Pensive

So many thoughts are tumbling around in my head that it is causing severe distraction.  I wish I had Dumbledore's Pensive; I would use it for thoughts instead of memories.  As a substitute Pensive, I will empty some of those many swirling feelings into my blog.

First, I want to announce that my oldest son, Kevin, is getting married!  Hooray!  We are so happy about this terrific news!  He is engaged to Lindsey Turner of Declo, Idaho and they are planning a June 28 Logan Temple Sealing.  That is my Mom’s birthday so it will be a doubly celebrated day.

Second, I want to tell Rob happy birthday tomorrow.  I'm sorry I won't be here to properly celebrate your special day.  You are such a great husband and father and I love you so much!  I hope your day is happy.

Next, I wish Kevin a happy 27th birthday on March 30.  It is so hard to believe that many years have passed since he was born.  Perhaps because of the vivid memories I have of that day—the weather (damp), what I was wearing (horrible hospital gown), where I was (Utah Valley Medical Center), how I felt (frantic), etc., it just doesn’t seem possible that it was that long ago.  Kevin is busy studying and working in Logan.  He is working on his Master’s degree in Instructional Technology at USU and works for the Alumni Association on campus.  Kevin is a tremendous young man and his Dad and I feel so blessed to have him as our son and we know he will be a fabulous husband to Lindsey.

I am sending these birthday wishes early because I’m heading off to Arizona in the morning to see my Mom and  brothers, Jim and Mark.  Mom lives out in the desert and doesn’t have wireless internet, so I’m thinking I’ll be off the grid for awhile.  I will miss reading blogs, Indexing, and checking my email and Facebook accounts, I’ll have to catch up when I get back.

That leads to another thing I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about—My brother, Mark and his family who have left their home in Japan and are living in a furnished apartment in Burbank, California.  Mark and Nana wanted to get their three boys as far away from the radiation and mayhem as they could, but are feeling very displaced.  Mark said he wouldn’t have believed he could miss the ‘routine’ so much.  I’m sure these have been difficult weeks for his family.  He goes to work at his company’s California office and leaves Nana with three boys to entertain.  I’ve worried and wondered about them.  I’ve offered to bring them back to Utah with me when I come home from Arizona, but their future is uncertain right now.  It will be so good to see them, look them in the eyes to assess how they are doing after all they’ve been through with earthquakes, aftershocks, tsunami, nuclear disasters, and a-no-end-in-sight evacuation.

Finally, I've been flashing back a year ago when Rob, Cami and I flew out to Baltimore, MD and spent the most amazing week with Dani and Kelly. I wish we were doing that again this month, but they will be out here in June for the wedding so we'll look forward to that visit.

Thank you for allowing me to unburden my twirling, shifting thoughts.  Perhaps looking at a few of them written down will allow me to focus on the important issues at hand...like getting packed...