Seth goes to Tucson

Mar. 16, 2009

Despite my fears of flying alone with Seth, things did not go nearly as badly as they could have. It wasn't pleasant, by any stretch, but at least he didn't scream too loudly or too long. The worst part was during flight #2, when the poor teenage boy next to us (who had so sweetly switched seats with me so I could sit by the aisle) whipped out his laptop. It was like waving a treat in front of a puppy and not letting him eat it--Seth was so worked up, and screamed at me because I wouldn't let him pound on this kid's computer. Eventually he gave up and fell asleep 15 minutes before we landed. He was NOT happy to wake up.

I was worried about how he would do in the pack-and-play, but he was an angel. In fact, he slept better in Arizona than he ever has at home (and believe me, I'm wracking my brains trying to figure out why, so I can repeat it. The heat? The fan? The excitement?)

Mar. 17, 2009

Babies don't believe in time zones, even if they did go to bed past midnight Eastern Time. So at 4:45am Arizona time, Seth was up and going. Luckily his grandma was up, so there was someone to play with besides boring Mom.

Seth also got to meet his cousins--the dogs (they're Kenna's babies, orphaned now that she's at BYU). He handled them fairly well, despite Bruce's attempts to lick his face off. I thought he'd panic when they started barking at a delivery truck, but no--he giggled. We took him out on a walk, enjoying the nice weather (can you say 80 degrees?). Apparently strollers taste delicious, especially when you are teething.
Seth got to meet the bunny Beth was pet-sitting (he terrified it so badly it was shedding up a storm) and Hilary Winfield Flake, one of my very best friends who hadn't met Seth before.March. 18th, 2009
Another early morning. We decided Seth was getting up so early just so he could see Grandpa before he left for 5am basketball (yes, my parents are both nuts. Who gets up that early by choice?).
Grandma was kind enough to buy a swing for Seth, which we hung up in the monstrous tree overtaking their backyard. He liked it so much Jon & I decided to get one for our backyard. We spent most of the day just hanging out together. That's the best kind of vacation, after all.

Mar. 19, 2009
I'm a cruel mother. Not only did I make Seth go on a super-long plane flight across the country and back, I also made him (and my sweet mother) spend 4 hours in the car driving to Mesa. But it was for a worthy cause--to see Alicia!I got to meet Natalie, her new baby, and see how big Weston has gotten. I can't believe my friends and I are married and starting families. It doesn't seem like that long since we were all in high school and being generally ridiculous.

Our drive home was rather eventful. Seth finally fell asleep (after refusing to on the drive up) and Mom realized we needed gas. We pulled off at what looked like a gas station, but couldn't find the road to the station. Positive we would find a station, we kept driving. I can't even remember the name of the little town we drove through, but there sure wasn't any gas. By this point we were getting desperate and decided to head back to the freeway. Except we couldn't find it. We ended up taking this little podunk road all the way into Casa Grande, where we coasted into a gas station. The tank hold 13 gallons. I filled it up with 13.18 gallons. How's that for a miracle?

This was also the day Aunt Lori, who gave me & Seth the tickets to come visit, was supposed to fly in. Well, that plan was shot down by President Obama, who flew into Orange County and blocked her flight from leaving. She didn't end up getting here until Friday night, after spending all day in the airport on standby...

Mar. 20, 2009We needed a day to relax after all the driving the day before. Seth happily pounded on his extra keyboard and whacked his globe--what could be more fun?

Mom insisted that I needed some new pants (considering I'm still too skinny for all of mine) and took me shopping. We found two pairs of cute, long shorts and were back so quickly that Beth was very impressed.

Seth had some quality bonding time with Aunt Bethany and Grandpa (who had the day off of work--hallelujah!). I have to say--it was a strange feeling to be at home without Kenna & Marah. I kept expecting them to walk in the door.

