Way Back When . . .
20 Years Ago...
How dang old do I feel knowing that Twenty Whole Years ago I was well into my childhood? Twenty years ago I was 9, and I was a month away from starting 4th grade at Mary B. Erskine Elementary School. It was a super-old, multi-story square brick school in our small town. So old, in fact, that it had radiators in every classroom and giant metal slides built into each side of the second story that originally were intended to be used as fire escapes! I used to daydream that they would unboard the entrances to the slides and we could play to our hearts' content instead of perfecting our cursive writing.
The walls of 'Mary B.' had bubbling, peeling paint
the school (I think they had painted tan latex paint over some older avocado green oil-based paint.) While we waited
in line after lunch or to go into computer class (Oregon Trail, baby!) we would have contests to see who could peel the largest sheet of paint off the wall by where they were standing. For some reason, we thought we were doing the school a favor by removing the top coat by the sheet. I even fantasized that the teachers would come to their senses and start to pay us to remove the offending paint bubbles instead of chastising us for creating huge green polka dots on our school's walls! I was in love with Travis Schwab, who sat by me every Sunday in Primary.
10 Years Ago...
..was the summer after my freshman year at BYU. I was living at home, taking Statistics 221 during Summer Term, and working two part time jobs because I couldn't find a decent full-time one that would hire me just for the summer. I answered the Sears Appliance Repair Center's 1-800 number and scheduled repairman service calls in the mornings, and wo-manned the fitting room and organized the clothing department at SuperTarget. That summer I went to Jackson Hole on a river-rafting trip with our singles ward. The pictures are of our side-trip to the Grand Tetons on the way home.
At Sears, I fended off the advances of a creepy dude from Colorado who used to stare at me while I would answer phones. How do I know where he was from? He was at the ward Nathan and I went to during our honeymoon, and yes, he stared at me then too. I welcomed the advances of a too-old for me 25 year old Target Cashier Supervisor named Sheldon (yes, I know, the name alone should have sent me running.) That summer marked the first time I ever gave my phone number to a guy - David Hepworth, a manager at Sears Telecenter, who called me and wanted to hang out, but only after I had moved to my BYU apartment. His reluctance to come near the parental abode, again, should have sent me running. Luckily, the day he dropped by to visit was a day I had forgotten to shave my legs but was wearing shorts. I'm "sure" that's why he didn't ask me out again!
I had no earthly idea that summer would be my last as a single lady. In just 4 short months I would meet Nathan, we would have a whirlwind courtship, and we would fall in love . . .
Five Years Ago...
...I was living in our first (and so far, only) house in Layton. Cassidy was three and just barely potty trained (through weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth) and Braden was around 8 months old. I'm told Braden was the cutest baby in the ward, which is quite a compliment, because at that point our ward was around 800 members strong and there were lots of babies. I drove a silver Saturn and visited my mom an hour away once a week, never caring how much the gasoline cost because it wasn't much, even on our limited budget. Nathan had been diagnosed with depression a few months ago, and we were beginning to see the benefits of the little white pills. I had my regular husband back instead of the glum couch potato who moped and watched television instead of playing with the kids; and I was glad of it!
Three Years Ago...
...I was feeling very sorry for myself because I was pregnant with Rebecca and had been on bed rest for about a week. I had gone into preterm labor the day after Independence Day. At that point I was realizing that my optimism at "only having to last 6 or 7 weeks until no more bed rest" was great, but the time moves much slower when you sit on the couch all day long! Luckily, I had a mom who came up to take me shopping at Wal-Mart in a wheelchair, family members who came to clean the house, and a helpful five year old who lugged the laundry baskets back and forth while I sat on the floor to sort and fold the clothes! My friend Jenny brought me movies to watch, I crocheted baby blankets, made Rebecca's Christmas stocking, and read lots and lots of books. Sadly, I think I probably watched a lot of Dr. Phil too.
One Year Ago...
