To Fathers

Today—the day after Father's Day—I saw the most lovely thing. At one minute to my train's departure time, I was still in the parking lot, running at full tilt to the platform. As I approached, I noticed a man casually standing on the platform near the doors.

His cream polo shirt with orange and red stripes was tucked neatly into his khaki pants. He had a fair amount of hair left—a bit fluffy, in the color scheme of his shirt—and large glasses with thin rims.

As I threw myself into the open door of the train, I realized he was standing there conversing happily with his son, a nice kid in the image of his father, wearing a charity fundraiser t-shirt and a sixteen-year-old grin.

I took my seat, as the doors closed and the train started out. The father started out too—framing himself in the window across from his son and waving with the same grin. He smiled and waved and kept pace with the train. Occasionally stooping down in the classic imitation of going down stairs. The train moved faster, and so did this dad. He ran along with his ipad in one hand and more waving with the other until the platform ran out and the train was out. And by then, I was crying.

I'm crying again as I write this. Everything about it was just so beautiful: all the joy brimming over and the love pouring out, and the son who seemed to enjoy it. The train goes to the airport, so it's possible this was goodbye for longer than a day, but I doubt this kid was going away for very long. I think his dad just really likes him.

It reminded me of the father who wore 170 different costumes over the school year as he waved to his son on the bus. You can read about that here.

I think seeing these two made me happy because my dad is sort of like them. He doesn't wear silly costumes, and he's never sent me away on public transit. But he hangs around like that. He keeps talking with me until the last second, and that always makes me feel loved. It's clear that he loves me and my brother by his smile. My dad is a great man through and through.

I wanted to share this video on fathers. It's a bit repetitive, but I think about it often.



P.S. Super and I got married! Hence my lack of posting. Do forgive me. To whet your appetite for great pictures of us, you can go here: http://olsonandpitts.ourwedding.com.

I Believe in Chacos

Yesterday, my Chacos came out. Here's to the next eight months.

The world just got so much brighter. So long coldest winter. Thanks for being good to me.

My Valentine's Gift to You

For reading my blog, I'd love to give you something great. So here's something. These are some of my favorite words on marriage from one of my favorite bands, Chasing Owls. The video's not the most exciting thing ever, but the lyrics and the sounds—splendid.



"Walk with me between the mast and rigging. Walk with me to tell me what you're thinking. For I've watched you at the start, and I'll watch you 'til the end. That is her right now—your only friend."

I love everything about this song but mostly it's the idea of seeing others in love, believing in them, and doing as it says in the song: "Tell me that it's love, and I'll tell you that's enough. And I myself will push you down the river."

I can think of at least one couple I'd love to push down the river (ten points if you can find a post about it on here), one I have (except I don't take much credit for it), and several who work on pushing me (here and here [I need to write more about these people, obviously.]).

The Best Things from My Birthday Month

1. Snow on the orchards, not on the roads. Sun everywhere.

2. I took a trip to JoAnn by myself. All the things I needed were on sale and in stock. But the best thing? Three very happy ladies surrounding me in line as well as two very happy children. Their kindness and smiles were infectious and warm. May their new years be blessed.

3. My mom made me buttermilk syrup and pancakes. I told her we're not allowed to worry about the effects of corn syrup on my birthday.

4. My brother and I laughed at Mormon memes and the Hey Girl tumbler.

5. Getting wished happy birthday by Super twice—once on New York time and once on Utah time. Super and I share the same birthday! Wild, I know. It's pretty much worked wonders for making my birthday a much more enjoyable day.

6. My grandpa giving me "hamburger money."

7. Getting a birthday text from my cousin Nan in the middle of the night.

8. Having our sink filled with pink water from the red velvet cake my mom made.

9. Watching Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs with my family.

10. My dad's perfect hexagonal wrapping job.

11. My brother coming to say good night when he got home in the middle of the night.

12. Hearing Super remind me how much he loves me and truly feeling loved by a wonderful man. 

13. Lunch with Elisabeth and her gift of a dinosaur sandwich maker.

14. Dinner with my good friend Jamie. If you ever think, gee I want to go to Tucanos, but I don't want to come back with a zero balance in my bank account, try Braza Express! Slightly more authentic Brazilian food for nearly a third of the price. It is very, very yummy, and there's a great atmosphere about the place with really nice people putting your food together.

15. A party with my friends! Sitting around chatting was a truly sweet moment for me. There was also lots of great food. I invented something that worked out for once! Well, first I tried to make brownies in muffin top pans, which is possible but didn't work that well for me. So then I crushed those brownies into chunks, added sliced strawberries, and a dollop of this great buttercream frosting (the best buttercream frosting ever). It was lovely.

We also made Brazilian lemonade using a bottle of Minute Maid strawberry lemonade and a can of sweetened condensed milk. It was a bit too sweet, but the color was gorgeous.