People Watching....& Listening

Because Tommy works for an airline, we have been able to travel frequently. What a blessing! However, we always fly standby, which can make for some interesting trips and LOTS of time in airports. Still a blessing and the fodder for LOTS of funny family stories.

Like the time we were in an airport elevator and Matt (who was about 8 at the time) gave a stranger complete directions on how and where to check his luggage, get his boarding pass, and make it through security easily. Or listening to Matt and Lindsay recite from memory the recorded message about which side of the moving sidewalk to stand on. Or the time we held our annual family "Christmas Eve dinner and open one package" tradition at the SLC airport, because Tommy had a layover there between flights. (This was before 9/11 when you could go through security without a boarding pass.) Or the time the kids and I got stuck in Dallas and had to spend the night. We got up early the next morning just to allow time to ride the airport train the entire circuit, because they wanted to see where it went.

But perhaps one of the nicest blessings of spending time in an airport is people watching--and listening. God definitely made all kinds! Here are a few examples:

Attitude - Once I saw a gentleman (and I use the term loosely) storm to the front of a line at the gate and demand to be helped because he was a first-class passenger. The flight was delayed due to thunderstorms, and there were about half a dozen people ahead of him worried about possibly missing connections. The gate agent patiently assured him she'd get to him when she finished with those who were already in line. He was NOT a happy camper and went to the back of the line muttering a few words I dare not print!

Just a couple of weeks ago, I overhead a woman talking to her mother about missing her flight. She and her husband got to the airport and had dinner before going to their gate. Unfortunately, they arrived at the gate five minutes before takeoff; and the jetway door was already closed. This is another example of a newbie. (see below) Evidently her mom asked why they didn't get to the gate sooner. She told her mom, "because we're just hillbillies, Mom." And they had a good laugh over it. What a difference between the two.

Children - always a joy to watch! And to watch adults interact with them. I love to watch toddlers pull their own suitcase or push their own strollers. And what wisdom of airport directors to install play areas, although I've seen children play just as happily without them. When Matt was little, I carried a small tape measure with me, which kept him entertained for hours measuring the height of the chairs from the floor, the size of his suitcase, etc. Unfortunatley, I've also encountered a few of Bill Cosby's "Jeffry's." I feel sorry for the harried parents of tired and cranky children, and the children who cry during takeoff and landing because their ears hurt.

Dress - It's amazing to see how differently people dress to fly. I've seen everything from pajamas to suits. Flip flops to stiletto heels. Perfectly made up to just rolled out of bed. Elegant and classy to downright questionable for public viewing.

Luggage - There is a reason the airports have those devices to measure your suitcase to see if it will fit in the overhead compartment. But, people tend to think, "I can make this fit." Fishing poles, musical instruments, wedding dresses, stuffed Shamus--just a few of the things I've seen carried on--some successfully fitting and others not. And bless the flight attendants who patiently rearrange the bins and assist with gate checking the things that won't fit. During one flight, I actually saw a briefcase fall out of an overhead compartment and hit a man in the head cutting him pretty badly.

Newbies - These are people who don't fly often or are flying for the first time. You see a lot of them in the summer and around the holidays. Like the young man trying to get through security who was pulling toiletries out of his backpack one at a time and asking if each was small enough. No, a full-sized tube of toothpaste isn't. Meanwhile the line behind him is getting longer and longer and longer.

First timers also tend to speak loudly in excitement. A woman behind me recently was on her cell phone when I was seated. I easily heard every word of the conversation. She saw the lighted sign that said, "please turn off all electronic devices" and didn't know she could continue to talk until the aircraft door is closed. She hurriedly hung up. A few minutes later her seatmate asked her to take a picture. The woman said she couldn't because she had to turn off all her electronic devices--not realizing that only meant transmitting devices. :) Her seatmate assured her a camera was OK, and soon they were happily snapping photos. A few hours later, she was exclaiming, "look at the lake, look at the lake," as we were approaching SLC. (Little did she know it was not the Great Salt Lake but Utah lake she was seeing--but both are beautiful enough for that excitement.)

Seasoned - These are the people who have flying down to an art and fly even more often than airline employees' families. The flight from Anchorage to Salt Lake is an overnight flight. It leaves there at 2 am and arrives here at 7:30. Lights are dimmed on takeoff, and most people immediately go to sleep. I recently watched in awe as a woman settled in for the night. First, she took her shoes off and changed into slippers she pulled from her carry on (which held as much as Mary Poppins' satchel). She took out her MP3 player and Bose noise-cancelling headphones (there was a little bit of coveting from me over those) and turned them on. Next came a full-sized pillow, a snuggie, and an eye mask. Finally, she took some sort of pill (I assume a sleep aide), curled up in the seat, pulled the eye mask in place, leaned against the window, and slept like a baby the entire flight. I know this because I seldom sleep on planes and watched her restful night rather than enjoying one of my own.

Being a reader, I never travel without at least two books. But, who needs them when people are so much more interesting--at least until the flight is well underway.

