Spontaneous September

The novelty of all the summer fun (or the holidays) has worn off and life pretty much returns to normal. Still, we managed to eke out a few more fun activities, even if they were mostly small or spontaneous moments. On Thursday, September 11th, Jonas had a field trip to the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds for a 9/11 Memorial exhibit. I was lucky enough to go with him. I say lucky because I was grateful to be reminded of what hate can do and how resilient love and unity can be. Unfortunately, we live in a world where there seems to be a lot of hate. A lot of people who have platforms to spread misinformation and incite anger and division. Instead of giving people the benefit of the doubt or allowing people to have a different opinion, we feign superiority for our opinions and beliefs. We assume we have the only "truth" and that everyone else is wrong or dumb because they can't see it. People then use violence to silence others who believe differently than they do. One such incident just happened the day before this field trip on UVU campus. Right here in Utah. In our own backyard. Something we thought wouldn't happen here. A politically active conservative individual was invited to have a rally on campus. Tragically, another young man felt the need to shoot and ultimately kill this individual. One shot rang out. It hit the man in the neck. The crowd of over 3,000 participants scattered. The individual was raced to the hospital but died shortly thereafter. Why? Because one person disagreed with another? Why is it ok to use violence when we disagree? Why can't we have a conversation? Why can't we choose to try to understand? Why can't we be ok that not everyone thinks the way we do? Why can't we respect each other for simply being human? As we walked through the exhibit, Jonas looked at the photos of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers. He innocently looked up at me and commented on how it kind of looked cool. Well, of course, it did...it looked like the scene from a Marvel movie or something out of Mission Impossible. I didn't take offense to his comment, but I then provided perspective. I reminded him that it was not a movie and the people in the pictures were someone's mom or dad, brother or sister, husband or wife, etc. I humanized the situation. I talked about the terror of the victims and survivors. I described the unspeakable grief of those who lost someone that day. I talked about the courage of those on Flight 93 who brought down the plane rather than let the terrorists complete their mission. As we discussed the humanity behind the photos, we both started to cry. He wasn't born when it happened. Heck...I wasn't even in country either. I was on my mission, but the farther we distance ourselves from the event the less "real" it becomes. We can't allow ourselves to forget. We can't distance ourselves from humanity. Not everyone will think the way you do. Not everyone will respect you like you try to respect them. Not everyone will offer compassion for your perspectives or beliefs. But we need to try to understand. We need to show respect and offer compassion. We need to recognize our own humanity...and theirs. I hope we can learn how to stand up for our beliefs without standing on someone else. I hope we recognize our own flaws and show grace to others for theirs. This is what 9/11 can hopefully teach us. This is what that exhibit was trying to portray. We finished walking through the larger than life pictures and timeline and found ourselves in an adjacent building where we had the privilege to hear from a subway worker, a police officer, and a firefighter who had been in NYC on the day of the attack. These gentlemen were there in the chaos and helped clean up the aftermath. It was poignant to hear their stories and again be reminded of the humanity that can exist even in the face of evil. Finally, we walked outside to interact with our own local first responders. I loved seeing the flags that encompassed the exhibit venue. I'm proud of our country...even in all its messiness. There is still good. There is still resilience. There is still hope.

Saturday, September 13th, Jonas and I went to Nolan's football game...only we showed up an hour and a half early. Oops! I must have written down the wrong time. When we discovered my error, we changed gears and headed to the outlet mall to look for some basketball shoes. Jonas's coach from last year wants to keep the same team (which everyone agreed to) and wants to start a few games in October. Hence, Jonas needed new shoes. After we found the pair he liked, we (actually I) decided to go see the festive Halloween display. It was so cute! There were pumpkin scenes everywhere. They even had little Troll dolls hidden in the displays like a scavenger hunt. We snapped a few pictures then headed to the game. It wasn't much, but it put both of us in the mood for the holidays ahead! It just goes to show you that some fun doesn't need to be planned...it just needs to be seized when the opportunity arises.

Another such spontaneous moment occurred the following Tuesday (September 16th). I watch Beau on Tuesdays. I decided to take him to a park in Spanish Fork after I ran a couple of quick errands. While we were playing, I happened to notice that an author and religious speaker I follow on Instagram was literally across the street at the library doing a book signing. She recently authored a children's book entitled Your Jesus. I debated on whether or not to go. I had never been to a book signing and I wasn't really sure if Beau would cooperate in line. However, I decided to seize the moment and go. I purchased a book to give to Jonas and met the lovely Al Carraway. She is just as inspiring in person as she is on social media. It was a fun, spontaneous moment.

Monday, September 22nd, was the first official day of fall. I absolutely LOVE this season. I'm sure you are well aware of that by now. I love seeing the mountains turn beautiful shades of yellows, reds, and oranges. I love decorating the porch with pumpkins and cornstalks. I love the anticipation of the holidays ahead...even Halloween, which isn't my favorite, but I love our traditional family costume party and pumpkin carving. (I really love starting to consider and plan for Christmas too!) As has become our little tradition, I grabbed a seasonal treat for Jonas and I to welcome Fall. We indulged in apple fritters and apple cider slushies. To keep the apple theme going, we even stopped by Riley's U-pick in Genola to grab some buckets of apples in anticipation of our annual Fall Farm Fest with my sister's, Krystle, family at our house the following Sunday. Laurin and her kids even joined us. 

Friday, September 26th, Jeff and I took advantage of a free evening to enjoy a little Fall themed date. I packed us a picnic dinner then we jumped in the side-by-side and headed up Santaquin Canyon. We enjoyed our dinner in the canyon before making our way to the top of the mountain and down through Payson Canyon. The fall colors were at their peak. I loved every second of our leisurely drive. I loved being with my best friend. I loved seeing God's creation showing off in all the fall hues. I just love this season!

Our seasonal fun continued the next day (Sunday, September 28th). I hosted our annual fall party with the Tanners. We had a yummy chili dinner, played some carnival style games (which the older boys helped the younger kids do), bobbed for apples, ate donuts on a string, pressed some apple juice from the apples we picked earlier in the week, played some flag football, and ended the evening with a caramel apple bar. Sunday dinners are usually fun, but they're even more fun with holiday activities. It really was the perfect way to welcome the new season and all the excitement of what is to come in the next three months.

We had one final, sponateous September activity when I let Jonas ditch school to go to the zoo with me, Laurin, Amber, and all the kiddos. We have been planning a zoo trip for quite some time. It has become a tradition that I buy the grandkids a stuffed animal of their choosing on their first (meaningful...because this was also Ava's first zoo trip, but she wasn't old enough to fully comprehend or engage with the animals) trip to the zoo. Carter (who picked a cheetah) and Everly (who picked a tiger) were very precise in their selection. They gravitated to one animal and that was it. Beau was a little more open to a variety. He did seem to like the cat or dog like animals the best and ultimately ended up with a wolf. It was a fun day with  Jonas and all the kiddos! I actually really like zoos. I guess maybe I should be appalled at animals in cages, but I am grateful that I get to see the incredible creatures because I wouldn't have the opportunity to do so in the wild. The most fun animals were the ones that got close enough to the glass walls that the kids could see them. Everly LOVED the tiger! It was asleep right next to the glass so she could see it up close. I think Beau liked the seals and sea lion the best. They were playful and active to capture his attention. I'm grateful that I get the opportunity to participate in these little semi-planned, semi-spontaneous moments. Life is what you make it...so make it fun!