21

It's another day of celebration here in the Den. One of our Den-izens is celebrating a birthday. Today it's The RM who we celebrate. He turns 21 today and suffice to say, we are celebrating a fine young man.

Those 21 years have gone by in a flash. I remember each of our children's births for very different reasons and can go back to them as if it were yesterday. Our Lady of Awesome's birth is associated with many firsts including a whole lot of terror, as she was our first-born (duh!); CAL's birth is associated with peace because A) I wasn't the one doing the birthing and 2) due to an odd set of circumstances and the fact that it was Christmas, it was just the nurses, doctors, and the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and I in the room as she came into the world; and The RM's birth pretty much set the stage for how he rolls.

He was several days overdue and determined to make his mother just a little crazy. Finally, a bed opened up at the hospital and we were on our way down there for the induction festivities. Of course, by the time we got there some other woman had the testicular fortitude to go into labor on her own and our bed was gone. This news was not well-received. So in my most calm and soothing manner (go ahead and believe that), I explained to the hospital staff that we were not leaving and that they were welcome to find us a place where my wife could being the miracle of birth. Sensing we weren't leaving, they literally dumped us in a large, fairly barren closet-like space and induced SML. Meanwhile, The RM seemed completely non-plussed by all this and still didn't seem in any hurry to leave the comfort of the womb. In the meantime, I found out that some friends of ours from Church were in a room a few doors down, having had a little girl the night before. I sauntered down to their room, greeted the new parents with the following greeting, "Hi Rob and Rhonda! Congratulations on your little girl! Now get out. We need the room." As I recall, her parents, whom I had never met, seemed a little shocked. Suffice to say, that didn't work. So my father had the presence of mind to get me a burrito from Filbertos (he apparently knew the dangers of being hangry before it was a thing and I labored over that thing while SML labored over The RM. Right as things were getting good with the burrito, The RM decided it was showtime and like Moses parting the Red Seas, the Miracle of the Found Room occurred and we were whisked out of the birthing closet and into a real room. In no time flat, again says the guy's who's contribution to this whole process was minimal, The RM made his arrival. It was fairly drama free and full of joy. That's how he started life and that's how he rolls today.

Over the course of these last 21 years, he's made us a little crazy on more than one occasion, but it really has been a drama-free, joyful 21. That's a pretty good way to live, if you ask me. Like his sisters, he's been a joy to us and I can't imagine our world without him. He rounds out our family well.

Happy birthday, mijo!

He loves his Mom and he'll still hug her.
He'll never outgrow that.

Laboring back to reality

Today is Labor Day, where America pauses to remember the social and economic achievements of American workers by shopping linen and bath sales and yelling at those workers who had to work a holiday. Nothing says "thank you" like chewing out someone who is barely earning more than minimum wage because your Bed Bath and Beyond coupon expired in 2013 and you can't begin to understand why you can't use it for a hand soap dispenser whose shape reminds you of your beloved and deceased Vietnamese Pot Belly Pig, Petunia. As much as I'd like to say I saw that very exchange go down today, I have to admit I did not. You know, however, as well as I do, that something very similar went down today.

It is also the traditional signal that summer is drawing to a close. If children haven't returned to school yet, tomorrow is the big day. For most, this is the last "holiday" before Thanksgiving, and so it is 'game on.' It is time to get back to work, and that leaves many of us, myself included, realizing that reality does indeed bite.

My hiatus is officially over this evening. It's back to work tomorrow. It has been a great two weeks. One week was filled to the brim (even overflowing) with family and the joy those long-awaited reunions bring. The second week was nothing but time for the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and me. Aside from one awful two hour "What to do on the island of Sint Maarten" brainwashing seminar (think of the worst timeshare presentation you've ever been roped into, combined with a crowd of people demanding how to get the best deal on knock off jewelry, while trapped in a darkened room at sea) attended by SML, who was able to escape unscathed, we were not apart for the last week. We had an amazing time together and I'll post more about it later this week. Right now, though, no time as I'm dealing with getting back to reality.

Hundreds of work emails.
Personal emails.
Things to do around the house.
The finale of "The Great British Baking Show."

All important things, people. It's back to reality. Here we go.

On Hiatus

This past week has been one for the books for the residents of the Den. For the first time in two years, we were all together. With the Awesomes, CAL, and The RM now firmly entrenched behind the Zion Curtain, it's a whole lot easier to be together. From Grampa babysitting to getting The RM a place to live and a set of wheels to helping CAL getting her house set up (I put together a vacuum cleaner sans a single curse word) to seeing Nana to a Real Salt Lake match (Baby Jane was not impressed but the rest of us were), it's been an amazing week. So amazing that we need a vacation. Big time.

Hence, the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and I are going on vacation. Now. The Den is officially on hiatus for the next week. I'm sure this is gut-wrenching news. If it is, please get out of your house more! It'll be a good break. Besides, with The RM home now, it'll give me time to ponder what to do about Monday posts going forward.

As for our vacation, I'll give you this hint:

Love, exciting and new

Come aboard, we're expecting you 

Love, life's sweetest reward

Let it flow, it comes back to you

And with that, I'm out. Be back in eight days or so. Enjoy the hiatus!

Brotherhood

While we treasured the four days we had at home with The RM (that's right - he is now The RM), the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and I were looking forward to his return to the Zion Curtain. Wait, what? you say incredulously. He'd only been home four days and you're already jonesing to see him leave again? #parentsoftheyear

Here's the thing: he had to leave. For him, school started this past Monday. Hanging around Connecticutistan was not an option. While we were sad that he was leaving so soon A) we were going with him and 2) we'd engineered a pretty great surprise for him at the Salt Lake City Airport and we were pretty excited to see that go down.

The RM is our lone son. He has two amazing older sisters but becuase of my inability to pass on the appropriate chromosome (if I'm remembering my high school biology class correctly), he has no brothers. Over the years, he has formed a brotherhood of friends. Two of those friends, from our days in Chicago, have become his brothers. These three met in the summer of 2006 and an instant and what has become an unbreakable bond, a brotherhood, was formed. They've covered for one another. They've cared for one another, including explaining a savage broken arm to an unsuspecting parent (think Brian Regan's great sketch about using leaves to repair a broken arm). They've challenged each other to be the best that they can be. From their earliest days, they talked about rooming together after their missions. So when it came together that they'd be rooming together this fall, we were pretty excited. 

There was the small matter that because of moves and missions, they'd not seen each other in four and three years respectively, until this past Sunday. We asked Grant and Scott to surprise The RM at the airport. It was, in a word, sweet. As we descended the escalator into Baggage Claim, the boys started howling and The RM immediately recognized the voices of his brothers. He turned around and looked at us in a state of shock and then headed down into a massive abraso from them. They were finally reunited. It was pretty awesome. If you look at the picture closely, you can see their smiles through the back of their heads. It was an honor to watch these three together again. It will be a greater honor to watch what these three do next.

Brotherhood is not just a Bible word. Out of comradeship can come and will come the happy life for all. ~ Heywood Broun