Mar. 21, 2009We spent the morning hanging out with Aunt Lori, who finally made it to Tucson to see Seth. That afternoon we drove down to the U of A to watch our friend Colin perform in the musical Oliver! I have to say, I was terribly impressed. The performance was by a Christian Youth Theater Group, and some of those kids were extremely talented. There were a few times I forgot that this wasn't a professional production. Good show, Colin, good show! Seth enjoyed the songs where the whole cast was out singing and dancing, but he was pretty bored with the rest. I spent the first half of the play letting him slap the walls in the back of the auditorium. Mom was kind enough to take him for the second half.

We had a chance to visit with the Flannerys before Seth fell apart. I can't believe how old Beth & Colin have gotten--Mom used to babysit Colin when he & Beth were toddlers. I guess if I'm old enough to have a baby, they can be old enough to go to high school (aah!).
Seth was quite the star that evening, getting pampered by Grandpa & Aunt Lori. Grandpa gave him his bath in the giant tub while Aunt Lori was in charge of the clean-up. He went to bed quite a happy camper.

Mar. 22, 2009
Our last full day in Tucson. It was so fun to take Seth to my family's ward. They recently were reorganized, and a lot of my friends' families were put back in the ward. I hadn't seen some of them since Jon & I got married. Seth was generally adorable. He was even kind enough to take a nap during Sunday School while Grandpa held him.
After church Seth got to talk to his dad on the phone. It was so funny--as soon as Jon started talking, Seth would go into hysterical giggles. I asked Jon if he was making funny noises, but no--he was just talking. That made Jon feel better. He'd been so worried that Seth was going to forget him while we were gone.Seth had a great time helping Grandpa barbeque for dinner. I'm impressed Dad could barbeque at all, when one arm is occupied with a squirming baby determined to grab the grill.
Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Aunt Lori. We didn't have nearly enough time with her, but she's planning on coming to Maryland to visit Seth soon. Thank you so SO much for flying us to Tucson!

After a long day, Seth fell to pieces. Grandpa took him to his room, and held him until he fell asleep. I thought for sure he'd be up again that night, but no--I had to wake him up to leave for the airport. Beth & I spent that last night making a cake. Okay, I made the cake and decorated it--Beth helped ice it. I wrote 'Beth loves Edward' on it after she tried to make me watch Twilight TWICE that week. Not happening.

Mar. 23, 2009
Home again, home again. The flights were okay, and it was good to be with Jon. When he picked us up, Seth was a total mess. He was hungry, tired, and screaming. But when Jon picked him up, he immediately stopped, gave him a big smile, and kicked his legs in excitement. He hadn't forgotten his daddy.

I'm so glad we were able to go visit. It's so hard living so far from my family--I wish they were closer so they could watch Seth grow up. Plus, it might be nice to have some willing and eager babysitters nearby... :)

Now if only Tucson would share some of the sunshine. I don't think I've seen it since I got back (okay, maybe a day or two).

Easter and a Checkup

Our Easter was fairly mild--just church (where I survived my much-stressed-about Young Women's lesson on 'Patriarchal Leadership in the Home') and then Seth's Easter basket when he woke up from his nap (thank you, Mom, for providing Seth with an Easter basket and Jon & me with Easter candy). Obviously he's still too little to get much excitement out of it, but he did enjoy banging the eggs together and throwing his book around. He didn't enjoy having his basket on his head, but Jon & I did.

Seth and his loot (and no, the Cadbury Cream Eggs aren't his. He just likes banging them together).

"These are my eggs."

"What the...Puffs?! Where's the candy?!"

"Oh yes, very clever, Mom."

"Get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off..."

Seth never puts things in his mouth, so I thought it was safe to give him the Cadbury eggs to play with. Apparently he's no fool. He used those two little teeth to scrape through the foil and taste the chocolaty goodness before I snatched them away.

"I must dedicate all my intellectual resources to the study of this great tome."

Seth & I enjoying the niceish weather. I look good in this picture, but Seth's not looking...

