First Week of School: a not so sentimental account

According to Elizabeth's account, the first day of school sounds quite pleasant, but that week as a whole was one of the longest I can remember.  Six night shifts in a row during the first week of school while a stomach virus makes its way through the family definitely will be avoided at all costs next year.  

Elizabeth called me at work late Sunday night to tell me that Peter was throwing up.  (Some people actually bring their kids to the ER for that.)  I got home early Monday morning, unaware that Isaac would soon be earnestly donning his backpack and preparing for first grade.  I was more focused on trying to figure out if I was smelling our garbage cans or a dead animal in the bushes by our door, or both--the stench was that bad.   As it turns out, the smell was seeping out of Peter's bedroom window.  As I walked in the door I was hit by the wave.  Henry was sleeping peacefully but Peter was lying in a pool of his own diaper spillage that was beyond foul.  

As I changed the sheets I felt nauseated.  Little did I know, it wasn't a result from the non-human smell, it was because I must have caught the same virus.   The nausea remained all day on Monday and I never really got much sleep, perhaps because each attempt at REM sleep coincided with an urgent need to sprint to the bathroom.  That night, Elizabeth made an awesome dinner of chicken cacciatore but the kids didn't seem to appreciate it and I had no appetite.  My symptoms gradually subsided just in time for me to go to work.  I felt like I was dragging from the beginning of my shift though.  Fatigued from the onset, I have never had an eight hour shift go by that slowly.  With a few hours left I really just wanted to put my head down on the counter for 2-3 minutes is all, but the patients just kept coming through triage.

After a nice uninterrupted sleep on Tuesday I felt rested for the next night of work.   The ER was flooded to capacity and when my shift was over,  I was still in the middle of taking care of a 31 year old male who had come to the ER with a very unclear history and even stranger presentation of symptoms.  He had an altered mental status and his vital signs continued to become less stable.  This shift flew by compared to the night before, even though it stretched into a 13 hour shift by the time I walked out the door and he headed to the ICU. 

There is something about sleeping during the day that makes you feel lazy.  It doesn't matter how hard you work at night, or how much you do when you get home or before you leave, but when your kids are running around and your wife has her hands full and you are lying in bed with earplugs in and a white noise machine on, you feel just a little bit slothful.  

I found myself distracted much of my awake time at home that next evening, having learned that my patient's heart was failing and that he had now suffered a brain stem stroke.  With the benefit of hind sight, time and more testing, I went over every possibility of what, if anything could have made a difference if done differently at any point along the way.  

Another night, another shift.  Elizabeth told me that this school night thing is going to take some getting used to with five kids -  especially on evenings when I am not around for bedtime.  That doesn't help the whole slothful image I am trying to shake.  Then, while I was at work, I got a call at 1am.   I'm never surprised when Elizabeth calls at odd hours of my shift.  Usually, she calls just to tell me something interesting, or tell me she's going to bed.  This time however,  it was to tell me that she woke up to hear large metal bowls clanging around in the kitchen as Abby was searching in the dark for an appropriate vomit basin.  Abby was up for most of Tuesday night throwing-up.  Bless her heart though - she got it into the silver bowl every time!

Two days later it was Isaac's turn.  Elizabeth sensed it was coming when he complained of some stomach pains before bed.  Elizabeth took the necessary precautions and placed the same appropriate silver bowl conveniently in his bed right next to his head.  He inconveniently failed to locate it on  three repeated occasions.  Again, Elizabeth called me at 2am and warned me of a pile of vomitous bedding by the stairs that she had removed at three separate times during the night.  When I got home at 4am I figured what better time to lay out the bedding in the back yard and hose them down with a high powered nozel under the glow of the porch lights.  There's no way a sloth would be found doing that. 

Friday came, and I never got around to setting up the video camera to record back to school interviews with the kids.  The week was over.  I was driving to work at 6:30 on a Friday night.  It felt very un-American.  It was supposed to be the weekend.  I was supposed to feel euphoric and free.  My own 8- year-old daughter was going to the Olympus High School football game with her friend and I was jealous.  Lucky for me,  I don't work next Wednesday.  Ever heard of TGIW?  Me either. 

Fortunately we made it through the first week, everyone now healthy and well.  Saturday brought two great soccer games for Abby and Isaac, an uplifting Stake Conference meeting, a beautiful wedding for our friend Nancy (which turned out to be a great Duke reunion), and then dessert with neighbors.   We collapsed into bed exhausted, counted the week over with a sigh of relief, then counted our blessings - clean sheets all around being one of them.  

