First off, Happy Birthday to you and to Sarah! I was talking to mom and dad and we came to the consensus that once you turn 20 this Friday, they will all have kids in their 20s. Welcome to the twenties club. You definitely have your whole life ahead of you (as do I, and as do our two sisters). Great things are happening, and have been happening in our lives, and I know they won't stop happening. Actually, you guys cease to amaze me with your greatness and love for the family. Happy birthday, bud. Get an ice cream, on me!
So, you might not believe it, but I am actually in California right now. You are probably wondering what I am doing. Well, it's been in the works for me to come back to visit and this weekend gave me the opportunity to do so. I've come to visit Sarah, mainly, Mom and Dad, and Sarah's family. The occasion we were celebrating, were many. Sarah's mom's birthday was Friday, her brother's family (my niece) came to celebrate their middle girl's birthday, and ultimately, that same brother had a baby blessing to give.
Let me tell you about it in detail so you're not confused. So, Thursday, Sarah and I made the decision for me to travel from Mesa back to Rancho on Friday. The final decider was that Sarah's roommate Shaunna has a brother in Mesa that had already made plans to visit his sister this weekend. Let me back up. Shaunna, Sarah's roommate who is a teacher, was walking from her classroom to her car with heavy boxes, misstepped, and rolled her toes and ankle, so much so that she broke and injured her foot. While this might be hard, it has been a blessing that Sarah has been there with her. Not just for the physical and emotional help, but because Sarah had a similar injury that she needed help with a couple years ago. Well, she has been there, side by side, giving her the necessary help she needed. Sarah has been a blessing to Shaunna in so many ways. She has been running errands for Shaunna left and right, and teaching Shaunna how to be more mobile. If you remember, when I first met Sarah, she was in a wheelchair.
Well, Shaunna's foot surgery was Friday. And lucky for her, her brother in Mesa was wanting to come help her out with his wife Debbie. When Sarah heard that he was coming for the weekend, she immediately asked Shaunna to ask Dale (his name) if I could hitch a ride. At first she was hesitant to do so, but she did it, and Dale said I could ride with him on Friday afternoon. The ride was uneventful, but of course, uneventful on the road is good. If you can get from one place to another without incident, that is definitely considered a success. We stopped just outside of Blythe for dinner from Wendy's and a five hour drive later, I was back in Rancho Cucamonga. Dale and Debbie were super nice to me. We had good conversation about the different things going on in our lives and what I was doing away from my wife in Arizona.
They delivered the package (me) to Sarah that night. When I got there, of course the first thing I did was hug my wife (after helping Dale with luggage). She went into her caretaker mode with Dale and Debbie, letting them know all the protocol with dealing with Shaunna and her newly acquired cast and medicine and procedures. She did a good job telling them about everything, and we left them to it.
That Thursday, when we had finally made our decision that I would be coming, I immediately called mom and dad and asked them if we (Sarah and I) could stay at there house Friday Night and Sunday Night (we were going to stay at Sarah's mom's house on Saturday night). After a bit of deliberation, they said we could come and stay with them. So, we drove from Shaunna's to mom and dad's that night. It was already very late, so we went to bed after a bit of chatting.
Saturday was a busy day for us. Sarah's mom's birthday was Friday, and our niece Maya's birthday party was on Saturday at McMaster Park in Los Angeles. We arrived at the party and said hi to all that was there. We noticed that there weren't any forks or spoons, so we went (me half eating the food already) to Smart and Final and got a bunch of utensils. The food was so good. They had a taco man cater for us. It was super good tacos with super good salsa and other toppings. A lot of Sarah's family was there with their kids, like Richard and Diana with their five boys, Enoch and Sonia with their three girls (one of which was the birthday girl and another was the girl that was getting a baby blessing on Sunday), Athena with her son Noah, Lisa and her two teenage kids Julius and Adina, Christina with her two daughters Fiona and Brianna, and Danny and Carol. Not to mention all of the birthday girl's other side of the family. It was quite a good time. I made it a point to take selfies with all of Sarah's family that was there. I was quite successful, actually, despite brothers that didn't want their picture taken.
They had three pinatas. THREE! I took pictures, and then had an opportunity to help with the rope. The cake was also very good. It was made by a friend of the birthday girl. Anyways, we had a good time just talking and building relationships. I also got to make friends with little Noah, throwing a plastic ball his way. It was fun, and others joined as well. At the party, Enoch extended an invitation to participate in the baby blessing of little Madeline. I of course said it was an honor. Also, Sarah's sister Christina asked us if we could come help her do some errands the rest of the day.
We of course said yes. Sarah's sister Christina is just a little younger than her. She has two girls, Fiona and Brianna of ages 5 (almost 6) and 3. She first took us to the laundromat. We were able to entertain the girls for about an hour while she washed clothes. We also talked with Christina and I was able to get to know her more. She has been living in Rigby, Idaho with her husband and two kids. Her husband is a police officer there and she was working as a teacher there as well. Well, they had the impression to move to Los Angeles, mostly as a feeling. Well, her husband is still in Idaho, but will soon be coming and acquiring a job in LA. Christina has been living with her two daughters in a friend's house, until Jonathan comes soon.