...and Seth looks good in this one, but I look like a dork. Jon didn't want to take pictures with Seth. Killjoy.

Seth had his 9 month appointment yesterday, which thankfully didn't involve any shots. He officially weighed in at 19.46 pounds and is 29 inches long (goodbye, infant carseat). He didn't gain nearly as much weight as I anticipated. His pediatrician said it was no cause for concern--most babies slow down their gain between 6 and 9 months because they've become mobile.

Except Seth's not mobile (unless you count his walker). The kid still doesn't even roll over. Dr. Chasnow was not so happy to hear that. So now I have to start giving Seth 3 solid meals a day, and Seth has to get some baby physical therapy. He's definitely making progress, but he either has no desire, or no idea how, to get up on his knees. Dr. Chasnow thinks he's just stubborn or lazy (or both), but thinks it's best to have him get some therapy anyway. Infants and Toddlers, here we come...

Personally, I think he's just stubborn. He has other things to do, and crawling is not one of them. But hey, if it's free, there's no harm done. And now we can pester him for the rest of his life about having to go to baby therapy...

(Oh, and I'm really not starving my baby. I forgot to mention to the pediatrician that Seth refused to eat for almost 3 weeks while he was teething. He was even skimping on his nursing. Thus the minimal weight gain. Not my fault--you can bring the food to the baby, but no stinking way are you making him eat when he doesn't want to).

Part 8: Preparations

I really don't think Jon could have planned things any better. Instead of the typical groom's attempts to weasel out of wedding preparation, he had a catch-all excuse--he was hundreds of miles away (and didn't care about details anyway).

So I did it all, which really didn't bother me. I found my dress with the help of Kenna and Val, I got it altered with Val's recommendation, and I owe the Carnahan grandparents so incredibly much for driving me to and from Salt Lake in order to make the arrangements. They also had the connections that got our reception in this adorable house in Salt Lake called Anderson Commons. This was my one insistence--I absolutely refused to have our reception in a church gym, regardless of how cheap it would be.

Jon and my mom were both concerned when I told them our colors were going to be black, cream, and green. Specifically, they thought the idea of a bouquet of black roses was a little goth. I thought it was pretty fabulous, but I compromised and threw in some cream roses, too (and looking back I wish I had stuck with the black--it would have looked so cool!).

The cream color is what threw Mom Blood. The very first time I talked with her (over the phone--she was in West Virginia), a good portion of the conversation was spent debating whether her dress, which was "a masking-tape color", would match the flowers. As luck would have it, she ended up matching perfectly.

Jon & I managed to see each other once a month after our engagement. In September he flew to Tucson so Dad could take our engagement pictures (and so Jon could be an unwitting participant in my bridal shower). In October he flew to Provo for a few days to distract me from my schoolwork. In November he came with me to the Carnahans for Thanksgiving, and then I didn't see him again until two days before the wedding.

The situation being what it was, the majority of our communication at this point was over the phone. Yes, I was that lame engaged roommate who just hangs out in her room, talking to her fiance. Actually, I wasn't too bad--since Jon's free minutes didn't start until 9pm his time (7pm my time), and since Jon was usually falling asleep by 9:45pm, our conversations weren't too long. They did, however, lead to some hilarious results. The following are actual exerts from our conversations, as Jon was falling asleep:

Jon: “Why didn’t you become a vocal performance major instead of an English major?
Then you wouldn’t have to destroy your bass.”
Megan: “What are you talking about?”
Jon: “You know what they say—leave redheads alone.”

Jon: “I feel bad. All these people doing things for me while I’m sleeping.”
Megan: “Who’s doing things for you while you’re sleeping?”
Jon: “The hospital.”
Megan: “And what does the hospital do for you while you’re sleeping?”
Jon: “Takes care of my bushy eyebrows.”

Jon: “I wish I had a trumpet.”
Megan: “You wish you had a trumpet?”
Jon: “No. Maybe it was an oboe.”
Megan: “An oboe?”
Jon: “You know, like ‘I scraped my oboe (elbow)’?”

