Beneath the Wraps

When Jenna goes to school, I have taken the bus with her.   I normally have my backpack which contains my water bottle and a book.   Or at least I try to have a book – so I can read during the ride when Jenna isn’t with me. Jenna and I have ridden the bus all summer.   We’ve gone in a variety of directions.   But we have always started out on the same bus that we have taken when she’s been in school.   Instead of continuing to our normal bus stop near her school, we have been getting off at the college and making a transfer connection to a different bus. Just north of the college is a foot bridge that leads to the junior high across the street.   Jenna has always wanted to cross it.   I figured she’ll have the opportunity to cross it in two years – almost daily for the three years that she attends the junior high. My initial plan was to cross it with her, as I’d need to take a return bus home.   But this morning I learned that is ...

I don’t know when mom became an avid walker or how many years she and Pam Sanders had walked together practically every weekday morning.   I know that Corey was still in high school and driving because many times mom and Pam would end their walk at the high school and take the car.             Once, as they were leaving the parking lot, a security officer from the high school pulled them over to see their ID – wondering why the car was being driven off the high school grounds during school hours.   I guess he figured out that they weren’t high school students. They laughed about the experience of being pulled over and stopped by a diner on their way home.               The girl behind the counter started to ring up their order.   I don’t know what they ordered, but evidently it was available at a senior price.   Neither one of them were ...

         When Jenna was two and three, she insisted that Roland stop calling her the baby.   “I am a big girlr” she’d inform us (actually I don’t remember the exact pronunciation; she said it as one syllable, but it sounded like she had an extra ‘r’ at the end.)          When she started to go through adolescence, she no longer wished to be a big girl.   She wanted to be like her hero, Peter Pan – without having to move to Never Never Land.   Becoming a woman was something she was NOT looking forward to her.          Two years ago I started a post which I did not attach to my blog.  It was the day when I bought Jenna’s first bra.   The very idea was just too devastating for her.   And I told her that I wouldn’t tell any family members – and because I have family members which read my post, I didn’t post about i...

Randy has always been charismatic.   Often he has conned others out of favors based on his charm.   One time in fifth grade, someone dared him to wear a dress onto the playground.   Of course Randy needed incentive and said he’d do it for five dollars.   Randy wore the dress for the entire recess – but there had been a commotion about it.   Roland was called in and learned all what was involved.   Randy ended up having to give back the money on Roland’s orders. When the boys were older, we had a family home evening on the talents.   To each boy we gave 20 dollars and told them to go multiply.   Randy purchased 20 candles the following day.   He took his 20 candles from door to door and sold his one dollar candles for three dollars each.   And he would use his profits to purchase more candles until he had doubled his money and had made 40 dollars with the twenty. Jenna was a cute baby.   People would melt w...

I’ve seen three socks and five socks in a package entitled “mix and match” I remember purchasing two five packs of the same prints so that I would have mates.   Selling socks by odd number seemed more foreign to me than mismatching.          They actually work out perfectly for Jenna, who doesn’t pay much attention to whether they are even the same length or color.   I think she started a fad when she wore her mismated owl socks that I mention in this post          So I’m sorting socks this morning and since the Joe Boxer socks can be mated with whatever I decide that I can mismatch whatever other socks I can’t find mates for.   I tried to make mine match but took all the left over printed socks and mated them by length and didn’t worry about the print.   I put all of the foreign pairs into Jenna’s drawer.   And she’ll not even care. ...

I don’t know when the boys had lost touch with their mother’s family. Roland supposedly had her number on file, and the boys would constantly ask, “When can we see Aunt Judy again?” I figured it should be up to Roland to provide the number, put in the phone call, make an effort to get in touch. It took me two years to realize that if the boys were going to get in touch with Aunt Judy, they would have to come up with another source. I knew we wouldn’t find her under her maiden name and asked them one night to provide me with the first and last name of her husband and then we would look her up. I was surprised that there was only one Van Ball in Layton. I called Judy and introduced myself and learned that her father’s funeral had taken place only three days prior. She took down our name and address and sent out three programs (one for each boy). Even though the family had been out of touch, the three missing grandsons had still been named as honorary pallbearers. ...

            I remember how I enjoyed watching fireworks when I was younger.   I remember lighting sparklers with my dad and dancing around the yard.   Fireworks were reserved for July 4 th (anniversary of our nation) and July 24 th (anniversary of our state) and gradually that turned into weekends.   Here in our part of west Valley, the fireworks happen EVERY SINGLE DAY IN JULY – or at least from the 3 rd to the 27 th .   Jenna’s enthusiasm shines for each holiday.   She’d been nagging Roland for some time to get fireworks whenever we pass firework stands or displays.      Somewhere along the way (and I’m not really certain when) I outgrew the thrill of fireworks.   I get headaches from the smoke.   I have a hard time breathing when I am outside.   I’m no longer a night owl and thus not very fun parent.   But we try.   Jenna often feels bumm...

Kayla was not feeling well yesterday. In addition to being pregnant she had symptoms of a virus or a flu. Jenna and I took her children over to the school to have lunch (I actually drove Kayla's car with expired plates) and then to visit a friend. That gave Kayla three hours alone. Our visit was quite brief with Kayla when we returned her kids and left for the bus. Jenna had even remembered to get her painting from last week. We were home for three hours when Kayla called us back. Bill took her to the hospital as she was having contractions and Jenna and I stayed with the kids. I thought we were headed for a rather long night with them, and then I heard the dogs barking and saw Bill's car in the driveway. The contractions and labor had been a false alarm. BJ did not come last night. I have given Kayla the option of leaving Jenna overnight. Usually Kayla has to think about it – but last night was a definite “yes”. She didn't even bat an ey...