When Jared would slip away from the table on Sunday. We were all there and then, out the window, we would see him riding his bike to Thompsons.
Rachel would help with the babies and loved them. Even though she was young, I trusted her more than a babysitter because she just knew what to do. When she was older, she made an anniversary dinner for Dad and me--she set the table for two and made little parfaits for dessert. A romantic. She was always expressive and entertaining and full of news about school, etc. The conversation would often center around her. She had a light heart.
In junior high Sara requested a large calendar for herself. She helped me organize. On Saturday, I made a list of tasks I needed done and gave it to her to organize everyone. She helped with the babies when they were no longer babies--when they could walk and start to be real people. She was fast. In 3rd grade I was worried that she hadn't learned her times tables but her teacher insisted she knew them; then he realized she was just doing addition really fast and still got her assignments done sooner than the rest. When she came home from school we talked. Dad trusted her and appreciated her help--we both did. At Lake Powell at age 14 she drove the speedboat alone from Wahweep to Lone Rock beach.
Josh was nice to all of us. He was fun and made us laugh. He was aware--which made him an adept teaser. When he was little he didn't want to read with me as much as the girls had, but wanted to wrestle instead--a boy. He was so interested in things that I was always on the lookout for something new for him. From the beginning he always wanted to help people and seemed to find a way to comfort and heal others, sometimes with a little joke. He was athletic but didn't show it off like some boys have to do. I remember Carol Leishman inviting him to sing with a group in Primary (I Wonder When He Comes Again) and her telling me he had a nice voice.
Gabby didn't like being the younger sister, but she endured. She was efficient, co-operative and comparatively quiet. It was only in retrospect that I can see that she figured things out for herself in the family. Her leadership skills surprised us when we went to the 3rd grade class play. She was not only the narrator but was in charge. As the children got ready, she was calling out to the them, reminding them what to do, ordering kids around. Later, in high school Gabby's girlfriends gathered in the kitchen to make dance invitations. For one of the girls, Gabby grabbed scissors and cut out a clever fish, freehand. I knew she was talented, but up until then I didn't appreciate how artistic.
Jared we all loved. He always had friends to go to. Jared wanted to succeed, expected to. He was dedicated to whatever he loved, passionate. He loved tropical fish. In 6th grade when he wanted to give Amber a Christmas present he gave a fish. Dad took everyone skiing and for Jared it was a big focus and he loved it. Around the house he would be slow to do what I wanted, but then, when we came back from an overnight trip, he would have the grape arbor all built--with Salem's help. I liked having his high school friends come over for lunch. I learned to have enough bread ready. They made themselves deviled egg sandwiches. He and Leon collected music CD's.
When I came home from the Gable House one night late, everyone was asleep but Jordan, about age three and still fully dressed. I was sad that no one had helped her; I thought we had a plan in place to cover this. I was tired but I went about the tasks. First I washed her up and helped her into her pj's--the kind with feet. Then I took her to bed, but her bed was gone. It was a junior style bed that Dad made, and the foam mattress was sometimes used to make a fort so it was in someone else's room. I went and found it, found bedding. While I was making up her bed, Jordan sat watching me. She sighed a little sigh and said, "Mom, you do all your work, and I love you." She had amazing ingenuity, endless ideas and projects. Joani Christensen told me, "Jordan has an eye for design."
Salem was full of hope and optimism. He was bright. Even at a young age he was patient with all of us, loved all of us. When Family Home Evening had slackened, he wanted us to start it up again. He was loud. He did well in school, and when the standardized test scores came home, I glanced at his graph and couldn't read it; I couldn't see where he placed. Then I realized that the page looked empty because all of his scores were clear up in the high 90's. He loved sports. During one flag football game, he kicked the ball down the field and then ran down and tackled the kid who caught it.
Jake was older. He was in an odd spot in the family for a lot of reasons. In junior high, they chose students to play the morning bugle call over the PA, and it was usually him. It was fun for us to watch his running career take off. He loved it and would go on long runs in Riverside. He won first place at a big citywide meet one year. He was a help to Dad and to me. He could figure things out, fix things, build things.
{I repeat these thoughts later in this blog but I'm still just leaving them here as is.}
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