For some reason I really long to be with my brothers and sisters doing stuff like when we were kids, like:
I'd love to go to Bill Knapps and have dinner together. We could all look at those kids meals...the old ones, the lion, the tiger, the chicken. We could share bean soup and share a chocolate cake for dessert.
I'd love to ride home together after church, a ridiculous sight of all 8 of us crunched into that small Ford Escort. We'd all make fun of other people's funny church faces, recognizing that we were as grungy and backwards as we absolutely looked.
I'd love to go to a Stake dance with John, Mike, Jake, or Nate. We could do an award-winning lip synch, or flirt with the ladies. No one stood out like the Kennedys...in a good way.
I'd love to fight over a place to sit in front of the TV. I'd love to hear Mom say "Allah", her magical power that saved our seats so we could go to the bathroom.
I'd love love love to go to bed upstairs together as a family. I'd love to hear the stories, hear the songs, talk, make jokes, and slowly fade to sleep together.
I'd love to play G.I. Joe with Nate or Jake. I'd love to be Snake Eyes one more time. When I hold the figure in my hands as an adult, I know exactly what he can and should do. And I would love that feeling of escapism and creativity.
I'd love to sit around and hear a newly returned missionary (insert any ones name here) tell us about their mission. I'd love to see what gifts they brought us. I'd love to hear strong, powerful testimonies.
I'd love to hear Mom read a scripture or say a prayer. In those moments, rare as they might be, I felt the spirit and knew that she knew it was all true.
Those are some of the things I'd miss. I miss the sweet bond of having brothers and sisters who fight and argue but who also love each other deeply and sweetly. I'm lucky to have had that...and I miss it tonight.
4 comments:
Bud, that was a cool blog. I often wish I could go back too, I was always just so perfectly content to do that stuff and it was all so simple, free ($-wise), like going to the Wiard's Orchard Haunted House one night with Mike and some girls, or that great memory I also have of the dance where we did "My Girl" lip sync, and the night before in our junky living room, working as a team to get it ready. you and me and Mike getting ready for the dances, with a new outfit from Sagebrush, and hair gel. All so simple, but fun, and happy times. No evil involved, no money involved, and just happy to be alive with good family and friends. Of course there were hard times too, but interspersed with really good stuff.
I wonder sometimes what would happen if we were to get all of us together and do a project, like on the apprentice or something. I thonk we could all work really good togethe. For example, I want to write another book, and I have been thinking about it a lot lately called "Children in the White House." It's fiction in the setting of my kids in the White House, doing all sorts of adventures. I've written the first chapter, but am struggling with the best story, and I know that if I had my sibs working together for a week, we could develop a blockbuster story line, to serve as the main plot, and finish the skeleton of the book, and it would sell millions of copies.
But anyway, thanks again for the touching blog. Keep up the good work. You are awesome. Although it makes me sad that we can never go back to those simpler days, it does make me happy that we are all doing the work of building. This work in our families will change a million lives for the better, over the next hundred years, and more importantly be "saviors on Mount Zion, (Obadiah) for hundreds of generations, helping to bring souls to Christ in the context of our own children, and their children, and their children's children, etc.
You may feel isolated as a father/provider as I do at times, as the weight of the calling seems overwhelming, remember that they that are for you far outnumber they that are against you, although those for you remain unseen more often then not.
I just hope as well that we can come together again as a family soon on a temporary and more permanent basis, to enjoy together the fruits of our labors, and rejoice together in our families.
I love you and yours, Jake
I have a disadvantage being the youngest because my memories are often different than you older brothers,but I love our family. I had a roommate at Ricks who's whole family lived on a sort of compound in Oregon. They had all of this land that everyone could just build houses on and live and play with cousins all the time. I remember thinking how awesome it would be if we could all be closer. Maybe some distance would be good but I would love to be able to see all my bros again. I look forward to FL in 2010.
I remember mom bringing up one glass from the kitchen to give us all a drink before bed and how Jake would try to find a place where no one had put their mouth yet. :) Family games of kickball and pickle were fun too. I love our family.
Yo Buddah. I have been wanting to post something in response to what you wrote, but knew that it wouldnt come out as good as you or even Jeek wrote it. All the things you said definitely brought me back. I agree on it all. Even though our life was so ghetto on so many levels back then, there is something about it that was sort of magical too. I am the type that once I am through a hard thing in life, I tend to forget the hard/bad stuff and only remember the good stuff. I sometimes get these memories popping in my head of my childhood and they are usually pretty nice ones. We were definitely watched over and taken care of by Heavenly Father. I know that all those simple joys that we were able to find in life back then came from him. They helped keep us going and made it all worth it. There are many things that we experienced that I would never want my kids to experience, but there are some things that we did experience that I think have helped us all thrive in life that I would love to somehow pass on. Thanks for the memories and I hope we can all be together sooner rather than later. September 2010 is too far away.
Dear Bud,
I would love to do all those things together too! I love my life now but I miss the goodness and simplicity of our life as a Kennedy family.
Love your bro John
Post a Comment