Giddy Just Thinking About It

A few days ago, a friend's Facebook status said: "So many awesome things coming up in the next few months. I get giddy just thinking about it!" When I first read this, I thought, "Lucky you." Because I spend most of my time lately, not looking forward, but just wishing to go back. It's so easy to throw those private pity parties, isn't it? Oh, to go back in time just a couple years...

Celeste around the corner...

Lindsey across the street...

Our beloved Metra Ward...

Etc.

However, this kind of thinking is neither healthy nor productive. We cannot go back. We can only move forward. So I started to consider what "awesome things" I, myself, have coming up in the next few months. There are many, many.

For example, one week from today, when I finish teaching my class at noon, I will get in my bright red car and drive the 5-1/2 hours to Rexburg to spend the weekend with Lindsey. That same day, when Shulamith finishes up with her kindergarten babies at 2:30, she will get in her car (which is not bright red, but still a good car) and drive the 3 hours to Rexburg to meet me. Woot! That's really all I have to say about it. Woot!

The following weekend, I will participate in my semi-annual weekend of self-indulgence. Another friend's recent Facebook status quoted author Parker Palmer: "Self-care is never a selfish act--it is simply good stewardship of the only gift that I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others." (Isn't it fortunate I have such intelligent, insightful Facebook friends?) Two weekends each year, one in October and one in April, I treat myself. I wear my jammies, I lie in bed, and I watch TV for eight hours. I watch all four 2-hour sessions of our church's semi-annual General Conference. I used to call myself "selfish" for this because I really do put everything else aside, and I don't allow myself to be disrupted by anything or anyone. But the quote above assures me that I am not being selfish when I care for myself in this way. I am better for it, better emotionally, better spiritually, and better psychologically. I deserve that. And my family deserves a better me.

Three weeks after General Conference weekend, I will board an airplane and fly to Indiana. I will leave Billings around the same time Shulamith leaves Salt Lake City, and we'll arrive in Indy within 30 minutes of each other. Last year when we did this, our planes touched down just two minutes apart. We couldn't come quite that close this year, but we're still pretty close! Waiting at the airport will be Luke. Hooray! I haven't seen him since August, and Shulamith hasn't seen him since her wedding in February. We're pretty freakin' excited. In addition, we'll finally get to meet Désirée in person. I feel like we already know each other through email, phone calls, Skype, and even this blog to some extent. But it will be so fun to get to meet her in person and spend the weekend playing with her and Luke.

The weekend after Indy is Halloween. I won't lie. It's never been my favorite holiday. Pumpkin carving is right up there with Easter egg dyeing on my list of NOT fun things to do. Guys! I'M JUST NOT GOOD AT THIS STUFF. I have no skill whatsoever in this area. However, Halloween is Seth's absolute favorite holiday. Despite my efforts to train him better, he likes it even more than Christmas. From carving pumpkins to choosing a costume (the bloodier the better) to trick-or-treating to basking in the joy of his candy stash, Seth loves Halloween. And, as I believe I discussed in last year's Halloween blog post, I can't say for sure how many more years this will last. I know too well how fast kids grow up, how soon they leave, and how much it hurts when they do. Seth is 10. A perfect 10! I will dig in there and help him carve pumpkins. I will not let one single pumpkin carving experience pass me by.

One lovely thing about Billings is that about two weeks before Thanksgiving, local radio stations do something wonderful. They begin to play Christmas music.

Christmas music.

No matter what problems we may have, no matter what sad things surround us, no matter how cold it is in Montana, Christmas music makes everything better. Last year, Gerald kept better track than I did of when the music would begin, and one very cold morning in November (and you non-Montanans should know that by cold I mean 18 degrees below zero), wrapped in as many layers of clothing as I could fit on my body, I ventured out in the early morning to start up my very cold van. To my surprise, I found Christmas music playing on my radio. Gerald had programmed it for me. Through the biting cold and the early-morning hour (the only thing I like to do at that hour of the morning is sleep), I felt joy.

