Little "Jessie" things

I wanted to write about some of the silly things in my life. First of all meet Guillermo. He's a lawn gnome. Yes...a very tacky lawn gnome. You see when Jessie was growing up we discovered she had a tacky side. She LOVED lawn gnomes. She told me when she had her own house she was going to have a front yard littered with these little guys. I just sighed and figured this weird obsession would pass. She would beg me to get some to put on my lawn. I told her ABSOLUTELY NOT. Well I broke down. Finally at the ripe old age of 22 her lawn gnome obsession is still with us. She was getting ready to move to Salt Lake and we were sad. We were shopping and she and I just stopped in front of this little guy. She looked at me with those puppy dog eyes and I said "What the hell...he's coming home with us".

She named him Guillermo. I have no idea why and one doesn't ask. You just go with it. That's what I love about Jessie. She has taught me to "Just go with it" so many times and to laugh. Does she make me laugh!! I love that she's tacky and spontaneous and all the things I'm not. Now Guillermo is much like Jessie. He concerns me some times....he sleeps all day. He just sits there with his little hands folded and sleeps. I know he's out and about at night. What he does...I don't want to know but many times David and I have gotten up and Guillermo is slumped over int the flowers or laying on the ground like he just couldn't quite make it to his little spot amongst the flowers. As I have said he reminds me of Jess...but that's a whole different book.

The other thing she left me with when she moved was "Little Girl" Like Jess she's a survivor. When she moved to Utah she was only a few days old and nursing with her litter mates on her Mama. He mom's name was Flashlight (again don't ask...just go with it). Jessie gave many of the kitties away but kept two...McStiff (named after a bar in Moab) and Spotlight..(??). It a long story on what happened to everybody but we'll just focus on Spotlight. Her nickname was little girl so that's what I call her. When she was super young she got caught in a door and broke her leg high up on the hip on a growth plate. The vet mended her believe it or not and you'd never know anything

happened to her. But Jess couldn't take her and she was so darn cute I told her she could live with us. Alexandra was so happy and it pulled her out of her funk after losing her brother and sister this spring. Like Guillermo and Jessie...shes a night owl. Her favorite thing is to some how get up on the roof and walk above our bedroom at night. She's not exactly petite so it sounds like a herd of elephants. The she cries and cries so I have to get a ladder and do all sorts of acrobatics to get her down in the middle of the night. Good times.

So Jessie left me two precious things to remind me of her where ever I go here.

I'm so excited I'm driving up on Sept. 12th to help her get enrolled in school. Then we get together with all my uncles and the next morning we leave bright and early to California. This will be a grand adventure I'm sure many a post will be dedicated to but for now I dedicate this one to my night owl daughter. I love you Jess and look forward to seeing you everyday.

The spiritual actions we undertake which are motivated not by narrow self-interest but out of our concern for others actually benefit ourselves.

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama