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Go, Jimbo, it’s your birthday. Okay, actually YESTERDAY, Dec 8th was the actual birthday, but “Go, Jimbo, yesterday was your birthday,” just doesn’t have the same pizzaz, so just pretend I wrote this yesterday, okay?
I always feel a little grumpy and wistful when I don’t get to be with this little guy on his special day, which these days is more often than not. But I hear he had a very nice celebration in Howe with his extended family of uncles and aunts, with a scrumptious dinner and birthday cake. I don’t know if it’s due to his extraordinary parents or to some sort of other-worldly cosmic forces, but this kid has grown up to be responsible, resourceful, intelligent, caring, handsome, and a heck of a lot of fun to be around. I actually suspect that the extraordinary man Jim has grown up to be has less to do with his very ordinary parents and more to do with his own personal moral compass, work ethic and growing perception of the world and his place in it. And by now Jim, if he ever reads this, is scratching his head at this esoteric analysis. After all, he reminds me when asked to critique my poetry, he is a more literal, ‘Casey at the Bat’ kind of guy. And this kind honesty and simplicity is another of his virtues. Anyway, it is hard to believe my baby is now 24. At THAT age, I was already the mother of two, knee deep in diapers, baby food and baby talk. And while I am greatly anticipating grandchildren, and enjoyed my own children very much through all of their phases, I would not want to go back to that time. At least most of the time I wouldn’t.
While I’m reminiscing, let’s go back to a more recent past, say a year ago. Heather and I had just attended a very important wedding and were having the time of our lives in Japan. UltraBob informs me that after a large, whirlwind dose of UltraMom and Heather, Japan will never be the same! I hope it’s not too different, because I enjoyed it very much. Of course one thing will be very different next time I visit: UltraBob and UltraGirl will be parents, and I a Grandmother, which seems so strange and wonderful.
Getting closer to the present, let’s go back only a day in time, and you will have UltraMom and Pat’s trip to Ruby Valley. UltraDad is enjoying living in remote, beautiful Ruby Valley and enjoying his new job with the state highway department. Winter being what winter is, a lot of his duties in this season will involve plowing snow. This he has started doing, though still being a rookie, he is required to have a more experience worker on board as he learns. He even garnered some overtime Friday and Saturday, which meant he could not come to Carlin for the weekend. And so, armed with groceries, clean clothes and other necessities, UltraMom, Pat, Murphy and Rowdy drove up to his place. We anticipated unloading, putting away and heading back home, but happily, UltraDad was there, having gotten off work only an hour earlier. He was very happy to have more supplies, as well as to see us, and we stayed for 3-4 hours playing cards and just visiting. When we left, I had a giant bag of dirty clothes to keep me busy, but of course laundry, as Jim well knows, is one of my favorite ways to occupy my time!
Today I went to church in Carlin for the first time in a long time, and sang in the choir. I even got to practice for the Christmas Cantata which we will be performing during the service on the morning of Dec 23rd. And now I am writing a post to put off writing a final essay for my political science class, which is due at midnight tonight.
I wish some of Jimbo’s work ethic, intelligence and resourcefulness would rub off on me.

UltraMom, Procrastinator of the year