The Rich Life
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Kareena
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Dating Jeanell (the college years)
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Running
Kareena (my son Devin's wife) asked me last night what I was going to blog about today, and I truthfully responded that I had no idea. I have several draft posts that only have a title and usually will look them over and pick one that I feel inspired to right about. But this morning, the following Facebook memory popped up for me:
With that prompt, I decided to write about something that has become quite a big part of my life for the past fourteen or so years (I'm finding it difficult to remember exactly when I started running consistently, but my best guess is that it was 2010).
As I've written about in this space, I was always somewhat athletic growing up, but I was also a very big eater. When I was young, my activity level and metabolism allowed me to basically eat what I wanted without ever becoming overly heavy, but as I got older and my activity level decreased and my metabolism slowed, that ceased being the case.
I would go through spurts where I'd try to go to the gym consistently, but despite my varying efforts, I would say I was overweight from about 2004 to 2010.
One memory I have of an attempt to lose weight during that time was when I was traveling to Dallas every week. The apartment where I lived in Dallas had a fitness center and I would go and run on the treadmill every morning. Every morning I would go, there would be another guy there, who as I recall was a trainer for someone else, and if I had gotten there first he would always ask if he could turn the TV to JAG, which was on USA or something at that time. For whatever reason, I always found that funny. This guy really like his JAG.
Another memory for that time period, was reading about "the Shangri-La Diet" in the second Freakonomics book or something and deciding to give it a try. I bought a book on it and it was based on tricking your metabolism to think that you were not eating anything with flavor by swallowing a tablespoon of canola oil 2-3 times per day. Supposedly if the body thought there was no flavor, it would take that to mean there was a scarcity of food and that would curb your appetite or something. It didn't work for me.
(I'm now pretty skeptical of all diets other than consuming fewer calories than you burn. Obviously, there are different ways to achieve that, but at the end of the day, that has to happen if you're going to lose weight).
Sometime in 2010, I saw my brother-in-law, Cam, and noticed that he had lost a significant amount of weight. When I asked what he had been doing, he told me he had been running. I decided to give it a go.
I had never really done any kind of distance running. When I played football in high school, one of the years we ran from the dam above Grantsville down to the high school for a fundraiser (we would solicit donations per mile). But as I recall, those of us who didn't stash bikes along the route and ride them for a significant distance, simply walked the route, or at least mostly walked it.
When I was a freshman and had opted not to play football, I briefly considered running cross-country. I even remember George and I going for a run with Peter Chatwin, who I believe did run cross-country, to see what it was about. That one run was enough for both of us. We opted against running cross-country.
I don't remember exactly how I got started, but it seems like at Cam's recommendation, the first week I ran a mile each day, then on Saturday I ran two miles, then the next week I ran two miles every day, and the then three miles on Saturday. I don't recall how long I did that, but eventually I found some training plans for a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, and Marathon on a site called coolrunning.com (now gone) and started following those.
I remember the first time I ran nine miles I gave Cam a call (he served as a running mentor for me in those early days) and told him I felt like I never wanted to run that distance ever again. He told me I would recover, and that the desire to run would come back. He was right, and running has been an integral part of my life ever since.
I ran my first marathon (Ogden) in 2012 (I had actually done a marathon training plan and run the full marathon distance in 2011, on a treadmill (yes, I am insane), but the Ogden was my first "real" marathon). Jeanell had joined me in this new hobby and she also ran that Ogden Marathon (I don't know that running was high on the list of things that Jeanell really wanted to do, but she adopted it so that it was something we could do together. She's always been my biggest supporter when it comes to running. I've always appreciated that).
Since taking up running, we have each participated in five Ragnars (two-day relay races). I have run eight half marathons and eight full marathons, most recently St. George in 2022. Jeanell has run eight half marathons and four full marathons, most recently Morgan in 2019.
But beyond that, running has just become what I do in a way I never thought it would. While I'm not as motivated to sign up for races recently, I still run five days a week, 48 weeks a year (I typically have four rest weeks throughout the year) and I still follow those training plans I pulled off of coolrunning.com years ago. I recently finished a half marathon training plan and have now started a 10K training plan to finish out the year.
In the early days, I ran a lot on the treadmill at the Fitness Quarter gym in Brigham City. I would go there during my lunch hour and run however many miles the plan called for that day (running instead of eating lunch seemed to accelerate the weight-loss process). Nowadays I prefer to run outside, but am somewhat of a baby about the weather. I don't like running outside when it's too cold, or too rainy, or too windy. When that happens, I'll still fall back to the treadmill (now at Anytime Fitness in Grantsville).
