Waiting for Godot: Spring 2018

Today's September 30th. Better late than never? I think of, when I was Tyler's age, asking my mom why my baby book was empty when Jonell and Eddie's were full of delightful detail. She answered, "I was too busy." I felt sad about that. Tyler, Tyrien, I am so sorry that I have not been better at keeping up withh the beautiful details of daily life! The good news is, Tyson and I still cherish many moments out loud, so it's easier for me to remember things that would have otherwise been forgotten. I'm sure more will come to me as I pull up pictures. That's actually what motivated me to sit down with this computer this morning - I need to find pictures of Tyrien for his class. That's where we have the advantage over my mom's memories - we live in the digital age, where it costs nothing extra to take pictures, so we have tons of pictures. We just don't ever get around to printing any of them.

Tyler opted to have a Jurassic birthday party. We invited friends from school, from preschool, and from Lil' Dragons. Every party at our house seems to include a scavenger hunt, but this one included having to excavate dinosaur bones.

Dinosaur hunts require weaponry. Anne Marie was armed and ready.

The frustration of excavation led to impromptu games of tic-tac-toe. Tyson asked, "Does this really have to happen right in front of our kitchen door???" Heck, yeah, honey!

Jaden from Lil Dragons opted to take Tyrien and Zane for a wagon ride.

I must have exposed Tyler to too much dry ice in his lifetime, because he wasn't excited about his erupting volcano cake. But the other kids thought it was cool.

The very next day was Easater Sunday. We went to Catalina Methodist Church again. So far that's been my favorite church since we moved into town, so kid-friendly, with tables set up for kids to draw and color. I've known the youth minister for a long time, she used to read to the preschool kids on Tuesday afternoons, back when Tyler was in preschool, so it's fun to take the kids to see her and do her activities as well.

When we returned, it was time to hunt for eggs. I was struck by how very different it is to hunt eggs in the desert.

Melting chocolate, spoiling eggs, and the risk of stabbing yourself with a cactus spine while leaning over to retrieve an egg...

It's all worth it.

Tyrien's first exposure to a chocolate bunny. Priceless.

Second exposure - soooo tired, so happy.

Yes, he really did fall asleep while eating chocolate.

Meanwhile, I continued practicing Krav Maga, and went to cheer on my classmates for their Level 1 and Level 3 tests.

This part of the Level 3 test left a powerful impression on me. Three intimidating, highly trained men in black converging upon one small woman. She had already been testing for hours. They were fresh. She held her own.

Tyler enjoyed a variety of invitations to birthday parties, including a velcro-jumping party.

Tyrien frequently sits and ponders this photograph - my sister Jonell, our niece Nicole, and me, about 20 years ago. I would love to know what he's thinking! So far, he hasn't told me. I can remind him who Jonell is, and he says he remembers her, but I don't think he's met Nicole yet. He knew which one was me without being told.

Speaking of the Glass kids, while I didn't get to see Nicole or Matt, I did get a glimpse of Mitch this year!

Eddie and Nanci were blessed with three grandbabies in a row! I truly lucked out - I was in National Harbor for a conference, and was lucky enough to end up with a chunk of time where I could run down to see Eddie. He was able to gather his family for dinner! The next day on the way to go see my mom, I got to meet the members of the family who couldn't attend the dinner the night before. So in all, I got to see my brother, my sister-in-law, two nephews, two nieces, three great-nieces, and two great-nephews. Then I got to see my mom, tour her awesome new home, and meet her friends. I want to live there when I grow up!

I wanted to stay longer, but instead I flew home just in time to take my MCHES exam. I crammed on the plane. Is it cramming if you're learning it for the first time? There were definitely topics I never learned in undergrad or grad school!

I also got home just in time to see the ironwoods bloom. Cloudy days don't do them justice, but this is the closest I can get to a cherry blossom in the desert.

Tyler requested we get a table and chairs so he could do homework outside instead of inside. Here is Tyler doing homework. Oh wait, no it's not!

Well, I still enjoy the table. For some reason, I am more likely to sit out front to drink coffee and read books than to sit out back. So I gradually moved more and more of my container garden out front to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. I loved watching a family of quail come out each morning to find food, a brave bunny rabbit who enjoys napping in the shade amongst the aloe, birds and lizards, and of course, those ironwood trees.

I've treasured watching the boys grow even closer in companionship. Just last night (September 29th, 2018), Tyler wasn't feeling well, and Tyrien went to get him water, and told him, "Tyler, you'll feel much better when you feel better!"

Tyrien had his share of illnesses, too. He administers his own saline nose drops and takes his own temperature. Maybe he'll go into the medical field some day.