Jon: “I can’t remember which one’s positive?”
Megan: “Positive?”
Jon: “Cause there has to be a positive and a negative. Otherwise where does it go? And I
know that I’m not positive.”

Jon: “Well maybe YOU could find the square root of eleven!”

Jon: “Oh yeah, I’m sure you’re going to prove us aaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll wrong when you take this challenge test.”

Jon: “That’s what you get.”
Meg: “For what?”
Jon: “I don’t know. Shaving your legs?”

Hilarious as these conversations were, I usually ended up being quite frustrated. Here I was, trying to have a serious conversation with my fiance, who I only get to talk to for an hour every day, and he's falling asleep! I suppose the benefit was that by 8pm, I was home, in my room, and with nothing better to do than homework.

At first, I spent a lot of time pitying myself--I was the only girl I knew who's fiance wasn't living within 30 minutes. Most of the time I felt like a bit of a loner--I missed having someone to sit with at church, to come over to dinner, or just hang out and chat. Luckily my roommates kept me fairly entertained. Warnick, specifically. Not only did she help me pass the time by constantly letting me watch her artsy films or teaching me how to cook, she also designed our invites, got them printed, found black envelopes for them, and then helped me address them. Warnick, I will love you forever.

My other support came from my co-worker, Christine. She got engaged just days before I did (and called me to gloat) and then married a month before me. She helped me get everything figured out--she was my Dear Abbie when it came to weddings, bridal showers, and honeymoons. I would have been pretty hopeless without her.

Looking back, I've decided that long-distance engagement is the way to go. You miss out on a lot, but it was definitely a good experience. We got to know each other in a different light, since we were forced to communicate through phone and email. Since our time on the phone was limited, not only did my schoolwork NOT suffer, I think it actually improved. We never had to worry about spending too much time alone together, because we never did. But I still missed him like crazy. And I was irked that he was spending Christmas with his family instead of with me--selfish, I know.

FINAL INSTALLMENT

Part 7: Engagement

So Jon left me alone in Provo. We knew we were getting married in December, but I still didn't have a ring on my finger. And that, my friends, is the most important part of an engagement.

Because we were living halfway across the country from each other, engagement/wedding planning was very nontraditional. We never went ring shopping--my roommate Sagers took me. When I found the ring I wanted, the store emailed a picture to Jon and he made the arrangements. Now the problem was how to get the thing on my finger...

We got me a flight to Texarkana in August. Our families thought it was pretty funny that I was flying down there just so he could propose--where's the surprise in that? But we really didn't care. Neither of us care too much for big, showy, romantic displays, so this was just fine. Besides, I would be there for a whole week, so he could surprise me because I wouldn't know exactly what day he would propose!

My time in Texarkana was interesting. Jon was gone all day at work, so I slept in and read a lot. When he got home, we'd just hang out inside because it was too blasted hot to leave the house (not that there was anything to do, anyway). I was just happy to be with him.

Halfway through the week, he got a phone call saying that the ring wasn't ready. They told him they would give us a free upgrade and try to rush it, but there were no guarantees it would be there before I left. I was furious--I flew all this way and now I wouldn't even be engaged when I left?

Of course, I seriously considered the idea that this was a big prank Jon was trying to pull on me. Every night I secrectly thought he was going to surprise me and whip out the ring. But it never happened.

All my hopes were banking on my last night in Texarkana. We got all dressed up and went out to dinner at Red Lobster. I kept staring at his pockets to see if I could see a ring in there, but there was nothing. We ate, and then Jon suggested we drive around for a bit. "Aha!" I thought. "We'll drive somewhere nice and then he'll propose." But there is nowhere nice in Texarkana.

When our drive ended with us back at his apartment, I knew he really didn't have the ring. We went inside and I called Lynda to arrange my ride from the airport. She was disappointed to hear that I would be coming home exactly the way I left--unofficially engaged.