But when the temperature is just right, and there's minimal wind, and the sun is just coming up, there's just something about a run that is good for the soul. As I run the streets of Grantsville, I try to make a point to wave at every car that I pass. I guess partly I do that to be friendly, partly to think about something other than each step, and partly to try to engage with the drivers to make sure they see me. I try to give each car its own wave as well, so even if one car is following pretty closely behind another, I will briefly take my hand down and then bring it back up so that it's a separate wave. My wave is also more of a peace sign, with my index and middle fingers raised, which my brother Brent told me is the equivalent of flipping the bird in Great Britain. Hopefully I don't pass too many British drivers. (Editor's note: Brent corrected me that raising two fingers is only a British insult if the hand is faced outward. The peace sign is fine).
I remember some of the runners I would see running around town when I was young, like Roger Cowan, Bart Hamatake, Garry Bolinder, and Brad Sutton. It feels great to be carrying on that tradition.
I'm sure this has been incredibly boring, but I wanted to share some of the stats over the past years and the routes I run in Grantsville. I basically have a route for every distance and if my training plan calls for that distance, that is the route I run. So if you see me out running, depending on where you see me and what direction I'm headed at the time, you might be able to guess how far I'm running that day (for example, if you see me headed east on Nygreen, I'm either running four or five miles. I told Tony Clark that if I was running past his house, I was running eight miles, but then realized I could also be running only six, so I had to let him know).
But first the stats (which I've tracked using the RunKeeper app, but especially in the early days, I didn't track all of my runs).
I tracked my first run on July 25, 2011. Since then, I have tracked 2,864 runs, that have taken a total of 91 days to run (that didn't seem like a lot to me, but I did the math, and that comes out to an average of 45 minutes per run) and covered a total of 14,913 miles. My high mileage year (at least that I tracked) was 2019 with 1,675 miles. So far this year, I have run 906 miles. (I believe I should surpass 1,000 miles this year, which would also take me over 15,000 total miles).
My Grantsville routes:
I might eventually wear out my knees and hips, but for now, I love being able to slip on my favorite running shoes (Nike Air Zoom Pegasus, extra wide), and head out on the road for another run. I'll see you around town. Please don't hit me.
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Lila
Lila’s birthday isn’t for another couple of months, but I’ve been thinking about her over the past few days and decided to write about our little girl who almost wasn’t.
In early 2008, Jeanell had scheduled an oblation to help with some issues she had been dealing with. Since pregnancy would be dangerous following this procedure, I would also need to get a vasectomy. Since this would mean our family was complete with our four boys, Jeanell and I had discussed and decided we were ok with that.
But life had other plans. While attending a pre-op appointment for the oblation procedure, she mentioned to her doctor that she had “missed.” Testing was done and Jeanell’s suspicions were confirmed. She was pregnant.
(Jeanell believes she knows the night that this happened. I guess since I was still traveling most weeks at the time, it was easier to narrow down. We had gone over to Logan for some reason and while there stopped at Hastings. I bought her the complete box set of Friends on DVD. Apparently this spontaneous gift set the mood for fireworks later on).
Fast-forward to December of that year. Lila was due December 29. Jeanell had never naturally gone into labor (Devin was five days late and Jeanell was started when her blood pressure went up, with Tyler and Brayden she was started three weeks early, and with Caleb she was started two weeks early) so we thought that the same would happen with this pregnancy, that there would be no frantic trip to the hospital.
But the night of December 21, we were watching Mamma Mia together as a family and Jeanell started to experience contractions. It was snowing and the roads weren’t great, but we gathered some things and made the drive from Elwood to Logan, arriving shortly before midnight.
We got checked in and settled and about seven hours later, our little girl was born. I know I wasn’t a great husband that night because at some point I laid down in a bay window the room had and fell asleep. I was awake for the birth though. The doctor didn’t end up arriving until after Lila made her entrance.
We still had a couple of names in mind and hadn’t finalized when she was born, but we had known for some time that her middle name would be Rachel (after Jeanell’s sister, who had given birth to her first daughter, Emma Jeanell, a couple of months prior). Paige and Lila were the final two names we were considering (I had also suggested Mia earlier in the process). We said both of these names followed by Rachel and decided that Lila Rachel flowed better. So it was settled her name would be Lila. (Grandma Mouritsen gave Lila a book at her birth and inside the cover it says “Probably Paige”).
Since she was born, Lila has brought a happiness and enthusiasm into our life that is contagious. She fell in love with music early on and would sing songs from Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music at the top of her lungs while dancing in our Elwood kitchen. When she was young, we drove a fair amount around the state to attend her brothers’ athletic events and she loved to sing along with whatever music happened to be playing (“Something Stupid” by Michael Buble (she now prefers the Sinatra version) and “Thank You for the Music” by ABBA are two that I remember).
