A Great-Grandpa for the First Time

Here he is - Roy Clarence Widero, my dad's dad, my grandpa, or "Mr. Widero," as my late Grandma Bernie often called her ornery husband.


We all drove up to Tehachapi, California the weekend of July 20th to reunite with my Grandpa at his house atop one of the grassy, foggy hills of this windy region of California. My dad's three sisters and their families met us there, too, which was so fun! It has been about a decade since I saw my cousins Danny and Kristin, so it was about time! We all had a great time catching up, playing pool, eating food, introducing Nathan, and remembering old stories.

I love how Grandpa "dressed up" in his vintage 70s shirt!

Grandpa read two of his clever, original poems to us - the ones he was able to find amongst other random papers in his unorganized desk drawer, so creased and aged that rips and tears are exhaustively fighting the urge. I just adore his poetic wit about the irritating wait in a super market line and about the embarrassment and awkwardness that is a bedpan. I'm planning to collect as many poems and drawings penned by my talented Grandpa that I can get my hands on for a family heirloom. It's a project in the works that I'm very excited about.


Here's my Grandpa with his four kids. From left to right: Aunt Lisa, Papa (Martin), Grandpa, Aunt Cheryl, and Aunt Jody.

Are you wondering what's making them laugh so hard? It certainly isn't me!


Nathan giggles when his daddy makes him run mid-air with a wiggle of the tush, causing all who see this silly sight to laugh heartily out loud!

Four proud generations.

But the biggest highlight of the trip for me was definitely the connection that a few of us were privileged to witness between Nathan and his Great-Grandpa Widero upon their first meeting and how much genuine interest they had in one another. Turn up the volume and watch below. But don't listen too closely or you might hear my stifled, awe-inspired tears behind the camera.



And a great grandpa he is, too.

Glad I Was There,
Dawn

A Baby Shower for Liam

Last weekend was Jen's Tucson baby shower where we had so much fun showering her with baby-cute and baby-practical gifts!

It was awesome that Jen's mom, Pam, and Jen's Aunt Kathy traveled all the way from Santa Clara, CA to join the festivities. In-town guests included our mother-in-law, June, our sisters-in-law, Kathy, Kimmie, Keri with Ender, my mom and sister with Nathan, my two cousins, Julena and Jillian, our book club pal, Alison, and Jen's friend, Amie with her little girl. It was the perfect amount of people for my teeny house!


The theme was children's literature, so everyone brought a children's book to add to "Liam’s Library!" Then I challenged the group by having them name the title of nursery rhymes after only hearing a line or two! I completely lowered their self-esteem with that one!

Then I made them get sentimental and creative by writing an age appropriate letter to Liam after drawing a number out of a bowl ranging from ages 1 to 18! I got age 6 and that was a fun letter to write. He may be able to read it himself by then!

June made her famous ice cream dessert cake, which is hard to decorate, so we decided to make a diaper cake to match the theme of Liam's bedroom - "Where the Wild Things Are," to complement the yummy dessert.

I also invited a surprise guest to the shower- one of Kurtis’ clients, Libby, who is a baby sign language teacher for Sign With Baby Tucson. She and her 4-year-old daughter were awesome teachers and they inspired the group to learn to communicate with babies before they’re ready to speak with their voices. Libby had us make finger-print-people for each member of our family and then we learned the signs for family members. Here are Kimmie and Keri inking Ender's little fingers!

I know that Jen already intends to do this with Liam, and my sister and I, and all the grandmother’s (my mom, Pam, and June) are very excited too! I have some practicing to do in order to keep up with these babies! Gayle's already started with 5 month old Nathan. It's exciting to wait for him to sign back!

Here's Libby showing the signs for Gayle's (HUGE) family!

June made Liam an adorable home made sock monkey out of 25 year old socks! This is just too special, and I’m glad I knew that it was homemade because I don’t think she would have told anybody! She would have let us all believe that this keepsake was purchased at a store instead of toiled over with love and care and the special stitches only a grandmother can give.