Thank you Megan and Rebecca for your thought-provoking Facebook statuses. And Megan, I agree! With so many awesome things coming up in the next few months, I get giddy just thinking about it.

Mr. Seth

As you've probably noticed, we are constantly entertained by our 10-year-old. We're pretty sure he's the funniest, most precocious kid around. I thought I'd post a few of his latest insights.

Be careful what you post...
A few nights ago, Seth surprised me with this conversation:

Seth: So Mom, you think I'm demanding?
Me: Seth, why would you say that?
Seth: I read it on your blog.
Me: You read my blog??
Seth: Me and Ethan were reading it, and you said I am demanding.
Me: Well, Seth, let's see. Do you know what it means to be demanding?
Seth: It means you want everything right now and you like lots of attention all the time.
Me: So do you think you're ever like that?
Seth: Ummm, yeah, probably.

Being Thankful
Seth has been asking for a set of scriptures, the nice leather type with his name imprinted, for several months. I've put off getting these, mostly because they cost $80. Finally, this past week, I decided to surprise him, so I bought him a green leather quad, exactly what he had requested. That same day, I also rented his trombone, so he can play in 5th-grade band. I came home with both these big surprises on the same day. Seth was elated. Later that night, he was still flying high.

Seth: I just LOVE my new scriptures. Especially because they are green and have my name in gold.
Me: I'm so glad you like them.
Seth: You know I love you all the time, don't you?
Me: Of course, (teasing) well except when you tell me you don't.
Seth: But you know I always love you on the inside, right?
Me: Of course I do.
Seth: You always tell me I should be thankful for what I have. Well, right now I am being thankful!

Hot Outside, But Not Inside
You know how some people are just naturally warm? They are always warm, even when it's cold outside. Then there are those of us (myself included) who are always cold. We sit wrapped up in blankets in the winter and always carry our hoodies in the summer. Well, Seth is in the former category. He is always hot. Always. He sleeps with no covers whatsoever. When he was younger, I would try to get him to wear a coat, but he always just carried it around; he rarely put it on. I no longer even bother.

Seth: I learned in science why I am always hot.
Me: You did? Really?
Seth: Yes. It's because I always wear black clothes. [He is definitely Johnny Cash the 2nd. Most of his shirts are black]. Black absorbs heat, so that's why I'm always hot. Well, that's why I'm always hot on the outside. I still don't know why I'm always hot on the inside.

Big Brother - Little Brother
Seth loves all his big brothers, including his newest one, Matt. He's decided lately, though, that he is just like Luke.

Seth: Did you know that I am exactly like Luke?
Me: No, I didn't know that.
Seth: Well, it's true. Luke played the viola and the trombone. I thought about playing the viola, and I am playing the trombone. See I'm just like Luke.
Me: I see what you mean.
Seth (lifting his arms in resignation): Yep, I'm just like Luke. Someday I'll probably meet a girl named Désirée, with all the hyphens. [I'm guessing when he says "with all the hyphens" he means the accent marks in her name.]

Mr. Seth.

School Daze

Do you ever feel like you're walking around in a daze? Like no matter what you do, you just can't catch up with your life? It's racing by, and you're barely holding on? I have felt that way pretty much ever since we returned from our trip three weeks ago. Part of the problem, I think, is that we were forced to jump right into the new academic year, just days after we got back. Perhaps if I'd had a couple weeks to recover, the adjustment might have been smoother? I don't know.

But ready or not, here we are back in the routine of school. Other than Gerald, every one of us has returned to academia in one form or another. Initial reports are mostly positive, I'm happy to say. Here's the scoop:

Seth is off to a great start in 5th grade. He loved his 4th grade teacher so much that I worried no one would be able to live up to her glory, at least in Seth's eyes. Fortunately, I was wrong. He seems to like this new teacher just as much. His favorite part of the week is Extended Studies, where he receives extra challenging instruction in math.

