why the closing of a grocery store has me reflecting on my past

 

 

I never thought I would move back to my hometown as an adult to live and raise my family. And yet here I am. It's not that I don't want to live here, Overland Park is a great place to have a family. But my immediate family never lived close to our extended family, so I had no expectation of doing the same when I had a family of my own. 

Moving back to the town you grew up in is kind of weird. There are a lot of serious perks, like not having to learn your way around. But the city is different than I remember it being. I am different than I was when I last lived here. We've both changed a bit, mostly for the better. But there is a difference.



You know how it is weird to visit your high school for the first time after you graduated? The last time you were there (as a student) you had outgrown the place. You felt so grown up when you left, ready to move on to the next stage of life. And then you come back to visit after a year at college or time in the "real world" and the buildings seem smaller and all the freshman look like babies. That is kind of what it is like to move back to your hometown.

When I left I was ready to leave. No hard feelings, but I was ready to see what life was like outside of the Sunflower State. So I left, went to school, got married and then less than two weeks after I gave birth to my first baby, I came back. I go to places that I went to growing up (parks, churches, stores, libraries) and random memories come back. At first it was really weird and I didn't like it.  I'm being a bit dramatic, but some places feel haunted, for lack of a better word. Not haunted like I have regrets, but haunted like I have all these (mostly happy) memories that happened at different places with people that were once a big part of my life and now things are not the same. I feel pretty content with my life, but (at least for me) living where I grew up is a constant reminder that chapters of my life are over and people that I was once very close to are no longer a part of my life.  And I'm not really sure how I feel about that.

Anthony says that the way we deal with time is proof we are eternal beings. For example, as you go about your life the days can feel so long, but when you reflect over your life months and years feel so short.

Anyways, all of these thoughts have been swimming around in my mind this past week as a result of our neighborhood Hy-Vee (grocery store) relocating. I worked at Hy-Vee off and on over the course of about five years. I started working the occasional evening and weekend shift when I was in high school, and put in many hours over the summer while I was in college. Most of my time was spent in the Customer Service department, but I was also a cashier and courtesy clerk. I'm pretty good at bagging groceries and I've brought in carts from the parking lot in the middle of the summer, experiences I plan on using when my kids complain about how hard their lives are someday. Even though it is kind of embarrassing, I really loved working there. I enjoy interacting with people and I found my job quite rewarding. I made a ton of really good friends and have so many fond memories of my time there. I've enjoyed shopping there since we've moved back to the area. Even though a lot of my friends are no longer working there, I see a few familiar faces every time we shop.

The kids and I went and visited the new store and it is pretty awesome. In addition to the many samples we were served, the facility seems really nice. I'm sure I'll do a lot of shopping there, even though I'm going to have to relearn where everything is located. But there is a small part of me that feels sad. When I walk into this Hy-Vee my mind won't take a trip dowm memory lane. Which is different. But that's okay.

 

2013 :: week 8

I feel so grown up, my kid was given an assignment in Primary. Will got to read the Third Article of Faith on Sunday. We practiced a bit during the week, and things weren't looking very good. Will seemed to think reciting an Article of Faith is like saying a prayer, with lots of ad libbing. So when I would say, "We belive..." Will would repreat, "We believe thank you for my blessings," etc. I am pleased to report that when the time came he did great and stuck to the script. He was very proud of the fact that he got to speak into the microphone.

On Monday I spent some time going through stuff at my parents and found this gem. It is a group project I worked on at Rock Prairie Elementary School in 1991. This week I've sure been wishing the January low around here was 39 degrees.

These letter magnets are Lauren's current calling card. I find them all over the house, every day of the week. These pictures were taken Tuesday, but they could have been taking any day. Previous "calling cards" have been Little People, Duplos, and Mega Blocks. It's always good to know when she's been exploring my vanity drawers, been looking out the window or exploring the dishwasher.

The reason Will looks like such a boss in this picture is because he is dancing to THE BOSS, aka Bruce Springsteen. Tony introduced him to the song "Hungry Heart" last week, and he requests it regularly. There is something about listening to your three year old sing about a guy abandoning his family that makes you question your parenting, but when it produces dance moves as sweet as this, you push them out of your mind. If you are interested in seeing more of his moves, click here.

We finally got a significant amount of snow. I measured about 5 inches on our patio, but we had drifts well over 18 inches in other parts of the yard. I was dreading all the shoveling that was in store for us once Tony finished working, but our wonderful next door neighbor cleared our driveway, sidewalk and walkway. He is awesome.

Friday night Anthony took Will to the church to help shovel the sidewalks. They timed it just right and got there after it was done, which was just the lesson we wanted to teach him. Not. While they were gone Lauren and I had some "girl time." She is such a lively little girl, and so fun. She has such a cute laugh and her eyes just sparkle with excitement as she tries to get you to play with her. She isn't very careful, and almost fell off the couch about four times before and after this picture was taken. I am both nervous and excited to see what this spring and summer will be like with her mobile.

Saturday morning Anthony and I got a couple's instructional massage. I am embarassed to admit how long it has taken us to do this. A few years ago Hillary, Anthony's sister, got this for us as a Christmas gift and for one reason or another we have not gotten around to doing it. Before we went I felt like my reasons for putting this off were legit. Now that I've gone I cannot believe I put this off for so long. It was awesome! And so is TJ, for splitting the time with me 50/30, so I got almost double the massage he did. Thanks, Hillary!

snow on snow on snow

We finally got a lot of snow. Not as much as our family in the east or intermountain west have had to deal with, but a lot for Kansas. Enough to basically shut the city down. Thankfully we were safe and warm. But because Tony has teleworking capabilities he still had to work, and the kids are too young for school, it wasn't a very exciting "snowday" for us. 

