In Praise of CLAY!!!!

Another Father's Day has come and gone so I must write about my dearest, dearest love, Clay, before another Sunday passes.

Writing about Clay is hard though. The expanse of thoughts and feelings I have about him overwhelms me. It's like those new commercials they have for the search engine bing where it asks, "What has search overload done to us?" I think the name "Clay" and my mind reels off "Clay: Clay is wonderful, Clay is amazing, Clay is perfect, Clay is handsome, Clay is brilliant, Clay is passionate, Clay is ambitious, good student, good father, good provider..." etc. at turbo speed.

So perhaps for this post I will just focus on one quality. Oh, first I need a quote. Here it goes:

"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly."
Thomas H. Huxley
English biologist (1825 - 1895)

For those of you who don't know, Clay's dad LOVE's this quote and taught it to his 9 sons however many years ago. I don't particularly enjoy this quote, eventhough I believe it with every fiber of my being. I guess the truth can be hard for some people.

Clay on the other hand embraces it. It is his philosophy, his core, his way of life; to do that which must be done, whether or not it's fun, whether or not it's popular, whether or not he's sleepy, whether or not it totally (for lack of a better word) stinks! I want to be just like him!

Clay is so determined. This last year has been his busiest ever as a full-time student and full-time intern. Yet he has never complained or huffed or puffed or humphed or ugged or sighed while saying "uhhhh" or even yawned. He just does what he has to do, and does it with his handsome smile. When he has a rare moment of free time, he devotes it entirely to his little family.

I love you Clay! Thanks for being an incredible father!

Life is like

A few weeks ago, we went with a friend from the ward and her two boys to California Adventure. It was a lot of fun, of coarse. One of the best parts of California Adventure is the Live Playhouse Disney show. It features Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, and Little Einstiens. Now I ask you, does it get any better than that? Even Luke sat attentively for the entire show.

Cole and I have had a couple fun (short) trips to Legoland too. My sister received a tip from someone in her ward that Legoland is FREE for the last hour every day. FREE! Free parking, free admission, everything! At first I wondered if this was really on the up and up because when we went to check it out, there was just nobody there manning the parking booths or the ticket counters, so I thought to myself, "Are we really supposed to be doing this" as we breezed right through the park gates. But I have since found that it is a legitimate thing to do--the legoland people know about it and everything;) But before everyone rushes over to legoland, this free thing doesn't apply during the summer. Go figure. It was fun while it lasted. Cole and I managed to squeeze in 3 rides each time we visited, which was well worth the short drive there, and was an extraordinary way to pass the time as it sure beats riding the carousel at the mall for the millionth time.

Well, as we were waiting in line for one particular ride, I began thinking about all the theme park adventures we've had lately, and all the LONG lines we have waited in. I wondered what the ratio was of time spent on an actual ride to time spent waiting in line. Waiting...it makes me think of those lines from Dr. Suess:

"Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go,
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting."

There is so much waiting in line at theme parks, and yet everyone is perfectly willing to do it, including you. You stand there, waiting for your turn, shifting your weight occasionally from your right foot to the left. No one seems to be moving, when you randomly gaze ahead toward the front of the line and see the lucky folks up there walking, taking a few steps forward and then you watch the ripple effect of their walking slowly trickle down to you. Now you're walking too and it feels so good to be moving forward, closer to that bend in the ropes that leads down that path and up those steps and through that windy tunnel and finally to the ride. "No, this line's not so bad" you think to yourself. "And look at all the people behind me. Ooooh, I'm glad I'm not them. I'm in a much better position than they are." It's funny how I always find myself thinking that. That somehow I was smarter or faster or more stategic than the throng of people behind me in line. Of coarse, the only reason the person behind me is behind me is because they were still enjoying the last few seconds of a ride while I was just starting to head to this one.

By the time it's your turn, you are ready! "This is it", you think "this is what it's all about. I've watched about 576 people get onto and off of this ride and now my time has come!" And the ride is wonderful and thrilling and...short.

So to sound very, very cliche, life is full of roller coasters, or to be more precise, life is full of various theme park attractions and the lines that come with them.

So many experiences can seem long, and hard, and even a bit boring, but just wait, that heart pounding, stomach flying into your chest feeling is around the bend somewhere.

Wow, give yourself a pat on the back if you read all of this!!!