Black Thumb

My grandmother Westmoreland was a gifted gardener. She grew beautiful flowers. We used to joke that she could stick a broom handle in the ground, and it would grow. I especially remember her hydrangeas--big thick bushes loaded with giant blue flowers. My mother inherited the gift. She didn't have a specialty per se but grew everything from succulents to roses. She loved nothing better than creating a beautiful flower bed. One of her biggest regrets as she got older was that it was so hard to work in her flower beds. When she downsized to an apartment, she purposely searched for one with a porch, so she could still keep potted flowers to brighten her surroundings. Unfortunately the gardening gene skipped a generation and went to my younger sisters. Diane, had beautiful red hibiscus plants lining her fence until a freeze killed them last year. I have no doubt that she'll soon have new ones blossoming. I bet she could make a broom handle grow, too. My sister-in-law, Lynn, also grows hibiscus--only hers are yellow. My youngest sister, Beverly, is a whiz with indoor plants.

I cannot even begin to count the number of plants I have killed over the years. Tommy teases that I have a black thumb. This is probably due in large part to the fact I hate yard work. My sisters all say it's so relaxing and rewarding. I find it tedious and frustrating. Give me a book and an afternoon to read any day over gardening. Over the years, I've taken out all the flowers in our yard and only maintain one narrow bed. Through a process of trial and error, I've found flowers that I can grow that don't require much work and look nice enough that the neighbors don't run us off. (Especially important if you live next door to someone who spends hours each day working with his flowers. He had 500 tulips at one point. Seriously, he was always very nice but I wondered what he thought of my feeble attempts.)

Here are my flowers. See if you can find the theme.


Allium - these come up in late spring. We started with about five that the previous owners of our house planted. Once they finish flowering and the seeds are gone, I simply pull the stems up and wait for next year's crop.


Hostas - a friend gave me two plants several years ago. They grow in the shade and produce these bell-like flowers in July. Once they die back in the fall, I pull up the leaves and wait for next year's crop.


English ivy - which isn't technically a flower, I suppose. But it makes a great ground cover and keeps weeds out. Tommy trims the tops with a weed eater about once a summer. The deer love it especially in the winter when their usual food is covered in snow.


Snow in summer - a perennial that blooms in June. It covers landscaping rocks near our hot tub and looks like snow has fallen, thus the name. Once the flowers are gone, the plant is a lovely shade of gray green that lasts til winter comes.


Clematis - a sun loving perennial which blooms all summer. It's a climber that grows up the scrub oak in a front bed. It dies back in the winter and comes back in the late spring.


Petunias - the only annual in my yard. I plant shortly after mother's day (you risk a freeze if you plant before then in Utah) and pull them out in the fall when the blooms are all gone. For some reason, my black thumb doesn't affect petunias. They love the afternoon sun, a little water every other day, and fertilizer about every six weeks.

Did you figure out the theme? (1) Everything is purple. Just a color I enjoy which looks good against the green of the yard. (2) Nothing requires much work. The petunias are the only flower I have to plant every year. It takes a couple of hours to get them in and that's about it for the summer.

The trick is to recognize that there is nothing wrong with me because I don't like to garden. God has gifted me in other areas. How boring would it be if we all planted the same flowers!

Worth the Wait

It's finished!!!!! Well, at least phase one is.

We love our home. We have the blessing of living where it feels like we're out in the country but we're only five minutes from town. God literally dropped this house in our lap 20 years ago; and reaffirmed that Utah is where he wanted us to live. Twice we had put our previous house on the market, but it didn't sell either time. Both times we would have moved out of state if the house had sold. The third time we put it on the market, we planned to buy in Utah. We had two offers on the house before the sign was even in the yard! OK, God. Sometimes we're a little dense and you have to use that two-by-four up beside the head.

But, after 20 years, the house needed some updating. We decided to begin with the kitchen. The bones were good but it looked like an oak tree exploded on my main floor. Oak cabinets, oak floors, oak railings, oak table and chairs....you get the picture. After months of looking at magazine pictures and MANY trips to Lowe's and Home Depot, we had a plan. (Those of you who know us well, will understand just how long this process took.) Paint the cabinets, new hardware, and new counter tops.

After a month of demolition, disaster, and do-overs we're done! Boy, was it worth the wait! I love it! And, we got just the look we were hoping for. (Side note: if any of my Utah readers ever need a painter, we can recommend an excellent worker.) Here are a few before, during, and after shots.






Wonder how long it will be before I can talk Tommy into starting Phase 2?

Perfect Example

I heard the most amazing story this week. The elderly mother of a friend from church had been ill for a while and was in Hospice care. All her children and her husband had said good-bye. Everyone was waiting for the inevitable. My friend said that twice his mom awoke and was disappointed to still be alive. She was ready to see Jesus and was sad it hadn't happened during the night! What a perfect example of a Christian woman--living for Jesus all her life and excited to see Him in the end.

