Less than 6 degrees of Separation or It's a Small World!

Who knew that St. George, Utah area would be such a gathering place! Here's what happened:
Friends from our church in Washington started wintering here a few years ago. We saw them last year and they said, "You need to come to the Hee Haw next year." So they got us tickets and we went. It was crowded to overflowing. We sat next to our friends and two strangers sat near us. During the intermission a lady came to talk to the strangers. Her voice was very familiar and so I asked her if she had lived in Yakima, Washington. She said she had. I asked her if her if her name was Margaret and she said it was. She didn't recognize me, which considering she hadn't seen me in nearly 29 years isn't that unusual. That plus my hair color has gone from blonde to brown to blonde to silver would have also made identification a bit more difficult. Plus I no longer weigh 120 pounds. She looked nearly the same, but of course older. We determined that we'd see each other before I left to head back north.

Margaret's life has been busy the past 29 years. She was able to fill in some missing pieces of people that I knew but hadn't stayed in touch with. It also turns out that she knew my mom, which I hadn't realized. Margaret's husband died in November so she's missing him terribly, but has stayed active and busy with her two children and their families that live in the area.

So time passes...Margaret and I tried to schedule something, but the timing wasn't right. Finally about two weeks ago the stars were in alignment and I made an appointment to go see her. I arrived at her home and she showed me around. We were also killing some time as Margaret's daughter LeeAnn, that I remember as a teenager, was going to stop by. As we talked about what her future plans were she indicated that she felt she needed to go see her aunt as the aunt is very aged and in poor health. She didn't want to make the trip up north by herself necessarily, but felt she could go. She indicated that her niece by marriage, Dorinda was going to caravan with her. The wheels started turning in my head and I said "Dorinda P.?" and Margaret said that was her name before she married and then it hit me...That was the same Dorinda I had worked with 31 years ago at Longview Fibre in Yakima. Margaret indicated that Dorinda was in town visiting her mom and said I'm going to call her and see if she can come over. She did and Dorinda did.

I didn't work at Longview Fibre very long, but remember Dorinda well. I was a hazy memory for her, but after speaking a while she was able to dredge up a remembrance of me. I always remember that she thought my husband was cute. She had made a comment when she saw him in the parking lot not realizing that he was my husband. It was a compliment to his physique and well, a girl/wife doesn't forget those things even after 31 years.

But wait, there's more!
As Dorinda and I were talking it turns out the she's married and living in Vancouver, WA. When she told me her married name I said, "Oh, a friend of mine married a guy from Vancouver with that last name. So now it's time to start singing, "It's a Small World After All" as that man is Dorinda's stepson.

We had a great reunion! They took pictures and I took pictures and we determined to meet again for lunch before they headed up north and Michael and I headed home. Margaret called (or was it Dorinda?) and we arranged to meet at Dorinda's mom's home. Margaret was going to be there and wanted help tying a quilt. I helped her do that (as did Dorinda). I also met Dorinda's daughter (I only remembered her as a little girl) We decided to go to Oliver Garden for lunch. LeeAnn and one of her children met us there as did Dorinda's sister and some assorted nieces, and also another friend of the family. Dorinda rode with me to the restaurant. It was great to reconnect with her. There were about 16 of us in all. We had a great time chatting.
We've exchanged e-mail and other contact information so if I'm ever in the area Dorinda and I can see each other.

So it is a small world after all!

NS

Ty Michael

I met another Ty Michael! I had stopped at a new friend's home. She had just returned from a LDS mission to Oregon and was having an open house at her parents home. Her sister, brother-in-law and their children were there for the occasion. The youngest child was taking a nap. The other one, a boy, was doing a puzzle with his dad. I asked his name and they said, "Ty." I replied, "Is that short for anything and they said, "No, his name is Ty. (period)" I asked if he had a middle name. They said, "Yes, his middle name is the same as his maternal grandfather."

I said something like, "It isn't Michael is it." Or words of that sort. They said "Yes, it is." That's when I asked his birthday. They answered July. I'm glad they didn't say October 31. That would have been a HUGE amount of coincidences!

Their Ty Michael is cute. My/our Ty Michael is cuter.

Of course, that's MY opinion. :)

NS

Sand

One of the other things I wanted to write about was Ty's adventures (and misadventure) in the sand. His first go round in the sand at the dunes in the park was one of fun and frolic! He enjoyed trying to outrun us in the sand and playing in it. I tried to park myself on a blanket, but ended up playing a bit of chase too. It was fun. I love Ty's laugh.
The second go round, he had a bucket and a shovel. I still had my blanket and my book. Carynn had her camera. Unfortunately as Ty was enjoying the sand, he enjoyed it ALL over the place and Carynn's camera ended up being a casualty. That spoiled things a bit for Carynn, but thankfully the memory card was okay, so no pictures were lost.

The third go around was when his Dad had gotten into town. I heard from Carynn and Jamie that Ty made friends with some kids at the dunes and enjoyed himself thoroughly.

Michael and I plan to go back to the sand one of these days soon. We always keep a blanket in the car. Now i just need to remember to bring my book.

Warm sand in the winter, lovely!

NS

In and out of the cupboards

I was reviewing my notes from Carynn and Ty's visit in January and noticed I forgot to write about some of Ty's cute antics. Here's the first one:
We had gone to the hospital lab for Michael to have his weekly blood test (nothing shattering, just getting ready for his procedure). We hoped it would be a short visit, but unfortunately there was a bit of red tape and some waiting. Ty decided to do some investigating in the waiting room. His mom had her eye on him the whole time, I was helping with the red tape so I didn't see the first time that he discovered that the cupboard in the waiting area was not only open, it was empty and just the right size for a two year old to fit in. He had a good time shutting himself in and out of the cupboard.

Later at home, Ty was with me in the kitchen. We had Ty proofed the house as best we could. I deliberately don't put child locks on pots and pans as I feel it's healthy for a child (children) to have an "okay to get into" cupboard. Ty's discovery with our pots and pans cupboard was that the shelf was a rolling shelf that held the pans. He had pulled out the pans on the right side and climbed in. He would slide himself in and out, pulling the door closed or pushing it open with his feet.

As he seemed to be enjoying himself, I gave him a juice box, some of his snacks and a few of his toys. He gladly took those from me and then shut himself back in the cupboard. He would then delightedly repeat the process all over again.

It kind of reminded me of the movie, "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie's little brother Randy closes himself in the cupboard underneath the sink and the mom opens up the cupboard to give him his milk and cookies. While Randy (in the movie) was worried about how his dad would react to Ralphie's latest scrape with the bullies and his broken eye glasses, Ty's voluntary incarceration was all about the fun.

Discovering delight in small things,

NS