Wednesday, March 17, 2010

What does it mean to Believe?

Ostenson-38

 

I have to say that (most of the time) I have loved having my sweet four year old at home this year.  Since Liz is gone in the mornings Kipper and I get to go on adventures together…usually to the grocery store.  The other day we were out running all the errands that piled up during our sick week and I got to hear a little more of just how this guy thinks about things. Here’s how it went:

   

Kip, from the back seat:  “Mom, I believe in EVERYTHING”

Me, thinking:  “I guess I do too, bud.”

Kip:  “But I DON’T believe in coffee and alcohol and cigarettes.”

Me:  “You’re right, those things are bad for our bodies.”

Pause.

Kip, sighing:  “Mom, I believe in Black Tacos…!”

 

 

Kip’s Belief:

1 four year old

1 black taco from Taco Bell last October (now discontinued… “sigh”)

1 Article of Faith that I’m not sure we grownups understand

 

 

I sure do miss my four year olds when they grow up….

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Has it really been that long?

So, I have recently been generating controversy over some of my strong opinions concerning gender roles and marriage. As an example, I thought (for a while) that women were supposed to maintain the blog. I was sure the proclamation meant something like that when it said that women should nurture. Anyway, I've since repented and decided that I could share in my responsibility to blog-readers.

I suppose I should start at Miami, since that is the first exciting thing to happen since Liz woke up with nightmares three months ago. I flew there three weekends ago to attend a conference with a bunch of smart Doctor types (of philosophy) like me. We talked a lot of steam for a few hours and spent the rest of the time enjoying the Miami weather in the middle of February.

I presented on what to some might seem the most unlikely of topics: the connection between psychology and ecology, or the parallels between our relationships to people and our relationships to creation. It was the most effective conference presentation I've given in the four or five years I've been doing academia, and likely the most fruitful. I was fortunate enough to tag along with some of the best minds of this coming generation and we had a great discussion during the conference.

But you don't want to hear about that, as must I as I could go on an on about it. What you really want to know about are my Epicurean adventures. So I'll start with the rental car: I split my trip (hotel, food, car, etc) with a group of students and, since I was arriving first, I was the designated driver. When I got to the rental car company, a cherry-red convertible Mustang was sitting smiling at me by the front door. I turned to Sam, the guy with whom I'd flown in, and said, "we should rent a convertible." To make a long story short, the guy at the counter gave us a screaming deal and we drove away from Avis with this:

In all honesty, the primary reason I got it is because I thought that as I went back and forth from the airport to the hotel, everyone would be happy to ride in a Mustang convertible. I wasn’t really sure how much I’d enjoy it. But I enjoyed it. Oh yes, I enjoyed it. It was worth far more than the extra $100 I paid.

By the way, lest you think I thought I was cool driving around Miami in this car, you should know that on the way to the hotel, a Rolls Royce passed me and, not ten seconds later, a Ferrari followed. Our Mustang was white-trash compared to the number of Bentley’s, Mercedes’, Maserati’s, Aston Martins, and other cars that characterize the amount of money floating around down there. Probably the best part was when we drove to Key Biscayne. Sam wanted me to put the top down (in spite of the threatening rain clouds), so I pulled off to do so. As we were sitting there, a bright red Lamborghini ($250,000 car) with its top down pulled out in front of us. Sam said it best: “I don’t really feel that cool right now.”

Here are just a couple other scenes from my Epicurean ad  venture:

DSC03348

We went to the beach Sunday afternoon to commune with nature (in the spirit of my conference presentation). The cruise ships were going out from port, the water was warm enough to swim in, and I was so relaxed, I actually wanted to go on a cruise. What a weird feeling.

 DSC03355

Here are the trees as we left the beach while the sun was setting. Leaving Miami Beach at Sunday around 6:30 was quite an adventure. We had the top down and five people piled into a car really on meant for two. Traffic was jammed almost all the way into Miami, and you know what? I didn’t mind at all. In fact, for the first time in my life, I enjoyed being stuck in traffic. (That’s my shoulder in the brown t-shirt.)

DSC03376

And finally, I know this is backwards, but those of us from the Western half of the US are used to the sun setting over the ocean. In Miami, is rises over the ocean, so it seems fitting to end my trip with a sun rise. This view is of the bay across the street from our hotel. All in all, it wasn’t a bad trip.

Of course, it had to come to end. I drove our minivan home from the airport and lamented the entire way that it wasn’t a Mustang. Beth had to be pretty patient with me. It wasn’t long after I got home that it snowed. A cold reminder that all good things must come to an end. But I was a good sport and took the kids out to make a snowman:

Winter 09-10 006

And then reality hit the next weekend. After bath time, Kip was complaining about a stomach ache. As we got the other kids ready for bed, Kip decided to expel his stomach ache all over his bed and his bedroom floor.

And that was only the beginning.

About every 1/2 hour until ten that night, Kipper got rid of a new stomachache. Then, at ten, it didn’t end. Isaac woke up and started doing the same thing. Both Beth and I spent the first part  of that night on the floor with our boys – I with Kip and Beth with Ike – putting bowls to their faces every half hour. About 2am, it ended and Beth and I finally laid down together for a few hours of sleep. It certainly wasn’t Miami.

DSC03276Thursday it hit Beth. Liz and I are the only two who haven’t yet caught the bug. But cross your fingers or pray or both – this thing tends to hang out for a few days before striking.

Finally, this weekend has been very busy as well. But not with Epicurean gallivanting, nor with late night carpet-scrubbing. Yesterday, while Beth was off judging some music festival and the kids were playing with friends, I ran my first official 5K since high school: the Rex Lee Run.

Those familiar with Rex Lee know he was not only an avid runner, but also died of cancer just after being released as BYU’s president. This is the run’s 15th year – and my first – raising money for cancer research. Running was both painful – primarily because I didn’t run for a week after coming back from Miami – and something of a pleasure; I ran in honor of my father.

Opposition in all things

1 Weekend of bachelor fun

1 Weekend of pure, having-children reality

1 Weekend where pleasure and pain seem to be the same thing