Swiftly fly the years! 2011 has taken a final bow after 365 days of a fast-track journey through our lives and left in its wake a host of memories. Like pages of a book, we can keep them within the fringes of our minds and re-visit them over and over during those reflective moments that seem to haunt us in increasing frequency as we advance in years.
What is about memories that draw us back to them? Whether they are happy or sad, whether they remind us of unpleasant, passing moments of weakness or a surge of emotion on unexpected victories, we welcome them unconsciously or by design. I think it is because they remind us that we live, that we are active participants in a reality drama we help create in this exciting show called "life". The sources of those memories define, shape, and fashion us into who we ultimately become. Memories are sometimes fragile, so we store them in the inner sanctums of the mind, but we hold them close in the warm chambers of the heart.
I find them strong and well in the January winter blast of 2011. On the 3rd day of the month, "Old Man Winter" decided to bring along a not-too-frequent Las Vegas visitor - the powdery white stuff that fell from the pewter-colored clouds and strewn around by the frosty, biting wind. Eight days late for a white Christmas, it was still a welcome sight that had to be immortalized in film. So I got my camera and took a few shots on the front and back of the house as the falling snow started to blanket the ground. Funny that in this area of the country where snow is uncommon, its occurrence brings a lift to everyone's mood. Having lived for a number of years in the "snow country" of the Midwest, winter is almost dreaded, not just for the bitter cold and unrelenting wind, but from the heavy snow that unfailingly comes with it. I love the immaculately blinding beauty of this cottony, fluffy-looking substance as it falls noiselessly to the awaiting ground. But such untouched, flawless purity does not last as it surrenders to the ruthless and rapacious footsteps of a throng of humanity that eventually leave their mark. That January Vegas snowy day, however, those plundering tracks did not have the chance to show their imprints. As if the observant clouds overhead decided to stop their teasing, they withheld the snow flurry and moved aside to give way for the lazy sunbeams to help it disappear. Like an unexpected guest who did not want to intrude, that winter snow bid a hasty goodbye soon after it said a brief "hello".
On Perry's birthday on the 14th, we drove to California and took him out to lunch. We returned to Vegas in the evening in a slightly nippy temperature but I was always cold so my feeling was not a reliable indicator. The drive going home was pleasant and uneventful.
In February, the snow stayed away but the bone-chilling temperature did not budge. Although we never got below the freezing mark and the high 40's and low 50's seemed perfect for those who resided in colder areas, it was a classic Vegas cold, something raw, deep and penetrating.
Megan celebrated her birthday on Feb 2nd and Angie on the 25th. We did not make it for either of those dates but decided to brave the cold and drive for a visit sometime in between those dates. Brad's birthday was also in February (9th), as well as Cherry's (10th).
Then all at once it's spring! It boasted of chirping birds greeting the bright mornings that continued to fight the residual stubborn chills, of rose buds resolutely pushing up through prickly stems gently swaying to the quiet breeze, of bright blue skies devoid of restless clouds, of tiny green leaves gaily waving from deciduous branches to greet the world after months in hibernated state. The emerald world was fresh and new... in spring. Spring brought us to loved ones more frequently than the previous season when driving on snowy road and early arrival of darkness brought apprehension and worry.
Grandchildren's birthdays were occasions worth the 6-hour trip to the Utah valley one weekend once a month. Midge turned 10 in March and Livvy was 7 in April. As was the tradition, birthday gifts were packed in the back of Cris' caravan or my SUV and ceremoniously handed to the birthday celebrant with hugs and kisses after a celebratory dinner with the members of our Utah families. I would usually bring cooked favorites - kare-kare, adobo, pork sinigang, pancit, egg rolls, and cassava cake or mochiko. Sometimes, on a 3-day weekend, I would bring the ingredients and cook in Charmaine's house, then Cherry's family would come for either lunch or dinner.
Since Perry lives in California, he was not always able to be with us except on special occasions such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or when one of the children was baptized. So when Cris and I decided to join a tour to Israel (April 30 - May 10), he came along. The 10-day tour was something that would stand out in my memory despite all the many travels I have made through the years (see post "Journey Through The Holy Land"). It also gave my husband and me the opportunity to forge a closer relationship with our son as we experienced the culture and religious legacies of the places we visited.