I got off the phone and noticed that Jon was kind of awkwardly lingering by the bedroom door. When I asked him what was going on, he motioned for me to come out into the front room. I noticed he was acting strangely hesitant, but I had no idea what was going on until he proposed. I honestly believed that he didn't have the ring until the moment he pulled it out. It was beautiful, and more than I expected. Jon was disappointed that it was too big for my finger, but that could be easily remidied once I got back to Provo.

We were officially engaged in the middle of Jon's empty front room. It doesn't sound like a dream proposal, but I thought it was perfect. (Apparently he really did want to find a nice place to propose while we were driving around, but Texarkana foiled his plans). I managed to hold myself together until he told me he'd called and gotten my dad's permission to marry me. I hadn't asked him to do that, and it meant so much to me.

We got a few hours of sleep before we had to leave for the airport at 3am. It was hard to leave him, but I knew I would see him again in a month. Plus, I could officially announce our engagement to our wondering friends in Provo. Only 4 months until the wedding...

PART EIGHT

Part 6: Decisions, decisions

April 2005
So now we were dating. It was a fabulously easy relationship--we were basically content to just hang out together. That's not to say that we didn't ever do anything; I remember completely embarrassing myself at a golf range (I'm still impressed Jon kept dating me after that one), hiking the Y, playing Frisbee Golf with my sisters, and attending his class graduation dinner (which completely terrfied me--I thought that was the type of thing you only took wives or fiancees to). Dating Jon was easily the most comfortable relationship I'd ever been in. I only remember getting mad a few times when he'd sat down to watch The Simpsons after work and never called me.

Unfortunately, we didn't get much of a chance to just hang out and date. Our first date happened less than a month before Jon was going to graduate from BYU and then get a job who knows where. Plus, I was leaving to go home to Arizona for a month after the semester ended. I spent quite a few nights pondering the situation and discussing things with Lynda. Jon & I had to make a decision--was this serious enough to last, or just a semi-serious fling before Jon left?

I knew what my decision was. I'd actually scared myself by thinking about marrying Jon way before I wanted to be. I really, really liked him, and I knew I could be happy with him. But I wasn't going to force his hand--I'd wait until he was ready.

After taking him out to celebrate his graduation (by force), I left to go home. We talked fairly often--usually every night. I was definitely ready to be back in Provo by the time that month was up.

May 28, 2005
My family dropped me off in Provo on their way to Logan so I could celebrate my birthday with Jon. We had a nice reunion--he took me to Brick Oven for lunch and then we spent the rest of the day just hanging out together. In the middle of a conversation, he said, "I love you." Once again, I was totally shocked. I mumbled "I love you, too," but it wasn't convincing. He didn't believe me for a few days.

May 29, 2005
This was the big day--Jon was going to meet my family. I'd conned him into driving me up to Logan to drop me off, and they were ALL there: Mom, Dad, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. A lovely birthday present for Jon. Surprisingly, I wasn't that nervous about the situation. I knew they would like him--there was no reason for them not to. And I was right. My mom later told me that when my dad met Jon that day, he never worried about our relationship again. Jon was smart, funny, confident, an RM, and just a good guy. Of course, the chemical engineering degree from BYU was definitely a plus (Dad got his electrical engineering degree from BYU). By the time Jon left that day, my Grandma Mikesell was already planning a December wedding.

Not long after this, Jon took a job working for the Army. They would pay for him to get his MSBA, then give him four years of internships in various places. Unfortunately, this meant he would be moving to Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas at the beginning of July.

Realizing that reality was forcing his hand, Jon started talking more long-term. First, he invited me to West Virginia to meet his family at Christmas. Then, he told me if things were still going well in December, he'd ask me to marry him. Then, with a helpful suggestion from our friend Geneva (accompanied by a lot of silent prayers on my end), he decided we might as well just get married in December. I was so happy. If he had been able to stay in Provo with me until we were married, my life would have been perfect.

