Teasing

For our ward temple night Danny and I went up with Dan and Melinda Carruth. It was a very crowded session, and a very old lady in a wheelchair was squeezed in next to me by the wall. She must have been well into her 80's, and hunched over pretty good in her wheelchair. With rouge on her cheeks and with a hairpiece of dark gray on her white head, she looked ready to be "out and about." I kept my eye on her, but she didn't need much assistance from me.
When we went into the Celestial Room, we and the Carruths were standing around enjoying the wonderful feeling of being there together when this same little old lady wheeled up to us. She looked at Melinda and said, pointing to her husband, "That your husband?" Melinda smiled and nodded yes. She lifted her gnarled finger and tapped her wrinkled old cheek and said, "You mind if he gives me one right here?" Melinda chuckled and said, "No, go ahead, Dan." Poor Dan, put on the spot, leaned in and gave her a respectful tiny little peck on the cheek.
"No!" She says, "Not that! I want him to rub those whiskers on my face!" We all had to check ourselves from laughing out loud. She knew exactly what she wanted, and it was to have his whiskers scruffing her face. Poor guy; he obliged and we just enjoyed his embarrassment and her happiness.
"Oh, she says, it has been such a very long time!" I was smiling pretty big at this scene, and she turns to me and says, "When you're as old as me you can get away with all this stuff! It's great! You're going to love it! Forgive me, she says, I've been up since 4 o'clock this morning to be here early, and I'm a little tired tonight!"
She wheeled away and left us standing there giggling. After we composed ourselves and went to change into our street clothes I saw her one more time. She was asking her friend, "So, we still going for teriyaki?"
I've thought a lot about her, and how much we are going to miss things we might take for granted. I wondered if in 1920 she was a little girl on her daddy's lap when he rubbed his whiskers in her neck. Of if her husband in 1940 used to tickle her with his beard. Someone somewhere teased her with whiskers! I thought of all the little loving teasings we do with each other, and how much kids giggle and come back for more of it. I think they all send the message "You are important to me, and I love you."
So in case you're wondering what the pictures have to do with my post, they are moments of teasing and playing, of which these kids cannot get enough. Don't let another twenty four hours go by without giving somebody a dose of playful attention.

Hellllloooooo?

I have a funny story but I'm not gonna tell it for just me. If you've visited this blog would you say "hi , I was here"? I've been averaging about 1 comment. :( lame-o.

B-i-r-t-h-d-a-y !!!

We had a play day at Auntie Emily's house where we got to groom and ride horses, roast hot-dogs and marshmallows, eat watermelon, and even break a pinata! There were doggies to play with, and room to run! At one point we heard a terrible metallic banging, and discovered Taylor and Harley kicking and pounding the inside walls of the horse trailer. The little metal room reverberated like the inside of the Liberty Bell, and they thought it was hysterical. Forget Disneyland, these country kids like the farm!
Notice particularly the shot of Emily holding onto Sarah's leg. It is totally unconscious, her hanging on to her like that. It struck me as tender, that we instinctively grab and protect the things we love. I was watching Sarah carefully that day, as she was a little concerned about that 1200 lb animal and herself being so close together. She is not disturbed that she is being held onto, indeed, I know she felt a great deal of comfort in knowing she was clutched in Auntie Em's hand. They share a bond of trust, and I love that Sarah would go outside her comfort zone on the promise that Em would be right there. The parallels between ourselves and Heavenly Father are right there, don't you think?

Let the Good Times Roll...

Since there are too many sweet faces to get into one entry, here's more of the fun times we shared. I just kept thinking, "These kids are sooo lucky!! I'm so glad they will grow up with the memories of aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas laughing, playing, talking, helping, and watching over them." It's all about the relationships, isn't it? At the end of the day, or week, or year, or life! What a joyful satisfaction in savoring the days together and the love we shared. Even as summer ends and school life begins, let's not forget to nourish those friendships!

Multnomah Falls

"Be Fun!"

Danny and I just returned from BYU Education Week, and he is already making plans for next year. We had not been for, gosh, maybe 7 years, and decided we'd try it as a couple instead of a family of teenagers. I have to tell you that I missed the kids! There were many warm and fuzzy memories as we thought about those "good ole days". It was 101 one day, and thunder and lightening like crazy the next. We remembered how lightening struck so close to us one rain-storm day on our way back to the car after classes. We thought about making lunches at 5 am and sneaking out of Gretchen's friend's houses trying not to sound like a herd of elephants.
But, actually, the main idea behind my post tonight is that throughout our many classes over many days a recurring theme emerged. It was that we should be a happier people. With what we know, and the blessings we enjoy, we should be downright giddy with happiness. We should laugh more, have more giggles, enjoy appropriate humor, sing louder, play more uptempo songs, play games, and have the joy that "man is that he might have"...
Well, I've taken that to heart, and thought I'd post a couple of pictures from this summer that typify that feeling. We stopped at Multnomah Falls because it's ridiculous to drive past something that beautiful because you're in too big a hurry to be someplace else. The rest are from our Robinson Reunion crashing days in June. Brothers and sisters sharing a moment, Alice, Grace and Ada learning to hula from Ranie ( I did try, but it went to fast and I couldn't keep up with the instructions. I was back on "rotate your hips like this while keeping your knees bent and your heels up" and they were already pulling their fish from out of the sea), and one of Dad and Tom looking so handsome together. Anyway, one instructor at BYU said that you should not tell someone, "Have fun!" when they leave, but instead, "Be Fun!" I guess it's sort of like getting out of the meeting what you put into it, whether it's a meeting for instruction or for fun. We were reminded that almost the first thing President Monson did his first conference as Prophet was wiggle his ears! So in that spirit, when Amanda and Dad were teaching Harley how to hang a spoon off her nose (she did it!!) and she asked grammy to "do it", I DID! (Those who know me best know I have a very low tolerance for looking foolish) Here's to being happy!!

Family Home Evening at the Beach

I love sweet summer evenings at our little beach. It's rocky, it's kind of oldish, it sometimes even smells like low tide. And I think it's charming. I love to watch the grandkids throw rocks, pour sand in each other's hair, exchange shoes, 'only get their feet wet' right up to their armpits, and generally enjoy being outside.
Children, I adore all 9 of you. Spouses; I adore all of you. All 21 of our grandbabies, I love you with all my heart. I wish I had more of everything to share with all of you. Since time if finite, resources too, know that my prayers and love are not. I love you from here to the moon and back again.