Reflections on a Leap Day

Four years ago today, my roommate Suzanne (see previous post) and I wrote letters to each other listing five things we thought would have happened/be happening in the other's life on the next Leap Day. (We also kidnapped for ransom and dressed up our friend's stuffed lemur, but I don't think we'll make that a tradition...). Here we are, four years later, and we open the letters tonight.

So while Leap Day isn't a typical day for reflection, this day is for me. Frankly, I can't believe how fast four years have passed. I can't believe I married Suzanne's high school friend, that I had his adorable child, that still live in this college town, or that American Idol is still on the air. Most of all, I can't believe how blessed the last four years of my life have been.

I wonder what the next four years will bring?

The Story

For those who've heard it (and seen the accompanying multimedia presentation that goes WITH it), this story is old hat. But for those who care, here's the Reader's Digest version of how Matt and I met:

So I lived with an amazing, wonderful, witty girl named Suzanne all four years at BYU. During Spring term after our third year, she mentioned that her high school friend Matt was back from his mission and at BYU. I'd heard about Matt throughout his mission since he and Suz kept in touch (she wasn't 'writing' him per se, but he did send us letters and pics - you get the idea).

Anyway, about 11:00 one Monday night, she suggested that we should meet up with Matt and our other mutual friend Rob to go to the weekly devotional the next day. Problem: it was too late to call Matt that night, and we weren't going to be able to catch him before he left his house at 6 the next morning (and he had no cell phone). Suz happened to know where his class was just before devotional though, but it was across campus from where she would be at that time. I was free that hour, and she jokingly suggested that I should wait outside his class holding a sign with his name on it - a la those people you see at the airport. I was feeling adventurous and agreed.

So there I was at 10:50 the next morning outside 106 JSB, feeling like an IDIOT as hundreds of students filed past and looked at my sign. Matt was, of course, the last person (or close to it) out of the classroom. He was wearing a gray suit and a very bewildered expression as he said, "Uh, I'm Matt." (He told me later that his first thought was that I must have been from the administration sent to give him some bad news.)

I explained who I was and why I was there, and we ended up watching the devotional (not sitting next to each other).

Fast forward to that Saturday, when I suggested to Suz that we go visit Matt (he was commuting to BYU from his parents' house at the time). So we showed up at the homestead, and I played DDR for the first time ever before we all headed out to see Sons of Provo (which may be the worst movie ever made).

Afterwards I was enjoying a bowl of vanilla ice cream with strawberries when Matt asked me about my class schedule. Lo and behold, he and I had a music theory class at the same time in the same hallway. On Monday morning, I walked out of music theory and was greeted by THIS:




So there you have it. I have video footage of my husband asking me on our first official date. And you would not believe how many people in my music theory class asked me the next day, "Did you really meet that guy online?"

More of our love story (and more of the multimedia presentation) to come...

Tagged Again!

Thanks to Hillary for tagging me for this post - it's supposed to be 6 things/habits/quirks about me, but since I'm running out of things like that to share, I think I'll just...see what happens:

1) I am blessed to have not only really amazing, warm, and wonderful parents, but also a dynamic duo of marvelous in-laws. Rare. And delightful.

2) I can't go a day without eating peanut butter. I've tried. It's impossible.

3) When I was three years old, my family took a vacation to San Fransisco. I was a 'straggler' and kept getting left behind in shops and at tourist attractions, so my parents bought me a leash. They tricked me into wearing it by telling me that my dad was going to get lost if I didn't hang onto him. I bought it hook, line and sinker.

4) When I met my husband, I was holding a sign with his name on it.

5) I like Golden Grahams with cheddar cheese. I'm not even sure how I found this out, but those tiny Graham cheese sandwiches are de-lish.

6) I never learned how to type with the right fingers. I just fake it, and not very well.

Questions I Want to Ask the Universe

• Exactly how often should I be clipping my baby's toenails?
• Does hot chocolate count as dessert?
• Why has my right ankle been slightly swollen, weak, and achy since 2003?
• After watching the Today show this morning: When did this become a Huckabee-McCain race?
  
• How much would a wintertime trip to Greece cost?
  
• Where is my favorite black cardigan?
  
• Truman squirms and squirms when he's on my lap (like right now) as though he wants to get down - where is he going to go?
• When is the weather going to warm up enough that I can once again feel my nose?
  
• Are there any good 'manly' gifts for Valentine's Day?
• If a package arrives from an online photography vendor, and it's covered with tape that says "Ann Taylor" (as in the posh clothing store for women), should you be worried?
• Why does the bullet look like a bullet in the preview, but a flower when I actually publish the post?

