Vanity

Breathless 18

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Hey Kids,

I remember the tension in the operating room. I was no doctor but I knew something wasn’t right. My little girl wasn’t breathing.

The nurses stiffened up, the humor and comments silenced. They bustled about her until the faint baby’s cry called out.Image004p2

I consoled my wife and told her what had been happening. Caesarian births limit what the mother can see and do.

I followed behind the group of nurses and watched over my little girl as they verified her breathing would continue on her own. I prayed. Hours later, I held her.

2 weeks later, my little girl again encountered challenges to breathing. Her lungs and body still not accustomed and conditioned to fight for breath, would just stop. She would turn blue. An honest blue. We rushed her to the Children’s hospital.

Doctors whisked her away from us and I stood on the outer edge of the emergency room station, straining to hear and understand what could be the reason. A virus called RSV they said.

Eventually she returned to my arms and again I held her tight and said my prayers over her. She returned home and has breathed without problems ever since.

Today she turned 18. This time it’s me who feels like my breath has been taken away as I stand on the periphery of her life straining to hear and understand if she’s ready for adulthood. I pray that she is. And I pray that eventually I’ll get to hold her again.

Happy Birthday Little Girl. I love you.

 

Day 242

Vacation

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Hey Kids,

It is the day before we embark on our trip to Texas.

I know that many people have made long trips before but in terms of driving; this will be my longest.roadtrip (1)

24 hours they tell me. 24 hours.

That’s like a whole day!

Anyway, today has been filled with “getting ready”.

I’ve got new shoes, new shorts, new socks, and clean everything else.

I have a rental car that I have no idea how it’ll perform.

I’m traveling with people with whom I’ve never traveled long distance.

I’m going to cross through a state in which I’ve never been.

There’s a lot of news and never-been/done’s.

I’m apprehensive to say the least.

This is what vacation is all about, right?

Right?

 

Day 229

Just Water Please

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Hey Kids,

Have you noticed how many people just have water these days?

water-cup-sizeTonight, I noticed that every table in the restaurant had at least one person drinking from the cheap-o water cups. They easily outnumbered the soda cups. BTW- I think the little kiddy cups they give you is to shame you to the world that you were too cheap to buy the real drinks.

I believe it was earlier this year I saw on an article that 50% of people polled in the US said they were trying to stop or cut down on drinking soda. Apparently, that trend, which had rose from 33%, is continuing.

I am one of them.

A few months ago, I felt a little ill and the thought of drinking a soda turned my stomach. It was then I decided to stop killing myself with the brown poison and I’ve done it ever since. With a small exception of my A&W draft root beer fixes, you will be hard pressed to see a soda in my hand.

I’m not sure what everyone else’s motives are but I am clear on one thing for me. I save a couple of bucks every time we eat out. I save the 85¢ once or twice a day at the vending machine. I save the $1.50 2-Liter bottle purchases at the store. It has to add up eventually.

I also feel a little better now. I have less headaches, especially after I kicked the Diet Coke habit. I feel less stuffed after eating. And I feel less thirsty all the time. Water actually does satisfy the body.

I’m still fat however. But that might take giving up some actual food products.

And maybe a little exercise.

 

Day 228

Jobs are Friendship Killers.

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Hey Kids,

I had lunch today with an old friend.

Growing up, our family moved around a lot so there aren’t too many people I still know from my childhood apart from family. And certainly not friends.

Most of my High School years, however, were spent in one place. Out of that stable duration, one friend has remained. Randy.

My family moved out of state midway in my senior year and yet we kept in touch and visited when we could. We both left for church missions for two years and when the two years were over, we still maintained the friendship.

We both got married. The friendship remained.

We both started having kids. Still maintained.

It wasn’t until he took a job elsewhere that we finally stopped talking to each other.

And then Facebook.

We messaged. And finally met for lunch.

It was like old times. We share the same youth stories. We know each other. We laughed and we filled in the past several years as much as a lunchtime allows. Our word to each other is to keep closer in touch and have dinner with our spouses involved sometime soon. I bet we do it this time.

So I thought: No-Jobs-300x300

Our friendship lasted through all the twists of life, but the job thing. I think jobs are evil and shouldn’t be pursued. They will ruin your social life if not your entire life.

Looking up High School friends on Facebook doesn’t always mean you’re trying to hook up.

 

Day 227

Movie Night

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Hey Kids,

I’m doing this blog a little earlier because it’s $5 night at the movies.

Every Tuesday, all the movie houses here are $5 all day, every movie. Well normal movies like I watch anyway. Maybe the 3D, D-Box, Infrared, poly-stereophonic, VIP, Plus-pass movies are more. I don’t know. But the normal movies are $5.

Crumpled five dollar bill

Crumpled five dollar bill

I’m ranted and raved about the do-over movies. So when a movie that seems to be an original gets such rave reviews, I need to suck it up and support the theatre movies. This time it’s The Martian.

I know there has been a lot of movies about Mars and us humans visiting there, but this seems to be more of an original twist. I understand it can’t even be compared to Robinson Caruso on Mars. The word is that this movie is flat out good. A feel-gooder too.

I’m willing to plunk down my $10 for my baby and me to check it out.

$30 Popcorn, however, will not be bought.

 

Day 225

Home

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Hey Kids,

What a crazy wild weekend!

