“What are you thankful for?” Hmmm… I’m especially thankful for:

• Watching my wife love and care for our baby, Sawyer. It is a tired-to-the-bone-but-still-loving-him kinda thing. The love of a mother for a child is inspiring.
• Coming home from work and having Abbey (my five-year-old) grab me by the head, grit her teeth, then vigorously rub her nose against mine. It is a rough Eskimo kiss, but, man, I look forward to it.
• Playing boardgames with Nate (my eleven-year-old and oldest).
• Hearing Jasmine (my eight-year-old) talk about the latest pet she wants. One day we were at the pet store. I swear Jasmine has never seen or thought about crabs before in her life (maybe that is an exaggeration), but she leaves the store convinced that a crab (named George) is what she needs. Two hours later in the van—”Crabs, all I can think about is crabs, Dad.” It makes me smile. Love it!
• Seeing Sami (my nine-year-old daughter) care for and nurture her younger siblings. She is growing up so fast!
• Reading with Abbey and seeing her get this big smile and flush of excitement when she understands a word for the first time. I love that enthusiasm and discovery.
• Thinking of my son, Nate, this morning as I was lying in bed. The thought came to me to sit down with him and say, “You’re my son, and I must seem so much older than you. But when you get older, and that age difference doesn’t seem so great, I hope that we think of each other as friends. I would love that.”
• Having the Spirit remind me, inspire me, and comfort me.
• Baptizing Jasmine a few weeks ago. There was such a strong spirit.
• Seeing the love of my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the actions of those around me.
• Having a job that gives me abundant chances to be inspired and challenged.
• Holding my baby boy, Sawyer. He is so CUTE. I can hardly stand it sometimes. I just love coming home to him. I love how he gets excited to see me—his smile and joy cannot be contained—his whole body literally jumps for joy.
• Knowing that this is Diana’s and my last baby and relishing every minute of it.
• Seeing my wife smile and hearing her laugh. Comfort, strength, joy, love—we’re going into our 15th year, and I can’t imagine life without her.
• Having family home evening this week, being able to teach my kids about patriarchal blessings, nearly crying as I read the portion in it about my wife and kids, and knowing that I have a Heavenly Father that is watching over me.

L-R: Abbey, Jasmine, Sami, Nate, Diana and Sawyer, and Dallas

Life is wonderful. It’s not always easy, but it is wonderful.

Dad and Grandpa, 1958. Grandpa, ever the helpful and skilled craftsman, built a bed for Mom and Dad soon after their marriage.

Memories are a strange thing. It used to be that I thought I remembered everything in my life—that I had a “good memory”—but as I get older it takes more and more effort to recall things. Most of the time, memories come back through divine inspiration when I really need them or at seemingly random times. Sometimes it’s because I’m purposely trying to go back to a particular time and place. Such is the case right now…

• Age. My Grandma and Grandpa Gano were always so much younger than my paternal grandparents, Louie and Opal Petersen. It seemed a little strange to my young mind—”grandma and grandpa” seemed to mean a white-haired, frail, elderly couple in one case, and a younger, more energetic and active couple in the other. For the longest time, they didn’t seem to age. It wasn’t until they hit their 90s that I really started to notice time had passed.
• Travel. Grandma and Grandpa loved to travel, and spent much of their time doing the “snowbird” thing down in Arizona. Grandma would play violin/fiddle in a band, while Grandpa would be reading and playing card games.
• Games. Gaming is a family tradition. Grandpa loved cribbage and other card games. I never beat him in cribbage. One time I almost beat him. Almost. I was way ahead, but then he came back. I really respect that he never let me win. Maybe, after a lifetime of practicing, I can play him again.
• Christmastime. Nearly every year during my youth, my relatives, the Gano family, would get together on Christmas Eve. After a great meal and lots of playing with my cousins, Santa would arrive with a jingle of his sleigh’s bells. I think Grandpa covered for Santa some of the time. I guess that secret will go with him…
• Cooking. He loved to cook. The ensuing clean-up afterwards was a different story…
• Harvest time. Grandpa always seemed to be around during apple harvest time at my Uncle and Aunt Lange’s orchard in Yakima. I remember one summer/fall watching him fix an apple cider press.
• Fixing stuff. Grandpa helped me fix my fishing pole one summer in Minnesota. I remember his methodology for taking stuff apart and putting it back together, and use it still today.
• Woodworking. Grandpa was an amazing craftsman. He could build or fix anything. (A friend of mine posted about his grandpa’s passing and noted the same handyman tendency. I think it is partially a generational thing—perhaps out of necessity and interest they were “do-it-yourselfers.”) Here are just a few of the things that Grandpa built:
  • Camper trailers. Grandpa owned and operated a custom, handmade camper-trailer business.
  • My parents’ first (proper) home.
  • Countless Christmas gifts for family every year.
  • Greenhouses, sheds, furniture… nearly everything around his home.
  • My bedroom. He turned a carport into my brother’s and my bedroom.
  • A wooden pencil box from a tree branch (I still have this sitting on my desk at work).
  • Many, many more things for friends and family.
• Summer of ‘89. My brother, Carl, and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for a week. We went to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and saw a jet “buy the farm” during a practice run for a plane show. That plane crash produced the reddest flames I’ve ever seen. We also went to a county fair in a nearby town, then did a bunch of sightseeing in Port Townsend. Mostly, we spent a bunch of time at their house. One day my teenage self was getting bored, so I started watching TV. My grandma said, “You don’t know how long your grandpa is going to be around. Spend some time with him.” I’m glad she gave me the guilt trip—Grandpa and I worked in his woodshop and produced the wood box I mentioned above. I treasure that item, and the memories of making it, to this day. I can’t say the same about Grandma’s homemade raisin-n-rice pudding… I guess I wasn’t mature enough to like it. Nah, who am I kidding—raisins in pudding?!? Come on! That’s just not right. Another memory: After I’d asked Grandma what political party she was affiliated with, she instructed me that “There are two topics you do not talk with people about—politics and religion.” Smart-alec teenager that I was, I then promptly asked her what religion she belonged to… followed up with a quick grin and laugh to keep myself from getting into trouble. Anyway, I’m grateful my brother and I spent that time with Grandma and Grandpa.
• Summer of ‘04. I got to thinking that I needed to visit Grandma and Grandpa, and do some family history interviews with them. My son, Nate, and I drove up to Idaho, picked up my dad, then the three of us did a road trip to Port Townsend. (I took a ton of pictures then, and blogged about it, but lost the blog posts some time after that). While I was interviewing Grandma and Grandpa, Dad entertained Nate (or maybe vice versa), something that I’m impressed with to this day. My dad is a terrific grandpa. My kids love him, and can’t wait for my parents to come visit during holidays and vacation. It’s funny—the trip was about Grandma and Grandpa, but a lot of it ended up being about my dad, my son, and me. As for the interviews, I’m still in the process of transcribing them—they are priceless stories shared by my grandparents. My wife, Diana, and I did interviews with both of our parents—you never know when those you love will be gone—cherish the moments.

