A Musing Mother 6

Joey made plans with her husband and kids to go to Mexico with some other families so now we're vacationing with fervor.  We saw Newsies  which I LOVED so much and met a couple from Utah across the aisle. We also had an unfortunate exchange with a couple from Germany who complained that Suzy leaned forward and blocked their view. Even after repeated, hard jabs in her shoulder. She had no idea why they were jabbing her until intermission. Then they went and got an usher to tell her to sit up straight. Very German of them.  I still highly recommend Newsies. So Saturday was Joey's last day. We had to put our having-a-good-time on steroids. We ran to Tijuana  Canal Street and had the opportunity to talk to the Chinese immigrants who pretended to not understand our English while bartering. Inconspicuous Chinese grandmas in fanny packs walked close to us with shifty eyes while asking, "Watches? Purses?" They had the name brand knock-offs off Canal Street. They took us thro...

6:00 a.m., New York time (4:00 Mountain), the girls were up and dressed. I heard them ask if I was joining them on the Today  show. I think I answered. I did not feel the Today  love they were feeling. It was Jene's birthday. I left Today  to them. It was a gamble they were willing to take but it paid off. They met Al Roker, Carson Daily (who shared a moment with Jene, having just celebrated his 40th birthday) and had three or four seconds of fame on television. Did you see them? Can you believe I missed the opportunity to be in this shot? Look at them. They look perfectly normal. Not creepy or crazy AT ALL. We hit the subway system again. There were no more famous people sightings. Unless you count my sisters who were on the Today  show. We got on the wrong train a lot. We were turned around and had to take more subways. We finally made it to the World Trade Center Memorial, waited in a long line to get tickets, waited in a line to get in then found ourselves s...

One of my sisters had a big birthday coming up. Not "big" as in high number but "big" as in it-begins-with-a-four-and-ends-with-an-0. She texted one day and announced she was spending her birthday in New York. All of her sisters were invited but she got a screaming deal on airfare. I was not as lucky in that respect but I finally decided to go. We all left on Wednesday night; Suzy, Jene and I from Salt Lake, Joey from Phoenix. We took the miserable red eye and arrived early at JFK. We had an hour to kill before Joey arrived so we claimed a corner and went to sleep. It was a very short hour. We reunited with all the sisters and hailed a cab. I ended up in the front seat and had a white knuckle ride. Taxi drivers in New York are certifiably crazy. I thought I was going to die. Meanwhile, in the back seat, Suzy was beyond exhausted and hit nausea. Her first taxi cab ride in New York and she threw up. Jene then mocked her by calling her "Grandma." I was glad I...

My dad called to ask me if I'd be going to the family reunion. I could think of so many other things I wanted to do on this Saturday afternoon. But Dad can't drive since he had rotator cuff surgery three weeks ago. Mom can't see and gets a shot in her eye every 6 weeks. I called my sister, Jene, and hoped I could guilt her into going. It's not that I don't want to strengthen my family ties. It's simply that, to be perfectly honest, the people who go to these types of family reunions are typically old people. I have nothing against old people or sensible, orthotic shoes. I believe in hearing aides and bifocals. I can listen to the old stories over and over again and even recognize how the stories have gotten just a little bit more impossible (starting with walking three miles each way to ten miles, uphill in a snowstorm in July). Jacob has a football game, I have spaghetti sauce to bottle, need to get to Costco, and I really should be around to watch my husband n...

Because the one in high school called me at work to inform me that she needed  supplies.  And clean underwear. It will be remembered and held against me someday that I took 20 minutes to run to the high school for my daughter. But I did. But I didn't take clean pants. She needed clean pants? Fine. I'll be back after I'm finished with work. She was not happy but she coped. Finished work and found clean pants for her. Stopped at Subway and got her some lunch. Met her in the office and handed her the pants and the Subway. She was very put out. How did I expect her to eat a Subway when she got her wires tightened on her braces yesterday? How dare I? By the way, she was starving. Why didn't I bring her something soft? How very thoughtless of me. When they all came home from school, Jacob pushed Samantha's buttons. Samantha pushed Jacob's buttons. Neither were innocent. Jacob was sneakier but I still heard him egging her on. She starts using her scary, screamy voice a...

Once upon a time I went to a small junior college in southern Utah. Admittedly, there were times when my friends and I skipped class and went hiking on the red cliffs surrounding the town and occasionally went rappelling off those cliffs because we were young and immortal. Yes, I was terrified of heights but I did it, anyway to prove to myself that I could. Close to graduation, I met a guy who was in southern Utah, doing research for his Master's Thesis in Recreational Management. He was great guy although 4 or 5 years older than me. One night, after goofing off with other friends, hiking around and being young, he announced that he was so in love with me. He later told me that he wanted to marry me. He didn't go so far as to ask me, he was merely testing the waters. These waters were too young to want to do anything like limit myself and my dating pool to one man. Marriage was what I was trying to avoid. He married a lovely girl a year or two later and we all moved on with our...

He said, "Your chickens keep rolling around behind the air conditioner. Look at the hole they have dug under the pipe." She said, "It's a dirt bath. It's what they do." He said, "It's making a mess of the backyard." She said, "Because of the dirt bath hidden behind the air conditioner?" She surveyed the backyard. She said, "Did you know your dog has worn paths in the grass?" He said, "They're not that bad." She said: Thoughts, anyone?