And the eternal, ever-plaguing question:

• What am I going to make for dinner tonight?

The world may never know...

Thank heavens, I've been tagged!

The proverbial blog-well was running dry, but thanks to Alicia, I now have something to blog about.

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was in eighth grade. I weighed about 50 pounds more than I do now, and I had braces and BIG bangs. It wasn't pretty. On a typical day I could be found wearing an over sized Nike t-shirt, flirting with Joe Forrester, and getting much-needed after-school help in algebra from a teacher who looked like he came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Clean the tub.
2. Attend a presidency meeting.
3. Buy groceries.
4. Pay the health insurance bill.
5. Make a phone call to a sister in the ward about some Chinese translation (and you thought they were all going to be boring!).

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. Cereal
2. Chips and dip
3. Cookies
4. Peanut butter and jelly on toast
5. Hot chocolate

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire: I would buy houses. One for us, of course, but then one for each of my siblings and my husband's siblings. I might even buy/build a huge family compound. And I would probably stop stressing about the grocery budget!

5 places I have lived:
1. Aurora, CO
2. Provo, UT
3. Orem, UT
4. That's it.
5. I haven't lived anywhere else - yet.

5 jobs that I have had:
1. Catch-all catering assistant/waitress/gopher
2. Nanny
3. Human Resources assistant
4. Writing Fellow/TA
5. Student Services/Scholarships guru

5 Things people don't know about me:
1. I used to write poems for EVERYTHING. My family joked that every time they got a birthday card from me, there was a poem inside. It was true until I was probably 12 or 13.
2. My middle name is Kate, and I really like it.
3. The first time I ever set foot in my in-laws' house - before I had even been on a date with my husband - I got the strangest but most pleasant feeling, like I was coming home.
4. I desperately wanted to be a child star and act in commercials/movies. I used to beg my mom to get me an agent. Thanks for never caving, Mom!
5. If I wasn't blessed to be a Mormon, I have a feeling I would have ended up a bra-burning, hybrid-driving, Hillary-supporting, raging feminist liberal.

I tag 1. Carly 2. Angie 3. Vanessa

SHORT!

I got my hair cut on Monday, and you can see from my expression that I'm still deciding how I feel about it. Loved it for the first twenty minutes, started to feel iffy about it, then loathed it, and now I'm back to feeling okay again. Matt is a gem to say he really likes it, even if he doesn't. I'm choosing to believe that he does. His eternally-optimistic attitude is rubbing off on me.

Unlikely as it might seem, my thoughts about the haircut segue nicely into something else I've been thinking about lately: balance. Here, I was going for that delicate balance between feminine and practical. But what about other, more consequential problems that also require a fair degree of finesse (hair-product reference totally unintentional)?

How do I, for example...

• manage our finances so that we are neither spendthrifts nor misers?
• get enough "me time" to thrive but not become overly self-absorbed?
• simultaneously and adequately maintain my body, spirit, mind and relationships - as well as nurture, when needed, those of my husband and child?
• give meaningful service without becoming a martyr?

Moderation is a tightrope off of which I continually find myself falling.

And yet, back to the hair analogy, even if I had been way off the mark with this style (and who knows? Maybe I am.), the hair will grow (I just mistyped 'fro' - yes, it will do that too) and I will have many more chances to strike that balance that is just right for me.

So like everything else, I guess my hair and my finances and all of it are just parts of my life's grand balancing act. And though I feel typically uncomfortable with the idea that I don't have this stuff anywhere near mastered yet, I am learning to accept the learning experiences as they come - and to shy away from scissors when necessary.

On Holiday

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to those of us who still remember it as such, and for the politically-correct at heart, a very Merry Civil Rights Day to you.

I am particularly grateful for the holiday this year, but maybe not for the reasons I should be; mostly I'm thrilled that it gave Matt the day off to stay home and hang out with me. Since he didn't have to get up early this morning, we stayed up last night playing games and laughing ourselves silly like we haven't in a long time. After a few rounds of Boggle (we are a frustratingly even match), TriBond (he's better) and Crack the Case (he's WAAAY better), I couldn't help but smile my way to sleep. It was easily one of my favorite days of my married life.

Thanks, honey, for suggesting that we spend some time together, for letting me sleep in this snowy morning, and for washing all those dishes (at least, I think that's what you're doing in the kitchen right now).

So, may you all do something fun for your MLK-Civil Rights Day, and if it's any good, leave a comment for everyone to enjoy. Happy Holiday!