As one would expect, Eli is lovin' his senior year already. He is once again performing with Skylites, a select choir group. To explore his interest in a career in health education, he spends one period a day at the middle school, working as a student mentor in a 7th grade health enhancement class. Just yesterday, he had his senior pictures taken, and on Oct. 23rd, he'll take the ACT exam, the first step in his application process to Brigham Young University - Idaho.

Isaiah is back at Westminster as a sophomore majoring in computer systems technology. After a year working as a hall monitor (read: sit at a desk in the dorm lobby and play computer games), he was forced to get a "real" job this year. Only freshmen are hired as hall monitors. He is working at KFC, which is far from his dream job, but it can't be any worse than pushing carts all summer at Walmart. And as he and I keep reminding each other, at least it's a job, and money is money is money. He says he likes his classes this semester, his roommates are all great, and he's glad to be back in Utah.

Shulamith began her third year teaching kindergarten at Edison Elementary. Her challenge this year is a sweet little boy from Somalia, who speaks no English whatsoever and has no idea what school is or how to function there. Her days are long and exhausting, and I'm thankful she has a sweet husband to come home to who takes good care of her. And speaking of Mathew, he is once again attending Salt Lake Community College working on a business degree.

Luke and Désirée are both back in classes at Indiana University. Luke is in the second year of his PhD program in school psychology, and Désirée will finish her MBA in May. They are both extremely busy. Because Luke was on Fellowship last year, he wasn't allowed to work, but this year, in order to get his tuition reimbursement, he has to teach two sections of a freshman education course, and he was never even an education major! This is in addition to his own coursework, his research projects, his practicum hours, and his church calling. He tells me he's not sure he can get it all done. I tell him I know he can. I'm betting I'm right.

That leaves me. I am once again teaching classes in basic composition and business writing at Montana State University Billings - College of Technology. My students are delightful. I love them.

Still, I feel in a daze. A school daze. I hardly have the energy to fill out all the kids' various forms or attend their back-to-school nights. Oh, and as I write this, Seth (reading over my shoulder) reminds me, "You forgot to rent me a trombone." Ack! Yes I did. Was it selective forgetting? I mean think about it, 5th grade band, and he wants to play the trombone?!? When I told Lindsey, her instant response was, "I'm so very sorry." Okay, put that on the to-do list for tomorrow: rent a trombone.

I'm certain I'll eventually get in the routine of things and be okay. I will, right? Tell me I will. In the meantime, I'll put one foot in front of the other and wander through the school daze.

I Like Red!

So I've never gone, all by myself, to purchase a car. In fact, the last time I went car shopping at all was 20 years ago when I was pregnant with Isaiah. Our only car at that time seated only four people, and with our third child on the way, we were sort of desperate. I barely remember shopping for mini-vans, but I know we came home with a 1990 Plymouth Voyager. I was excited to have it (my newborn baby would have a place to ride!), but I hated the color, a dull, ugly blue/gray. And I had to look at that color for quite a few years because we kept that van until it literally started to smoke. That was in 2005. Yes, Isaiah, then 15, began learning to drive in that very van. His perception of that scenario: "Learning to drive in a car that your parents bought before you were even born is just wrong on so many levels."

In 2005, when that old gray van was emitting charcoal black smoke and I had to stop every 30 feet to add water, Gerald finally replaced it with the van we currently drive, a 2004 Oldsmobile Silhouette. Okay, I didn't think there was a color uglier than the blue/gray, but no, I was mistaken . Our current van is the most boring tan color you can imagine. Blah, blah, and more blah!

I decided we really needed a second reliable vehicle to get through this next Montana winter. Last year we limped along with the van plus an old beater car that worked only sometimes, but this year, Eli is so busy that I didn't think we could do that again. So car shopping I went. All by myself. When I arrived at the dealership, it occurred to me that they might expect me to have some idea what I was shopping for. Hmmm. Sure enough, the salesperson's first question was something like, "What kind of car are you looking for?"

