spending time

Nothing really out of the ordinary happening except my son has been moved away from our old epicenter for two months, and he is home to get some support and spend some time.

This time we spend will most likely be nothing too spectacular, but that we are together makes it inherently wonderful. I am so happy to have him with us for a couple of days. I know he will have enough to eat and will be safe for at least two days. Also, he always makes us all smile with his light hearted humor and kind thoughtfulness. That's always a bonus.

We got a little lunch together the first day, and as you can see, lunch was spectacular, so maybe I wasn't accurate earlier.

Something I wonder is if anyone has some wisdom on how to not worry about your young adult children who are too adult to want to be home but too still your child you want to keep safe from the world. I'd love to hear any advice!

good dates

Defining what a good date means can be tricky. A good date can be had by all, but not all dates are created equal. Also, personal taste comes into play when trying to make a list to end all lists of really good dates. Maybe we need to figure out the building blocks first in order to come up with a solid list.

A few building blocks of a good date include personal taste, an agreeable time of day for the situation, weather as a factor, and considering how well you know the person. These all are part of the subjectivity really, but it's something to think about. These aspects aside, I believe there are some dates that can be fun no matter what, and those are what I think make for truly good dates. Some of the list will have ideas I've never tried but seem like they'd be good.

This Good Dates list I am about to share is not ranked or all inclusive. I seriously want to hear from you people what you think should go on this list. Let's see what we come up with!

Good Dates

Lunch dates
Dessert only dates
Crossword puzzles
Trying a new restaurant neither has been to before
Board games at home
Favorite books scavenger hunt at the local library
Round of golf or just the driving range
Short hikes or long hikes if that's both your thing
Bowling
Name That Tune while driving in the car to/from
Art museums
Going for a drive up the nearby canyon or highway if you don't have canyons
Walks downtown
Comedy shows
People watching at a mall
Drive-in movies
Playing pool
Local theatre productions
Batting cages
Swinging on the swings at a park (during off hours when not many children are at play)
Live music events
Cooking together
The classic picnic in the park
Puzzles

If you don't believe me on the last one, just try turning it into a kissing game, and it's actually the ultimate date. Trust me.

a day out

Saturdays are for adventure and work and fun and catching up. This Saturday, I did a little of everything.

Taking care of my children was one thing. Then, I went with a friend to the temple and had a wonderful time, of course. Cleaning house was one thing I set aside a bit, but that's okay every once in awhile when you need a break. I took myself to the movies to see The Green Book and was pleasantly surprised. I had no idea what it was about, but it was showing when I could go matinee and still get luxury seating. I took my softest blanket too, so I squeezed every last bit of fun out of that outing. Then I visited one of my sisters-in-law to pick up a special surprise for someone not yet disclosed to the public. Then I got home. I was out all day from early until late. I am exhausted.

It's crazy how much you can pack into a day and still do more.

I proceeded to load the dryer and then the washer and laid out my pajamas. I am taking time to write right now instead of procrastinating, so I can have a nice sabbath. And then, I am going to take a bath with candles burning and wind so far down I hope to sleep for ten hours. I deserve to. My brain has been waking me up way before I am rested or even need to get up!

It was a happy, very good day.

a slice of pie

Not sure how it came about, but whenever I think about pie, I think about so many people: my mom at Thanksgiving, random dates after late-night dancing, my friend Evan and an impromptu movie, and my best friend.

Pie isn't anything special really, yet it has become a source of joy as I stop to think about all the times in my life when pie was the center of attention, the catalyst for the best memories, and even sometimes a stand-in for the comfort I needed.

Pecan pie and Dutch apple pie are reminders of my parents. Random single slices at random restaurants remind me of the slew of random first and second and third post-dance dates that were fun—most of the time. Cream pies remind me of Evan. Well, and also berry pie, but that's because he likes it. And Marie Callender's pies—frozen or fresh from the restaurant—remind me of my best friend and our pie parties we started doing some years back when we get together with our children.

Maybe all of that makes pie special. Maybe I've been taking pie for granted all this time. Maybe I need to have pie more often.

every single day

I don't know how I'm going to do it.

I've been saying that every year for the past seven (now eight) years of participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge. Yet this year, it seems even more true than ever before because I haven't been writing like I normally do, like not even close to half of what I normally do. And I can't stand it. I can't even go into the why of it all actually, so it's even more problematic!

But here we are, starting an every-single-day writing challenge I've been doing since 2012, and I just don't want to stop. Some of my best writing comes from these days where I don't know what to write or how I will write. I just write and keep going, and it shows me I can write so much. I can do this thing.

I am afraid I might forget to write too. There have been issues with my memory, which will explain partly why I haven't been writing as much, but I am going to set alarms on my phone, I think, because this experience is valuable to me, and I want to see if I can do it even with all the obstacles.

I don't know how well I'll do this year since I have been slacking off so badly, but here goes nothing…