The Blue Gel Pen

This is a really old story, but I feel like it needs to be recorded somewhere. As we were reading in a textbook in my 6th grade class today, the authors brought up gel pens... and oh man... do I have a story about gel pens.

Gel pens in the 90's were all the rage. I would know. I was in elementary school at the time, and gel pens were pretty much a status symbol. Like cell phones in elementary school today. If you have a cell phone now, you are cool. Back then we didn't have cell phones. We had gel pens. And if you had gel pens, you were cool. Especially the sweet gel pens that were sparkly or the ones that changed colors right before your eyes. Believe me, they were ALL the rage.

That being said, let's rewind to 3rd grade.

Do you see me? With the weird pink things in my hair? Yah. I don't know what I was thinking. I also want you to notice the girl in the front row with the pretty white dress with purple flowers on it. That is Meagan West. (Now Meagan Williamson). In 3rd grade, I absolutely coveted one of Meagan's blue gel pens. It was one of the pretty sparkly ones. One day, I found myself inside the classroom during recess, when I spotted Meagan's blue gel pen sitting on her desk. Out in the open. Taunting me. I literally could hear it speaking to me, saying, "I know you want me! Nobody else is in the room. You can just take me!" So I did. Yes. You have it. I Beki Nye, innocent 3rd grader who had never done so much as to harm a fly just stole Meagan West's gel pen. However, I was finally going to live the dream... I now had a beautiful blue gel pen that sparkled in the light. Cloud 9, here I come. 

When Meagan got in from recess, she was wondering where her gel pen went. She asked everyone in class... including me. When she asked me if I had seen it, I hesitantly said, "Nope." Can you believe it? I stole it, and then I lied about it. 

Anyway. Years went by, and this memory HAUNTED me. Whenever I thought about bad things I had done in my life, this was on the top of my list. I thought about it often.... but it was far past the time to make it right. I hadn't seen Meagan West in years... since elementary school, at least. But when I say it haunted me, I really mean it. I had such a guilty conscience. I thought about it, I dreamed about it..... it was bad. 

Fast forward to college. One day my FHE brother, Jared, told me he was headed back to Boise for the weekend. When I asked him what for, he told me it was for a baptism. Since I was from Boise, too, I asked him if it was anyone I would know.... you will never believe what he said. "It is the baptism of my good friend, Meagan West." My heart sank. I could barely speak. I immediately went to Walmart, bought a blue gel pen, wrote her a sorry note, and sent it with my FHE brother to give to her. I am sure Meagan hadn't thought twice about it since that day, but this was my chance to finally make it right. After years of lost sleep.... I finally was able to return a sparkly blue gel pen to old friend Meagan. 

So... moral of this story... don't steal. Or lie.... your conscience won't let it go. EVER. 

That's the story. The end. Flash forward to April 2013 once again. Where gel pens are a thing of the past.  

Etch-A-Sketch Color

My AMAZING hubby just designed his very first little game. He created the software and hardware and everything! He made an etch-a-sketch but one with an LCD screen and one that you can change the color. He is so proud of his work. And I am proud of him! It took him about 3 days to complete this project.

Here is a picture of him holding his PCB (Printed Circuit Board) right after he designed it and got it printed. He was so excited! 

Here he is playing with it after he got all the components put on the board.

Here is an example of something he etch-a-sketched! Pretty cool, huh? 

Las Hermanas.

Today I just had a silly flashback to one moment in my life that I very vividly remember. I started playing the piano when I was 7. (Or maybe 6? Can't remember.) One day, Kim came home (from college, I think) and said she had been learning how to play the piano too.... and she sat down and played "Choose the Right" straight from the hymn book. What? I had played the piano for at least 2 years by then, and she was already way better than me!

That almost meaningless memory reminded me of a flood of accomplishments in my life that have already been achieved by one of my two sisters. There is not much I have done in my life that one of the two of them haven't already done. For instance:

I married my best friend from high school... so did Mandi. I started out college in the health field, then switched to elementary education and am now a teacher.... so did Mandi. I was so excited for my first 4.0 semester of college.... that was a usual occurrence for Kimberly.  I played soccer ever since I was a little girl, and it was my first love in life.... same with Mandi. I taught English in a foreign country... so did Mandi. I love to work out and be fit and and try hard things like running half marathons... Kim has done two of those. One of my passions in life is team building and ropes course activities.... Mandi was the one to introduce me to that, as she worked at an indoor ropes course in Provo. I was the Key Club president in high school... hmm. So was Kim.

You get the picture. The list could go on and on. After thinking about all these things... I realized how much I totally look up to my sisters. No wonder I do everything that they have done. I want to be just like them! Maybe it is just me, but I think the age difference makes it difficult for them to see me as anything but their baby sister... But, I almost think that me taking after them and doing things that they already have done has helped me get to know them on a pretty deep level... much deeper than if I would have completely done my own thing all my life. Like seriously... I totally know that feeling that Mandi had on the soccer field playing in a state championship game... and losing... because I have felt it too. I absolutely understand the stress and determination and effort and value that Kim put into education... because I have been there now. If I hadn't done all those things, I think the decade gap would have made it difficult for me to really get to know them. So, I feel honored to be walking in their shadows. If I never do a single thing in my life that they haven't already done, that will be fine by me because they are who I look up to and want to be like. I love them and their examples to me so much.

I am proud to let you know, however, that I am closing the age gap! One day they will be in their 40s and I will be in my 30s. One day they will be in their 70s and I will be in my 60s. One day we are going to pretty much be the same age... and the fact that I was 10 when they were 20 won't really matter. It's going to be awesome!