I was teaching Primary music and preparing to spend three weeks in California. First was
a family reunion on Catalina Island in the yuckiest hotel I've ever stayed in (the picture is of us near its entrance.) We spent the week crossing our fingers that the beach with a sign stating "Beware of Dangerous Bacteria Levels" wouldn't give our poor children some disease, but they had so much fun in their ignorance... At least we had Big Olaf's Ice Cream Parlor down the street that made their own waffle cones! Then we hung out with California cousins for 10 days until our tickets to Wicked the Musical were good. We took Cassidy for her 7th birthday present, and it was so worth the wide-eyed wonderment and over-and-over thank yous!!!
I spent that summer thinking that I probably should want to have another baby, but I was so very much enjoying the new found ease and freedom of Rebecca's toddlerness (She eats what we eat! She walks! She can tell me what she wants instead of crying!) that I couldn't bring myself to want to be pregnant again.
So far this year...
...I am really happy with my life. I have a great house; a great husband who has a great job and is a great provider; great, cute, happy, smart kids; a great (so far - knock on wood!) pregnancy which the doctor says is probably not breech anymore (we'll verify with an ultrasound in two weeks); and great friends. We've spent the summer swimming at Cherry Hill water park two or more times a week. We/Nathan did lots of home improvement projects, (a few are more 'done' than others at this point) including: pouring concrete for a bigger patio and a mini-basketball court in our backyard, installing a full sized basketball hoop, building new stairs from our back door to replace the dumb tiny deck that used to be there, installing a built-in desk in the basement, and getting a bunk bed for the girls so we can make room for the baby!
Time is moving quickly, but this morning when each of my three children hugged my burgeoning belly (I let them see what it looks like under my shirt, and they all said Whoa!) and said, "I love you baby," I realized that the summer has flown by, and it won't be long before they get to hug the real baby and tell her they love her.
Yesterday...
Nathan worked from home but wasn't finished until 10:30 p.m. I exercised, paid bills, ran to Smith's to get a prescription (Have I mentioned LOVING their 'we honor competitor pharmacies' coupons' policy? I love free groceries!!!!) and helped Cassie and her friend Corinne make paper bag puppets. I began nesting - in the process of getting out all the puppet supplies, I decide to organize and relocate some of my fabric and craft supplies. I accomplished freeing up half a shelf in my master closet and making myself feel like I was 'that much more ready for a baby to live in this house' even though it had NOTHING to do with a baby at all.
In the next year...
We'll get a new little sister (whose temperament is hopefully more like Becca's than the other kids, because she's been the easiest baby so far.) I'm 50-50 on whether or not she'll be a giant like Rebecca was. Any guesses on the birthweight? Historically, it was: Cassidy: 7 lb. 4 oz., Braden 8 lb. 3 oz., Becca 8 lb. 15 oz.
Cassie will start dance lessons in the fall and hopefully begin to match her Spanish verb forms to her noun choice without being corrected!
Braden will start kindergarten and start learning Spanish too. Hopefully he will make lots of new friends, he will get teased for being a crybaby so he'll stop over-reacting when he gets hurt, and his handwriting will improve to match his fantastic reading skills.
Becca will start sharing a room with Cassidy. Hopefully her wonderful sleeping habits won't suffer from her older sister's wakefulness and alarm-clock-usage. Hopefully her bangs will grow out enough that I won't have to use those dumb clips that don't work to keep them out of her face anymore. Hopefully she will still be cute, funny, and easygoing, even after the baby is born. I also hope she continues to refer to Honey Bunches of Oats cereal as Crunchy Bunchy Boats. But I'm pretty sure she'll start saying it right.
Nathan and I will still be the same, except for I will hopefully get smaller after October is over!! I've been released as the Primary music leader and called to be the ward choir accompanist, so there is a lot of piano practicing in my future. Nathan plans to take a few days off work when the baby comes, so I'm looking forward to that, too. I'm sure we'll have more things on the horizon, but I've noticed when I am pregnant I have a hard time thinking past The Due Date. Too much unknown, I guess.
Now I tag: Liz, Amber, Nekell, Kirsten, and both Melissas. Happy reminiscing!
