Post Valentine's Day Wrap-Up

As Tom Keiffer, lead singer of the 80s hair band Cinderella, once wailed, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone!" Yep, even after I wrote my love letter to technology last week, I still didn't have a full appreciation for how dependent I am on it. Having my computer give up the ghost last week was an eye-opener. Not only could I not blog or obsessively check my e-mail 75 times a day, I couldn't even type up a letter or quickly look up driving directions. I was bereft.

Now, happily, gloriously, I have my computer back. As it turned out, it was just a glitch in the boot-up sequence that was pretty easily repaired. While I'm glad I still have all my files and documents, a nice, shiny, new operating system would have been cool too. I'm not complaining though. A pokey, old computer is better (far, far better) than no computer at all.

So yesterday was Love Day. Maryn and Avery came home with approximately 87 handmade decorations and roughly 6 pounds of candy between the two of them. Suzanne and I shared intimate bonding time watching Sayid from Lost be totally hardcore and cool and inexplicable as a post-island assassin. Romantic, eh?

In a more traditional vein, I thought I'd follow Suzanne's lead and list off a few things that I love about those closest to me.



Avery

I love her personality. She's fun-loving and mischeivious and she gets such a kick out of just playing. When she plays hide and seek around the house, she loves being found as much as she enjoys hiding. When I find her under the bed or behind the shower curtain (two fave spots), she always has her giant, square grin.

I love how tough she is. It's tremendously frustrating when it's turned against me but, when her willpower is pointed in the right direction, it's really impressive and admirable to see how determined she is. She sticks up for herself, doesn't take a lot of guff from Maryn or anyone else and is just generally very much her own person.

I love her head. It's so big and perfectly round. She's got one of the great noggins of all time, I think.

I love her appreciation for and facility with stories. She remembers minute details, exact wording, story sequence, etc. When she's able to read on her own, she'll be an excellent reader. Reading to her, especially long term stories like Bone and the Book of Mormon, is a source of real deep joy and satisfaction for me.

I love what a little poser she is when it's photo time. It's hilarious. I tell her I want to take her picture and she immediately cocks her head to one side, puts one leg in front of the other, and commences to just totally work it in the way that only a smart, sassy five year old can.

Maryn

I love her creativity and artistic ability. Her drawings and self-portraits are becoming increasingly elaborate and detailed. I love having conversations with her about art -- whether it's in a comic book or on the wall at the DIA. She notices interesting things and is just so keenly observant, it's a thrill to talk with her.

I love her enthusiasm. Maryn is never, and I mean never, sad or discouraged for long She's just so full of energy and excitement for life that she doesn't get down often. Even if she's in the middle of a full-on 7 year old fit, she's usually smiling or laughing within minutes. I love that she's not a sulker and that she gets excited about the things we do as a family.

I love it when Maryn tries to make Suzanne and I laugh. She enjoys entertaining us and so when she hits on something that cracks us up, she capitalizes on it and tries to make us laugh even harder. Few things are funnier (at least the first four or five times she does it) than when Maryn pronounces "library" as "LIE-barry" like a hick or when she starts dancing Soul-Train style. She really enjoys making people smile and I think that's a good trait.

I love how forgiving she is. Maryn is a paragon of charity and forgiveness. When Avery apologizes for hitting her or I apologize for yelling, all Maryn ever says is, "It's okay," and she means it. She doesn't appear to have the slightest interest in holding grudges or being angry. She's immensely sweet that way.

I love that Maryn still occasionally pulls out her "Naked Ninja" shtick when it's bathtime and tries to karate chop me instead of getting in the bath. It cracks me up every time.

Suzanne

I love how all-encompassing her mind is. She seems to remember almost everything and keep up with so much. She manages to work full-time, hold down an every-Sunday calling, take care of me and the girls, and still remember that Maryn needs to bring five pounds of flour to Friday Fun Day at the school, and Avery needs new shoe laces and a permission slip signed. There's so much that would go undone at our house if not for her vast capacities.

I love Suzanne's artistic eye and how our homes have always been attractive and eye-catching, even when we didn't have much to work with. She has this almost supernatural ability to arrange things (stuff on a shelf, pillows on a bed, magazines on a table) and make them look better than they did. I remember taking all of my stuff (books, pictures, action figures, etc.) to my first real office and putting everything in roughly the place I wanted it and then asking her to come over and "feng shui" it. She walked it, took about five minutes, and changed the entire place, and made it look really cool. It's a gift. I can't argue with it.

I love Suzanne's calves. I know it sounds weird but she runs three or four miles most days of the week and her calves are practically weapons-grade now. If you stood too close to her and she flexed, she could probably knock you over with them. They're impressive.

I love Suzanne's laugh. She doesn't laugh for just anybody or anything so #1, if she laughs, you know you've said something genuinely funny and #2, there's something so hearty and real about it, it makes you laugh too. When she gets around her siblings, it's a free-for-all and everyone else might as well just sit back and enjoy the show. Once Shauna and Jeff get going, it gets to the point that Suzanne can barely breathe.

I love Suzanne's dignity. Part of it is just a natural, physical thing she's got going thanks to her high cheekbones and long neck. But more than that, she has a stillness about her from having endured a lot of difficulty and trial. She's been through fires that would melt most people but she came out more polished, more kind, more patient, more dignified than ever before.



So there you have it: a little bit (or a lot, as the case may be) of love for the day after Love Day. Cheers.