Passing Time

A friend "tagged" me with this little questionnaire a few weeks ago and I'm finally getting around to answering it. I went to my old journals to get a more specific idea of what I was doing at this time of year for each of the dates. Remarkably, I actually had an entry close to this date from 10 and 5 years ago and we were still blogging semi-regularly 1 year ago. So, here I go down memory lane . . .

What were you doing 10 years ago?
It was really nice to refer back to my journal because otherwise I would not have remembered all the drama that surrounded my transition from Jr. High to High School. Having recently "graduated" from Farmington Junior, I was in the middle of a balancing act between friends who went to Davis and friends who went to Viewmont. Before referring to my journal, I hadn't recalled what a frustrating experience it was. The basic run-down . . . if we do something that includes Davis friend X then we can't include Viewmont friend Y (who was of course X's ex . . . as if anyone who's "dating" at that age is really dating enough to "break-up"), but if we don't invite Y then we can't invite any other Viewmont friend without causing major issues. It's amazing how complicated adolescence can be. In the end, most everyone from my 9th grade group of friends ended up running in different circles regardless of which High School they went to.

Also, I was off to a great start at almost not graduating. That's right . . . the issues that put my High School graduation at risk started the very first semester of my Sophomore year. Someone in scheduling goofed and put me in first semester Driver's Ed which I couldn't take due to my second semester birthday. So, I had to find another class to take and, of course, none of the required courses had space. Keyboarding skills . . . that's where it all began. I took keyboarding while Driver's Ed got pushed back, which pushed Fit for Life back, which pushed something else back. Of course, not having the required credits to graduate might have also had something to do with wanting to take too many non-required classes, but either way it all started 10 years ago.

What were you doing 5 years ago?
This journal entry was quite a fun one to refer to because it happens to be the journal entry that I have never finished writing. Which means it is the journal entry that basically ended my journal writing as a regular occurrence and threw it into the realm of hit and miss. This unfinished journal entry is the reason I never got around to writing real entries about my summer as a camp counselor or my engagement or marriage or first child's birth. Why? I'm really not sure. I guess I must have just got sick of trying to write all the back story in order for the entry itself to make any sense that I just didn't ever finish. Then, being of the must-catch-up-before-moving-on mindset, I just never moved-on. In my journal, I definitely moved-on in life, but my posterity will probably be very disappointed that I happened to choose that period of my life to stop writing about my life.

Anywho, about what actually was happening . . . I was in my second year at BYU. After spending the summer as a camp counselor I flew out to California to visit my roommates before school started up again. I missed my flight home and as a result didn't ever really unpack my summer or repack for school. It was not long ago that I officially "broke-up" with my best friend at BYU and it was not long until I would be "engaged" to his room mate (which, for those of you who know what I'm talking about, I still think was just hilarious, but I am sorry for making some of you cry). I had finally settled on a major, but was becoming more and more unsettled on a mission. Life was just really open ended.

One year ago . . .
The thing that really stuck out in my mind from blog entries this time last year was the purchase of our washing machine. Remembering that purchase and the life-style changes that resulted was another one of those "I really am blessed" moments that made me want to start this blog in the first place. Jordan described the acquisition in this way: "Alison greeted her first load of laundry with something akin to the joyful exclamations of a child on Christmas morning, and has done nothing but laundry ever since, although strangely without the complaining tone earlier expressed."

While his account may not be, by all accounts, entirely accurate, I do remember the feeling of freedom that came with doing laundry in the comfort of my own home. Talk about a blessing that I take for granted now! I hardly think of the way I used to cart our laundry across the county and "waste" an entire day as I moved the loads along. I don't stop to consider how nice it is that I can dump in a load of laundry whenever I please, day or night, and still have access to the millions of other projects pressing on my time. I don't even remember how Jordan and I washed our laundry in our first apartment because I know we only went to the laundromat a few blocks away once. How did we survive! And yet, now I walk in and out of my pantry countless times everyday without even noticing the blessing. But it is a blessing, and one I truly am thankful for.

Yesterday . . .
When Jordan and I woke up, we decided to take a trip to Hogle Zoo. I've wanted to go all summer and just hadn't got around to making it happen. We managed to get out of the house by 10am (only half an hour after we'd been shooting for) and only had one delay on the way down when we realized we were almost out of gas. Knowing that Jen had a membership, we called to see if she and Lauren wanted to join us. On top of Isaac getting to spend time with his cousin, I had the added bonus of getting in free as Jen's guest so we only had to pay the price of one admission. Having not been to the zoo since I was barely a teenager, I was quite impressed by the changes that have been made to increase the atmosphere. Jordan really enjoyed all the informative signs and hands on displays that weren't around when we were kids. Isaac really liked walking whichever way we weren't. It was really fun to watch he and Lauren just toddle around after one another. In the evening, I went to my neighborhood book club. We managed to have an in-depth, intellectual discussion about the book for all of five minutes before moving on to the chatting stage, which is of course the real reason we get together each month.

While I often have to fight the frustration of Jordan needing sleep while Isaac and I are getting up, I really have enjoyed his night shifts at work. We've been able to do so many fun things as a family that many dads with day jobs miss out on. We don't want him working nights forever, but it's honestly the perfect set-up for our family right now. Isaac gets to spend most of his awake time with his dad around, Jordan gets to be there for family adventures, and I get all the joy of both. My life is good.