Keeping Up With the Nashes

The last few blog posts have been kind of blah, and I'm not sure how this one will sound...unfortunately, I am:

A: A busy person; and

B: Not always very interesting; i.e., I don't know what to write about much of the time. I hope this "experimental" month won't turn off any potential readers!

Anyway, my being sleep-deprived because of my daughter's sudden "sleep allergy" has left me discombobulated & out of sorts. I taught a preschool class this morning and basically sleep-walked through it. I hope the kids got something out of it! I'll post more on preschool in a couple of days, once the week is over; in the meantime, I wanted to mention a couple of important things:

First, the Barrett family finally got a cell phone (thanks to engadget.com for the image)! It has taken us until well into the 21st century, but we can finally communicate with people while on the go. It wasn't just any phone, however...it was that bad boy you see in the picture above: a Samsung Galaxy II smartphone. To go from no cell phone whatsoever to this sleek, powerful, scary little machine has been quite an adjustment for Nathan & I. We are both convinced the phone is smarter than we are.

I wanted to publicly thank our brother-in-law in Utah, Paul Carlin, for finally dragging us kicking & screaming into the wireless world. The phone was essentially a gift from him, and we are part of his family wireless plan. Paul has always been a very generous, giving person, as well as being a person who wants us to be "well-off" technologically, so he sent us this phone with a blessing. I hope he got a great deal on it, like he claims, because we feel unworthy of such a trinket! But we are very grateful to Paul all the same.

One reason I'm glad to (finally) have a phone is that it will (I hope) enable me to stay in touch with my family a little better. I come from a family of three kids: my sister, brother, & I are all grown, married, and raising families, and we live scattered all across the country now. I live in Arizona, my sister in Utah, and my brother far away in Connecticut. I miss them dearly, but confess that I don't contact my family or keep in touch with them as much as I would like to do.

So today, after cleaning up after preschool, sneaking a quick desperate nap, and getting ready for my busy afternoon (school pick-up, dance class, piano lessons), I did something I should be doing a lot more often; I picked up my shiny new phone and called my mother. It wasn't an earth-shattering conversation. We didn't talk about "heavy" things. In fact, my poor mother wasn't feeling too well, and I may have even woken her up from her nap...oops!

Still, we talked for several minutes, and it felt so good to have her listen to some of my Primary worries or listen to her talk about how Dad's finishing up their kitchen remodel, and is starting to already think about a new project to tackle. My mom & I are very different people, but that has been a good thing for me; she helps me see people (and the world in general) in a different light, and give me much-needed perspective on many things. We agreed to Skype tomorrow (the first time in a while; I hope it works out!). I miss her and love her very much!

Later that night, in a pure coincidence, my younger brother Ray called and we caught up for an hour. I wish it could be longer, but Ray has a life that makes mine look pretty tame; he's got a crazy busy job with GE in which 60-80 hour work weeks are common; he bought a new home last year and has been remodeling the basement himself; he is in his ward's bishopric; and his lovely wife is expecting their second child in January. Needless to say, we haven't talked much lately. And that's a shame, because my brother is dang awesome! However, it was great tonight for us to talk together & let off a little steam regarding our work schedules, our church callings, and our growing responsibilities as homeowners & parents. I am so proud of Ray and all that he's accomplished; however, despite my being the "big sister," I think I learn more from him than he ever learns from me!

This sounds like a rambling, disjointed blog post...and it is. Sorry about that. I do have a point, though...I'm grateful for my family. All of them, no matter how far away they live and how little I get to see them. I'm also really grateful for modern technology, that helps me connect to my family and feel closer to them spiritually, when physically they are very distant. I am truly blessed to have these people as my relatives.

I hope that's a suitable "thankfulness" post for this season of Thanksgiving. And speaking of Thanksgiving...next time I'll write a little about my favorite goody from this time of year.