Another Noah Birthday

Noah's birthday came and went with relatively little notice in my life last week. It just so happened to fall on a Tuesday night...I have Young Women activities on Tuesday...and it just so happened that this particular Tuesday was also YW in Excellence-a kind of recognition night for the girls 12-18 in my ward (Church denomination). So poor Noah kind of got shuffled to the back of responsibilities that day. I did manage to bring a special lunch and eat with him at school. I did not find the time to cook a special birthday dinner so Dad picked up his favorite pizza on the way home from work. I did make a chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting. (Only those people who know how much I hate chocolate cake and chocolate frosting will appreciate the amount of self-sacrifice this entails.) I did not make it home in time to watch him blow out the candles. I did choose some fun gifts for him. I did not actually purchase them, but left that to Dad via his pizza delivery route. Fortunately, Noah is such a sensible, responsible, cheerful person that none of this bothered him in the slightest and he still had a nice day for his golden birthday. (He turned 10 on the 10th!)

For the sake of record-keeping, I'm going to acknowledge all things Noah at this age in his life.
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: any type of seafood
Favorite flavor of birthday cake: chocolate, chocolate, chocolate (really, it's not fair that 5 out of 6 birthdays around here I have to make a chocolate cake.)
Favorite hobby: READING! (He reads an entire book almost every day)
Favorite sports team: BYU
Favorite sport to play: basketball
Best friend: Jaden
Current obsession: The "Warriors" series, and passing off all his times tables before anyone else in class
Favorite subject in school: P.E.
Quality in Noah that I am most grateful for: Responsibility...he's the only one in the house who doesn't need to be reminded to get his chores done, who never loses things, and who actually comes to me with school stuff that needs to be signed instead of leaving it to me to dig out of his backpack 3 weeks past the deadline.
Cool things accomplished this year: He earned a superior at AIM, his annual piano adjudication. He sang a solo (beautifully) in the Primary Program, he had perfect grades every quarter of the last year, he scored a touchdown at every single flag football game this year, he earned his Bear in Cub Scouts, he placed 3rd in high jump at his summer track meet

Tool Day

As I sit in my office typing, a whirl of falling leaves keep drawing my attention to the window. The fall in Utah has been spectacular this year. After living in a land of no Autumn for so many years it came as something of a revelation my first year in Utah that I had missed this season somewhere deep in my sub-concious. As papery, brittle leaves of yellow and bronze keep flapping across my peripheral vision, it feels like a metaphor for my life this week. I am blowing in so many directions that it feels almost out of control. But despite the wild nature of my frenzy, there is something beautiful in the commotion. Life is full; making goals, meeting demands, entering the fray.

Last month, I got the annual flyer/request for "Tool Day" from the Elementary School. Every year, they invite parents to come to the school and talk to students about their careers and tools of the trade. We have never participated, so guilt started prickling at the back of my neck. I began my campaign to get Cory into the school. As I prepared to discuss this with him, knowing how busy his work schedule is right now, I realized that I have a career too. In some twisted version of women's liberation reflex, I signed up to come share with 4 classrooms the tricks of my trade as a homemaker. Little did I realize that the week of presentation would coincide with the perfect storm of family events, rehearsals, and deadlines.

Still, I had made a commitment, so Tuesday morning found me gathering up my "tools" and heading down the hill to Oak Hollow Elementary. I shared with them the perils of a career in homemaking...no vacations, long hours, very few promotions. I let them handle the tools of my business...dust rags, measuring cups, first aid kits, checkbooks, the burgeoning calendar. And somewhere about halfway through my 2nd presentation, I realized something. I have been so caught up in the pressures and "busy-ness" of my day to day survival that I have begun to forget something important. I love my job.