Ask Your Mother

Nick texted me earlier this week and mentioned about him and Beth going to see Star Wars on Friday. I told him I thought it was a great idea and we began to set it up. He told me the name of the theater, what time it was playing, he even sent me the address!

He texted a couple of times asking if I had texted his mom and I said no. He said his mom would text me. "Have you got her text yet?" "No I haven't." 

That should have been a red flag.

Beth and I got to the theater and waited.

And waited.

He texted and said we were NOT to buy the tickets because he was going to buy them. "The boyfriend always buys for the girlfriend." I told him we wouldn't buy them but they might be sold out. The movie started in just 15 minutes.

Then he texts, "As soon as my mom gets home, we're on our way."

"What?!?" I have to tell you they live about 15-30 minutes away, depending on traffic. And his mom wasn't even at home!

I ended up texting her and no, she hadn't realized he had made plans with us. But she got home and her, Nick and Dad all jumped in the car and flew to the theater! They ended up seeing Jumanji instead (both Beth and Nick had seen Star Wars with family members anyway) and they loved it and said it was really funny.

I certainly learned a lesson in all this: ask his mom. No matter what texts I get, I need to confirm it with his mom before we set our alarms, get dressed, drive to the theater and stand around for 30 minutes.

He called me later that evening and asked if I was mad at him. I told him I had been but that it all worked out and I wasn't angry anymore. He apologized and we talked about what we need to do differently next time. 

As crazy as the day was, he really was a gentleman.

A Rare Day

 We had Christmas at Sharaya's house this year

 

We flew Diana in from Pennsylvania

 And for only the third time in 29 years, we had a white Christmas!

 

I love our house when it snows!

Now our yard looks as good as the neighbors! ☃ 😁

 Whether you spent it with friends or family or were missing family this year, I hope you had a blessed day.

Do You Mind?

When Beth was born we had to teach her e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. The physical therapist that came to our house each week showed us how to manipulate her fingers so she would eventually learn to grasp a toy. We worked her legs so she'd feel the movements of crawling. We showed her again and again how to roll over. Each new milestone was preceded with weeks, even months of strengthening exercises.

Beth with her physical therapist

We taught Beth every little detail about sitting up and walking, swimming and running. 

But something I wish I could go back and do over is the mental aspect of life. Now, you're probably thinking, "Well duh, of course you'd have to teach her the mental things." And we did. She attended good schools, we even home schooled our girls for a couple years. 

Beth and my mom

But I'm talking about those tiny, day-to-day things that you just don't think about. At least I didn't think about 'teaching' them to Beth. I didn't teach them to Sharaya or Diana but they understand the concepts. For instance:

"How much money do ya have on you?" 

If you or I were asked that question, we would grab our back pocket where we keep our wallets or clutch our purses and then give you an approximate number. But when Beth is asked that question she looks down and never answers. She's completely  silent. I've learned instead to ask her,

"How much money do you have in your wallet?"

Then without hesitation she'll answer, "A five and some ones." Then I explain to her what 'have on you' means. A quirky little phrase when you think about it.

  Another one is:

"Do you mind if I borrow your colored pencils?" 

For a long time she just looked down and wouldn't answer. So instead I would ask, "Is it okay if I borrow...?" That one she answers immediately, "Yep!"

The whole 'do you mind' question is tricky because you have to answer 'no' in order to say yes. I even find myself answering twice when someone asks me that question, "Sure. I mean no!"

Are there any phrases that have you scratching your head?

Lights and Chocolate and A Dragon

We all met at the church and had pizza and salad for dinner. The tables were covered with butcher paper so we could draw and color while we waited. Beth drew this perfect little snowman, I couldn't believe how perfect her circles were! This girl is so good at art.

 

The centerpieces were so cute! We have some very creative people at our church. I could go out, buy these items and recreate this centerpiece but I would not have thought of this all on my own. I just don't have that creative gene.

 

(This has nothing to do with this post, except that it's another centerpiece made by another co-worker. I'm so in awe of their talent!)

Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, the Christmas party. After dinner we all climbed into our cars and headed to the Woodland Park Zoo. This time of year they have what they call WildLights. Parts of the zoo are blocked off and completely covered in lights!

We had never done this before and had so much fun! It's been so cold in Seattle this week with temps in the 30s and 40s so we got some hot chocolate to keep us warm!

Beth was a little unsure about seeing the Komodo Dragon until she saw a picture of it and realized it wasn't a fire-breathing kind of dragon. Being behind glass helped too, I'm sure. 

We watched kids - and adults! - have snowball fights with big balls of yarn; we listened to carolers; watched everyone on the carousel, such a fun night out!

 

 Have you done any holiday activities yet this season?

Reunited

Beth and I drove to Bellingham on Friday - about an hour and a half from our house - so she could see Nick. His parents have been on vacation and he's been staying at an... I guess it's like an assisted living place, but for adults who have special needs.

He gave us a tour of his place and it was pretty nice! Each client has their own space and a staff member lives in a different part of the house. It was fun to see where he's been staying the last few weeks. 

But before the tour, Beth and I picked him up and we went to Red Robin for lunch. It had been more than 2 weeks since they'd seen each other and they were so happy to be together again!

 

After Red Robin we went to Bellis Fair Mall and walked around there for a while.

 

We walked by some of those massage chairs and Nick said he wanted these in their living room when they get married so I offered to pay for them to use them for a few minutes.

Oh my gosh you should have heard them! They both kept talking about how good it felt and how they wanted one in their rooms. At one point Nick puts his head back and very slowly says, "H-a-v-e m-e-r-c-y!!

 At the other end of the mall we found Target and you just can't go into Target without checking out the electronics department! Here he is telling her about one of his favorite movies.

 

We even stopped to take a Christmas photo! 

 We dropped him back off and headed for home. After a little while I needed to stop and pulled off at a rest stop.

 I expected her to wake up when I turned off the engine, but nope! I actually had to shake her a little to wake her up. 

She came with me and then we spent the rest of the ride home singing Christmas carols that came on the radio!

Have you reunited with loved ones this year?