A Night Out

A night I want to remember for its details.

We can feel spring: the itch to get out of the house. When Jayce came to buy bread today, he admired my amaryllis, the ones we tried to get rid of. They were so thick, littering the driveway with their long blades, when we moved in. I gave a few to Melody, whose favorite they are, and some back to Ron, who had first planted them for the old owners of this house. I transplanted some, and now they bloom pretty. Jayce said the neighborhood was so fragrant as he drove up. I've never thought of using that word to describe this neighborhood.

We are lucky that mosquitoes haven't started biting yet (did I just curse myself?).

I needed to get out of the house today. So did the kids. Patrick had a very short engagement at 8:00 to play music in a Baroque ensemble downtown at UNT on the Square.  So, let's run around on the square, as we call it. We had a short Family Home Evening, where Simon and I led a discussion about how every soul on this earth lived with Heavenly Father before we came here. I felt a peaceful witness from the Spirit even in reading a bit about this truth. I enjoyed hearing the thoughts of each of the kids. Kyle imagined heaven to be a room with narrow hallways, while Taylor said it was just darkness. Simon said it looks like the world we live in.

Into the van and downtown we went. After dropping Patrick off, we parallel parked, and mezzo soprano Grace pulled in right behind, making two gold vans in a row. We brought Patrick the music he had left in the trunk. Some of us stood still among the musicians all in black, waiting to go in. Others of us jiggled around like popcorn. I heard Grace call me a "soccer mom," which is funny because I don't think of myself that way, and none of the kids even plays soccer.

Simon and Kyle sat up front. They are pretty used to concerts, but I worried because they were so touchy tonight. A wise man, remarked Kyle later, told them to keep an eye on every one to make sure they were quiet. "And we did." Taylor waved to Patrick for quite a while. They were quiet. Grace sang Lagrime mie, and the guys played theorbo, lute, and Baroque guitar. It really was pretty.

Patrick's colleagues joked about us having four kids, but it was nice joking.

The kids ran around on the courthouse steps, and we ate the strawberries I had packed in my purse. I could smell yummy yummy French fries from a restaurant. Patrick stayed downtown to grab some food with his friends. At 9:30, the kids remembered that they are each other's best friends, dressed in matching boxer shorts and Springdale Music Studio t-shirts, and ate cinnamon-sugar butter tortillas. We read scriptures, and now they are all in bed.

"God's in his Heaven; all's right with the world." Just for tonight.