Our cabin

Our cabin

We left our little cabin retreat after one more dip in the hot tub and returned to normal life- getting caught in traffic.

It’s funny how such a special event can disappear so quickly. I think that’s why you must grab those moments when they’re there.

Getting married in the Chapel of Pines

Getting married in the Chapel of Pines

We arrived and made a big-o pot of Chicken Noodle Soup. It was delicious and we realized we were back home.

Only married this time.

I love being married.

 

Day 223

Wedding Day

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Hey Kids,

You’re going to have to excuse me today but this will be a short post, it’s my wedding night.

So why am I on the computer blogging?

Good question. Except it’s what I do.

The ceremony was great. Had cops show up but all was well. The weather remained rainy but broke long enough for us to have our moment and walk around the lake for pictures. It started again as we reached our cars. I’ll thank our prayers for that miracle.

Our Wedding Chapel- Fall Edition

Our Wedding Chapel- Fall Edition

The cabin served as an excellent host for our guests. Adults visited, kids ran wild through the trees. Everyone found enough food to make them happy. Many sneakers and school shoes were muddied and possibly ruined, all to the chagrin of the parents who let their kids run wild outside.

The rains have again subsided and the air has cooled to 38°F. Luckily the hot tub is maintaining 106.

We are going to enjoy the evening into the night soaking up the hot water. Then we’ll see if we can find anything else to keep us occupied until sleep finds us. After that we will sleep-in to as close to the 11 o’clock check-out time in the morning, as we possibly can.

I’ll be back tomorrow and fill in some more details.

 

Day 222

Canyon of Memories

mikemjensen Life's Truths, Vanity Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Hey Kids,

It’s the evening before our wedding and the start of our marriage.

The normal thing the day before, apparently, is to be nervous or anxious but I’m not. I’ve got a still cool and inner excitement instead.

At this writing, I’m sitting at a large kitchen table in a cabin located at an elevation of about 8,000 feet in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah- my favorite canyon in the world.FullSizeRender (2)

This canyon holds so many memories for me. My family and I have made so many trips up here over the years. I can tell a story or share a fact about most of the 17 miles of road from the mouth of the canyon to the glacier-cut bowl at the top. I know every curve of the road, every stretch of hills, and every turnout. We have been up here so many hundreds of times that I bet we border the 1000 number.

Tomorrow the ceremony will be at Silver Lake. I know this lake even better. Every part of the 1 mile trail and boardwalk holds a story of when this or that happened. Over there is where the boys scaled the rock wall. That sign over there is where Dakota slipped and cut his head just above the eyebrow. We’ve seen moose here, and here, and over there. The best place to spot the fish is on the bridge or the overlook on the other side of the lake. I can go on and on. The memories come on so thick sometimes they crowd out the mosquitoes.

Sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes I wonder why I keep coming up here. The memories attempt to mock the fact that there will be no new ones made.

But isn’t that the fact with all memories? Their entire existence is based in the past. My nest simply emptied earlier than expected and much earlier that I would have ever wanted. That’s what hurts.

Tomorrow I will start a new era of my life. A woman I love and who loves me is about to become a permanent part of it. Instead of leaving my favorite place in the world in the past with its memories, I’ve decided to continue to create new ones. Tomorrow will be a huge addition.

There will be no sadness as I gaze on the familiar rocks and trees and see the reflection of my young children. My walk around the lake with my new bride will be but another set of footprints added to the thousands I have left before and but a small example of what I hope to leave in the future.

The cool calm and the inner excitement is what I call happiness, and I seem to have plenty of that nowadays.

Especially tomorrow.

 

 

Day 221

My Lake

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Hey Kids,

I moved around a lot during my upbringing.

Although a little skewed, I attended 10 schools in my 13 years of public education. Yes that includes Kindergarten. No I didn’t repeat a year. Nice try.

During that time, it’s hard to grow attached to any one place. So when I find a place to which I do grow attached, rest assured it’s a good one.

During the years of raising kids, the recreation money wore thin and we found many hours recreating within the minivan and driving into the mountains that border the Salt Lake valley.

Within these Wasatch Mountains is a canyon called Big Cottonwood and 17 miles up the canyon, where it ends at nearly 9,000 ft. elevation, lies a small mountain lake called Silver Lake.

During the hundreds of trips, we saw the improvements to the trail and boardwalk around it. We’ve been there during scorching summer days and have tromped through knee-deep snow banks. I pushed strollers and later begged kids to slow down. I’ve dragged teenagers out of the car and watched them reluctantly enjoy themselves.

We’ve seen moose and deer, watched the beaver build their dams and lodges, and watch the hundreds of trout rise in the evenings for their daily gorge of insects.

Silver Lake grew to my most favorite place in the world. Every step holds a memory. I know the trees, the banks of the lake, and the wood planks of the boardwalk as if they were family. I can tell a story related to every point on the one mile trail. It’s a picture board of my life with my kids.

Those days and events have stopped now. The chronicle of my children’s life will no longer be measured against the backdrop of this beautiful setting. The visits have dropped in frequency and always void of children.

In less than two weeks Silver Lake, however, will be the site of the wedding to my new bride.

The past will remain in the past and in my memories. The future lies before me. The thing that will remain consistent is my favorite place in the whole world shared with those I love the most.

 

Silver Lake Utah

Silver Lake

Day 209