Randy and Shari's World

I want to write stuff, but I don’t really have anything in mind. So I’ll just start telling you random things and maybe they’ll lead into something deep and big and wide. OK?

So my parents went on vacation this week WITHOUT US! I cannot believe it. Actually I can, because they’re getting quite good at it. They do not seem at all concerned about having an empty nest (well, not quite technically empty, cuz Nick still lives there, but he can take care of himself, cuz he’s big). They’re visiting the Grand Canyon. First time ever for either one of them, so that’s pretty cool. Tomorrow is their 41st anniversary, and I think they left the state so that Trish and I wouldn’t throw another huge party for them like we did last year (I mean, why would we do it THIS year, when my baby actually sleeps through the night, when my wrists don’t hurt constantly, etc? Much more appropriate last year!!)

I plunked the kids into the double stroller this morning and off we went to take a walk. I had made sure that they each had a toy to hold, so I thought we were good. But 3 steps out of the garage and The Bean says, “Uh, uh” and turns around looking concerned. Ah yes, she is used to having 2 toys: the purple and orange car AND the Yellow Squishy Seal. She only had the car. So I went back to try to find Yellow Squishy Seal for her other hand. I couldn’t find him! So after searching very quickly in the most obvious places, I grab Red Squishy Crab (they’re kinda like cousins-once-removed. Well actually, Yellow Squishy Seal is definitely- removed, but hopefully he’ll come back soon). At which point Micah declares that HE needs 2 toys. Just as he was starting to whine that HE wanted Red Squishy Crab, I lunged for a blue non-squishy crab and thrust it at him, triumphantly announcing, “Here’s a crab!”

So we set off again. We go for a few minutes, then Bean drops her car. As I hand it back to her I notice that Red Squishy Crab is not in sight. So I try to find him for her so she won’t miss him 3 seconds later and get sad. Well, I can’t find him! So we turn around, inform the kind neighbor who has stopped preening his flowers to say hi to us that we lost a toy and need to go back and find it (I did not mention to him that the toy in question was Red Squishy Crab; I don’t really know the guy at all and don’t want to be the fodder for any neighborhood rumors) and head back the way we came, looking fervently at the ground for something red (yes, and squishy, sorry but it’s a difficult word to type sometimes). We are getting closer and closer to our house with no sign of him. I am starting to feel like the “let’s take a nice walk around our neighborhood before lunch” idea was going to be more like “let’s walk up and down this same little stretch of about 7 houses until someone calls the police because of possible stalkers.” Sure enough, there he was in our driveway, rather close to the spot where I handed him to her in the first place. I did NOT get him. We turned around and, despite Micah’s earnest concern that Red Squishy Crab would be sad sitting in the sun while we were gone, completed our walk! It was very nice and we saw many beautiful blossoms, 1 gorgoeus dog, 1 decent-enough dog, 1 mom, and 2 little kids.

I’m supposed to be looking through our digital photos on the computer and figuring out which ones to get printed into actual hand-held photos that can be displayed in pretty frames or scrap-booked or even just hung on the fridge with random magnets that occasionally let go for no apparent reason. But it’s so overwhelming because Randy has this (I guess) NEED to utilize the feature on his camera that takes like 8 billion pictures per nanosecond. So I can’t just be like, “Oh out of the 3 pictures of the pretty tree, this one is the best (cuz its smile is so sweet) so I will delete the other two – done.” No, I have to get all squinty and look at the rows and rows of pictures of this tree, trying to figure out which one has the least wind-disruption, unless of course the wind makes it look prettier, and wonder the whole time: A) Will Randy be sad if I delete this particular one? What about this one? B) Why did he take this many pictures of a TREE? It’s not like it has our adorable children next to it! It’s just sitting there! I daresay 5 pictures of it would be plenty!! and C) What does he want to DO with this picture, anyway?
So it’s bad enough when it’s a tree; a subject that I can appreciate well enough, but by no means feel horrendously awful for deleting a few of its photos from our collection. But when he does this photo-rampage with our own actual children??!! I am beseiged by guilt and fear and yes, annoyance that he has seen fit to put me in this position by taking this many pictures of the child. Because the problem is, there are sometimes very teensy differences in each one of the 63 photos of the baby cuddled up with the bear. And who am I to say which ones go and which ones stay? How dreadful to push the Delete button while hovering over an image of your own flesh and blood! And what if, years down the line, we are looking at the 13 that I saved and Randy goes, “I am almost positive I took one that showed her with her left eye 3/4 closed and her right eye all the way open, but not the one where her nuk is tilted to the left of her mouth, because I see that you saved that one…” and then I will collapse onto the floor with shame (I just hope I land on the top, cuz shame can be heavy) because I unknowingly deleted my husband’s absolute favorite photo of his only daughter!

We ate leftovers for lunch today.

Micah said he wishes all 4 of us were girls because then he could wear ponytails in his hair.

We also have a Green Squishy Frog, but he’s smaller that the other guys, so I think he’s from a different family.

Randy has told me numerous times that I can delete whatever photos I want to and he will not be mad.

But I’m still scared.