from the time he could barely walk, the first thing little k~ would do upon arriving at his grandparents’ house in duchesne was go to find grandpa and ask, “can i go see the chickens and look for eggs?”
so our great chicken caper has been almost as exciting for him as it has been for me. the first egg arrived on friday. and it’s been about two a day since. k~ came home right after scouts and wanted my toolbox so he could make a wooden toolbox from the kit he got at school. then he wanted an egg carton and some scissors. and he crafted his very own egg collection system.
even the most ordinary morning now feels just a little like christmas. we wake up with great anticipation of what surprises we might find. so far just the brown egg layers have gotten busy. but we still look forward to discovering white eggs from the leghorns and the pretty green/blue of our “anaconda” hen one of these days.
i’m lovin’ it.
in other news:
two days of homework and a restaurant review–
1. get real
when i was younger and my only sister and i would go the rounds, we would react very differently to the conflict. my sister would cry. i would get mad. whatever the cause of our tangle, we would undoubtedly be equally hurt and upset, yet i would express my hurt by clenching fists and angry scowls and hateful words instead of tears.
you can imagine which of us garnered more sympathy.
now, some 30-40 years later, when my only daughter and i go the rounds, fists clench, faces turn stormy and sometimes words fly. it’s frustrating, but understandable. “i hate crying. i get mad because i don’t want to cry,” my l~ tells me.
in a recent discussion on how to strengthen relationships that can be stressed during hard times (namely marriages), i was reminded about what can happen when one takes the time to look past the secondary emotion–and anger is very much a reaction emotion–in order to “get real” and discover how someone really feels. understanding the primary emotion–in myself as well as in others–gets me one step closer to resolution. it can bring about empathy instead of complete impasse, even when both parties are simply going to agree to disagree.
i’m workin’ on it.
2. labor’s love lost
speaking of work. one of the legacies my father left to me was a great work ethic. dad was an honest man who believed in putting in an honest day (and then some)’s work. in fact, he was probably a bit of a workaholic. as an overwhelmed working mother of just four, i can understand now that he had to work that hard to support his family and he needed all six of his kids to step up and work hard in order to manage our six-acre farm.
the contrast between me–who spent 40 hours a week working in the fields every summer since she was 12 and then spent her nights working at a pizza parlor on top of that her last two summers home–and my 18-year-old who even with two jobs hasn’t ever worked a 40-hour week and who spent six weeks on the river this summer–is stark.
sometimes i look at the messy rooms and the undone dishes and i feel like a bit of a failure, both as a person and as a mom.
yet i know that each one of my kids has put in hours and hours of hard work at choir and band rehearsals and sports team practices. during those six weeks on the river (in which zack was essentially earning his keep), zack’s friend reported that he was the hardest worker there. zack recently completed a week plus of 14-hour-days at band camp. and when l~ had the opportunity to be hired to help mow lawns and do a couple of tear-outs on repo’d houses, she worked her tail off from dawn to dusk as well.
maybe they’re gettin’ it.
and finally…
had lunch today with some awesome and amazing friends at a local korean food joint called fusion and for the first time in a long time the food was worthy of the company i was keeping. my experience with korean food is somewhat limited. but i can and will tell you: the food was fabulous and it’s the best korean food i’ve ever had. there is a bit of a language barrier–so i suggest sticking to the numbers. as in, “i’ll have the #7, please.” and you must know that in spite of what yahoo.com will tell you, the restaurant is in north provo NOT way-the-heck-north orem. but our server was so darling i wanted to pick her up and put in her my pocket and bring her home with me. and i’ll take the cooks, too because i enjoyed everything i tasted. i especially loved washing it all down with a cool cinnamon tea.
if you find yourself hungry and you want to really think outside the bun, check out fusion asian grill. (disclaimer: just like my rants, this rave is pure and unsolicited.)
i can’t wait to go back.
i’m cravin’ it!