It was our pleasure to help her do these things, as you can imagine, being a single mom (for the time being) with two rambunctious but precious little girls. I was making friends with little Brianna. She was opening and closing dryer doors (with my help) and she was enraptured by me spinning the quarters around. Christina said she was taking to me, both girls were. Fiona was doing thumb wars with me, and of course, I let her win almost every time. I'm telling you, being an uncle suits me. I love messing around with little kids (even the teenagers). You'll see with little Cohen and all the nieces and nephews your wife has. It's just a nice high calling in life.
Well, after the laundry, Christina needed to go grocery shopping. So we went to Walmart and well, it was a Saturday night, weekend before school started in LA, so of course, it was the busiest I have seen a Walmart in a long time. There were tons of people and barely any available carts. But we found two, and we went around shopping. It was fun being with them. Crazy at times, and fun. Well, the line to the register, was no lie, probably 15 to 20 people long, with like three registers open. Even the self checkout line extended passed us in a different direction. It was just great being with one of Sarah's sisters and building relationships as we shopped and watched the girls and talked and listened. Then we got Carl's Jr. for dinner (at my request).
That night, Sarah's mom let us sleep on her waterbed upstairs while she slept on a couch. It was super duper hot. Almost unbearable, but I guess I was tired because I did get some shut-eye. We went to church the next morning. We were the first ones there with probably 10 minutes before the meeting started. Sarah's mom was wondering where everyone was because we needed to practice a song for the middle of the Sacrament meeting. Well, everyone trickled in and sat down. I got to participate in my second ever baby blessing. Well, true to form, she cried throughout. Enoch told me later why he thought that happened. But it was a beautiful blessing. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was nice and we took pictures afterwards. We sang Families Can Be Together Forever as a family. It went well. We had a nice Peruvian lunch. I was able to give Christina a blessing as well, which was a super nice opportunity. I'm glad I could help, and extend my help in that way.
Mom and Dad invited us for Sunday dinner. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and veggies. We had pleasant conversation. It was nice to be there with my wife. In fact, the whole weekend was nice. Super good. Sarah departed to be with Shaunna, and tomorrow she will take me to the Greyhound Station in San Bernardino so I can travel back to the Valley of the Sun. Tia Lucy and Tio Jesus came to visit me and I recounted my weekend and the good news of the week for me.
Oh yeah, so you don't know, because Monday was test day. Well, as you were probably writing to me, I took my NES Special Education test at a testing center in Tempe. I felt good about it. I noticed that I had an email from LIFE but I decided not to check it before the test, which was probably a good idea. The outcome: well, I needed a 220; I got a 214. So, no passing. Then I checked my email, and it was from LIFE; they didn't want me. Two blows in a matter 10 minutes. I called Sarah, and just cried, not at first. I parked at a gas station, and read the letter you sent to me. It definitely comforted me in the moment, along with the comfort and encouragement of Sarah.
Well, the good news: Thanks to Aunt Kerry, I will probably have a job by the end of this next week. She called me on Wednesday while she was at work and told me that there was a position available at her school for a Special Ed teacher's aide. I talked to Patrick, who gave me the details of the position, warning me that if I take it, one of my responsibilities is to help the children go to the bathroom. I said I was definitely interested in the job. He said great, and told me he was going to contact HR about it and expedite the process and that I should soon be hearing from HR, probably without an interview. Crazy, I know, how things seem to work when things don't seem to be working. I thanked Aunt Kerry later. She is definitely my lifesaver. She also told me that this job doesn't have to be permanent and that Patrick knows I'm trying to get better work, but in the meantime I can do this.
I have had the opportunity to pick up Gracie from her new school. Let me tell you, the process to pick up is just as bad as picking up if not worse than your high school. But I had to learn the secrets, like instead of getting there late, I can get there early and park in the parking lot and shortcut my way out. Jesse also asked me to take Gracie to school Wednesday thru Friday. Not as bad as picking up. And Gracie makes a fun passenger, as she is super into music and we listen to anything and everything on our rides there and back.
She also has been sharing Anime with me. Well, just one show called One Piece with Monkey di Luffy. It's been pretty good. She actually got homework on Thursday, math homework, conversions, and she did great and I was able to check her work. It was fun getting my brain working again. I've also been applying to an online tutoring company. I've been working on the cover letter and short-answer questions. I will probably finish the application early this week.
Well, I can't wait to see what this week brings. Thank you for all your prayers. I consider the prayers of missionaries very sacred and important. I think that is why the temple workers try to remember the missionaries in their prayers. Have a great P-day and an even better birthday! I will be thinking about you, my brother.
I love you so much. Take luck! and send me a line! I truly savor your letters.
Love,
John
