8 Minute Memoir - Day Seven

Day Seven - "Finish"

When Jon wants to tease or bug me he'll say something along the lines of, "Good thing we're done having kids."  He knows I want more kids, so I obviously react (I struggle to learn that he wants my reaction and I just should freak out!).  What I'm getting at here is how does a couple just KNOW they are FINISHED having kids?  I've always dreamed of 6 kids.  That's how many kids were in my cousin's family and I was always so jealous of the chaos and people at their house.  And I wanted that.  I realize the number a teenager may dream or assume she'll have is most likely going to change, but why does it?  And how can you make the decision when you're in that place?  If you've dreamt of 6 kids, how can you just KNOW that actually all you really want is 3 kids?  My guesses would be that you reach the max amount of madness that you can handle, or maybe something out of your control dictates you to make the "finished having kids" decision.  I'm only at two kids at the moment. There are days I do feel like my life is going to be the same level of madness for the next 20 years, but then I remember that I grew up and became more independent and my girls will too.  I'm really just curious about what the future holds.  Will I reach a point where I say, "Actually, 6 kids is absolutely insane, stop now."  Will I regret throwing in the towel before reaching 6?  Like I'm letting down the younger version of myself?  Is there a possibility of hitting 6 kids and still not feeling like we're finished?  Now THAT would be insane.

8 Minute Memoir - Day Six

Day Six - "Games"

My favourite games are the ones I play with Jonby.  Heck, even the fact that I call my husband Jonathan "Jonby" is a game to me.  I love adding "-by" to the end of any word that will take it.  But I knew Jon and I were something special because of the games we play.  That's how we met.  We had been in the same institute class on Tuesdays for a few weeks and still hadn't said a word to each other, so finally I broke the silence by saying, "I beat you," after the teacher asked us to turn to a specific scripture.  And I had.  Things have stayed a game since.  Dating was fun because we had our games.  Doubles on a license plate = game.  On drive to visit my family, we'd each pick a type of vehicle and count them as we drove.  Whoever reached 20 first, won.  One of Jon's favourite things we ever did while getting to know each other was play fooseball.  Why?  Because I suck at it and am apparently quite funny to watch.  Anyways, that's how Jon chose to propose to me.  At a fooseball table.

Then there were/are all the games we make up on the spot.  Throwing the keys from one end of the hallway trying to get the lanyard to catch on the door knob was a game at our first home together.  Another favourite game is giving a horribly vague synopsis of a book or movie and the other person has to guess what it is.  Don't even get me started on naming the artist first while we listen to the radio.  That game went from fun to not fun and only because I'm a poor sport.  I was so used to winning and being undefeated, that when Jon started to absolutely school me at my speciality, I was desperate.  I can't even remember what I did, but that game was banned for a little while.  Silly Kristen.  The most recently invented game Jon made up on our way to church.  We were driving along when all of the sudden Jon says, "Guess what song this is."  He then proceeded to sing Selena Gomez's "Can't Keep My Hands To Myself," but in a very poor Spanish translation he was doing on the spot.  It was hilarious and he kept singing translations for me to guess for the rest of the drive.

8 Minute Memoirs - Day Five

Day Five - "Little Things"

I know this is way too obvious a thing to write about, but I can't help it - my very favourite "little things" are my girls.  Because they are "little things," but what I love the most are the little things about them that make them both unique.  

I love how Sheriff is missing a little thing - one of her front teeth.  I was devastated when it happened, but now I can't help but think that her toothless grin suits her.

I love how little huffy sniffs and little scrunched face Logan does when she's really happy or excited. Her whole face just scrunches up and she sniffs in and out over and over.  

I love Sheriff's little voice when she's playing (I heard her say, "Don't lose it, reuse it!" the other day while she was playing), or when she's talking to Logan or lecturing me.  She had my intonation and emphasis down pat - ex. "Low - gee, don't do dat!" or "Dat's not a toy!" - said to me multiple times today while using things that were not toys... but I was using them to cook.  Haha.

I love Logan's soft little belly.  It's so squishy and smooth.  She has the best skin I've ever felt.  I could just rub and squish her belly all day.

I love Sheriff's little quirks... the word little really on suits her in terms of physical size - but even then, compared to other kids her age, she's quite big.  She's a little person with a loud voice and strong personality and big will.  

I love Logan's sweet, cuddly personality.  I adore her little snuggles.  She spoons me when she's tired or sad.  It's the best thing EVER.

Sheriff and Logan are my little things and I love them.

8 Minute Memoir - Day Four

Day Four - "Adventure"

