The Department

...of Motor Vehicles, and the Drivers' License building.

That's where we spent half of our morning. It actually didn't take too long to register the car at the DMV.
The drivers licensing process, though--my goodness. At least we had all the right documents!

First, there was the line when we first walked in the door, where people waited to find and fill out whichever application fit their need. Since we had already downloaded and printed our appropriate applications from the internet, we slipped by there without hiccups.

The purpose of the second line was to get a number. But this wasn't just a pull-tab machine we waited to see. At the front of this line was a man whose job was to discover our business and then make sure we had all the right documents. I actually think this is a great idea; presumably, with this mechanism in place, people don't waste half their morning waiting for their number to be called, just to be told that they can't do what they've come to do. After he paper-clipped our relevant documents together with a (pull-tab) number on top, we got to sit in the plastic chairs!! (Every DMV building has the same plastic chairs.) There, we watched red digital numbers flash on a small screen. Actually, I helped Tigger bounce on and off the chairs and run up and down the rows, while Doo kept an eye on the numbers.

Since there are so many different people waiting, with so many different reasons for being there, the numbers don't seem to have any consistent order or pattern. It's like winning a raffle when your number flashes in red up on the black rectangle!

Doo and I went to separate windows to hand in our individual paperwork and get a "kiosk number" in order to take the written (open book) exam. Fortunately, I finished my exam by the time Doo was ready to start his, and the Tigger hand-off went very smoothly.

After the exam, there is one more line to wait in: here, the desk clerk hands you a temporary paper license and informs you that the real one will arrive by mail in 4 to 6 weeks.
What?! Is this piece of paper going to work at the liquor store? Or do I need to carry around my birth certificate, marriage license, and social security card for the next month?

:)

Sort of anticlimactic.

But now it's done. Tonight we'll put our new orange and blue plate on the back of the Sonata, proudly displaying our residency in the state that boasts of Arches National Park.

And in about a month we'll again have drivers' licenses that fit into our wallets.

Multi-use

Tigger has been introducing me to the variety of ways that everyday items can be utilized.

For example...

It's a tire lever, used to change tires on the bike and stroller.
OR, it's a nifty hook for pulling all of the dirty clothes out of the laundry basket.

It's an empty waste basket.
OR, it's a household "shopping cart," perfect for pushing around the wood floors and collecting toys.

It's a fly swatter.
OR, it's a really neat toy that bends when you shake it hard.

It's a pot lid.
OR, it's a great metal noisemaker when you throw it on the floor. Again, and again, and again.

It's a dog leash.
OR, it itself is a pet--to be dragged around for a "walk" and checked on every few steps.

It's an unpacked box of books.
OR, it's a jungle gym, perfect for climbing.

Hairy Muffin

My little boy's hair has a very fine texture, but it grows quickly.

When he was about 7 months old, I noticed that it was creeping over his ears and winging out on either side of his head. When I pointed this out to my husband, Doo replied, "Oh, it's fine. We don't need to worry about it yet." I considered this a legitimate response, and finally agreed; he's a baby, not a PFC.


(See those wisps of hair over the ears? At the time, it was very noticeable. Really.)

Imagine my surprise when, a few weeks later, I came home from work to find my little baby's hair much shorter along the sides! My husband had taken his clipper set and gone to work. It actually looked rather cute.
But I voiced my primary "first-time mommy" concern: Did you save a lock of hair?
Doo shook his head, No; I mainly just trimmed the sides. There weren't any strands long enough to save.



I was a little disappointed, but happy to hear that the child still had some "original hair" up top, hanging down over his brow. When we get around to cutting those, I thought, I'll save a nice little bunch.

About 3 months later, the day came. My husband announced his intention to give our son another haircut, and I promptly trimmed a bit of the hair that was now hanging over his eyebrows. I stowed it safely in a plastic sandwich bag to deal with later. For the time being, it got tossed on the kitchen counter.

I forgot about it.

Until the next day.

Doo called from work. He does this often; sometimes he has a question, sometimes he needs me to tell me something or have me go pick something up, and sometimes he just phones to see how we're doing. This call was of the third category, a casual check-in.

So I reciprocated, So, how is everything there?

Oh, it's okay, he replied. Except I couldn't eat that strawberry muffin you put in my lunch today.

Oh, yeah? Why's that? I asked.

It was full of hair! I think you put the muffin in Tigger's hair bag.

WHAT??!! Oh, gross.

Neither of us could stop laughing.

Yeah, I'm sorry. I had to throw it out.

Hey, that's okay.

A few months later, we cut my son's hair for the third time. With the electric clippers, there wasn't enough length to save any.

I'm still not sure if I'll bother to save a lock of Tiernan's hair from his fourth haircut.

Eh.

Renewal, and Reasons to Remember

Hopefully this is the post that announces, "I'm baaaack!!!"

I have my doubts.

But I also have some motivation. After lurking at the blogs of various friends, and especially at the site of one member of my family, I have felt the urge to keep my own record again.

I don't know who to credit with the quotation, "The days are long but the years are short;" however, I know I didn't believe it until I had my first child. In the past 16 months of his life so far...


-My DH (whom I refer to as Doodle, or Doo) wrote and defended his thesis, then

-He graduated with his PhD, which allowed him some time to


-Demonstrate what a devoted and loving father he was born to be.





-We've moved 3 times, twice across state lines.






-I've held 4 different part-time jobs outside of the home, as well as one ever-evolving stay-at-home responsibility.

-My son has gone from a helpless infant to a trotting toddler, capable of letting our dog know when he's overstepped his boundaries.


-My son has had 3 haircuts, and needs another (more on that in another post).


-We found out that we're expecting baby #2!

And these are all events that have happened within our young, small, nuclear family. If I include extended family, I have to mention the loss from one death, the gains from two weddings, one college graduation, and many more moves and transitions--physical, emotional, and spiritual--than I can recall.

The thing is, I want to remember. I want to be able to look back and relive the excitement I felt when we discovered we'd be moving west to Utah. I want to remember our family reunion in May of 2010 when we all stayed at the beach house and I announced that the ninth grandchild was on the way. Right now I can tell you that my son starting walking when he was ten and a half months old, but after I've had one or two more children, will I keep all those milestones straight?

When Our Lady experienced the miracle of the Nativity, she "treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart." Luke 2:19
Now that I am a mother, these personal events are my own treasures, and I feel compelled to keep them safe for my children in the future. Someday, if they choose, they can see what their lives mean through my eyes.

Even if no one else cares, I have plenty to record.

Many reasons to hold onto these memories.

And, please God, the grace to do so with honesty, love, and the good of my family at heart.