 

When Tony finished work we bundled up the kids and went out on the back patio for a bit.

 

It was Lauren's first time in the snow. We don't really have the best snowgear for kids, so we made do with lots of layers of what we have. Lauren didn't really want to walk in the snow, but when I set her down in the snow she enjoyed rolling around and sneaking a few bites.

Will really wanted to have a snowball fight. It wasn't the best snow for snowballs, but with the help of Dad he was able to throw a few.

 

 

Tony got Will back after her threw snow at Lojo.

We ended up spending about as much time outside as we did getting ready and cleaning up, so I'd say it was a success.

Post-snow we snuggled up and watched an episode of Clifford, "Kibble Crook," per Will's request.

After the kids went to bed I made some bread. Tuesday night our relief society activity was about breadmaking. My yeast didn't proof right so the loaf was a rock. I was pleased to get it right this time.

x o x o

Valentine's Day 2013 has come and gone. That doesn't matter to Will. He still requests that we make Valentine's every day. (Family members that have yet to receive a Valentine from Will: we have one for you. I just haven't gotten around to mailing them yet).

Card maker extrordinaire.

We had a pretty low-key Valentine's Day this year. In the morning the kids and I went to a fun Valentine's play group. After lunch and Lauren's nap we took a walk and spent some time at the neighborhood park.

Friday night our ward had it's second annual family dance. The kids practiced their moves for days beforehand and spent the entire hour and a half on the dance floor. Our kids aren't gonig to become famous for their dance moves, but they love to dance.

2013 :: week 7

Lauren went to bed with wet hair Saturday night. She clearly slept on it funny because Sunday morning she woke up with her bangs sticking straight up in the air. Try as I might, I could not get them to stay down. Lauren was, of course, uncooperative with the clips I used to keep it down, so she sported "unicorn hair," as TJ called it, to church on Sunday.

This week I started attending a water aerobics class at the community center. There are few things that remind me how uncoordinated I am like guided exercise, but I am still having a lot of fun.

These two love to wrestle and it's pretty funny to watch. Lauren's signature move is the body slam, while Will relys on knocking out her legs and generally being bigger and stronger.

Will's friend Evaline and her sister Clara came over and they enjoyed running around together. I'm not quite sure what game they were playing when I snapped this picture, but they had previously been a marching band. If you are willing to play marching band with Will, he will be your friend for life.

Will and Lauren enjoying some of their Valentine's Day spoils. Lady and the Tramp Little People for Lauren and Jake and the Neverland Pirates pirates for Will. Throughout the day they would each take the others new toys when they thought no one was looking.

While Lauren napped Will and I made some cookies for our ward family dance. Will is getting increasingly annoying to bake with. He wants to taste and dump in each ingredient. "No, flour does not taste good." "It DOES taste good!" And then, of course, his desire for dough cannot be sated. "But I'm hungry for dough!" No Will, that feeling you are experiencing is a craving.

Will is obsessed with reading picture dictionaries and encyclopedias. A few weeks ago we checked out a book from the library about sea life. When we went to the library this week he spotted one about the rain forest, so we checked out that one as well. Now Will knows a little too much about some animals, like the fact that sharks have rows of razor sharp teeth or that crocodiles have lots of sharp teeth and strong jaws perfect for helping them snap up small animals. Preoccupation with teeth? Maybe he'll grow up to be a dentist.

Fall Fun

When I started making weekly picture posts my goal was to blog about parts of our lives that wouldn't ordinarily be "blog worthy," but that I would appreciate having recorded. Then I got lazy and the weekly posts began to take place of other posts. We had a lot of fun this past fall, and I neglected to post about a lot of it! I'm working on a blog book for 2012, so you will hopefully be seeing some "catch up" posts over the next few days.

 



Enjoying the outdoors

 

We spent a lot of time outdoors this fall doing a variety of things--watching parades, attending festivals, playing at the park by our house, exploring parks around the area, throwing rocks and sticks into water (that was mostly Will), playing in the back yard, taking walks, raking leaves, running, meeting up with friends to picnic and play at the park, etc., etc.

 

 

Cider Mill
My friend Emily coordinated a group tour at the Louisburg Cider Mill in early October. We got to see how cider is made, take a hayride around the farm, and eat some delicious doughnuts. At the end a bunch of the kids got up on the stage and started dancing. For some reason Will didn't want to join in on the dancing, but we did have a fun morning.

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin Patch
We took our yearly trek out to Shaake's Pumpking Patch in Lawrence to pick some pumpkins. It was Lauren's first visit, as we went in early October last year to avoid any conflicts with her pending due date. My mom came too and was kind enough to let Will lead her around.

 

 

 

Hayride with friends
My friend Susan organized a hayride/hot dog roast that had to be postponed due to bad weather. We lucked out and got a nice Saturday a few weeks later, so we got to go after all. Our family sat on the end of the wagon closest to the tractor, which Will clearly found a little loud. It was kind of relaxing to ride around the park, and fun to visit with friends while we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.

I forgot how beautiful fall can be. I think I'm ready for fall to come again.