Unfortunately, July came way too quickly. I was an emotional wreck the night before he left (which I think was a shock to him--he'd never seen me like that). It was hard to wake up the next morning and realize that I would never be able to walk over to his apartment and hang out with him again. He would never be there to meet me after class, or to sit with me at church. It was going to be a long 5 and a half months.

PART SEVEN

A Double Whammy

In one post, I will attempt to update you about the following topics:
#1--Seth's 8 month accomplishments
#2--Seth's 9 month accomplishments

8 months
(Excuse me while I rack my brain, trying to remember...)

*Seth is very much into his little customs right now. We must bang on the key box every time we go down the stairs (but not up). We must play with the door knocker any time the front door is open. We must take a good whack at our crib after Mom picks us up after a nap, etc.

*We have some legitimate babbling going on now. "Da da da da da" is a pretty consistent noise around our house.

*He learned how to roll over (again)--Hooray! Then he forgot (again)--Boo! Now he just plain refuses to try...

*He will now feed himself crackers instead of insisting we do it for him. He's also started on a sippy cup. Generally it just frustrates him because he wants to suck on it like a pacifier and water keeps coming out.

*This kid loves schedule. You mess with that second nap, you will pay for it for the rest of the day (and night, usually).

*Sometimes we can get him to play peek-a-boo, and it's adorable.

*He has determined that he has an inherent right to pound on any keyboard, anywhere. This was especially nice when the teenager next to us on the plane whipped out his laptop...

*His favorite thing to do is bang things on other things. Banging things on the floor=fun. Banging things on Mom=boring.

*Loud noises that scare Seth: weed whackers, toys with marbles in them, blenders
Loud noises that make him laugh: dogs barking right next to his ear, kids shrieking

*When he sees himself in the mirror, he gives himself this coy little smile. Then he proceeds to silently mouth "da da da da da" for a good minute or two, until he catches his own eye and starts smiling again.

9 months

*He can officially put his pacifier back in his own mouth. Oh, how we would have loved this skill at around 4 months old...

*He is very adept in the arch-my-back-when-I-don't-want-to-do-something skill. This is loads of fun while nursing.

*We've progressed from raspberries to full-fledged spitting. You'd think all the spittle flecks landing on his face would dissuade him, but, no.

*He now complains when you take something away from him that he wants. Namely, his pacifier.

*We are officially in round 2 of teething. Round 1 was a breeze. Round 2 has been going on for a month now and those suckers still aren't through. I personally think he's dragging it out because we feel sorry for him and let him use his pacifier.

*No more pureed baby food here--he wants the good stuff. Specifically, he wants bread, in any form. He'll even eat 2/3 of a banana for breakfast.

*We are making a little progress in the crawling arena--when he's on his tummy, he can lift himself up into a push-up stance and then spins around in a circle. When he's angry, he's pretty good at scooting backwards.

*He's started making a half-hearted attempt at reaching for us when he wants to be picked up.

*He spontaneously starting clapping last week.

*He's graduated from being a carseat shopper to an official sit-in-the-cart shopper.

*His new favorite toy is our glass chess set. Who knew chess pieces made such great substitute pacifiers? They're also good for throwing across the room and scraping along the sidewalk.

*He LOVES his walker (or to be specific, Sommer's walker--thank you, thank you, thank you!). I love it when he lumbers over to us, grabs our legs, and whines to be picked up. Adorable.

*At Jon's insistence, Seth got his second haircut--more off the top, plus around the ears and back of the neck.

His 9 month appointment is Tuesday. We're taking bets as to whether he breaks the weight boundary on his carseat (22 lbs.) or the height boundary (29 in.). My bet? Both

Sucked In

I have a confession to make.

For two full days this week I neglected my husband, son, and chores. And I'm embarrassed to tell you why.

Here goes...