I always loved her enthusiasm just for random things. One day when she was maybe three we were having lunch and when I set her up at the island she said she wanted to sit on the left.
“I love left!” she exclaimed.
“Why do you love left?” I asked.
“Because it’s my favorite way!”
One day we walked to church together and I wrote about that experience which again just showed her love of life and her curiosity.
I wasn’t always a model father (as has probably already been established). One day on my watch, I had her in her high chair and I was doing something on the computer with my back to her. She climbed out of the high chair and fell to the floor. But I picked her up almost right after she hit the floor.
Another time I took her with me to Logan and while there decided to purchase a TV. I don’t remember the exact details but I couldn’t fit the TV in our van with her seat buckled in where it normally would be so I put her in her seat but it was just kind of balancing next to me and I held onto it while I drove us back home to Elwood.
Since Jeanell and I both worked when Lila was young, she had a few different babysitters while we lived in Elwood, all of whom adored her. Her first babysitter was Judy Okada, who also had watched Caleb for us some. She eventually had to stop watching Lila to take care of her mom and I still remember how sad she was to not be able to watch Lila anymore.
We moved to Grantsville just before Lila turned five. This meant she got to attend Karma’s Kiddie Corner for preschool with her “dubbin” Emma. They also were in Aunt Meghan’s kindergarten class, Aunt Jean’s second grade class, and Kelly Painter’s third grade class together. (They were in different first grade classes. Lila had Joan Painter, who she loved and who has supported Lila in the years since).
While attending Willow Elementary, she had a special relationship with Lenna Lambert, who was the school’s librarian. After school, she would go and visit Lenna in the library until I could get there to pick her up. (We saw Lenna at the temple open house a week ago and Lila was able to give her a big hug. It had been a while since they had seen each other).
Before our new home in Grantsville was complete, I would go to my mom and dad’s house to work. Lila would ride the bus home to the house on Eastmoor and spend the rest of the day there.
While still in elementary school, she received a ukulele as a gift and fell in love with it. She taught herself to play and the chords. She would perform at various opportunities and eventually even wrote her own songs.
She started piano at a young age, first taking lessons from her Aunt Shannon, and then taking from Jenean Christensen, who she has taken from for several years now. I love being down in my office which is just below the piano room and hearing her play one of Billy Joel’s songs or something from a play we’ve seen recently.
We’ve always said that Lila is an “old soul” because she has a love and appreciation for things well before her time (her Grandma Jefferies says that if Lila had been her age, they would have been the best of friends). Her favorite artist is Billy Joel (I am also a fan and hope I played some small part in her fandom, but while I am mostly a “greatest hits” kind of fan, Lila knows the deep cuts). She also has an appreciation for The Beatles, The Four Seasons, Frank Sinatra, Carol King, and Queen.
One of the things Lila and I liked to do together was to go on drives, taking turns choosing songs to play and sing along to.
In addition to music, Lila has also developed an appreciation for The Simpsons from me (this has at times led to her getting in trouble as she did one day when we took her out of school early and as she left the class, called out “So long, suckers!” (a line from The Simpsons that I frequently quote). Her teacher found it less funny than I did).
We’ve also watched several of my “nostalgia” movies together. Dumb and Dumber, Liar, Liar, The Truman Show, Mrs. Doubtfire, Back to the Future, Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure, Wayne’s World, and others.
Lila has always been insanely talented musically. In addition to the piano and ukelele, she learned to play the bass to audition for a play (she sadly didn’t get the part). When she got into the high school, the orchestra conductor (Mr. Kim) needed clarinet players so she learned the clarinet. Later, he needed an oboe player so she started learning that. (At the last parent-teacher conference I had with Mr. Kim, he said that she still had a ways to go, but that her progress was amazing for the few short months she’d been learning).
Lila shares her parents’ love of musical theatre. Years ago, we took her to a performance of Little Shop of Horrors that was playing in downtown Salt Lake City that River Robinson (a talented actress from Grantsville) was performing in. Lila has been hooked ever since.
She’s been to New York four times with Jeanell and I and seen many plays there, but one of my favorite things is that she loves to go and see community theatre performances around the state. I’m sure I’ll forget some, but together we’ve seen Little Women and The Drowsy Chaperone at the Murray Amphitheater, Guys and Dolls and Into the Woods by Lehi Arts, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Sandy Arts, Evita at the Empress Theater in Magna, and Legally Blond at the West Valley Performing Arts Center. She loves to support local theatre and always gives a standing ovation.
Lila also loves to perform and has from a young age. She and Emma played the twin girls in The King and I at The Old Church. Lila has been in various other productions there as well.
