Homecoming 2010

Theresa and Mitch

Looking Spiffy!

I am noticing more and more gray hairs. I was frowning at them in the mirror. Then I did a quick inventory of my face. There are those zits on my chin. I am almost 35 years old, and I still have acne. Then as I was scrunching my face I noticed that the wrinkle around my eyes are getting deeper. And my hair is fuzzy. And my eyebrows need plucking.

As I was leaning over the counter and plucking a few eyebrow hairs, Dave came into the bedroom and stood behind me. I watched him watching me and offered an awkward smile. "What?!?" I asked him, a little annoyed that he was staring at me, feeling self conscious and unattractive and.........old.

He replied with "I was just thinking of how pretty you are". How does he know just what I need to hear?

Woa, when did that happen?

Kids grow fast. I am sitting here at the library with Drew while he types a paper for school. He doesn't need any help from me, other than a ride to the library. He types and prints his paper, reads it, makes corrections, types and prints again. He won't let me read it. I have mixed feeling of being proud and a sadness that his childhood has passed. Did I do a good job? Did I teach him what he needs to know? Will he be okay despite the many mistakes I made? Will he come to me when he needs help? I could go on and on.

Now that his paper is done, he is goofing off on myspace, asking me when we are leaving. I want to tell him to stop being in such a hurry. The ault world will come to you soon enough. Just sit here and be with me, let me remember you, just like this--a young man with ambition, a strong sense of adventure, silly and loving. "Let's just hang out for a while, I have a few more things to do", I tell him. He pats my back and returns to his myspace. I look at him from the corner of my eye. Then I turn to him and watch him type for a while. He catches me watching and smiles at me. When did my little guy turn into a man with arm hair? It all happened so fast.

Biology know- it- all

With all these college credits and pending Nursing school applications, what is a girl to do? I went in to talk to my adviser at SUU. I knew that I had enough credits to get an associate's (just needed to make it official) and I wanted to see how close I am to a bachelor's degree in Biology
( have about 36 credits to go). Though a little disappointed because it is not what my ultimate goal dictates, I am now the some-what proud owner of an Associate's of Applied Science in Biology. The advisor sensed my disappointment and patted me on the back when he said "This is an accomplishment, be proud of it! You worked hard for it."

So maybe I should not be so hard on myself. I have done quite a lot. Bear with me while I give myself a pep talk: I graduated high school 5 months pregnant, went to college part time while raising a young family and nurturing a new marriage. I worked 30 hours a week and attended SUU as a full time student for 3 yrs. I have an Associate's degree.

I think I feel better now. Now, we play the waiting game. I will find out about Mohave early next year, my application is turned in and waiting for review (SUU transcripts included--I called to make sure). I may take a few classes this Spring and summer to get a little closer to that Bachelor's degree which will help me in the long run.

I just wanted to say "thanks" to all of you for your continued support and faith. I need it and appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Tis the Season?

There are Christmas decorations in the stores already. Not that this is something new to me, but every year it bugs me more and more. How can we appreciate the true magic of Christmas when it is shoved down our throats before September is even over? By the time Christmas comes around, I have to try really hard to enjoy the Christmas songs that I have been hearing for months. What is wrong with waiting until Thanksgiving is over? Or even waiting until October is over? Let's start a revolt!

The Conspiracy

On Saturday, I went to Walmart to buy a few items--laundry soap, shower soap, dish soap, dryers sheets, and Spray and Wash. I looked at a few other items, wandered aimlessly and went to the check out stand proud that I had in my basket only the items that were on my list. The check out girl commented on the laundry soap--" I love that Scent; Apple Mango Tango. Did you know they have dryer sheets with the same scent?" I paid for my purchase, gathered my bags and headed home.

The next morning, I started the laundry and noticed that the laundry soap was not there. I only had enough of the old box to do a few loads, but had 5 loads waiting. I looked in my trunk-- no Apple Mango Tango there. I had left it at the store. At this point I wonder if I should go back to Walmart to retrieve it. I had the receipt, but would they believe that I had left it? Would they replace it? Is the $5 dollar price of the laundry soap worth the time it will take to go down there? I decided it wasn't. But, I swear Walmart has a conspiracy. In making the customer responsible to retrieve their bags and get them to the cart, they probably have a lot of forgotten items. Is this how they keep costs down? How many people go back to get the items? How many even notice that they were forgotten?

My solution to the piles of laundry and no soap? Send Dave to Smith's to buy more and bribe him with Diet Pepsi. Hey, whatever works.

But, YOU don't pay me

Dave accepted an offer to work in a youth treatment facility located in Parowan (20 mins north of us) this week. Dave was called in on Monday for an interview and the guy hired him on the spot. He will be working with troubled teens, something he has done before and really enjoyed. His shift is 7 am to 3 pm Mon-Friday, so he will be home just in time to start dinner every night. The other good news is that he has weekends, off---or so we thought.

When he put in his notice at the lodge, his fellow employees were sad but supportive, knowing that Dave has a family to support and needs a full time job. Dave has loved working at the lodge, the hustle and bustle of a real restaurant kitchen was exciting and comforting. He was proud that he had made such an impression on the other cooks and his supervisors, considering he had no professional experience. That night, he came home and told me about how everyone was sad that he was quitting. We talked about the possibility of him staying on part time, but it just was not going to fit into his schedule.


The next day, the lodge offered a weekend shift. Dave can come in at 2 and work until 5 or six on Saturdays and Sundays. It will just be one day for now, until ski season picks up. Dave came home boasting about how much they all love him. Worried about how much time we would have together, I said "I love you too, ya know." He just smiled and said with a wink and a chuckle, "But, you don't pay me!" '

Touche.

After realizing that he would be home every night, and that we really could use the money, we agreed to accept the weekend offer. Dave told me after the discussion that he had already told them he would do it, the stinker!


P.S. Dave was more than happy to part ways with his security job, but that is a story for another time..............