We're all a little Nutty

Sam graduated two days ago.  She worked hard and we are excited for the adventures that come next.  And if things go the same way for her that they did for me, I should start receiving apology notes and thank you cards from her in the next few months as she sets out on her own and starts appreciating all my flawed, yet well intended, efforts from the last 18 1/2 years. Meanwhile, what should be her yearbook tribute?  Sam is most likely to... ...hike 50 miles in a week? ...speak Spanish at dinner? ...paint a mural on her bedroom wall? ...fall asleep in the shower? ...spend too much time on an assignment? ...find a career that uses art, science, math, and music? I don't know what hers should have been, but considering Lee's was "Most Likely to Drink Milk in a Bar" and mine was a pathetic "Most Scholarly," the possibilities for Sam are endless! How about we say she is most likely to make her parents proud?  Done. At the senior awards night, Sam wa...

The other day, I was looking at a census record for my Grandmother's family and realized for the first time that her oldest brother was born when his parents were 16 (father) and 20 (mother).  That sounded highly unlikely for that day and age.  I double checked the dates and then called my aunt to ask her about it.  I learned that my Great Grandmother had been "attacked" and as a result gave birth to this son out of wedlock.  At that time, she was working at the Startup Candy Factory near the train tracks in Provo, Utah.  She helped her mother support her family because her father had died many years earlier. The part of the story that was interesting to me was that her family moved after the baby was born because they had been ostracized so much for her having an illegitimate child.  (This may or may not be true.)  I started thinking about this yesterday at church when someone was sharing a story about the lessons they have learned from their a...

I had been debating about what to do for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day.  I wanted to show her that we loved her, but was it even worth the effort...with Alzheimer's stealing away her mind?  So, I sort of put the idea aside for lack of any ideas. Saturday morning, I got a call from my father-in-law telling me that their morning caregiver hadn't shown up.  He said that it was ok because my MIL wouldn't get out of bed anyway.  However, he had plans at noon, so I knew it was important that she eventually get dressed and started with her day. After another hour, I headed up there to get her up and going.  At first, it was just a thing I was doing because it needed to be done, but by the time I finished, I realized that it was a gift to both of us. Even though my MIL is a small woman, she is 100 pounds of dead weight right now.  I recognized that it was awkward for her to be dressed by me so I let her lay under the covers, thinking that I could just s...