It brought to mind the words of an old hymn, Face to Face with Christ, by Grant Colfax Tullar. The last verse and chorus go like this.

Face to face--oh, blissful moment!
Face to face--to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ who loves me so.

Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by.

Utah Tribal Moms

Earlier I mentioned my wonderful girlfriends, aka the Utah Tribal Moms. The first wedding "entertainment" from these lovely ladies was Matt's wedding in Phoenix two years ago. Chris' daughter was married last weekend, which gave me my first chance to dance with the moms. Oh my gosh, it is such fun--but really exhausting!! We've decided that when it comes time for grandkid's weddings, the moms can take on the tribal dancing. We'll transition to the Utah Tribal Grandmas and ride around the dance floor on our Jazzy scooters. :)

This is my UTM necklace. We wear these any time we honor a child with a dance to our signature song, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." Each sticker represents a wedding or a grandchild. This year we will add two more grandchild stickers and three wedding stickers. God has richly blessed our families. The Texas charm and the cross came from Valerie. She bought each mom a cross to signify our faith and a specific charm for our personalities--Texas for me, the southern girl; a horse for Chris, who relaxes by spending time with her horse; a soccer ball for herself, since she has a son who loves to play; and a flip-flop for Linda, the ultimate California girl. The charm on the right is a Native American symbol, a charm I gave each mom after Matt's Phoenix wedding.

Evidently, the latest trend in wedding receptions is a photo booth. All the guests step in and have their picture made. The guest gets a copy of the photo strip and one is put in an album for the bride and groom as a record of who attended. It's really quite fun. Of course, the UTMs had our picture made together! Are we crazy or what? The poses (from top to bottom) are serious, scared, sexy, and silly. And this beautiful woman is Penny, the Utah Tribal Mom who now lives in Missouri. We sure miss having her around.

Just in case you wondered, we do not dance unless the bride and groom both want us to. Our goal is just have fun and give the kids something to remember--not embarrass anyone.

Things My Mother Taught Me

October 5, 1934 - April 21, 2010

This beautiful woman is my mom. On this Mother's Day, I am grateful to be her daughter. Fifty-six years is much too short a time to have known her. She loved life and taught me many lessons--both in words and deeds. Here are just a few.

1) Optimism. Notice the smile in the pictures above. That was the way she faced life even during the tough times. Her glass was always at least "half full," which makes getting through those tough times a little easier.

2) How to balance work/home/family. Mom worked outside the home as long as I can remember. And had four kids! At one time, she had a child in private kindergarten (this was before kindergarten was part of elementary school), elementary school, junior high, and high school. Yet, dinner was home cooked, kids were ferried to extracurricular activities, laundry was done, and the house was cleaned. Sure we had chores, and, yes, we complained about them. But, she carried most of the load. And most of the time, still with that smile.

3) How to make my Mammaw's banana pudding. None of that boxed pudding mix. Custard cooked on top of the stove that you have to stir to keep from scorching. Poured over layers of bananas and vanilla wafers. Then put in the frig to cool. To die for delicious. Worth every calorie and fat gram.

4) To give my best to any job. Mom proudly worked as a secretary. She was the Texas state shorthand champion in high school and took most notes in shorthand all her life. Her organization skills were amazing! She had great attention to detail. Her boss when she retired told a friend that mom was the best secretary he'd ever had. Even as a volunteer, mom gave her all. One of her biggest concerns when she got sick the last time was that she would not be able to complete the job as chairman of her church's finance committee and how she was going to get the files back to the appropriate people.

5) A love of reading. Mom devoured books--especially mysteries and romance novels--and could easily spend an entire day reading. I'm the same way.

6) To have fun with friends. Mom was the epitome of the social butterfly. She played bridge, canasta (with two clubs), and bunco; volunteered to answer phones at her church on Wednesdays; and attended a weekly painting class. She and her two best buddies gathered for impromptu dinners, attended plays at the local junior college, went shopping and to lunch, and often gathered to play Mexican Train for an afternoon. She was Queen of her red hat group and met for lunch once a month with what she lovingly called "the old retired secretaries." Fun was the priority. But, when someone had a need, the fun turned to serving. Meals, transportation, companionship--whatever was needed, she was willing to give.

How blessed I am to have had Jo Ella Pope as my mom. What a great lady, wonderful woman, and awesome friend she was.

Spring coats??

When I was a kid, we used to anxiously watch the mailbox in anticipation of the arrival of the spring Sears & Roebuck, J.C. Penney's, and Montgomery Ward's catalog. We'd spend hours thumbing through the pages. Growing up on the gulf coast of Texas, we marveled at why anyone would want to buy a coat in March or April. Our air conditioners were already on by that point!

God does have a sense of humor. Now, I live in Utah where we are expecting six inches of snow tonight. I can't remember an Easter since we moved here that it wasn't cold or at least cool. Those spring coats come in quite handy. However, I still love wearing pastel colors and white shoes for Easter. Of course, being a good southern girl, I NEVER wear white shoes before then and ALWAYS put them away by Labor Day.