Above and beyond the many things my Grandpa accomplished professionally and personally is this simple, yet powerful thing—he was a faithful husband and loving father. Most of all, I’m grateful for his bringing my mother into the world. I see much of my Grandpa in my Mom—her ingenuity, keen mind, playful spirit, and unfaltering loyalty to her loved ones, to name a few characteristics. Grandpa, you will be missed.

Nate: Legos were the theme this year. Nate and I put together his “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Castle” lego set after all the presents were opened. It was quite the intricate, time-consuming, and fun project.

Sami: She got her wish—a Metallic Rose Nintendo DS and a few games. The games were a virtual babysitting and teaching game. Seems like they are both kinda like have a tamagotchi in the form of a DS game. She also enjoyed using the DS “Picto-chat” with Nate (basically IM for DS users—you can also draw pictures).

Jasmine: Dogs, dogs, dogs. She really wants a dog, but, with a baby sister/brother on the way, a wish for a dog is a bit in vain. She did get a few dog-related gifts (a Wii dog game and big dog book), but no real dog. Forecast is months/years of hearing about a Shih Tzu until she finally gets one. Maybe Diana and I will have to reconsider the whole “no dog” thing…

Abbey: Well, hate to say it, but Abbey was introduced to a bit of disappointment with Christmas gifts—she didn’t get want she wanted. She g0t this. Oh, well. She dealt with it okay, all things considered. I told her it was the American Girls’ “Bitty Twins” older sister. She has had fun with her Dora the Explorer TV Adventure Globe.

The Family: We got a bunch of boardgames for Christmas, too—Cash-a-Catch, Dominion, Nefertiti, and Taluva. Of the four, Dominion is destined to be our most-played game of all. It is a fairly quick game and easy-to-learn—a great family game.

My wife Diana was commenting the other day that the Fisher Price family toys were the best “investments.”She added, “They play with them more than any other toys.” First of all, the use of the word “investment” by my wife to describe toys. It’s not exactly what I would have used to describe buying toys, but it is a beautiful–and revealing–choice of words. For my wife, toys are not the clutter-the-floors-thus-creating-pick-up-time-messes type of things that they are to me. For her, toys are the things that keep our kids occupied and enjoying life. Diana sees them as investments in our kids. It really is a fundamental difference between my wife and I. (Where would I be without her stabilizing influence?)

I did some volunteer work cleaning toys at a family and child services house a few years ago. As I was wiping every toy down with a Clorox solution, an employee came by and talked about the importance of the toys. She said that if you wanted to learn about a kid, watch them when they play. Our kids play “family” more than anything else. I was just watching Jasmine and Abbey act out spring break with their toys. As a family, we were planning on going to Las Vegas to visit with Diana’s family, but we had to cancel those plans because of some medical complications that arose for Diana (oblique, yes, but I don’t want to elaborate). Anyway, the kids are a bit disappointed with that decision. Their playtime dialogue with their toys underscores that. When I slow down and I take the time to watch my kids play, I learn a lot. More than that, I always have this swell of parental satisfaction and joy for what I have in life. I love my kids and family. God help me to keep my priorities straight when my job pressures me to do other things…

Sometimes I am very envious of my wife and the things she gets to do. Yesterday I worked at home during the AM. This gave me the chance to walk Jasmine to the bus stop at noon. As I turned to leave, Jasmine pulled me down, gave me a kiss and said “Bye Dad.” Then she repeated that again really loud several more times. I think she wanted the other kids at the bus stop to know I was her dad. Tears start to well in my eyes right now when I think of it. What an honor to be a father.

With games and systems like Zelda, the DS, and the Wii, it’s hard not to be a Nintendo fanboy. Nintendo is to video gaming as Apple is to consumer electronics/computing. Both companies have creativity ingrained within their respective company’s ethos. Their competitors’ stocks and sales continue to drop. Why? They don’t innovate. Nintendo and Apple do. I don’t own their stock (I should have bought in 2000), but as a consumer, I’m happy to contribute to their bottom-line as long as they create stuff like Zelda.