First Day of School 2009

Monday marked the first day of school for Abby and Isaac.  I am a huge fan of the first day of school.  I love the preparation that goes into getting school supplies ready and choosing outfits. I love our neighborhood tradition of a neighborhood breakfast before school.  I love watching the kids catch up with friends they haven't seen all summer.

Yep, I love the first day of school - but I hate the first day of first grade.  This year, Isaac started first grade and it made my heart ache as much as it did when Abby started.   Isaac has been so excited to start first grade.  He is so excited to eat lunch at school and he can't wait to start the Spanish immersion program.  He is excited about his awesome teachers and is looking forward to THREE recesses.  Everything about first grade seems pretty amazing.

Sunday night, Isaac set out his outfit so that on Monday morning he could dress quickly. Sure enough, by 7:30 Monday morning, Isaac was dressed and ready to go with his backpack on. (School starts at 9:00.)  I kept telling Isaac to take his backpack off and relax for a minute, but he was ready to get going.  This kid was excited!

Abby, Isaac, Henry and I went to the neighborhood breakfast.  It was so fun to see the all the neighborhood kids in their first day of school finery.  Abby chatted excitedly with so many of her friends.  Isaac goofed around with some of the boys and girls who were starting first grade with him.  They were both cool and collected and so was I.  

When it time for the bell to ring, we headed over to the school.  We found where the kids classes were lining up and waited for the teachers to come out.  Abby was still calm and excited. She's a veteran - and her experience showed.  Isaac, however, grew more quiet.  He stayed close to me, holding my hand and not saying much.  

Finally, the teachers came outside to gather their classes and it was time to say good-bye.  Abby gave me a kiss and a casual wave as she waltzed inside with all her friends.  Isaac held tightly to my hand - and I held tightly to his hand - until the last minute.  Then he pulled my head down and gave me the tightest squeeze you can imagine and gave me a big kiss.  Then, gathering his courage, my second baby walked into school to start first grade.

I watched him walk inside, and as he got through the double doors, I couldn't help myself.  I called after him one last time and blew a kiss.  He just smiled at me and with total confidence walked toward his classroom. My heart ached as I watched him walk away - and then Henry burst into tears.  I think he was expressing what I was feeling.  We will both miss having that boy around.  He is a good egg.  Those teachers are lucky to get him for seven hours everyday.

So yes, I love the first day of school but I hate that milestone every year that so blatantly reminds me that my babies are growing up.  The first day of first grade is always the worst - realizing that they are old enough to be away from home for that long.  But somehow, when they come home from school bursting with excitement about the day and about their teachers and their new friends, I realize that this is going to be great.

Here's to another fantastic school year!

Last Day of Summer

Saturday marked the last official day of summer for our family and throughout the day, Andrew kept saying, "We need to do something fun for our last day."  (Apparently six hours at Raging Waters the day before wasn't enough to officially mark the end of summer.)

I told Andrew that there were several errands I needed to run and lots of things I needed to get done so the kids would be ready to start school on Monday.   (Lunches aren't going to make themselves and school supplies aren't just going materialize in the kids' backpacks.)

Finally, late in the afternoon, after I had finished all the things I needed to do, Andrew suggested that we go to dinner as a family.  It was blazing hot on Saturday so we headed up the canyon to Silver Fork Lodge to enjoy a last summer meal as a family.  It was something we had talked about doing all summer and here was our last opportunity.  For the record, the food there was mediocre and way over-priced, but the view is spectacular.  

We had a great time at dinner.  As we ate, we reviewed the summer and listed some highlights; the trip to California, the camp at "This is the Place", sewing lessons from Miss Ericson, the day at Raging Waters, Pioneer Day at the cabin, and, of course, welcoming Lucy into our family.  All these things made the list.  It had been an amazing summer.

After dinner, we drove home and ate ice cream cones on our patio.  As the kids ate, I watered the flowers with the hose.  Abby walked in front of me as I watered,  and I squirted her feet with the hose - just a little at first, but then I squirted her body.  Isaac started laughing and came over to join in so I squirted him too.  Henry and Peter joined the fun and before we knew it, we were in a full-fledged water fight.  Everyone was soaked and screaming and laughing hysterically.

It was so fun.  It was 9:30 at night, the kids were all in their jammies and we were all running around the backyard soaking wet yelling, "Last day of summer water fight!  Last day of summer water fight!" and Isaac was yelling, "No Better Group!  No Better Group!"

Finally the kids were freezing and it was time to go to bed, so we dried them off and put them in dry clothes.  As we were getting to bed, Abby said, "That was definitely one of the highlights of summer" and Isaac asked, "Can we do that again next year on the last day of summer?"

It really was the perfect ending to an amazing summer.  

Holy cow, I look like a mean mom!

Andrew takes aim!

Freezing cold - but what a way to end the summer!

Henry's First Trip to the Principal's Office

Last week I took the kids to school to see their new classrooms and to meet their teachers. Henry didn't want to be left out so he tagged along with us.  

We went and met Abby's teachers and all was well there.  We went downstairs to meet Isaac's teachers and after a couple of minutes in the classroom, I realized that Henry was missing.  

I ran back upstairs to see if he was there; he wasn't.  I ran back downstairs and looked all over the main floor to see if he was there; he wasn't.  I ran outside to see if he was at our car; he wasn't.  I asked all the parents around if they had seen a little boy in a green and blue shirt running around anywhere; they hadn't.  By this point I was starting to panic - just a little.

Finally, over the PA system, I heard:  "Teachers, please excuse the interruption.  We have a little boy in the front office named Henry, and he is looking for his mom."

I ran to the office and sitting there in a big chair, looking very small and very sad was my Henry.  I ran over and picked him up and he said, "I thought you left me here."  It almost broke my heart. I hugged my sweet boy and assured him I would never leave him or forget him.

Of all my kids, of course it was Henry that got lost at school.  He is such a perfect middle child - and I sure love that boy.  Hopefully that's the last time I'll be called to the principal's office to rescue my Henry.

A Trip to Washington

Several weeks ago, my friend Amanda, told me that she had been hired to fly back to the DC area and photograph a wedding.  She then spoke the magic words and said, "You should come with me."  With a totally uncharacteristic speedy response, I said, "YES!"

And so, two days into our family's beach trip, I left Andrew with the four oldest kids, took Lucy and flew from Santa Barbara to Washington, DC (stopping in Salt Lake to meet up with Amanda.)  It was a quick trip - we arrived late Thursday night and left early Monday morning - but it was fantastic.  It was a chance to see dear friends, visit special places and take a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

Amanda and I stayed with our cute friend Jessie and man, she took good care of us.  When we arrived, we found a basket full of treats and snacks in our room - and in the closet, Jessie had put a little mini-fridge, stocked with cold Diet Cokes.  Talk about dreamy!  She and Conwey took us out to dinner one night and they let me use their car to drive all over Northern Virginia and DC.  It was amazing - but not surprising because that's just the kind of friends Jessie and Conwey are.

While we were there we were able to go to lunch at Coastal Flats with a big group of girl friends.  These are girls I was friends with in the early days of our marriage.  I love all these women so much - and although there were several I haven't seen in nearly four years, it was easy to pick up like we'd never been apart.  That's the sign of a real friend, don't you think?  It was so fun to hear about their husbands, kids and families and to get caught up on their lives.  I feel so blessed to call these girls my friends - and I am so grateful for the influence they have had on my life.

Amanda, Jessie and I also went to dinner at Carlyle Grand.  (Although now, I guess it's just "Carlyle".)  This was my favorite restaurant when we lived in Virginia.  It's the spot I loved to go for my birthday or a fun night out with friends or for a date-night with Andrew.  I still dream about the food at Carlyle regularly and I was afraid I had built it up too much.  I shouldn't have worried.  It was as yummy as I remembered.  Their bruschetta is to die for, and their grilled chicken goat cheese salad was as fantastic in real life as it was in my dreams.  As I drank my Diet Coke and studied their menu, I was one happy girl.

Me, in my happy place

On days when I am lonely, a little something to remember my salad by...

On Saturday, I spent most of the day by myself, (except for Lucy, my stellar traveling companion) and drove all over DC and Arlington.  It was such a trip down Memory Lane.  I drove past our old apartment, the first home Andrew and I bought and where I brought Abby and Isaac home from the hospital.  

I went over to Georgetown and walked around the campus and bought my kids some cool Georgetown gear.  I saw some incoming freshmen, who looked like they were twelve and almost choked when I realized that they were born the same year I started college myself.

