all those machines. We could win millions of dollars." Next, I tried a more practical approach. "Honey, look around at all these beautiful things: the bright lights, the velvet carpet, the crystal chandeliers. The reason they can afford these things is because most of the time people do not win when they gamble; most of the time they lose their money." Absolutely no effect. "But Mom, we could be the ones who win. We could be lucky."

After three days of this, I decided to try the most practical approach I could think of. Frustrated, I led her over to a machine, took a quarter out of my purse and said, "Okay. I want you to watch and see what happens when you put money in these machines." I put the quarter in the slot machine and pulled the handle. And, of course, you can guess the rest, right? Chang, chang! Chang, chang! Eight quarters came pouring out. "Do it again, Mom. Do it again!"

Wasn't it just yesterday?

And wasn't it just yesterday that she walked out of the temple wearing my wedding gown, hand in hand with her eternal sweetheart, whom we already love like a fifth son? Well, maybe it was three days ago.

More on that later. Future wedding installments to come...