Paula's Ponderings

I have a lot to share, and as from the title, theres a little bit for everyone. Get comfortable, its a long story.

 Soo, this year my parents decided to come to CA and spend the holidays with me.   This is the first time in the 13 years I’ve lived in CA that my parents have spent the holidays outside of Utah.  It makes sense – all my other family members have kids…grandkids for them to spoil… in CA, its just me and the cats.   I wanted the trip to be perfect.  That things go smoothly and that they were sufficientlyentertained —  and as one would expect,  things just didn’t go as planned.  Nothing terrible… just not right.

• The Furnace.  So, as one would expect, the unexpected happened. The furnace stopped working.  It started making a weird sound the night I picked my parents up… I had my dad listen to it… then look at it the following morning.  The motor had “arched”… in laymans terms, this means it stopped working….  As the winds blew and the hail attached the house, we sat, at home, freezing our patooties off.  My parents really wanted to escape the cold of the UT winter storms…. little did they know, they would be bundled up with blankets in a small house in the burbs on a very cold holiday weekend.
• The Oven.  I now rent a home…and this old home is in original condition, including the ancient stove/oven.  A stove/oven that has been neglected…  When I moved in, I noticed a very strong gas smell. Almost 2 months later, the land-lady took care of it….. all pilot lights have been lit and broken pipes have been repaired. As happy as I am that I did not blow myself up, I was a bit perturbed that I didn’t have enough time to practice cooking with the oven before my holiday entertaining.  Well, the first meal I cooked in the oven was Christmas dinner – a beautiful, organic, AND free-range turkey.  However, I served it in a somewhat raw form BECAUSE the oven temperature is off (I’m guessing about 100 degrees)… And of course, thinking I could make up for it, I turned the tempurature up and burnt the pumpkin pie (over compensation for the turkey)… My mom is taking a picture with me and the stove/oven tomorrow – she still cant believe a ‘modern woman’ could “cook”(if you can call it that) with such an old stove/oven.  I’m just glad they are heading home without a bought of food poisoning.
• A Movie.  My recommendation to anyone out there that is over the age of 30, DO NOT WATCH Forgetting Sarah Marshall with your parents.  I loved the moved when I watched it the first time – thought it was hysterical, so I specifically ordered it (thank you NetFlix!) so my parents could see it. They like comedies, I though they would get a kick out of it.  HOwever, what I failed to realize the first time I watched the movie is how it is filled with a lot sexual content.  About 15 minutes into the movie, all of us snuggled under blankets (furnace is broken), my mom says, “I feel like I’m watching porn”.  Not a complaint, just a statement.   We continued to watch the movie, and I saw it thru new lenses… and yep,  indeed there is a lot of sex in the movie. Towards the end, during some specific sex scenes, I could not believe I was watching it with my parents (mostly my dad!!!!).. jees.  I wont do that again.

But seriously, even with all of this, the visit was a lot of fun. I learned so much about my parents as well as myself, and we’ve grown closer.  We even broached the subject of death and living wills (which I love to talk about… most other people not so much)..

 
I took my parents to the airport yesterday, I was sad to see them go.  We had such a good time getting to know each other, with all the unconditional love a parent has for a child and a child has for a parent, but now, also with the full knowledge appreciation that we are all adults, doing the best we can to get thru life.  And as different as we are, we can all get past the small, unexpected disasters and just have fun together.  I’m actually looking forward to another holiday with them. I think next time my mom will want to do the cooking… 🙂