Richest Man In Town

When I was in college, I had to write my own children's book for a class. I wrote a book entitled _I Am Rich_. It was a predictable text that went something like "If I had a million dollars I would live in a mansion. I live in my own home that keeps me safe." I dedicated that book to my grandpa "Papa" because once when he visited I complained about not being rich. He pointed out to me that I was in fact rich because I had clothes, food and a place to live. Papa was wise enough to know that real riches aren't in the bank.

Papa was a potato farmer for most of his life. He lived in a small town in Maine. We visited him 6 weeks ago. He passed away last Wednesday.

When we were there visiting, several people stopped by to chat. We went out to Reno's Pizza with Papa once, he waved to people coming and going. Many, many people smiled and had little catch-up conversations with him. As a teenager I remember thinking that Papa must be the most popular guy in town and last month it seemed that way to me again.

I wasn't able to go to the funeral, but my mom told me that they had to set up extra chairs at the funeral home because there were so many people there. She also told me that someone said Papa didn't have an enemy in the world, which is amazing that he lived in the same place for 77 years.

It would be awesome if I could live up to the legacy. It would also be awesome if I could live the rest of my life in a community that stopped by just to chat; a community that had the decency to say hello when they are in the same room as each other; a community that looks out for each other for 77 years. Wouldn't that be amazing?

Papa was a rich man. Rich in love for others, of others. Rich in tradition and community. Rich in a sense of family and friendship. Yes, Papa was the richest man in town and he will be missed.

Things I'm Bad At

1. Potty Training
2. Selling a house


There are many, many others, but those are the top two right now because I face them everyday. I think I'm bad at them because I really have very little control-ultimately, it is someone else making the right moves, making the decisions. I' m not really a control freak even though Celia informed me that all women are-it's in our sinful nature.

I sure hope other people start making the right moves soon so I can focus on some new faults. I'm tired of these two.

Emma's First Concert

Last night I took Emma to her first concert. It was Gwen Stefani at the MGM. It was an AWESOME concert. I had a blast. Emma liked it too, but she was tired because it started at 8:00pm. We had fun dancing and singing along. It would be so great if she always likes music that I like, but I'm pretty sure I'm not cool enough. But she'll always remember her first concert and so will I.

We Went to New England for Two Weeks!

That's my disclaimer for not blogging in over a month. I spent all my free time planning that trip and then we were out of town. It was great! We saw lots of great things and enjoyed each other like a family should.

New England is different than Las Vegas.

1. Dunkin Donuts is the Starbucks of the east coast. EVERY intersection there is a Dunkin Donuts. In Walmart-Dunkin Donuts. In Gas Stations-Dunkin Donuts. CRAZY.
2. Street signs are valuable and important. I think they spend all their tax money on education or something but we were AMAZED at how often there were NOT street signs. We would drive for BLOCKS and not know what street we were on because there were NO signs.
3. Dry heat is really nice and under appreciated. I love dry!
4. Flying bugs SUCK. Flying bugs that bite suck even more.
5. Mom and Pop businesses are really nice and it sucks that Dunkin Donuts and Walmart have taken over the world. We stayed in some really clean, nice, unique places cheaper than chain hotels. We ate some REALLY good pizza and unusual hot dogs and awesome bleu cheese. Capitalism is alive and well in New England.
6. I no longer think that Las Vegas is a "major" city. Boston kicks our street sign having butt. The sky scrapers are huge. The public transportation is busy and rude and only designed for people who are accustomed to it and who don't have kids with them. The history is rich, relevant, and interesting.

On the trip, we rode airplanes, trains, buses, subways, boats and taxis. I was tired and upset about missing a flight when we rode in the taxi. I had Jack with me. The cab smelled really bad like BO. I started crying a little from the stress and weariness. Jack said, "I want go home." I started crying a little more-sweet baby just wanted to get home. Then he said in his innocent also weary voice, "Mommy, it stinks in this car." Then I was laughing and crying at the same time-what a wonderful emotional release that is.


All in all, I'm a west coast girl from the small city of Las Vegas. It's good to be home.