High School Musical

My ten year high school reunion was last week.
I did not attend as I had a sick child and my husband was absent.

It did however spark some deep thought in me about how sometimes it feels like a million years ago instead of a mere decade. I've reflected on my own personal metamorphosis from being a Spartan to who I am today.

If you are having strains of "We're All In This Together" running through your head-I apologize.

High School was not "the best time of my life" as some describe it. I was not pretty, popular, athletic or part of any other defining group. I weighed less than a hundred pounds but not because I had any type of an eating disorder or exercised-at all. I wasn't what you could call "shapely". More like the opposite. I did begin my lifelong friendship with Victoria's Secret during this time though. There were more uncomfortable days of trying to define myself than I would wish upon any teenager. I was clumsy (I failed skipping in kindergarten-it was a sign). I was a choir geek, loved books and learning, was in no sense a fashionista, had no desire for rebellion and rode the school bus as a senior.

I was also as stubborn then as I am now. Probably even more so.

Some good things did come from those awkward years. I continued to feed my passion for music, had my first relationship, a couple of close friends and stayed blissfully naive. I was in a couple of musicals, but let's just say our budget was nothing compared to East Highs. You could find me in the music room three hours out of six my last semester as a senior. Yet, I couldn't wait to go to college and so I started at Ricks three days after graduation.

Here's me on that monumental day. If it looks like I'm on drugs-I was. Long story.

That first year at college was great too. I had a lot of fun amidst trying circumstances. I learned a lot about myself and got to the point where I didn't turn beet red when certain subjects were brought up. I continued to feed my hunger for knowledge and realized that teaching music wasn't where I was going to end up.

Life moved on and I did too. While others were getting hitched I ran off to Egypt and Israel, envying them all the while.

Since then a lot has happened. I have been edumacated, had 40+ roommates, traveled, had a career, become a wife and mother, etc. I have learned a lot about life and other people. There is a great big world outside of rural Idaho, but I'm glad that's where I stayed in those developing years.

It would have been interesting to see everyone and how they have changed. Most are probably still the same. My path kind of veered away from the typical Minidoka County gal, but in hindsight...I'm glad.

I still think that I wouldn't go back for a million dollars

A Note On Needing Someone

Being away from your significant other...is significant.

Thank goodness he comes home tonight!  

Two weeks is way too long.

A Note On Raising Little Boys

They are genetically programmed to destroy things and make messes

Case in point:
I have not taken Cole to the movies since Christmas Break where we had a horrible experience.
I thought, "It's been a while, let's give it a shot," when the activity of the day was to go and view The Night at the Museum 2.

I planned it all in my head...I'll take him in the stroller so he will be strapped in and can't run away. Those of you who know Cole in person realize that he is not one to sit still...EVER. Therefore that brilliant stroller idea. I thought, I'll give him a light lunch so I can routinely feed him popcorn and fruit snacks. It's a matinee on a weekday, so there won't be as many people to distract him...I can do this!

We got into the theater and I was armed with a child sized lemonade, popcorn, toys and other miscellaneous treats. With some difficulty I got the stroller to the end of the row so he would be blocked in if I released him.

The previews came and went. Things were going well. There were probably less than ten other people in the theater. The movie started and so did Cole. Screaming.

He skillfully knocked the popcorn and drink out of my hands and sent it sprawling across the floor. I tried to mop it up with the three napkins I had in my possession. He repeatedly threw each new thing I offered him to try and keep the noise down over the rail in front of us. I knew that I was going to have to get him out of the stroller by now. He was done with it.

I tried my lap. My mom tried her lap. He got louder. He broke through the barrier of legs trying to keep him back and I resigned myself to try and watch the movie from the entryway, so he would not block any one's view. He escaped from my grasp and ran to the front of the theater and dashed under the curtains beneath the giant screen. I, therefore had to run to the front myself and retrieve him.

I knew that this wasn't going to work at this point so I took him out into the lobby. He proceeded to make friends with the creepy ticket-taker and repeatedly went over to hug him and say, "Hi". I tried to take him into an empty theater...he wasn't going for it. He wanted to play with the arcade games they had in the lobby. After letting him push buttons and play with the racing steering wheel, he wanted more action-so somehow he found the switch that turned off every game in the joint. Dave05 I regret to inform you that your high score has disappeared from the Star Trek game....and to everyone else who put so much time and effort into gaming so their name could be at the top of the list in a St George cinema lobby, I am truly sorry.

By this time the manager was giving me the evil eye.

I flipped the switch back on and set the games to re-booting. We spent the next hour outside making the rounds in the parking lot, baking in the hot sun with my son offering a friendly "HI" and "BYE" to everyone he saw.

I took him back inside when I knew the movie only had a few minutes left to wash his hands. He had been playing with the pay phone and repeatedly tried to get gum off of the sidewalk. After I had him thoroughly scrubbed and was reaching for the paper towels, he promptly walked over and stuck his fresh hands into the toilet. At this point I wasn't surprised.

I don't think we'll be trying to attend the cinema anytime soon.

Little Fish

Cole has taken to "wings" really well. He just hangs out and floats the majority of the time, occasionally kicking his legs when he wants to go somewhere. This kid was made for the water!

Flammable

Play with fire-and you'll get burned.

I recall a game that used to be popular in college called "fireball". It involved setting a tennis ball that had been soaked in lighter fluid aflame and throwing it around a circle. Not the smartest. Most people would end up with the hair being singed off of their arms as a mark of courage.

I never played. It was mainly boys participating, showing off their manly strength...or stupidity. Good times. Sometimes people would lose their eyebrows when trying to stoke the campfire with chemicals. Possibly, they got them burned off when playing with fireworks.

Nope. I prefer to get my hair burned off doing something as simple as checking to see if the grill is lit. I live on the edge.Cristine got a really good laugh with lots of snorting involved, because I was oblivious to my new bangs when I walked back into the house. It looked like I had gotten in a fight with a curling iron.

Apparently, you can still tell because Mathis randomly asked me this morning, "Dude, what happened to your hair?"

Infected

Oh dear.

i can not recall a time when my little family has all been sick, simultaneously. Until now.

We got our symptoms from so-and-so who got it from so-and-so who most likely caught it from someone else. So if you are in our neck of the woods, we warn you not to call unless you have been exposed previously. It's been a doozie.

Being able to breathe out of your nose is something we all take for granted.

Fortunately, it will not be a group thing much longer as Brian is recovering by the minute and the baby and I are on anti-biotics. We were instructed that we could not even think about coming around "Lee Lee" (as Cole has taken to calling Charlie) this weekend unless we were germ free. That's a threat we took seriously.

Prescriptions have been filled, humidifiers are running and we are chipping away at our large supply of Kleenex and cough drops.

I am just hoping that I am not woken by coughing fits tonight and that my smoker-voice (which is not very sexy) will also take leave...pronto. I can't wait to see that little girl...and her siblings...and my siblings!