Pandemic Hair

         

posted to my fb profile August 2020

12 hours after I washed my hair I realized that it was still wet.  It’s been over a year now since either Jenna or I had our hair cut.  Although I have attempted to cut mine myself (and if it comes out butchered  - oh well.  Who is really going to see it or know behind the mask who to criticize?  If they are really six feet apart from me as been suggested, I would not think they’d be able to see all the flaws anyway) 

While cutting is okay our hair really needs to be thinned out.  I haven’t a clue how to go about that one. The above picture was taken in August so our hair is much longer and thicker now – especially Jenna who has three ringlets hanging behind her when it is down – which isn’t very often.  Jenna and I wear our hair in pigtails for the most part.  I would much rather wrap each loop of the mask around a pigtail than have it pulling on my ear.

December 2020

I know there are hair salons and barbers who are currently open – but it doesn’t seem like a desire necessity as say toilet paper or food.  I don’t guess there was a high demand for Biblical characters to be running out to the barber or hair salon – if indeed those things really did exist.  And they survived.  I don’t expect the pandemic to last forever.  We will get our hair thinned out in God’s due time. Wish all people would feel that way.  Perhaps we would have this whole situation under control by now.  Maybe.

A Dog Goes To Church

 

            There are several times when we are leaving the house that Jenna and I will slip out the back door to avoid taking Bonnie with us.  It’s nothing against the dog – it’s usually just an inconvenience to take her when we’re just going to the store or the church.  I have taken Bonnie with me a few times when I picked Jenna up from seminary.  This morning I allowed Bonnie to come with me.

            Oh, that was a fun ride (not) as Bonnie whined for the most part.  Believing she had to relieve herself, I opened the back door as soon as I parked in the church parking lot.  She ran out and towards the building.  I could see her looking through the door.  Class was out and everyone was waiting for their rides.  I figured at least one of them would see Bonnie and Jaime would come out – which she did.  Only when she opened the door and came outside, Bonnie went inside.

            “People!  People!  I like people! Let me climb on top of you and lick your face.”

            Jenna rescued her seminary instructor whom Bonnie had decided to befriend.  We then took Bonnie to the dog part for just a few minutes so she could get whatever wildness inside of her out of the car – which I guess she did.  The return ride was so much better.

            We took Bonnie for a walk later on – or rather, Bonnie took Jenna and I followed – our usual routine.  Bonnie is still a sweet dog.

Kayla’s Birthday and Inaguration

 

          My brother Patrick has his birthday on St. Patrick’s Day.  It is always on St. Patrick’s Day regardless the day of the week.  St. Patrick’s Day is not a federal holiday in which some people are able to take the day off with pay.  It isn’t even seen as a holiday by many people though there are some who choose to celebrate the Irish heritage day.

          Kayla and I both have birthdays which may fall on a holiday weekend as both MLK day and Memorial Day have moved their celebrated day to Monday – or rather a day that follows the weekend and those who get paid for Federal holidays are able to take them off.  I think had mentioned in an earlier post how excited my mom said that Kayla was to be off on her birthday in 1986 – the first celebration of MLK – though it wasn’t nationally celebrated until 1995 (here) 

https://www.almanac.com/content/when-martin-luther-king-jr-day

        I was on my mission at the time and do not have any other recollection except that mom said that my sister thought it was a cool celebration as it gave her the day off from school.  Roland had the Monday off in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. though the holiday recognition is the 20^th (here) 

          In addition to MLK is the presidential inauguration every four years.  How terrible it was (and still is) for 2016 celebration.  Not a great way to start out her birthday – though only half of the nation was in mourning.  Of course each year was worse – especially the last one.  But this year is better.  So far it has seemed peaceful. 

EVERYBODY's President - not just a specific party

          Kayla sent me an email as I am not currently on facebook and so have not looked at what was sent through messenger – though she says it says the same thing.  The inauguration this year is surely an improvement over the last.  Kayla is 46 years old today.  Joe Biden is our 46^th president – well sort of.  Grover Cleveland served two terms in office which were not in a row.  He served as the 22 and 24 president.  #23 was Benjamin Harrison – grandson of William Henry Harrison – our 9^th president who served less than two months – if he even served at all . . . (here)

          WHH gave the nation’s longest inauguration speech in freezing weather.  He wasn’t dressed for it.  He caught pneumonia and died.  Nice weather on January 20^th seems rare.  There was one year Kayla and my mom had gone somewhere (probably to a birthday lunch) when neither of them were wearing coats.  Kayla said it was the first birthday she remembered not having needed a coat.

          Happy Birthday Kayla.  Joe Biden is going to make America great again.

When Did I Start Falling Apart?

            I remember walking with the boys and then with Jenna when we lived in Kearns.  I walked with Jenna to the bus stop and to the school from the bus stop and returned to the bus stop and walked between.  I did a lot of walking.

            Even when we lived on the rental property in Myrtle Creek Jenna and I walked nearly every day.  I go with her now when she is walking Bonnie and I have never felt so worn out.  Bonnie always sounds like I feel – exhausted and panting.  Maybe she’s not.  She’s overweight so I think the walk is stressful – especially because she always seems like she’s in a hurry.  She needs to pace herself.

            I preferred the walks in Utah and around Neal and Riverside or Millsite park.  I no longer enjoy climbing – which is what we are doing each time we “walk” because everything is hilly with more ups than downs.  

