Category: Family Time

Father’s Day Party

I love creating and hosting celebrations. I enjoy thinking about what my guests like to eat and what is important to them. How can I make them feel special? I spent a lot of time during the pandemic looking at beautiful place settings and menus. We kept our tradition of gathering on Sundays with our kids when they could make it, but we haven’t had a larger dinner party for a long time. Today we invited my parents to join us for a Father’s Day dinner.

A few weeks ago we started a Sunday dinner journal. Each week we ask a question and I write down everyone’s responses. Questions are usually about gratitude, such as, “What is something nice that someone has done for you?” Everyone gets an opportunity to share as long or as short an answer as they like. Today we talked about things our fathers have taught us. I loved it. I think it will be sweet to go back and read these notes of our dinner conversations someday.

In No Particular Order

Josh and Tim in a garage with their yard equipment. Love them.
Daniel is working a few jobs and resumes school at BYU next week. He dresses up for work. So handsome.
We drove past this scene and turned around to be sure. Was that thing real?
Why yes, it is real. G.O.A.T. and he knows it.
Not going to lie, I am not working on this right now, but it is waiting for me.
My dad’s book is in the hands of the book binders now. This is a big deal.
Richard, Mark, and I have been hiking frequently in this area near our house. Mark is a speedy hiker.

Summer goes by so quickly!

Photo Day

We sorted my grandmother’s photos and a few objects from her home today. For me, the big treasure was a photo of Alli, my great-grandmother, vibrant and beautiful. There were many things to see: passports, Army memorabilia from two world wars, photos, and keepsakes… It was exhausting to comprehend it all, and it was a very sweet experience.

Seesters

Like old times

Mark and Tim won’t be required to wear masks at school next week. Someday these masks will seem distant, and our boys have had to wear them the most, as they attended school in person 4 days a week during the school year.

Richard and I enjoyed Mark’s first and only in-person band concert since 2019. He plays the trumpet as a freshman in an audition band. We couldn’t choose a favorite piece they played, we enjoyed them all. We have been allowed to go to many events at the high school this month, and aside from the masks on our faces, it is just like old times. It’s an encouraging sign of better days to be able to walk into the high school and cheer for our kids again.

Uneventful, active day

This morning I awoke at 4:30 am and my mind was *on*. My notebook lay on the bedside table and I made the decision to turn on the lamp. Knowing how ideas, like butterflies, go, I wrote down what my mind had to say.

Later, in the human hours of the morning, I tried to deliver some flowers to someone, but her children wouldn’t leave the door to fetch her. Two red haired boys stood mesmerized as they looked at the flowers in my hands, and didn’t seem to understand I was asking to see their mom. Their eyes told me they should be the delivery people, so I handed them to the youngest and most eager, who immediately assumed new decorum as he marched forth. I stopped by to visit my mom for her birthday and found her giggling with her best friend of 30+ years. Lots of hugs today.

Mark and I were left alone tonight, so we ate out at Pizzeria Limone and sipped soda like pals.

I didn’t ask for anything from my grandmother’s home except the gray fox stole from the 1940’s, that is, if no one else wanted it. This and a few other treasures are now home with me. I don’t know if I dare wear the fur in public, but it is keeping me warm this cold evening. It snowed like it was Christmas today.

A year ago today, I was hospitalized and had just lost 53 cm of my small intestine. One minute I was well, and the next, I was not. A year later, I feel blessed to have this uneventful but active day.