My response: "I like red!"

"Okay, red. Could you tell me anything else about what you would like?

"Bright red?"

Okay, yes, I'm exaggerating, but only a little. I really have no knowledge of cars. I don't care about them much either. I'm not impressed by fancy cars that do fancy things. I just want a basic car that starts when I turn the key and then takes me to where I need to go. That is exactly what I told the salesperson. He was very kind; he overlooked my utter ignorance and led me to a bright red Toyota Corolla. It was the prettiest color I've ever seen on a car. He gave me the key and told me to take my time. I got in and drove around for half an hour or so. It worked fine, so I went back and told him I would buy it. That simple.

I've heard some people say that shopping for a car can be extremely stressful and time-consuming, but I'm convinced it doesn't have to be. My advice: Just go in and tell them you like red.

"Press 1 for English"

I recently read a friend's Facebook status, which struck a chord that ultimately became the impetus for this post. I wish I had her exact words, but I just now looked, and she has cleansed her wall of all earlier posts. So I am roughly paraphrasing from memory (faulty memory at that), and I know I won't get it even close to right, but the general idea was a response to all the folks who seem to be so disturbed about having to "Press 1 for English" here in America. She suggested that Jesus probably wouldn't mind pressing 1 for English because he did so much more than merely tolerate people; indeed, he honored and embraced people regardless of background, ethnicity, and certainly language. Sorry, Steff, I know I didn't come close here, but I hope that was at least the basic theme.

What she said is so true. If we truly seek to follow Jesus, we will include, not exclude, others. We will celebrate diversity and honor those of varied backgrounds rather than expecting everyone to be just like us. We will recognize that while our way of life may be great, it is not the only one that's great.

Honoring others' languages is one way to start. I remember when we lived in Washington, around 50% of students in the public schools were Hispanic and spoke English as a second language. Consequently, all the signs in the elementary schools were bilingual, both English and Spanish. What a wonderful opportunity for my children! They were exposed to a foreign language from the time they entered kindergarten. When we came to Montana six years ago, Eli came home from school and reported, "School was good except there are no signs to tell you how to say the words in Spanish." He saw this as a definite disadvantage. So did I.

Learning a foreign language opens up a world that is otherwise intangible. Since language so often defines culture, learning the language of another group of people provides insight into their worldview in a way that nothing else can. The experience is invaluable. I am not bilingual myself, but I wish I was. In college, I diligently studied the German language, trying my best to become competent. I hung around foreign exchange students in order to immerse myself in the language, and it paid off. I was actually pretty good once upon a time, but that time was over 20 years ago, and sadly, I have forgotten much. Speaking a foreign language fluently is a goal that, for me, is yet unfulfilled.

But Gerald can do it, and I will admit that I am sometimes envious. He has spent all his adult life working to become fluent in Spanish, and that time and effort has been well spent. On our recent Costa Rica adventure, he demonstrated the ability to effortlessly converse with the people everywhere we went. He would tell you he's not quite fluent, but I would disagree. I was there. He can talk to anyone about anything with barely any difficulty. I would love to be able to do that.

I want my children to be exposed to many different people from a variety of backgrounds. I want them to appreciate the differences while understanding that we are essentially all one family, the human family, created by a loving God. Language is one way they can experience those cultural differences and also appreciate the similarities. In Europe, one can travel only a short distance and be in a foreign county. Here in the United States, it's more difficult. Unless we're fortunate enough to travel extensively, we have to rely on others to bring their cultures, including language, to us.

As my friend so eloquently suggested, Jesus probably wouldn't mind pressing 1 for English. I certainly don't mind either.

Pura Vida - Part 6

The Ones Left Behind - Part 6 of 6

As I conclude the series on our adventures in Costa Rica, I'd be remiss if I did not mention the kids who were left behind. Isaiah and Eli both stayed here in Billings and worked. This is not terribly exciting, and I point it out only because not all parents could leave their teenage kids home alone for two weeks and know they would be absolutely fine. Isaiah and Eli are both independent and responsible. I appreciate their maturity. I appreciate them.

