Personality, as explained by Ren

(Preface: When we are in the car I do not allow Ren to roll down the window if we are on the freeway, because the noise bugs me in a major way.)

Driving home tonight from dinner at a friend's house:

Ren: Mommy, why don't you like the wind noise?
Me: Because it makes my ears hurt and that makes my head hurt, so I don't like it.
Ren: No, it's because of your personality. Your personality doesn't like the wind noise.
Me: Oh, really???
Ren: Yes. Your personality is in your head. It's these meat colored ropes that aren't meat, they're just meat colored. And they go around your brain. Usually they're all rolled up, like in a ball, and that's your brain. But when the windows are open and there's a lot of noise they come down like ropes. Like meat colored ropes, and they go shooting through your body like knives.
Me: Woah. I had NO idea that's what my personality was.
Ren: Yeah, but I can see it.
Me: You can see my personality?
Ren: Yeah.
Me: And it's a bunch of meat colored ropes in my head?
Ren: No, right now it's rainbow colored. But not a real rainbow.
Me: Just rainbow colored, right?
Ren: Yeah.
Me: Well, that sounds kinda pretty. I'll go with that!

And then there was something about how my personality was going to go down into the roots of the trees and kill all the seeds of the trees in the city, but I didn't catch all the details because I was trying to parallel park. If it comes up again I'll pay more attention so I can share with you next time. :-)

From a Friend in Primary

I wanted to tell you the funniest thing Farren said today in sharing time. Beckie asked if anyone knew what the word suffering meant, and he raised his hand and said, "It's when my mom doesn't let me do something, I suffer." We thought it highly amusing. 

Are you sure this is the BASIC version???

My lovely, fabulous, thoughtful, and totally uplifting friend Luz has been asking if she could babysit the boys. Of course I told her YES and that she was welcome to watch them as soon as she liked. So tonight she took the kiddos and Robb and I explored the area around Luz's home in east San Jose.

First up, dinner. We drove around for a bit but, due to the time requirements of our plan for the second step of our date, we were limited to fast food. So we went to Jollibee - a Filipino fast food chain. The food was basic, but good, and the Filipino bakery next door had Ube cake, which was delicious and made the visit more than worthwhile.

Second half of the date? Reflexology massages. Luz has been raving about her favorite reflexology place (Lucky Feet) for the last three years. Since we dropped the boys off at her house, we decided to go for it. Now, let me say that both Robb and I have been to reflexology places before. HOWEVER, tonight was a totally new experience. At various points during our massages we had the (dubious) pleasure of experiencing the following:

• being straddled, multiple times
• getting a butt massage while being straddled ("Um...I don't think I paid for this.....")
• being asked to go shirtless in the communal room (Robb) 
• having my bra unhooked and moved out of the way by my male masseuse  (Say what???)
• having my bra put back together (Why thank you, sir!)
• getting skin on skin back massages (All our prior reflexology experiences have been 100% clothes ON. Let me tell ya, I was a little worried about how high up my sides those hands were going to go.)
• having our backs massaged via crawling on them/using the knees to massage
• having the masseuse use her knees and thighs to massage the back (Robb: "Wait. Is that a pubic bone I feel?!?")
• and above all else, super, near-insanely INTENSE pressure.

I'm pretty sure this was the most painful massage I've ever had. About 75% of it was acceptable to really good, but about 25% just hurt. HOWEVER, it was most definitely a good story, so we're both pretty happy to laugh about our evening. (Not to mention committed to finding a new reflexology place to try out.) :-)

More than Mortal

I sang for a funeral tonight. I've done this often and I am always happy to offer this service because my faith in Heavenly Father's plan gives me peace and hope regarding life after death. Tonight I sang for the family and friends of a lovely 90 year old lady named Concepción Peña. 

I was barely acquainted with her, to be honest. To be more honest, I was happy to sing but increasingly frustrated as the week went on because there were no clear lines of communication and I was getting frequent texts from three different people to get information on the song title, accompanist, etc. These texts and calls, on top of my work load and during an emotionally draining week, really pushed a lot of buttons. 

And then I went to the funeral. I heard her daughters share their memories, stories, and love for their mother. I learned more about her life and felt the great love she had for her family and they for her. 

I sang "I Am a Child of God" and, a couple hours before the funeral, talked a friend into singing with me so we could get some harmony and make it more interesting. We decided that on the second verse I would sing alone, in Spanish. After listening to everyone's words I changed the lyrics a tiny bit:

Soy una hija de Dios, 

El me envió aquí. 

Me ha dado un hogar 

Y Familia buena para mi. 

Guíenme, enseñame la senda a seguir,

Para que algun día yo

Con él pueda vivir. 

(I am a daughter of God,

He has sent me here. 

He has given me a home 

And a great family. 

Guide me, show me the way to go,

So that one day I can live with him.)

I was trying to say what Concepción would have said if she were still with us. As I sang I could feel her family's love, her love, and I felt like I briefly touched our Heavenly Father's and our Savior's love for each of us. 

When I said it's been an emotionally draining week that's a major understatement. I won't go into details, but I will say that I am so grateful I was able to sing at Sister Peña's funeral. It was a huge blessing to me, right when I really, really needed it.

 

We are more than mortal. We are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us, knows us, and is very aware of our needs. I'm grateful to have felt His love today, and I hope you feel it in your day, too. 

Sweet Surprise

Apparently there was a lot of audience participation today in Sharing Time. I was told the kids were called up and asked to share their name and what they like. (You know: "My name is Ben and I like to play video games.") The primary pianist found me after church to tell me about Farren's comments.  I was a tad nervous to hear her report, because Ren typically acts silly and uses little boy (i.e. bathroom) humor to be funny when he's in front of people, but according to my friend, he said "My name is Farren and I like to give my mommy hugs and kisses."

I think this mommy's heart just grew three sizes bigger!

Joy in Unexpected Places

Robb and I feel very blessed that we truly enjoy each other's families. For Christmas we are in Utah with his mom and his sister (and her family), and we're having an awesome time visiting, playing (especially Ren, who adores his cousins), laughing, and generally making lots of good memories. 

We flew in (which, when you have a baby, no stroller - oops! - a husband with a severe back injury, and way too many carry on and personal items, is a story all on its own) and didn't rent a car. Not a big deal, since we're staying at Robb's sister's house and have done few things that require all five adults and five children to go somewhere at the same time. Tonight, however, we upheld the Thurmond family tradition of going out for Chinese food for Christmas Eve dinner. Robb's sister and her family took their van and the four of us and Robb's mom went in her Honda CRV. Which meant someone - read, yours truly - got to sit in between the car seat and the booster seat in back. My thought going in? "Oh joy."

But you know what? It actually (surprisingly and amazingly) WAS a joy. There I was, literally crammed in between the boys' safety seats, and Farren asked if he could hold my hand. Then I decided to hold Soren's hand, too, because why not? 

I am not a warm and fuzzy mom, by any means. I don't like babies and am just starting to bond with Soren - and he just turned one. BUT, I definitely love my snuggles, and sitting between my two children, holding their hands and having them hold on to me, was one of the most joyful experiences I have had in a long time. 

Life is hard. In fact, for the last year it has seemed almost impossibly difficult. But these unexpected moments, squished in between one thing and another, are immeasurably precious and I am very grateful for them. 

Merry Christmas everyone. Give your loved ones an extra hug and may you feel a little extra joy, too. 

Bath Time!