How many foots do you have?

This morning, William told me something that is definitely worth recording.

First, he told me that we are all in the same family. We all have the same last name and we have eyes and we all have one feet.

Before correcting him, I asked him to explain. He then told me that two foots is the same as one feet, so we all have one feet. Next he told me that two feet is the same as four foots.

Hmmm... Very clever William!

Seasons

As each season changes, so does the decor around our homes and neighborhoods. Of all the seasons, I think the change from fall leaves to Christmas boughs is most noticable. There is nothing shy about the way Christmas enters the scene. On November first, the only pumkins and fall leaves you'll see are in clearance bins, and every retail and grocery store is sure to be decked in red and green. I know this bothers a lot of people, but personally, I don't mind it. I do think that Thanksgiving is an important holiday, but the decor is much less festive. Besides, what's wrong with evergreen boughs being part of Thanksgiving? Anyway, I haven't gotten out many holiday decorations yet. I don't have lights, tree or nativity set up. I don't have any holiday wreaths or garlands around my home. But Sunday, I took care of the first item on my holiday to do list. For the last year, the decorations in my home have been second. The first place the season's change for me is at the cemetary where Renee is buried. There we have a small crook where I hang a wreath to match the season. For some reason, this makes her feel so much more a part of the celebration. A part of our lives. At times when I haven't been able to do this small thing, it has weighed on me. I feel like I'm ignoring her, or too busy for her. Even though I know she is not really there, it helps me to acknowledge her presence in my family. And in some ways, it feels like a gift that I give to her. It's one way I remember her, and show my love for her.

Our story part 5

The date

Saskia asked for pictures, so I dug out this one! Aaron looks so different here. Well, I guess we both look different. A lot can happen in 10 years! Sorry the quality may not be the best. I was in a hurry when I scanned it at my mom's house. It ended up a bit crooked. I tried to fix it, but don't have a very good program. Anyway, here it is: Our first date!

We had rehersal that day. After rehersal, my friend Diana and I blindfolded our dates and my mom picked us up and drove in a round-about way to my parent's house. We were served a spaghetti dinner by my dad, and took a few pictures before we left for the dance. The funny thing is, Aaron and I spent very little time in the dance! Well, I think we went in for the slow songs and to socialize a little, but we spent a lot of the time sitting outside the gym talking-and yes, that really is all we did! We never even held hands until the next summer!

At the risk of sounding a bit silly, I'm going to tell you this next part.

I had previously gotten the feeling that we would get married. It's funny, because that really was the furthest thing from my mind at the time. In fact, it was a bit overwhelming to think about! I mean, yeah, I liked him. I'd just chased him down to go on a date! But I wasn't looking for a serious relationship. So this had been bugging me, and I decided that maybe I should tell him, since it involved him! We spent a good deal of time during the dance discussing this topic. Thankfully, we were both smart enough to realize that knowing we may get married someday, didn't mean we needed to elope that night! In the meantime, we could just enjoy our friendship and get to know each other better. And that is what we did for the next month and a half until he went back to Seattle!

Oops

In my last "our story" post, I said that today was the anniversary of our first date. Well, it turns out, I was wrong! I really should check these things before I post! It is this month, but it's the 13th. Don't ask where I got the 5th from. I don't know. Anyway, I have a post all ready to be published, and it will be showing up on the 13th!

Trick-or-treating

Hey, kids!

Who? Us?

Trick or Treat!

Our Story Part 4

So, it's been a long time since I posted about Aaron's and my story! November 5th will be the 10th anniversary of our first date, so I thought I would try and get more of this story posted!

So when I left off, Tess and I were rushing back to her mom's car and her mom was telling us what had happened. Aaron had gotten a ride home from the play practice with Zane, who was another drama person and by strange coincedence, was also the person I'd taken to Sadie's the previous year. Aaron's foster dad had informed him that there were some girls waiting for him inside, and he promptly took off after Zane's departing vehicle! Tess's mom has seen all of this and got us caught up on the whole story while we were in pursuit of Zane and his cargo.

Meanwhile, the second vehicle that had arrived while we were waiting for Aaron was close behind us. We both pulled up to Zane's house at the same time and raced to the front door. I don't think I'll ever forget the expresion Zane had when he answered the door and said, "Both of you?!" I think he found it a bit overwhelmingly hillarious... After he got over the initial shock of having two girls on his porch demanding to know where another guy was, he told us that Aaron was at Ryan's house.

Well, I knew where Ryan lived, but me being who I am, I over thought the whole thing and assumed it was some kind of trick. It just so happened that Ryan's family was getting ready to move. Earlier that day, I'd had a conversation with someone else who tried to describe to me where they were moving. I thought for sure this was a trick and Ryan was taking Aaron off to the new house. Well, it turned out that I was wrong. Not only did he not take Aaron to the other house, but the house that I thought Ryan was moving to was occupied by some one else. Oops.
At that point, I didn't see how I could catch him. The other girl had a considerable head start. After I got home, I called Ryan to confirm the bad news. The first thing he said was, "Where are you?" I asked what had happened, and he said that Aaron had escaped out a bedroom window. Zane had picked him up, driven for a little and then dropped Aaron off somewhere in the dark. As far as he knew, Aaron had not been tagged by the other girl. There was still hope!

Somehow, we convinced Tess's mom to take us back out to see if we could find him. We back tracked to Ryan's house and started driving toward Aaron's house. It was not too long before we saw something strange in the dark. At first, I thought it was a dog or some other animal. Then, as we got closer, I realized I was seeing Aaron's white t-shirt bouncing along! And my fellow chaser was no where in site! Poor Aaron was getting a little tired of running at this point, and didn't realize who it was that stopped along side him until Tess and I got out of the car. He started running again, but we caught up to him pretty easily. With a little help from Tess, I got him tagged! I think we gave him a ride home then. :)

The next morning, I found out that Zane had led the other girl and her friend on a wild goose chase. Apparently, they didn't realize that Aaron wasn't in the car anymore. I don't think I ever thanked him for keeping them occupied! So that is how I earned my first date with Aaron!