Then there is Seth. As I said earlier, Seth stayed in Utah with Shulamith and Mathew. Words are not sufficient to express my gratitude to them for keeping him all that time. They are, after all, still newlyweds. Seth is a wonderful kid, but he is full time energy and can be a bit, uh, demanding? We joked with Shulamith and Matt that keeping Seth for nine days would be great birth control. In all seriousness, however, there is no way we could have made this trip without their help.

And for Seth, it was not simply a place to stay while Mom and Dad were away; it was a vacation to top all vacations. Getting to spend nine whole days with "Yes Man" (which is what he calls Matt because Matt tells him yes, when everyone else tells him no) was in Seth's words "amazing." Matt taught him to play wall ball and the ukulele. They took him swimming, camping, to restaurants, to the water slides, and to movies. They took him fishing (something we don't do in our family), and he caught, cleaned, cooked, and ate his very own fish! And every night, after Shulamith was fast asleep, Matt would get up and come out and play video-games with Seth until the wee hours. Do you think Seth was even slightly interested in coming back to Billings with his parents?

Alas, those are the ones who were left behind, and here ends my series on Costa Rica. I'm sure there are other things to tell that I have forgotten, but this will be all for the time being.

So one final time: PURA VIDA!

Pura Vida - Part 5

Food and Fun - Part 5 of 6
It seems my previous posts in this series are causing some people to cross Costa Rica forever off their list of possible future vacation spots. I thought I'd better switch it up and say something positive, and there is really much to say. The very best thing about Costa Rica is that I was able to eat the food there without getting sick. Maybe that doesn't sound too amazing to you, but trust me, it made our travels more tolerable than either of my former Latin American experiences. I ate whatever I wanted: hamburgers, pizza, fries, chicken, steak, shrimp, eggs, as well as the traditional Costa Rica meal, the casado. A casado consists of rice; beans; beef, chicken or fish; potatoes; and often fried plantains (sort of like fried bananas). I ate all this stuff and never once felt even the slightest bit nauseous. Oh happy day! I can't say the food was wonderful, but it was good enough. They don't have true Diet Coke there, just this other weird stuff called "Coca-Cola Light," which tastes much like regular Coke, so horrible. I drank bottled water the whole week and praised myself for being so healthy.

This photo is the view from our room in Santa Teresa. You can see the very top two steps of the notorious hill. We could lie in bed in our open air room and look out at the lush, green forest. You can't tell from this picture, but we could also see parts of the ocean between the trees. It was very beautiful. The room was perfect once we rented an ATV to navigate up and down the hill. If you decide to stay at Gumbo Limbo, budget an ATV for every day you are there. This room also included its own dog. Remember, everyone in Santa Teresa has dogs. Our first morning, I was somewhat startled when I awoke and swung my feet off the bed and felt fur under them. After that, I was fine. This dog stayed with us the entire week. We assume she went down the hill during the day to be fed, but she was always waiting for us when we returned, wagging her tail in delight, and she slept in our room every night.

In addition to riding the ATV around town, we also went horseback riding one day which was quite fun. And we spent hours walking on the beach and playing in the ocean. I love to jump the waves, but the Pacific Ocean in my home state of Oregon is so cold that generally, it's not worth it. I'm a fair-weather wave jumper; I don't like to be cold. The ocean in Costa Rica was so warm that I spent a goodly amount of time in it. My favorite activity of all, though, was zip-lining on the canopy. I wish we had gotten some pictures of that. One line was called Superman, because we were literally horizontal as we flew through the sky. Mmmmm!

So you really shouldn't let our adventures dissuade you from visiting Costa Rica. It is a breathtakingly beautiful country, and the people are most gracious. And the food doesn't make you sick. Win/win!

.................................to be continued.......................