Sophia Is Baptized, Ali Accompanies

 Sophia has been baptized. She said she was nervous, but she didn’t seem it.  She was as cool and pristine as always.  she only required one dipping, too.

Ali was the one to deal with.   She knew from the beginning I was going to be accompanying the song after the confirmation. She asked if she could be on the piano bench right beside me. Of course I agreed.  What harm could she do?  What harm indeed?

She confirmed this with me often. And I continued to agree not realizing that in fact she planned to sabotage the situation -- unknowingly, of course.  

When it was just about our turn, I informed Ali, and  she almost took off. I grabbed her arm just in time. Soon we were serenely  seated on the piano bench. The chorister began to wave her arm and I began to play. Then my horror, Ali placed her hands  firmly right on top of mine. I could barely move my hands. She left them there for the entire first verse. She is strong for a six-year-old.

She played around for the second verse for which I was grateful but she returned her task for the third verse.

I don’t think I humiliated Sophia on her special day. I don’t think Elmer Nelson, my piano teacher, from age ten to twenty took note in the celestial kingdom.

But I do think the world  ought to take special note,  pun intended, of Alison Aukschun.   she is definitely someone with whom making music is magic time.  It’s hard work, you must be alert and there are no advance warnings of anything.

My Heros

Soph and Al

Today I sat in the warm sun watching Sophia and Alison play soccer.  

What a gift this September is.  It more than makes up for the crummy, rainy June we had.  To see the girls play soccer is just a huge bonus.  Thank you God.  

Ali’s team is no longer ‘Fire Dragons”, or “Dragon Fire” or whatever it was.  It’s “Lygers” or maybe “Ligers.  Snappy and much easier to yell.  Also they are very rare.  Don’t tell the team they’re impotent when they do come along.  The team is rough and ready to score, though they are a little bedraggled towards the end of the second twenty-minute half.

I’m pleased to say that both girls get into the fray.  I was worried they’d hang back, but no.  They like to get into the pack, which is definitely what you call the team positioning.  At this age, there are no positions.  There are those who hang back and those who are in the bunch.  Ali is in the five-year-olds and they don’t even have a goalie.  The Lygers won 9 to 2 today.  They might be named the “Marauders” next week.  

Sophia’s team remains the “White Dragons”.  A quiet dignity which bespeaks their 1 to zip loss today and their 1 to 1 tie at their last game of play.  I think, though, she’d rather win.  

But what makes it all really beautiful, though, is that the girls seemed to just really enjoyed playing.  Running, breathing, kicking the ball, laughing, throwing grass, wearing uniforms, eating oranges and having fun with friends.  Here’s my hope:  that they never stop having fun and enjoying themselves just like that in some form or another. The points?  They really aren’t that important after all.  

Gotta Love The New Hole In The Head

Remember when losing your teeth was cool?  Here's Sophia, at the height of the fresh corn season enjoying the lack of her front teeth.  She doesn't even seem to mind.  Second Grade is all the better for the missing toothage.

What Are Little Girls Made Of? Showtime!!

Girls put on shows.  I don't think boys do.  At least the boys I know haven't.

The shows can be quite elaborate affairs, complete with tickets, music, singing, dancing, props.  And they can be long.

People can get hurt during these shows.  Generally the audience is tolerant of brief intermissions for blaming, crying, maybe some slugging, but the show must go on.

But somehow strife and tragedy only increases beauty and fervor of the dance.

The movements become more strenuous, the timing more reckless, the interaction seemingly less cautious, inspiring more alertness and awareness in the audience.

But as just as the magic of the dance has begun, it's over.  Yet it lingers long as beauty does when it touches deeply.  The applause still rings.

Liberty Park -- Not Where The Big Kids Play

We had a picnic at Liberty Park a week or so ago.

Liberty Park makes my heart sing.

It's the site of the old farmland where Brigham Young would send the men and boys out to farm while he kept the womenfolk urban in the city in  his famous city blocks.

Later on, Grandma Peterson, nee Nellie Bull, who was born January 26, 1886, would take her little brood there to play, to skate, to swim, to picnic.  Maybe she played there.  I'm not so sure about that.

Later, my mother won a swimming suit as a champion swimmer, swimming at the old Liberty Park pool and won my father's heart playing tennis with him at the Liberty Park courts.  He took some chick named "Ruby" to the school dances, but he married my mother.  Liberty Park.

We spent many days as children at Liberty Park.  First, during the war I lived with Grandma with my mother at 807 Bryan Avenue then at at 938 Kensington until first grade.  And during the summer, we spent lots of time up visiting Grandma, so again, Liberty Park was home away from home.  I love that place.

In those days, the slides were metal, slippery and probably thirty feet high.  The swings were numerous and probably twenty-five feet tall.  It was crazy-wonderful there.  Sometimes we'd swim, but usually just run wild through the playground and have picnic lunches at the long picnic tables under the trees.

I wanted to go there the other day because our granddaughters are getting a little big for the usual playgrounds.  You know.  The ones that are safe and small and the slides are slow.  Ali and Sophia are five and seven.

Shock of shocks, the playground I remember at Liberty Park is gone.  It's now moved north of the tennis courts and swimming pool and it, too, is small, safe and slow.

Liberty Park looks a lot the same.  The trees are big and beautiful.  The swimming pool is the same pretty much and the tennis courts are still there.  The playground is beautiful and brightly colored.  But what happened?

It's safe!!!    And it's for four-year-olds, and younger.

Improve On This, I Dare You

Sometimes the old standbys just can't be beat.

Here we have some Lincoln Logs we bought in desperation in Yellowstone Park last year for our granddaughters because they just don't have any Barbies there in the Park stores.   Anything much that's pink anyway, and we'd all ready bought some stuffed animals.  Not many girlie things.

It was just a small set, came in the bag you see in the above picture, and is not much improved over the set your great grandparents had.

Yet it's hauled out often by Sophia and Ali.  In fact, Sophia built a house yesterday and Ali made the special request that it be preserved over until today.  It was modified from the picture and a little dog pen was built after the playroom was rifled through for the dog.

If you could see inside, there is a tiny doll asleep on the floor of the house and some animals stabled in the little barn.

Sophia played with it for over an hour with it again today.

There are very few toys that are allowed to stay in the family room.  Only a couple because if a mess if to be made, someone has to go to some trouble to make it.  Games stay in the breezeway.  Toys are mostly upstairs in the toy room.  But the Lincoln Logs are in the family room.  They've earned it.