What's good?
Well it's Sunday and I am finally able to walk normally... So there's that. Trying to shop at Costco, Rosauers, Petco & Albertsons prior to having all three boys home for dinner last night - prior to today, and being able to walk "normal" - was... not so good.
#16: The boys were all home. Wack brought me mounds of laundry to do - which, was fine, though after washing all of the sheets, blankets and bathroom rugs and towels and getting them back to their beds, on their beds, and the covers turned down for their Minn bodies to crawl into - the thought of doing more, while not being able to walk - wasn't as exciting as it usually is. But the boys were all home. And hungry. So salmon, salad, rice and bread it was... only to be topped off with a few of (12) very fresh, very green, shamrock shaped Rosauers shortbread cookies. (The Wiz ate 3 here after dinner and took the remaining 9 home with him, at my urging. We do not need those here. Especially now that we know about that dang cheddar/caramel popcorn at Costco. *&%^$#$& swear word)
#17: We ate. We sat on couches. We sat on chairs. We stood around the island and eventually we all ended up at the table with Xannie - Wacks' friend. We were pulling up different YouTube videos on our iPhones and playing them (there's a nice feature with that Apple TV we bought a few months back where you can select to view what you've pulled up on your phone, up on the TV. Very slick.) I've selected three of my favorites below this post. Enjoy them. We also watched an old video The Dad had created from a Christmas Eve in 2006 up at our friends home. There was a lot of laughter and conversation from photos, videos and the spring break in Lake Havasu that Blue Eyes had just returned from. We talked intramural basketball and teams that were playing in a tournament The Wiz was in. We talked about the fact that Wack finished his finals the week before "Finals Week" and "how nice" the older brothers thought that would be. And while this was all fun, nice, friendly banter - there was something that I caught prior to my after dinner rest on the couch - that brought me to my feet and began my gravitation to the table crew.
REWIND A BIT: Blue Eyes had made a comment after getting home, in idle chitchat prior to The Wiz pulling up, to The Dad about the annual Pig Dinner at WSU a few weeks back and while I know it's a yearly gig - he was explaining that to The Dad - the guy that doesn't retain these details. Blue Eyes spoke of how it was marred a bit this year by the aortic aneurysm of his House Corporation President that happened just prior to the dinner. Gary is his name and Ry works closely with him - in fact, speaks to him several times a day about house matters, things going on.
FASTFORWARD AGAIN: The boys all now at the table, The Dad cleaning up dinner and whether it was someone asking Blue Eyes when he was leaving tomorrow or one of us asking if he was going to head to the hospital (to see Gary) prior to heading out of town today sparked this:
Wack: "Wait. What? Who's in the hospital?"
Blue Eyes: "Oh. This guy. He's our Chapter President..."
Wack: "Oh hey. Wait. Is it Gary? Gary (last name)?"
Blue Eyes: Looking to us, looking back at Wack - clearly trying to figure out how Wack knew this... while we look at him and to Wack, as clearly, we were as confused by Z knowing this man's name... and stumbles with "What? Wait. How did you know that?"
Wack: "We all signed a card for him at our house. Dude... he's like, THE MAN."
Blue Eyes, The Dad, MOTY: Silenced. In awe. Speechless.
Blue Eyes: "Huh. Wow."
Wack: "Dude. We're FIJI's."
I was not only proud of Z-Man for putting this piece of the puzzle together (as far as a card he signed at his house for someone he didn't know), but to know that his house at a rival school was being taught that showing care or concern for someone you don't know, or know indirectly through your "family" is an important and invaluable life lesson. I saw the effect it had on Ryan - who realized that the "rival school" had some class AND that this man who calls him 3 times a day sometimes - was respected by many more than just the young men residing on Opal Street in Pullman.
We have grown up with our kids and hoped we've done right by them by way of teaching them the difference between right, wrong, acceptance, coping, love, trust, forgiveness. Some things easier than others. My boys all have their families too... their band of brothers (& the ladies) - be it girlfriends, fraternities, sports teams, work. Their families' expand - and with it, their hearts, their experiences and their lives. I know that at our table on a Saturday night - two of my kids realized that their fraternal brotherhood (& school rivalry) melded together, if for a moment - and found that a Cougar & a Husky "nation" could be united, by setting aside the trivial, not so important details - and accepting and caring for "family"... even with Zach (and his fraternity brothers) not knowing the person in the first place. And so as not to leave The Wiz out of this - that he, like The Dad and I - witnessed the exchanges and reaction.
My family continues to grow through them. If there was ever any question about whether lessons were instilled - they're gone now.