I like to think I'm an adventurous person.  I've done some adventurous things in my life, like skydiving, cliff jumping, and so on.  But as I get older, I'm starting to realize that adventures really are in the eye of the beholder.  Lately, some of my favourite adventures have just been doing things as our own little family.  It was an adventure to pack up the girls and drive over Logan's Pass.  It's an adventure to go out to eat just with us and the girls.  Or go explore somewhere nearby.  So adventures really don't need to be a big deal like the word seems to imply.  In terms of big adventures, the most adventurous part of my life was probably when I lived in Waterton for a summer.  I really wanted to do all the hikes, so I did plenty of hiking by myself.  Didn't really make me nervous at all.  When I hiked to Rowe Lakes, I figured I could scale down the rock face from the upper lake to the lower lake.  I got maybe a third of the way down when my better sense started reminding myself I hadn't told anyone where I was, that I really had no idea what I was doing, and would really hate to get hurt and cut my summer adventuring short.  So I climbed back up.  Another day that summer I climbed Bear's Hump in the dark.  It was actually a little scary, but once I was back on my bike riding to the townsite, I was EXHILARATED!!  Another time I was running around Linnet Lake and noticed a bear cub to my right.  I stopped running and looked to my left to see a momma bear sending another cub up a tree.  I loved my days adventuring in Waterton.  I don't have the same amount of free time I once had for those types of adventures, fortunately, like I mentioned before, adventuring is in the eye of the beholder.  I could choose to think adventuring was only outdoor exploration by myself and thus be at a point of adventure drought, or I can choose to see the little things as adventures as well, which I think I do.  Today, my most common adventures are taking my girls out to explore, especially the ravine back in Tuscany.  I love adventuring with my girls.

8 Minute Memoir - Day Three

Day Three - "Billboards"

This does not apply, but I found it funny.

What a strange thing to write about.  Billboards.  I can't say I really like them.  I don't think I've ever seen a billboard and thought, "Gosh, I should buy that / switch to that provider / join that organization / shop there / vote for that person / listen to that radio station / buy a house through that person / go there / or stop eating meat."  Nope.  It's just never happened.  If anything, I find billboards noisy and annoying.  Off the top of my head, the only places I can really think of where I've even seen billboards would have to be anywhere along the I-15 travelling to/within Utah, driving in the Kalispel/Whitefish/Glacier Park area in Montana, and the part of Hwy 1 on the way out to Banff from Calgary.  Sure, they're something to look at, but I'd be fine to just look out the window at the scenery. Yup.  I just blanked.  Umm, the best billboards I've seen would probably be the 10 Commandment ones in Montana around Columbia Falls.  They're set up in a semi-circle, with things like "America Needs God!" or "REPENT!!"  I don't remember any specifics, just that it's super dramatic.  From all the marketing classes I took in university, I understand billboards are a form of selling something - whether it's a product or idea.  I just don't really thing they're a very effective way of selling.

8 Minute Memoir - Day Two

Day Two - "I don't remember"

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I don't exactly remember when it was that Calgary began to feel like home to me.  At first it began to feel more like a place that needed me here because I had things like school, a job, and church callings making me stay put.  I don't remember when those responsibilities made the change from being things I needed to stick around Calgary for, to things I wanted to stay in Calgary for.  I don't remember when the conveniences in Calgary began to be taken for granted and just plum expected.  I don't remember when it became relieving to be coming back to Calgary after being out of town for a week or few days.  I don't remember when it began to feel like my life and friends and things I looked forward to all were in Calgary.  I don't remember when I began to identify Calgary as home, but now that I'm moving tomorrow (what past Kristen would have added a big fat FINALLY to before the word moving), I find myself feeling all of those things and being caught rather off guard.  I don't remember when down south, Raymond, SOAB, was no longer considered home and when Calgary suddenly was.  Am I going to look forward to the next time I get to drive back up to Calgary?  Am I going to cling to Calgary like I did to back home when I first moved up here?  Am I going to constantly wish I was somewhere I'm not?  I hope not.  Because now that I'm leaving, I realize I should have allowed Calgary to become all of those things sooner, rather than fighting it for so long.  I could have loved my time up here longer.

Yup - if you haven't heard, here's the news - Jon and I are moving down to Lethbridge.  Jon has been accepted to the U of L and will be starting a science degree on Wednesday.  

8 Minute Memoir - Day One

Remember when everyone used to blog?!  I seriously used to be more excited to check my blog feed than I was to look at Facebook and Instagram combined.  But then blogging died.  My blog even died as well.  It just wasn't that cool anymore.  And it's made me sad.  It's just hard to think of stuff to write about/when you have free time to write your brain is 100% fried by life.  But I have hope.  An author is putting together an 8 Minute Memoir challenge.  Please do it with me!  I promise to read your blog and comment so that you feel more motivated to keep going.  Comment with your blog link!  Anyways, here's my Day One entry.

"I Remember"

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I remember when I used to call my mom every night.  I needed to.  It was a coping mechanism I'm pretty sure.  My roommates thought it was strange, but I thought it was weird they didn't need to call their moms everyday too.  I had just moved away for school.  I was living up in Edmonton and every night around 7, I would cozy up in a great big love sack in the living room to phone home and tell my mom all about my day and find out everything I was missing at home.  Now that I think of this, my mom probably sacrificed a good chunk of her relaxing evenings to entertain and listen to a homesick 18 year old.  The phone calls weren't often openly homesick and sad.  I was happy and busy.  Most importantly busy - because that helps you from ever questioning too much if you're really happy.  So the phone call was part ritual.  I guess what makes this a memory is because I no longer have this ritual.  And that's sad.  I'm like my roommates were.  Sure, I still call home, but those calls aren't so much for me anymore.  They aren't purely selfish like they once were.  Heck, they're not even on a landline anymore (yes, I called home on a communal landline the house I lived in had - no cellphone for Kristen until I was almost 20!) - these calls nowadays are on an iPhone with FaceTime so a doting grandma can SEE her grand babies.  I remember when my mom used to bug me about grand babies too.  I thought she was crazy and even a little overbearing.

There you have it - 8 minutes and I'm done.  And you got to learn something that I remember.