When she reached junior high age, Lila decided to go to Excelsior Academy where she had the opportunity to be taught by the amazing Matt Price (Jeanell and I went to school with Matt and he has become a dear friend and mentor to Lila. Jeanell said to me on one occasion, “when we were going to school with Matt, did you ever imagine he’d become besties with our daughter?” I must say that no, I did not imagine that scenario). In addition to a revue her sixth grade year, she did four shows under Matt’s direction, Curtains (Chris Belling), Rock of Ages (Lonnie), Matilda (Miss Trunchbull), and Freaky Friday (the mom). She was also able to help music direct on some of those shows. She learned so much and put so much effort and energy into those shows.
In the last couple of years, she provided accompaniment for The Secret Garden at The Old Church and for Diary of a Wimpy Kid at Excelsior (Diary of a Wimpy Kid was brand new and there were not yet tracks available for it so Lila helped out by learning the score and accompanying the shows). She was also the Assistant Music Director for this past summer's Tooele Valley Theatre production of Into the Woods.
As she went into high school, she auditioned for and was accepted to the Centerpoint Academy at the Centerpoint Theatre in Centerville. She has had a wonderful time learning and developing her talents there over the past couple of years. They did a wonderful production of Big Fish last spring that I saw four or five times and loved each time.
Lila is such a bright spot in my life and I’m so grateful she is a part of it. She and I are kindred spirits and I love being able to enjoy so many wonderful things in life with her. I love you Lila.
Sunday, October 6, 2024
The Mission (Parte Dos)
Sunday, September 29, 2024
The Mission
Last week, Jeanell and I took a trip to Cabo with Devin, Kareena, and Caleb. We had a great time and I was able to use my long-dormant Spanish here and there. It was the first time I had been back to Mexico since I served there as a missionary from 1996 to 1998. I used the flights to and from to take advantage and read through my missionary journal and was reminded of various aspects of my mission that I had forgotten. I thought I'd write about some of my experiences, quoting entries from my journal, and adding additional commentary where appropriate.
To start I wanted to get the basic facts out of the way. Lyle Lawton (Lyle is our neighbor across the street and currently serves as my mom's Ministering Brother) was my Bishop when I prepared to go on my mission. D. Brent Rose was my Stake President. I received my call to the Mexico City North Mission on April 11, 1996. I went through the temple on May 11, 1996 (Jeanell and I would be married four years minus one day later). My farewell was on June 23, 1996. I was set apart on June 25, 1996.
My mission was exactly 106 weeks. I entered the MTC on June 26, 1996. Exactly nine weeks later, I left the MTC for Mexico City on August 28, 1996. And 97 weeks after that, I returned home, on July 8, 1998.
I had 12 companions (including my MTC companion). Nine of them were Mexican and three were American. The longest I was with a companion was one day short of three months. The shortest was one day short of one month. My companions were as follows:
Elder Robert McCrae (from Georgia), June 26, 1996 - August 29, 1996 (MTC)
Elder Edialberto Inda (from Mexicali), August 29, 1996 - November 25, 1996 (Villa de Las Flores)
Elder Javier Olvera (from Matamoros), November 25, 1996 - December 31, 1996 (Villa de Las Flores)
Elder David Hope (from Pennsylvania), December 31, 1996 - March 14, 1997 (Tlalnepantla)
Elder Edgar Galvez (from Tijuana), March 14, 1997 - May 26, 1997 (Tlalnepantla)
Elder Ricardo Hurtado (from Campeche), May 26, 1997 - July 7, 1997 (Linda Vista)
Elder Eduardo Gutierrez (didn't record and don't remember), July 7, 1997 - August 12, 1997 (Linda Vista)
Elder Moises Lozano (didn't record and don't remember), August 12, 1997 - November 11, 1997 (Tlalnepantla)
Elder Jose Zepeda (from Sonora), November 11, 1997 - January 7, 1998 (Arbolillo)
Elder Sam Sturgeon (from Arizona), January 7, 1998 - March 17, 1998 (Arbolillo)
Elder Carlos Morales (from Chihuahua), March 17, 1998 - June 8, 1998 (Cuautitlan)
Elder Hugo Hernandez (from Veracruz), June 8, 1998 - July 7, 1998 (Cuautitlan)
My Mission Presidents were Donald and Virginia Cazier for the entirety of my mission. I believe President Cazier arrived in Mexico just before I did.
Some general impressions as I read through my journal
- I seemed to enjoy the MTC much more than I enjoyed the mission field. I was struck by how many days my entries expressed discouragement (incidentally, that's not how I remember my mission).
- Mail was king. Seems like I always noted how many letters I received and from who.
- The average length of my entries decreased rather drastically over time, but I was never especially wordy. I believe my shortest entry was "Good day. Good night."
- I wrote to my journal as if it were a person, which I guess people do, but I would sign off with phrases like "See you tomorrow!"