Best night of 2013. Hands down.
#16: The boys were all home. Wack brought me mounds of laundry to do - which, was fine, though after washing all of the sheets, blankets and bathroom rugs and towels and getting them back to their beds, on their beds, and the covers turned down for their Minn bodies to crawl into - the thought of doing more, while not being able to walk - wasn't as exciting as it usually is. But the boys were all home. And hungry. So salmon, salad, rice and bread it was... only to be topped off with a few of (12) very fresh, very green, shamrock shaped Rosauers shortbread cookies. (The Wiz ate 3 here after dinner and took the remaining 9 home with him, at my urging. We do not need those here. Especially now that we know about that dang cheddar/caramel popcorn at Costco. *&%^$#$& swear word)
#17: We ate. We sat on couches. We sat on chairs. We stood around the island and eventually we all ended up at the table with Xannie - Wacks' friend. We were pulling up different YouTube videos on our iPhones and playing them (there's a nice feature with that Apple TV we bought a few months back where you can select to view what you've pulled up on your phone, up on the TV. Very slick.) I've selected three of my favorites below this post. Enjoy them. We also watched an old video The Dad had created from a Christmas Eve in 2006 up at our friends home. There was a lot of laughter and conversation from photos, videos and the spring break in Lake Havasu that Blue Eyes had just returned from. We talked intramural basketball and teams that were playing in a tournament The Wiz was in. We talked about the fact that Wack finished his finals the week before "Finals Week" and "how nice" the older brothers thought that would be. And while this was all fun, nice, friendly banter - there was something that I caught prior to my after dinner rest on the couch - that brought me to my feet and began my gravitation to the table crew.
REWIND A BIT: Blue Eyes had made a comment after getting home, in idle chitchat prior to The Wiz pulling up, to The Dad about the annual Pig Dinner at WSU a few weeks back and while I know it's a yearly gig - he was explaining that to The Dad - the guy that doesn't retain these details. Blue Eyes spoke of how it was marred a bit this year by the aortic aneurysm of his House Corporation President that happened just prior to the dinner. Gary is his name and Ry works closely with him - in fact, speaks to him several times a day about house matters, things going on.
FASTFORWARD AGAIN: The boys all now at the table, The Dad cleaning up dinner and whether it was someone asking Blue Eyes when he was leaving tomorrow or one of us asking if he was going to head to the hospital (to see Gary) prior to heading out of town today sparked this:
Wack: "Wait. What? Who's in the hospital?"
Blue Eyes: "Oh. This guy. He's our Chapter President..."
Wack: "Oh hey. Wait. Is it Gary? Gary (last name)?"
Blue Eyes: Looking to us, looking back at Wack - clearly trying to figure out how Wack knew this... while we look at him and to Wack, as clearly, we were as confused by Z knowing this man's name... and stumbles with "What? Wait. How did you know that?"
Wack: "We all signed a card for him at our house. Dude... he's like, THE MAN."
Blue Eyes, The Dad, MOTY: Silenced. In awe. Speechless.
Blue Eyes: "Huh. Wow."
Wack: "Dude. We're FIJI's."
I was not only proud of Z-Man for putting this piece of the puzzle together (as far as a card he signed at his house for someone he didn't know), but to know that his house at a rival school was being taught that showing care or concern for someone you don't know, or know indirectly through your "family" is an important and invaluable life lesson. I saw the effect it had on Ryan - who realized that the "rival school" had some class AND that this man who calls him 3 times a day sometimes - was respected by many more than just the young men residing on Opal Street in Pullman.
We have grown up with our kids and hoped we've done right by them by way of teaching them the difference between right, wrong, acceptance, coping, love, trust, forgiveness. Some things easier than others. My boys all have their families too... their band of brothers (& the ladies) - be it girlfriends, fraternities, sports teams, work. Their families' expand - and with it, their hearts, their experiences and their lives. I know that at our table on a Saturday night - two of my kids realized that their fraternal brotherhood (& school rivalry) melded together, if for a moment - and found that a Cougar & a Husky "nation" could be united, by setting aside the trivial, not so important details - and accepting and caring for "family"... even with Zach (and his fraternity brothers) not knowing the person in the first place. And so as not to leave The Wiz out of this - that he, like The Dad and I - witnessed the exchanges and reaction.
My family continues to grow through them. If there was ever any question about whether lessons were instilled - they're gone now.
Best night of 2013. Hands down.
I do not even know how I ended up here, but
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was good. I don't know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you are not already ;) Cheers!
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