Then, Pam gave Jen and Kelly a Beatles baby tee and a Pink Floyd baby tee representing two of their favorite bands. And it just so happen that Kelly was wearing the exact same adult-sized tee! How perfect!

It was a pretty wonderful day. Plus, I got my house clean because of it!

Sparkle and Shine,
Dawn

Little I Love Yous

Last night, Kurtis and I were cutting, folding, and stapling a "leave behind," as he calls it, for the hopefully-I'll-start-one-day-if-I-have-the-courage-photography-company, Widero Photography, which includes my sister, too! We're both Widero girls! Kurtis designed the awesome logo for me a few years ago for a Valentine's Day gift. He's very supportive and encouraging. That's just one of the many ways that Kurtis shows me that he loves me.

Here's another:

He cut that out with an exacto knife while we were supposed to be cutting! What a slacker! Just kidding!

He's so sweetly good at leaving little I love yous around for me to find; both tangible and simple, random acts of love. I couldn't ask for more.

Love to him,
Dawn

Sentimental Nut

Ahh, school supplies... they're everywhere you go right now since August is right around the corner. Kids and parents are searching for those perfect backpacks and the accessories to fill those backpacks. Remember the days when you would go searching for a cheap paper box that expressed "you" to proudly sit on your desk to hold your crayons, glue, pencils, and scissors? I think they're plastic now. Well, in 1989, my 5th grade year, this was my box.



I've kept it for 19 years to house markers and such over the years, but the lid doesn't open easily anymore, and it is no longer a necessary tool for me in my adulthood, but I'm a sentimental nut that can't get rid of it! Here's why:

Can you read the message? My sister must have dug up the crayons and art supplies that filled this box to write this secret note at the bottom beneath the waxy crayon residue and torn crayon wrappers. I found the note years ago, but it always makes me smile so I couldn't get rid of it. I love the fact that Gayle created a secret for me to discover. Imagine the giddiness she might have had just waiting for me to ffind what she did!

We used to do stuff like that all the time. Once we created a code of symbols to correlate to the alphabet and then we'd write incripted notes for each other to decipher. We'd also have secret knocks between our bedroom walls to let each other know that a message was waiting. And somewhere in Gayle's house, there's a letter in an envelope that we wrote about 20 years ago in which we instructed ourselves not to open until sometime in the next decade! I'm anxious to see what wackiness we sealed away. I love having a sister to be imaginative with!

Tonight I went through random stuff in our office, and when I came across this box, I've decided that it's time to let it go, but I had to at least take pictures of it! I'm a little sad just thinking of sitting in the trash can because it's such a symbol of my school days, and reminiscent of laying on my tummy on scratchy carpet along side my sister as we color, the box between us. The Velveteen Rabbit come to mind. The box doesn't have feelings, the box doesn't have feelings.

I'm learning to purge. Bear with me. Is there school for that?

happy learning,
Dawn

P.S. Never mind, I think I can find a new purpose for it. It's not in the garbage anymore. You sentimental nut.

The Night We Shot at Elephants

It's a sticky, humid Sunday night in downtown Tucson and the streets are flooded with people holding sticky little hands, cotton candy remnants, bags of peanuts, and Ringling Brothers Circus memorabilia as they exit the Tucson Convention Center doors and make way to their cars. Waves of vehicles inch their way along the roads while my long-time friend, Erin, and I try to find a place to park in the madness. The two of us arrive while masses leave. But soon the streets become vacant and we sit on the steps of the police department building, (where my sister Gayle works, actually) testing exposures on our cameras. We sit and wait; we wait for the elephants.

The parking lot lights begin to switch off, one by one, and the city landscape is dark. Random doses of color flicker here and there. An already challenging photo situation is just about to get more interesting.

Lightning sprawls across the sky as a protester approaches us and tells us of her worry; of the abuse the magnificent beasts could endure during their careers as circus elephants.

We hear the rain before we feet it. It rudely interrupts our conversation and we run for cover, anticipation rising within us of when they would come our way and if the rain would continue.


