As Shannon and I anticipated our approaching anniversary (last Friday), we felt growing pressure: Would we actually do something, or would we just sit around the house because we didn’t want to bother finding a baby-sitter? So in a bold move of activity planning, I booked us a room at the Homestead, where we had gone on our wedding night ten years ago. And for a little extra adventure, we decided to travel by motorcycle.
No Actual Unclothed Women
A couple of years ago at Christmas, Shannon gave me a music CD with the following note attached: “I don’t really like their name, but some of their songs are really good.” That started our family listening to the Barenaked Ladies, and led to Shannon and I going to their concert this past Saturday.
A Shiny New Job
Continuing my tradition for aggressive career moves, I recently acquired a shiny new job. While it can be hard to start working with a bunch of people you don’t know on unfamiliar projects and with foreign processes, at least my new desk was only on the other side of the building.
Dinosaur National Monument
When Shannon’s parents come to visit, we frequently head out on short trips with them. In the past, we’ve gone to Moab and Yellowstone. This October we went to Dinosaur National Monument, which has a somewhat misleading name.
Biker Boy
Maybe it’s the life insurance. As regular readers may recall, I took a beginning motorcycle class last summer after Shannon signed me up as an anniversary present. This year for Fathers Day, Shannon bought me a very nice Joe Rocket riding jacket. So I have to wonder why, when I’m surrounded by men saying, “Yeah, I’d love to have a motorcycle, but my wife won’t let me,” my own wife is largely responsible for me becoming a motorcycle owner.
Memphis Road Trip
When I tell people that my family and I drove from Utah to Tennessee, the typical reactions are shock, sympathy and sanity questions. I have to admit that before leaving, I was worried about going crazy myself. If the distance wasn’t enough, the car we were taking had only a radio — no cassette or CD player. But if you apply the moniker “road trip” to the experience, it takes on a new light. We’re not just driving, we’re having an adventure.
Genetic Obsessions
I was somewhat fond of Star Wars when I was a kid. I collected cards and action figures. I thought if I could just save up enough money, I could buy the Millennium Falcon. Unfortunately, as mentioned elsewhere, I was spending every cent I could scrape up seeing the movie over and over. So it’s a bit strange to find Ethan, and to a lesser degree Gerrit, obsessed with Star Wars without ever having seen the movie at all.
Kindergridiron
Ethan played flag football this fall. I felt like I had been lax in my fatherly responsibilities after his first practice. Ethan had heard of football, and had seen glimpses of BYU games occasionally, but I think practice may have been one of the first times in his life someone had thrown a football to him.
Un-Easy Rider
I’ve occasionally had dreams that I’m riding a motorcycle. Having done very little of that in real life, I think it’s something my subconscious pulls out to represent freedom, and escape from worries. Shannon, good wife that she is, tries to make my dreams come true, and so signed me up for a beginning motorcycle class.
The End of an Era
It is with some amazement that I announce the end of an era: Ethan is no longer obsessed with garbage.