My OTHER heritage

Traditions

In my family we cremate everyone. Both of my parents requested to return to dust, their environmental leanings clear in their request to take up less space on the planet upon death. But on Memorial Day, I often regret that to honor my relatives, I do not physically go to visit them anywhere. It is a beautiful tradition my husband's family has to annually spend time remembering those who we have loved and lost.

Summer Rules

I might make a few modifications, but I am definitely stealing this for summer vacation snack rules!

May oh May

May is always a busy month for teachers.  School getting out brings tons of events, usually fun ones, and things like graduation, etc.  At least I thought it was a busy month for teachers, now that I am not one, it turns out it is just busy in general. 

All week I was forwarding things to evernote (life changed, thank you) to focus on during my flight home and it suddenly overwhelmed me so I am recording it for posterity and as a small attempt at putting off those events:

--Return from NYC tonight, home by 1 am (I hope)
--Research and work on presentation to be ready for tomorrow am meeting with my group for my curriculum class
--Tomorrow am, meet with group to prepare for presentation on Tuesday
--Tomorrow noon, go see our favorite family friends.  You know who you are.
--Sunday morning give talk
--Sunday evening get invitations ready for babyshower event I am putting on for visiting teachee
--Tuesday day booked with a quick hiatus to fight a traffic ticket (I am only asking them to knock it down one mph because it will be $100 lower ticket).

I know, boring.  I just want to record the pace of life these days.  I won't even get into all the things I have due for work by Friday.

Goblin Valley Experience

This weekend I went to Goblin Valley, for those who don't know, it is a crazy amazing place 3.5 hours from where we live now.  I can't explain it so I won't try.  Here are several shots to attempt to capture the beauty of it:

It really is like a bunch of little rock goblins.  Speaking of little goblins...

Then my phone died. So I didn't capture the loveliest of all, my new amor for the outdoors that I discovered in a slot canyon. Little Wild Horse Trail. So I have to borrow some pictures from other sources, pretend like the kid in this picture is one of the young women in my ward or one of my own wee ones:

 Or...

Prior to this trip, when people would say "let's go on a hike" I would think things like uphill, stickers in my socks, plant identification, and being really thirsty.  But this kind of hiking, this kind of adventurous climbing and moving your way through small openings in rocks, now that... that is what I call a hike!

So fun, and I hope to repeat it several times over.  I am already trying to scope out a time when I can do it again.  Here is one more picture just for you to imagine it.  We saw several groups doing things like this so we could go under their legs to pass.  Again, don't know these people, but you can imagine that is the kind of group we might have seen.  If I get some actual photos, I will replace these.

The Rule of a Year

For some reason, even having lived in Utah before, the rule of a year remains true.  What is the rule of a year? It takes a year to stop longing for your previous community and start feeling connected to your new one.

I suppose because Santa Barbara was so lovely and we lived there for longer than we have lived anywhere else the year was more like 15 months before I finally let go.  But it happened, the last two weeks demarcating the end of my transition into this community.

Four key events occurred that have helped me with this transition:

• Starting school has provided me with a new community among my fellow classmates with whom I will be spending the next year or so
• We had a new family move into our neighborhood/church and for some reason I thought to myself Hey! We can officially welcome new people now and not BE the new people.  The new family has their children in Spanish immersion and when we eventually bribe them to come over with a meal, I feel like we can have some friends in the cause.
• I finally made a good work transition (I moved teams about 6 months ago but finally had to let go last week in Napa when both teams were meeting at the same time and I very clearly had to physically go to another location for my new team which caused a deep sense of loss but finally some exclusive focus on my new work) which means LESS travel finally.  Like maybe even 30-40% of what I have been doing
• I was called to be a counselor in YW in my ward.  For those who don't know what that means, I will be working with 12-18 year-old girls during the young women's portion of church on Sundays and one night a week, my specific focus will be 12-13 year olds.  The president and other counselor are both working moms with husbands who have provided primary care-giving in the home, very different from what I would describe as your typical situation.  I am excited both about the opportunity to work with these young women and the leaders themselves.  It will be an additional time commitment but part of our religious belief is that when you volunteer your time to help others, you are giving a blessing of additional energy and spiritual support which I have felt for myself at other times in my life.

The combination of these four factors, culminating with the calling yesterday, has finally secured a sense of home for me in Utah.  Now I just have to hope and pray Steve doesn't get a job in Oklahoma or some other random location to pull me away from my new home.

Mother's Day Hopes

Bridget asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day and I gave the standard answer:

I want everyone to get along and be nice to each other, and our home to be filled with peace, love, and harmony.

The response:

We can't give you that, what do you want us to buy for you?