            I used to be in better shape.  Kayla and I used to go on hikes all the time.  I know she continued after she met Bill and now with her family.  I don’t get exhausted when I go out to the mailbox – or even on my return.  But I do find it more challenging to walk from the corner of our street back to our house for example.  I don’t think I snort like Bonnie does, but maybe.

            My favorite thirst quencher has ALWAYS been water.  I had worked myself up to drinking 3-5 quarts of water a day and gradually even more.  And then I got pregnant with Jenna and went through water withdrawl.

            It did not matter how quickly or slowly I drank the water – I would throw it up.  If I gulped it down or gently sipped it.  I drank because I was thirsty but I threw up a lot.  It wasn’t just the first trimester either.  IT WAS ALL NINE MONTHS!!!  Nine months of throwing up water and almost any kind of food I ate.  I could hold down dairy products and fish.  Nine months of less water which I tried to drink again, but never was able to complete my goal of more than three quarts until just lately.  I hope to get up to six.

            Jenna has always liked water too.  Even at a young age there were times that she just preferred it to anything else.  She drinks a lot of water – probably more than me.  Wish Roland would follow our example. 

Balancing

      I had written my last post as a free verse to make it seem more interesting, but I lost the vision of what I had intended. What had triggered my thought on climbing in the first place was watching Roland climb up the unstable ladder.  It looks unstable leaning in mushy ground.  He was fixing the porch light and connecting it to another stapling the cord in place.  I was awed at his ability to look up.

            I tend to lose my balance quite easily – especially if I am looking up.  I get dizzy when I am standing still on solid ground.  I think if I were climb a ladder now and looked up I would fall.  I have fallen at least twice because of whatever has made me dizzy.  I fell in my bedroom before we were married.  I don’t remember if I had even known Roland at the time. 

            My former neighbor Peggy had collected nativity scenes and would put them on display each year after I was married.  She had invited Jenna to play an angel in the Bird’s annual Christmas pageant.  She had brought home clothes for each cast member to wear and had opened the box in the room with the nativities.  I had fallen into one – I think one of the pieces may have broken.  I felt so bad – especially because I think Peggy thought Jenna had been responsible for the breakage.  But Jenna wasn’t even near enough the nativity that spilled over.  Nobody was except for me.  If someone else had been there, I may have fallen into them.

            I had an MRI in 2013.  The results did not prove anything about my brain activity.  Everything appeared normal.  The dizziness comes and goes.  Perhaps all the twirling I had done as a kid finally caught up with me.  I would spin and spin and never get tired of it.  Perhaps my brain was triggered somehow.

            I know old people who function quite well both mentally and physically.  I know young people who have been stricken either mentally or physically – sometimes both.  I think I fall into the category of the latter.  My dad was young when his body muscles were paralyzed by strokes.  Mom hadn’t even turned 70 yet when we learned she had dementia.  I don’t know if either are hereditary. I know I eat too much sugar.  I may have diabetes.  I would like to abstain from sugar for at least six weeks.  I heard that is how long it takes for the sugar to leave the system.

Climbing

 When I was younger

I was a climber

            I climbed on the furniture

did my best to scale walls

aimed for the tree tops

Climbing was a part of me

 

I may not have been the fastest runner

but I did enjoy running

playing tag and let us not forget

Climbing.

 

After my sister Kayla had come along

we learned that she was a better climber

We have at least one photograph of her

between two walls of the door frame

head near the ceiling

Mom had returned home one day to find

Kayla

 sitting on the closet door

I suppose that is not as scary

as finding me on the roof           

of the house

across the street

 

My daughter Jenna loves to climb

She used to climb on furniture

                        Don’t remember her ever scaling the walls

Mostly

she loves trees

has been climbing them

since she was tall enough

to reach branches

 

I seemed to

have stopped somewhere

along the way

as Jenna continues

She may never stop climbing

                        I hope that she doesn’t.

Reminders of Missing Poetry

            I remember loving nursery rhymes – I think because they rhymed.  Most were silly and didn’t mean much other than the rhyming words.  I tried my hand at poetry at a very young age.  Hey, my rhymes weren’t so off the wall as Mother Goose.  That must have been my first introduction to poetry.

            I remember discovering free verse and gradually introduced to limericks and haikus.  I read the Childcraft book 1 more than any of them. 

 

           Whenever the school offered book fairs or sent home scholastic brochures, I would order books that specialized in poetry.  One of my favorite was an introduction to American Poetry – I forget the title but the cover from front to back was covered in blue print of each author’s name and the title was in red and blue. My favorite poets were Carl Sandburg and Christina Rossetti.

 In time I turned to black poetry and found I loved Phillis Wheatley, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes – especially Langston Hughes.  I could not read enough of his poetry and would later read anything written by him or about him.

In high school I took a creative writing class and contributed to the school publication called Expressions.  I treasured those books for a long time.  I am certain that I brought them into my marriage but don’t know if they ever made it to West Valley or Oregon.  I have my doubts.  I had tried to introduce Jenna to my love of poetry, but she didn’t seem interested – although she did enjoy Dr. Seuss and loved nonsense poems. 

She is currently taking an English class which at this moment in time have poetry themed assignments.  It has triggered many memories of the poetry I used to love but somehow became bored with as it hasn’t been in my repertoire for a while now.  I don’t remember when I had stopped reading or writing.  Probably after I got married.  We’ve lived in this state for over five years.  For the first time since we’ve been in Oregon I find myself missing the collection I once had.  I would like to share some of those written by my classmates and peers – but alas, they have become part of yesteryear never to return.