The Sage

I suppose it is somewhat inverse to refer to someone, who is your junior and someone whose diapers you changed, as a sage but it is appropriate in this setting. Jaren is my inspiration and the reason I decided to start a blog. A few months ago, I didn't know what a "blog" was. I was first introduced to the concept by my daughter, Jennica's, blog. But I didn't want one of my own because I am a private person and don't really want to share myself with just "anyone." Then I learned that unless you give someone your blog address, just "anyone" can't find it. Soon Jaren started a blog and the concept became multi-dimensional. The final selling point however, was Jaren's saying he did not write his blog for anyone but himself. It gave him a venue for writing each day. He didn't care if anyone read it or not. Of course, the people who read his blog care because he is informative, funny, sometimes crass, and always a delightful writer.

Aha. I have latent tendencies toward writing. When I'm alone, I form thoughts and then often "rewrite" them for clarity on a page. Though this is totally cerebral, on some level I'm always writing. In reality, the only creative writing I've done for the last three years is in my notes on clients. My profession is psychosocial rehabilitation (glorified baby sitter.) Because one cannot write that they took their client swimming two times this week because that was the only way to get that client to take a shower. And at forty degrees below, it's hard to justify to one's client why you're driving with the windows down. So the creativeness comes in wording your note to say "PRS taught client social/hygiene skills."

Now I have a fun and novel was to vent via posts on a blog. Thanks Jaren.

Additionally, Jaren inspires me in countless other ways. Just before his moving with his family to Louisville, Ky. we were able to share with other family members the opportunity to do the temple work that Johnny so desired to have completed. While Jaren was in Kentucky, we visited cemeteries and found the graves of great and great-great grandparents as well as aunts and uncles and cousins. We went to the library in Leitchfield, where Johnny spent some years as a boy, and found many family names whose graves we were then able to find. We visited a distant cousin, Kathy Kolle, and received from her generosity many many more names. Driving into her driveway and watching her walk to meet us was like driving into the Watson gene pool.

Jaren took me to a theatre in the round where we had to traverse through small mouse tunnels to get to the theatre. We shared in my fascination for Chaim Potok and watched "The Chosen." And Jaren became intrigued. We viewed tall buildings from a roof top parking garage at night and laughed about the mouse tunnels. Jaren introduced me to a friend and told said friend that someday he would like to co-author a book with me. We went to an aquarium, and on another day, we spontaneously left a pool party at Marshall Hawkes and drove his little family to spend two nights in a tent on a beach in Florida where Jaren and Claire periodically went crab hunting (successfully). Charity and Claire were both converted to our love of watching and playing in the waves. I love the excitement he has instilled in his small children for diverse animal life. Jaren taught me how to make a book and we searched for paper until we found Lokta paper (hand made in Nepal) at a store named Sitori.

In Tucson, he took me atop a mountain to take pictures of the sunset and his lovely little Claire. He verbalizes without embarrassment his great love for his wife, Charity. He plays with his children in tender and stimulating ways, while constantly teaching them and expanding their horizons.

And where else would you find a daddy who would sleep outside because his kids pet kitty has disappeared and he wants to be there in case in comes home in the middle of the night.

As you can see I still have things to learn about placement of pictures in my blog making, but I can just ask Jaren, my son, my mentor, my friend.