I was on my way home from the gym this morning thinking about how blessed I am. I'm thankful I have a body strong enough to go to my morning "suffer-fests" aka cycling classes. I'm thankful for the fun people in those classes, who have become friends. I'm thankful to have the means to belong to the gym so I can ride a bike all winter.
I was also thinking about how happy my family makes me. Don and I were engaged 16 years and almost 2 weeks ago. No we are not the perfect couple, but Don is perfect for me and I am eternally grateful for him. I'm so grateful for Jordie and Jacie. They are the greatest source of joy! I was visiting teaching yesterday and the message was on the divine roll of parenting. I had that exquisite yearning for the days before the girls were in school and that sweet and tender time we spent together watching Rugrats, Dora, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, and Little Bill. I loved the miles and miles we (well I) walked pushing them in our double jogging stroller, looking at the horses, flowers, snow, and trees. I remember the wonderful times we spent at Gramma and Grampa Kreutzer's house. I got excellent advice while the girls drew, colored, paper-clipped, stapled and whatever else they did that made it such a special place for the 3 of us.
I was reminiscing about Gram and Gramp's house. They lived at 399 West 400 North #48 in Bountiful. For as long as I remember it was my home away from home. They lived there until Grampa passed away 4 years ago. Gram then moved in with my aunt, Jane. I have so many happy memories at their house. Sleepovers with cousins, sleepovers with my siblings, and the special ones - the sleepovers with just me. Right between Gram and Gramps in their big king-sized bed. I always loved the Cocoa Puffs we ate for breakfast, even though they tasted a little funny with Grampa's "skin" (skim) milk.
All of the cousins loved swimming in the pool. The condo had a pool and we spent many hours and got many sunburns in that pool. We also all got threatened with the wooden spoon. Gram used to say she would "lick" us with it. I don't think anyone ever actually got spanked with it, but the fear was there.
Her salmon patties, pot roast, and Rice -a - Roni were the best. I swear anyone could make them identical to hers, but for some reason hers just tasted better. My cousin Steph and I still maintain this is true to this day. Gramma claims it was because it was made with love. So true!
Gram always gave us back rubs with baby lotion after we got out of the tub. When I was a Sr in high school I went over to Gram's one night for a back rub. I'll never forget that. It wasn't that Gram was a massage therapist, but I think the love she put into those back rubs made all the tension go away. I remember I drove Dad's "big Cadillac" over. It was an '83 Coupe de Ville. That thing had to be 50 feet long. We called it the boat.
A friend posted a picture of a kid on Facebook climbing a door frame. I remember doing that as a kid. We also had a narrow wall in the hallway that we could climb by putting our feet on each side of the wall. I remember Mom getting upset with us and I always wondered how she knew. I think Moms notice footprints on the wall that are invisible to kids. I've often wondered if that was the reason most hallways are much wider than they used to be. I'm grateful for a wonderful childhood. I had great parents, too!
I hope I'm providing a wonderful childhood for the sweet angels I've been entrusted with.
Sorry for this rambling blog. I don't post as much as I'd like so I thought I'd get these thoughts out while they were still on my mind. I am so grateful!