Walking across Georgetown's campus

Georgetown Medical School - as seen from the car

I drove past the Smithsonian where I worked when I first moved to DC and then up by the Capitol and past the Senate Dirksen building where I worked until Abby was born.  I drove the route that was my daily commute and remembered the exhilaration I would feel everyday as I drove along the parkway,  seeing the monuments and the Potomac.  

The Smithsonian.  My job here totally legitimized my art history degree.

The Senate Dirksen Building: where my illustrious political career began and ended

My favorite view of the Capitol.  I saw this everyday on my way home from work.

Every step of the way I was taking pictures out the windows of the car and was calling Andrew in California to tell him where I was.  "I just drove past Cherrydale Hardware!"  Five minutes later:  "I'm driving across Key Bridge!"  Eight minutes later:  "I just drove past Whitlow's on Wilson!"  I was so excited to share every minute of the day with him.

I can't fully describe the feelings I had driving around that day.  My heart felt full almost to bursting as I drove around that area I love so much.  At one point, as I drove around and remembered so many experiences I had during the seven years I lived there, I had the thought: 

 "I grew up here."

Sure, I was born and raised in Utah but I really feel like it was in Washington, DC and Arlington, VA that I became me.  I moved there right after graduating from BYU without a job and not really knowing anyone and I created a life for myself.  I got a job and I met Andrew.  I learned how to be a wife and I became a mother.  

I thought about a very sad day in April 1999 when Andrew and I opened the mail and found out that he hadn't been accepted to the University of Utah Medical School.  We had been married for ten months and were living in Arlington, but were planning to move back to Utah for medical school.  That had been our plan all along and we were crushed when we got the news.   Less than two months later, Andrew got a phone call saying he'd been accepted at Georgetown Medical School and the next four years were a huge blessing in our lives.

As I drove around and thought about all that had happened during our years in Arlington and all the ways our lives have been blessed because we lived there, I called Andrew once again and said, "I am so grateful you didn't get into the U.  Our time in Virginia is one of the greatest blessings of our lives." Andrew totally agreed.

The Jefferson - as seen from the inside of a moving car.  (Not bad, huh?)

Finally, on our last night there, Jessie, Amanda and I went to visit the recently dedicated Pentagon Memorial.  As you enter the memorial, carved into stone are the words "September 11, 2001  9:37am"  As I read those words, I was overwhelmed with so many of the feelings of that day and my eyes welled up with tears.  Jessie, Amanda and I all reflected on where we were that day and remembered the shock and sorrow we felt.  The memorial is a stunning and reflective tribute to the 184 lives that were lost that day.  I was so glad to have the chance to walk through it and to remember.

A bad picture of Amanda taking, what I am sure is an awesome picture, 

of the Pentagon Memorial.

It was a short trip, but was so perfect.  I went back to the beach feeling rejuvenated and filled with gratitude.  I hope to make it back soon - only next time with Andrew.

Thanks to Jessie for being an amazing hostess and to all the girls who met for lunch.  And Amanda, thanks again for the invite.  It was unforgettable!

PS - Huge kudos to Andrew for taking care of the kids while I was gone and for encouraging me to go on this trip.  He is awesome.

The Beach

We just got home from our summer trip to the beach house.  It was amazing, as usual.  And why wouldn't it be?  We spent twelve gorgeous days doing this:

Abby and Isaac discovered a love of boogie boarding

Henry discovered how to perfectly dodge waves.

Peter discovered alternate water sources to help him stay cool.

I discovered a love of reading while sitting by the ocean.  

(Oh wait, I discovered that years ago.  I just perfected it on this trip - and taught it to Lucy.)

Andrew discovered a perfect way to rock Lucy and himself to sleep.

We made a spectacle of ourselves by renting this and riding it along the beach.

(Trust me, we didn't feel as cool as we looked - 

especially when 3/4 of our kids were crying for various reasons.)

In the evenings, after dinner, we:

ate ice cream cones with cousins,

roasted marshmallows over a fire pit

and ate them until our tummies were full.

Andrew took swims during high tide while we enjoyed the sunsets...

and watched the full moon come up over the mountains and shine on the ocean.

And, in the middle of all this fun and gorgeousness, 

Lucy and I boarded a plane and went here:

And that was amazing too!

More about that later....