The sizzling Vegas summer months were hardly anticipated though preferred by most to the chills of winter. June entered with its mild, ideal temperature as Kaylie turned 16 on the 11th, but like any good thing, did not last long. Even before the month ran its course, temperatures started climbing up, then July started with a vengeance. Hundred degree plus temperatures again assaulted the valley and made air-conditioning a gift to mankind.
July was Morgan's birthday month and once again, we made a trip to Utah taking advantage of the 3-day weekend for the 4th of July. This month also, Teri Child, Carol King, myself, and Connie Sandoval were released as Relief Society Presidency and Janet Kely, Jan Byer, Nicole Thompson, and Amy Hunt were sustained. August came with the heat hardly abating but maybe it was a growth factor because Brooklyn turned 14 and was shooting up like a weed.
As the September heat slowly dissipated, the waiting leaves signaled the advent of a new season. Suddenly it's autumn! The leaves turned to gold and some shades of brown and red and the calm breeze of summer turned to boisterous autumn winds that came and went at whim. October, especially towards the end, brought an almost perfect temperature until early November.
We went to visit and celebrate the twins' (Ethan and Ammon) birthday on Nov. 4, one week early. It was a quiet affair with just family members but it did not reduce the significance of that day. Now thriving, rumbunctious 3 year olds, they were considered miracle babies. In the womb, they had the TTTS (Twin-to twin transfusion syndrome) and at some point were not expected to survive. Having them in our family was truly a tremendous blessing. Greg was also a November celebrant having been born on the 21st, one day before the anniversary of JFK's assassination. Thanksgiving fell on the 26th of the month and as in previous years, they all attempted to come to Vegas to join us. However, Perry, who had been in Minnesota since September for a reality show he was doing for United Health Care, got sick and was unable to make it. Cherry and Greg's family came on Friday afternoon due to something going on in Greg's business and left the following day due to tithing settlement, one of Greg's responsibilities as a bishop. Charmaine and Brad and their children came the Tuesday before and left also that Saturday. Despite the absence of some members of our family, we tried to make the most of the day to express gratitude and appreciation for the myriad of blessings the Lord had bestowed upon us. Yes, we were truly blessed in the things that mattered.
Christmas was knocking on the door almost as soon as Thanksgiving dinner was over. I was grateful that I braved the cold and joined Charmaine and Megan on Black Friday during the early morning hours because I was able to do almost half of my Christmas shopping and take advantage of some great bargains. But I soon realized there were more I had to do and had to still make a few trips to the store on the weeks that followed.
We had our ward Christmas dinner on the 3rd of December and it was a grand affair especially with the elegantly decorated tables and food served in style. Cris' 69th birthday was on the 5th which we celebrated by attending another party. Vicki's sister Lina, whose birthday was on the same day, invited us to join them for a celebration in their house. Charmaine's birthday came on the 9th, then Braden turned 8 on the 15th. We went to Utah the Friday before Christmas and stayed till the 26th, the Monday after. Perry decided not to come being too busy right after he got home from Minnesota, besides he was planning on coming with us when we return to Utah for Braden's baptism on the 7th of January.
Christmas, though our family was not complete because of Perry's absence, was delightsome and we created special memories. The snow (or lack thereof) elicited a wishful longing from people who were not too happy for its lack of holiday appearance, an unusual occurrence. We attended church with Cherry and her family and their Christmas program was wonderful. Sacrament Meeting was the only meeting that day to enable the church members to spend the day for family togetherness. We stayed until the next day, then drove home on Monday. We felt specially blesssed for the opportunity we had to be with our family to celebrate the birth of the Savior and strengthen the bonds we have with those we love.
We bid goodbye to 2011 in a quiet, simple, uncomplicated way. We had a full church service starting on our new time slot at 11:00 AM. We rested the remainder of the afternoon, and reflected on the many blessings our Heavenly Father had so generously bestowed upon the members of our family. His love had guided and sustained us each and every day and we had felt its comforting anchor in our lives in every struggle, in every challenge, in every uncertainty. It was constant, strong, steadfast... and we were humbly grateful, not only for such unfathomable love but for the knowledge and testimony that it existed, that it was as real and omnipresent as the power that dispensed it. 2011 was a year of many, many choiced memories that it was impossible to record all of them. But they were safely tucked away in the tiny fibers of the heart, in the deepest chambers of the soul, as tiny fragments in the beautiful mosaic of life that God, in his loving mercy, has given us as a gift to safeguard and grow from.
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