The "bloop, bloop!" of sirens signal that police cars are maneuvering their way to block any traffic and to make way for the parade of the elephants. No trumpet (or trunk) blows to announce their arrival, but we spot the gray leader of the single-file line, his trunk swaying side to side. Rain pelts the streets, reflecting a mysterious orange light, and we take as many pictures as we can without too many raindrops hitting us under the building's overhang, but the elephants quickly pass us. Erin shouts, "How bad do we want to get these pictures?" as we teeter on the edge of dry pavement and wet. "I want the elephants!" So we run on slippery asphalt and sidewalks, our cameras under our shirts!

We rush to keep up with the kindergarten-like elephants as they march north on Church Avenue. Each one grips a tail with a trunk like a security blanket as though they can't keep going without each other's comfort and they walk as though they're in a hurry -perhaps from the elephant paparazzi. We can't seem to get in front of them; they're quicker than we imagined they'd be!

The make a right on Pennington Street, ignoring stop signs and red lights as we snap away. A man has to snap at me a few times, too. "Miss, please stay on the other side of the rope!" I apologize frequently for wandering on the wrong side, but you see, I'm walking as I look through my view finder and the people holding the ropes are in my way!

More people join the frenzy of photographing the beautiful animals as we arrive at the train station. The Dumbo song plays in my head, "Pink elephants on parade! What'll I do? What'll I do? What an unusual view!"

The rain has let up quite a bit, but it's still dark and because of the slow shutter speed I'm using, it's difficult to get non-blurry images.

Once before the circus train, the elephants seem to remember (because an elephant never forgets) what to do and automatically and meticulously line up before the train cars, their rear-ends facing the onlookers. Then it becomes clear what the haste in elephant pace was all about! They must know a long, jolting journey on the train looms before them and they know there is no better time to... relieve themselves before getting aboard.

I continue shooting at them from behind bars through my cyclops lens as an old tattooed man directs each one into a train car which boasts, "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Is what's so magical to me, really monotonous and repetitive, same-old action to the elephants? Do they long for the plains of Africa, or the forests of Asia, or the enclosure of a zoo cage even, or do they enjoy their performing art? Who scouts them and how are they chosen? Many hunt them; me included, as I prey on them for a special elephant image. I shot at them over one-hundred times.

Despite that guilt-ridden, pity-filled question, this night will forever remain memorable and surreal; definitely, for me, one of the "greatest shows" and special secrets of the public streets in Downtown Tucson.

Thank you, Erin and Donovan, for sharing.

Happy Independence Day

A year ago today, Kurtis and I went with Gayle to the El Conquistador Resort to watch the spectacular 4th of July firework display since Mike, an Oro Valley K-9 police officier, was working the event, but little did I know at the time that it was a very special day for another reason.


It was the day that Gayle and Mike found out that they were pregnant! They had been trying for over 2 years! They did a really good job of keeping the secret on that exciting day, which I can only imagine was very hard to do! (Don't they look happy and sneaky with their secret?) Gayle told me that she came close to telling me, but she really wanted to tell our parents first. So, I found out a few days later when she gave me a children's book with a special inscription inside letting me know that I'd be an auntie! I look forward to the day when I'll get to read it with him.

Nathan is 4 months old today! I love being an auntie!


Tonight we went to my Aunt Donna and Uncle Mike's house and we watched those same fireworks at El Conquistador from a bit farther away this year, but it was still fun and festive! Here are my cousins, Joshua and Jillian, with some of the Catalina Mountains in view along with a burst of fireworks.


In case you're wondering what the rest of Joshua's shirt says, "I put ketchup on my ketchup." What a perfect shirt for Joshua and for a barbecuing Independence Day with family.

Proudly,
Dawn

Right-O

Scene: It's 6:15 PM and we just arrive home from work. Kurtis flops on the bed and I'm in the bathroom.

Kurtis: "As soon as we get the economic stimulus check, we're going to put it all in the savings account, right?"

Dawn: "Right-o... left-toe. Ha ha!"

Kurtis: "Weird-toe."

Dawn: (laughs because he plays along) "I love you, Kurt."

Kurtis: "I love you toe!"

Get it!? Hee hee! "Toe!" "Too!" He cracks me up! He's just right for me.

cornballishly,

Dawn