How Many Miles Did I Put On Me In The Last Week?

The past 7 days have been quite eventful. I helped my daughter move out of her dorm, attended our youngest daughter's dance concert, played with my grandchildren while their mother fixed me a heavenly early birthday breakfast (Like that was real hard!), celebrated my birthday and Mother's Day, received a new church calling (After a 16 year absense I am back in Primary--as a counselor in the presidency--I hope I still have what it takes-- I don't know if I do but if I have faith then Heavenly Father will help me find what I need--I will probably be writing more about this later), and drove with my family to move our college age daughter to Arizona for her Summer job.

Having a birthday the same day as Mother's Day shouldn't be that big of a deal but it has never set well with my selfish side. I decided ahead of time that I could choose to feel old and guilty on this 2-in1 eventful day ( I could have received black balloons for two decades now--and there is the usual Mother's Day dose of guilt) or youthful and grateful. I think receiving a new church calling the same day as the two big celebrations was indeed a blessing. It helped me opt for the youthful and grateful path and I had a lovely day. My day was made more lovely by the fact that my son called to wish me a Happy Birthday/Mother's Day. I haven't heard from him, other than one brief text, in months. I found out later that my youngest daughter had reminded him of what day it was but the call still meant a lot to me. (I really appreciated the fact that my daughter cared enough to remind her brother--double treat) The day was also delightful because I got to share the celebration with my oldest daughter who is a wonderful mother to my grandchildren and my husband's mother who is definitely high on my list of reasons why I am glad I married my husband. My husband and two youngest daughters took care of dinner and cleaning up. I ate too much but life was good...

Our trip to Arizona was quick and tiring but enjoyable. Driving is good thinking time. I found it interesting what kinds of things brought a smile to my face as the miles added up. I smiled as I saw a very long freight train in the distance. It had three engines. Perhaps I smiled because I have always felt strangely proud of the fact that as a teenager my father hopped freight trains to make his way to California from Texas. That always sounded so adventurous! Another possible reason for smiling at a passing train were happy memories of counting train cars as a kid and waiting for the caboose so I could wave at the men inside. I guess children (and some adults) take pleasure in waving to passing strangers and having them wave back because it is kind of like hopping trains and traveling to unknown places. When we connect for a moment in time with a stranger or fellow traveler in life's journey we move beyond our small worlds... Seeing baby cows made me smile too. I know the correct term is calves but that reminds me of legs so I prefer baby cows. They are so cute. They don't lumber along like their mothers but they kind of skip. They don't just stand in the sunshine, they frolic. I guess my fondness for baby cows explains why I refuse to eat veal but I am okay with other kinds of beef. Anyway... I also smiled while listening to my husband and daughter in the back seat singing along with classic rock songs from the 70s. They did quite the rousing duet on Black Water by the Doobie Brothers. My youngest daughter was driving at the time and she is not at all a fan of classic rock and even less a fan of her dad and sister singing along with it. However, a few times I could see just a hint of a smile creep into her look of disgust.

Driving is like a narcotic to me. It is very hard for me to stay awake while driving for long distances (Long meaning anything over about 20 miles) so thankfully my husband is much better at staying awake. I do my best to try and make sure he stays awake and I use this important duty as an excuse to consume way too much sugar on road trips. I still spend a fair amount of time dozing. It was kind of scary at one point to wake up to my husband and daughter in the back seat loudly telling my youngest daughter to get back on the road. They had her hook up some cable for an Ipod so she veered a little and came close to going off the road into the gravel. I couldn't really say much because my husband had just reminded me that I needed to stop distracting my daughter by pointing things out to her. I do that to my husband all the time. What can I say, I just like to share what I see...It was amazing that I fell asleep with my daughter at the wheel. Usually having one of my teenage children drive works much better than sugar at keeping me wide awake.

We got to help move my daughter's stuff into her dorm. I told her it was appropriate that we had listened to music from Newsies on the way because that is what her dorm reminded me of---Newsie or orphan accomodations---but clean and cozy in a way---a long narrow room with a row of bunk beds on each side. Each girl gets a bed, 3 drawers and about 18 inches of closet space to call her own. There are showers and bathrooms and an open area with mirrors and sinks. There is also a rec room downstairs. I admire my daughter's courage and sense of adventure. She feels like this is where she is supposed to be right now and I feel that way too. She will get to meet lots of people from all over and she will get to learn about different cultures and about waitressing and selling tourists treasures in gift shops. I didn't get a chance to give her a little motherly advice...I was going to remind her of something my husband has taught me, that if you face things that are difficult it is much better to think of them as challenges and even better to think of them as adventures. People don't sign up for problems but they are up for a good challenge and they even pay good money for adventures! I can hardly wait to hear all about my daughter's summer freight train hopping. Her younger sister decided that the whole thing looked like being at camp for 3 months. That idea was distasteful and disturbing to my baby who is quite the homebody and not very appealing to my oldest daughter who is adventurous but highly values personal space and comforts of home. (My son, who once lived in a cave, would probably relish the idea of some real freight train hopping) I have often referred to my middle daughter as my gypsy child. When she was younger she always enjoyed playing at her friends' houses and she has always wanted to explore what the world has to offer outside of her home state. She is in for quite the interesting summer.

We spent the night at our daughter's new home away from home (with tourist not orphan accomodations) and woke up to a few snow flurries. By the time we were sitting at the counter in the coffee shop eating breakfast the flurries had turned into a major freakish spring snowstorm.
A young man with his belongings on his back came in from the cold and another patron told him to 'have himself some breakfast'. The young man was visibly grateful for the generous offer and sat down a couple of seats away from us. We talked about the weather and he said he had been hitchhiking for a month. He had started out in Pennsylvannia and didn't seem to have any long range plans beyond going somewhere warm. He asked what day it was and exclaimed with surprise that it was his 19th birthday. I wished him a happy birthday but after we ate I felt an impression that I should do something more for him. My husband went along with my gesture. He frequently will indulge my impulses but sometimes he just hopes they pass without causing too much trouble or embarrassment. My youngest daughter helped me pick out a t-shirt in the same gift shop my other daughter would be working in in a few minutes and I wrote a brief note on a card. (While we did that I heard him telling the waitress it was his birthday and another employee gave him a bag of cookies from the bakery) My daughter and husband hung back while I presented the hasty gift to the young man. He seemed surprised but grateful. A few words passed between us and then our family headed out the door to brave the storm and head for home. I had already given my daughter a good-bye hug but she came out to say one last good-bye while her dad was cleaning snow off the car. It was snowing so hard that I didn't notice her until she was hurrying back inside the lodge so I got out of the car and called, "Good-bye, I love you." Some man getting into a big truck called back, "I love you too!" I chuckled as I got back in the car. It occurred to me as we were heading down to lower elevations that maybe it wasn't really that young man's birthday. Maybe he used that ploy to get people to give him stuff. I hoped if he wasn't telling the truth that maybe the kindnesses he was shown would at least prick his heart a little. I refused to feel bad about my decision. If he was telling the truth then he knows there is goodness in the world. If he was lying he still knows there is goodness in the world and someday he might feel sorry for lying but I, on the other hand, most likely will not feel sorry for making a gesture of kindness.

Note: It would be easier and less confusing to use the names of my children and grandchildren in these posts but I am not very blog- savvy so I am paranoid about giving out too much info. Maybe I'll make up some names...that sounds fun.

Go find some freight trains to hop. Enjoy!