froth + bubble

I always associate this poem with Halloween because 

froth + bubble 

sounds like

bubble bubble toil + trouble

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Blown Away

I grew up under the impression that it was proper to wish on white dandelions.

I've wished for many things. The aforementioned pergola and dining room, a baby, thicker hair, tighter skin, stronger legs, a pillow I can sleep soundly on, for my daughter to feed Lucy without being asked, etc.

This summer my mom and I sat in her purple Chrysler minivan for three hours while my husband and father fished the Provo River Falls near Kamas. If you ever want to see Last of the Mohicans meets Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves I suggest you go there. If you're wondering why we were sitting in the car it's because it was stinking hot and there were a million mosquitoes. My dad also has poor time management when he's fishing due to his worthless slogan: Real fishermen don't wear watches. (I love you, Dad, and you know it. I know you're saving Sunday for me.)

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Duet

Greg is the person I love most on this planet but we had a humdinger of an argument about a month ago. Post-argument I threw up all night from what I assumed was food poisoning from a restaurant that shall remain nameless.

Twenty-four hours later we sat facing each other and laid it all out on the kitchen table. I had major concerns. He had major concerns. We were not unified about several things. Before we got to the nitty gritty we said a prayer. Thankfully patience, a lengthy discussion, and listening ears allowed for our loose ends to be tied up in a pretty little bow. We stretched our arms across the table and held hands, got up, hugged, and moved on. My stomach stopped hurting and I slept like a baby that night.

Greg and I have said two things since the day we got married. That divorce is not an option and that together we can do anything.

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Sparkle

On a whim I bought a book entitled The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray. It's unbelievably awesome, and this is coming from a girl who still feels that high school chemistry was the most confusing class she ever took. Every spread of my new square book has the name and number of an element from the periodic table with pictures and factoids to make science interesting. My new heroes are iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), and lead (Pb). Lead contains no peanut butter despite the confusing and mouthwatering abbreviation.

One tidbit I found interesting is that Rome has used the same lead drainpipes for the last 2,000 years. They say that lead lasts virtually forever. Those Romans with their lead pipes and aqueducts. Geniuses.

Sadly, lead is toxic to humans and ill-favored by Superman's eyeballs. Just the dose in one speeding bullet will do you in (if the bullet didn't already).

I was on the fence about lead. Pro: it lasts forever. Con: it will kill you. I just couldn't make up my mind if I loved it or hated it. This next fact tipped the scale in lead's favor for personal reasons.

LEAD MAKES CUT GLASS SPARKLE.

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Phoenix

We have a small property in Wyoming that used to house a beautiful mountainside forest. A forest fire was leaping its way toward our haven and the BLM had no choice but to light a backfire with our skyward kindling and evergreen acres. The fires merged and extinguished each other; no other damage was suffered in our oasis of clustered cabins. That sacrificial portion of our land resembled a pile of black pick-up sticks when we purchased it five years ago. Over time it has slowly, according to the laws of nature, resurrected itself into an aspen grove with aspens no taller than six feet. This summer Greg and I went hunting for phoenixes in our new woods. Do you know how refreshing one sunlit lime green leaf looks in a charcoal prison?

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