(buries head in shame)

I am a book snob, as I've mentioned a few times in the past. And as any legitimate snob will tell you, we snobs hate to admit that we like the same things as the majority. To put it more succinctly, popular=bad.

So a year and a half ago when my friend Mindy mentioned the Twilight books to me and how all these girls (and married women) were going nuts about them, I instantly decided that I could never like these books.

Nevertheless, I didn't want to give an official opinion without having read at least one. So Mindy let me borrow Twilight. And I read it. I think I may have stayed up way too late so I could finish it. And when I was done, I returned it to her with my official opinion: "Meh. It was okay."

Mindy, I must apologize. I LIED. That book sucked me in like a Hoover. But I couldn't admit that I actually liked the book--that would undermine all my alleged authority in the area of literature. So I refused to read the rest of the series (although I did get on Wikipedia and read the plot synopses, I confess). And I continued to inform anyone who asked that I had read the Twilight books and didn't like them. I felt superior--I was above the spell that had enchanted everyone else.

Then I saw the movie. Three times (and never by choice). And I was thinking that maybe the books weren't that bad. After all, I had read some pretty stupid books in my desperation for new material, why not give these another try?

I attempted to check them out from the library, only to be told I was #46 in line (the genius of requesting the books the week the movie was released). In desperation, I asked Kara if she had copies. Being a good book snob, she didn't, but she referred me to Sommer, who not only had them, but was literally THRILLED that I wanted to read them.

She handed me off the 4 books after Young Women on Sunday. By the time I got home from church, ate, and had Seth down for a nap, it was 1:30pm. By 2:00pm on Tuesday, I had read all four books. And I didn't even stay up past my bedtime reading (only because Jon wouldn't let me).

And guess what? I liked them. See, I admitted it. Are they the best thing I've ever read? Not even close. Would I define them as good literature? No--not even good young adult literature (Shannon Hale and Cynthia Voight are far superior). Do I have issues with the content, like Bella's age and Edward hanging out in her room all night, every night? Absolutely. But I still liked them. And I think the biggest reason is...(SPOILER ALERT--Stop reading right here, Aunt Lori!)

...that they end up married, with a baby, and they're HAPPY. Do you have any idea how rare that is in literature? Usually the novel begins with marriage and babies and then proceeds to describe how the characters are disillusioned by society's version of happiness. Well, you know what? I'm married, I have a baby, and I am happy. Not just content, I am HAPPY. And it's nice to see that happiness portrayed in fiction. So there.

Now excuse me while I go read some Tolstoy to atone for my transgression into popular literature.

Trying to make sense of it...

I found out yesterday that Bishop Dan Howells, my seminary teacher, was killed in a car accident in Utah. This took my absolutely by surprise and made me a terrible mess most of the afternoon. I don't know if I've ever met a more humble, gentle man.

Bishop Howells was my seminary teacher for 3.2 of my 4 years at CDO (and you have no idea how mad I was when I found out he wouldn't be there for all 4 years). I will never, ever forget how his lessons impacted my life. The ones I remember in particular were sweet, solemn occasions where the class was invited to share their testimonies. He had a gift for bringing the Spirit to a discussion that I've rarely seen paralleled.

I know how much he cared for each one of his students (there's no way he would have put up with all of us otherwise). One of the rare times I saw him get upset was when Laura managed to break the microwave (again) by trying to microwave her shoe (didn't work). But he could never stay mad long--he was so naturally happy.

The lessons he taught me in seminary laid a firm foundation for my testimony. I am eternally grateful for his patience, long-suffering, and absolutely pure charity. My one regret is that I didn't pay nearly as much attention as I should have. If there were some way to go back, I would just sit and listen for hours, absorbing everything. I still remember how I teared up when I realized he had come back for our seminary graduation--it didn't matter that he'd ditched out on my senior year; he was still my seminary teacher and the occasion wasn't complete without him.

I hope that his family can understand how much he touched my life and how I will never forget him. They will be in my prayers.