2011. I turned on the TV while I was eating breakfast before work, and they were showing an IHOP commercial with Arthur Christmas. I was sad that they were already starting Christmas commercials. I listened to my Peanuts Portraits CD in the car on the way to work so that I could listen to the songs from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. During my lunch break, I went to a nearby place called Port of Subs and bought a sandwich called a Pilgrim Griller; it had turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. I think I ate the sandwich there. As I was driving back to work, my CD was playing the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving songs and the mountain ahead of me was covered in freshly fallen snow. It was so wonderful. Then I went home around 5 or so. I read the newspaper and finished up the pumpkin milkshake my parents had bought me the day before. I went on my computer and traded the Halloween music in my playlist for Thanksgiving music, and posted a Facebook status: "Hooray for November! Boo for premature Christmas commercials..." Then I went to institute at the Woods Cross seminary building. Some high-schooler had written "Happy Thanksgiving" on one of the white boards, and I was kind of comforted that someone else recognized it as the beginning of the Thanksgiving season. After institute I went to Kmart. I looked at the things they had for sale, and I debated getting my mom some Thanksgiving salt and pepper shakers, but I didn't. Then I went home and went to bed.
2010. I think that this was perhaps the day when I went running in the morning and I saw the remnants of smashed pumpkins and dropped trick-or-treat goodies, including the Disney playing card sets that Costco sold. Then I went to work and I was dismayed when I walked past the envelope-filling station to hear that Nate Sevy was listening to Christmas music. How dare anyone, either radio station owners or radio station listeners, think that the demise of Halloween means the beginning of Christmas!
2009. I remember getting up in the morning and going to the Ripon church building. I think it was kind of chilly that morning. I remember thinking about how it was November, the month in which I (sadly) would be going home! During the singles branch, we were delighted when Mallary, who would be baptized later that week, got up and bore her testimony. (Oh, if only she had kept that testimony.) My journal entry probably best describes what happened that day:
"I love November. It occurred to me today that I need to be happy I still have a month left, not sad I only have a month. We had to teach Sunday School today on family responsibilities. Michael Piquet and Barbie both teared up during the lessons, I think because they both know they're not totally keeping the commandments.
"Mallary bore her testimony today, and Brit Beck came to church. Katelyn stayed for Mallary's lesson. We lightly tracted before dinner with the Duncans. We stopped by Renee's, and then the Robisons."
2008. We had spent the night in Airway Heights, due to insufficient miles. I think we had companion study with Elders Colton and Smith; I told them about how I had read about circumcision in the Book of Acts. But they had to get going to a service project. I heard the member they lived with, Sister Drees, remarking about how the missionaries had eaten a lot of candy from the box she had by the door. After the other elders had left, she called up, "Who's up there?" I said, "Elder Melville and Elder Love." She asked if we were going to the service project; I told her we had to go back to Ritzville. She asked about the candy and I kind of felt bad. We finally left, and we wanted to stop at the Christensens', who lived just outside of Edwall. But they weren't home. Then we went to Edwall proper; Elder Love asked me to call the Smithpeters to see if we could visit. I talked to a son or something, but I don't think the Smithpeters in the branch were home. We tracted in Edwall. I think we parked near the tiny library that was only open twice a month. We tracted most of the main street. Next door to the Smithpeters we met a man who was an inactive member of the Church. On the south end of town we met a woman who was friendly but not interested; she told us she knew some members in Edwall. (The only active members in Edwall proper were the Smithpeters.)I remember standing at one door and looking at the Halloween decoration and thinking about how I was excited that it was now November. I remember looking at the CDs Elder Love had to put in the CD player. I found one burned CD called "A Thanksgiving of American Folk Hymns." Because it had Thanksgiving in the title (and in fact I think it is marketed for Thanksgiving), I put it in. I remember Elder Love saying "I'm Runnin' On" was a weird song. Then in Ritzville we saw our investigator Amber; she gave us a whole box of full-size Baby Ruths and told us about how she didn't have many trick-or-treaters. Then we were walking by Ritzville's park and I think I tried the restroom and also ate a candy bar. We tracted a small street and a lady answered the door but closed it immediately after seeing us. This is my journal entry for the day:
"Today we went to Edwall and tracted there. I was thinking about how less-actives can be found. And we found one named Bruce, who was baptized at fourteen. Two years ago missionaries gave his kids blessings, but he doesn't want his records sent. He said we can stop by if we drive through again.
"People weren't all too friendly today--closing the door without saying anything, completely ignoring us, and the like--but Amber gave us lots of leftover Halloween candy, we got a comeback, and had a lesson with Lucrecia, and Wanda, another less-active, was also there and receptive."
2007. In the morning I had an eye appointment. After that, I wanted to stop by the Distribution store to pick up my engraved scriptures. I drove around in Centerville but I kind of got lost. Eventually I decided I needed to turn left to get back to where I needed to be to get home; I would worry about going to Distribution another day. And it just so happened that the road where I decided to turn left was the street that Distribution was on! So I went in and got my scriptures. Then I went home. I was putting the inflatable turkey in the yard when my dad came home. Later in the afternoon I went to Walmart to get my paycheck. When I got off the freeway, the "Check Engine" light came on. While I was at Walmart I also did some shopping.I looked at the clearance Halloween candy to see what could work for Thanksgiving. I might have bought some pumpkin eggnog. I do know that I stopped at the deli and got sundried tomato turkey. I was wearing my blue glasses. My former supervisor Kat said that she recognized me even though I was "incognito." There were some new girls working in the deli already. I think that night I attempted to clean the black polish off of my fingernails.
2006. I came home, excited to see my nephew, Preston, who was not quite two. I went downstairs, and there he and Allie (and by extension Susanne and Ya-ping) were watching a Barbie movie (The Princess and the Pauper?). Allie said to me, "This is my cousin!" as if I didn't know. Preston laughed at something in the movie and Nan said something like, "Is that funny, Buddy?" Later that night Allie and Preston were playing together. She was playing her "pounce, pounce, scurry" routine from some silly Cinderella dancing show. Preston and I played too--Preston didn't really know what was going on, but he was content to run around in circles with us.
Then my mom came home. I think she was the one who took this picture of Allie, who decided to wear the empty Halloween bucket as a hat.
2004. I remember putting out my inflatable turkey for the very first time. I think there was snow on the ground.
2002. I actually didn't exist for a large part of November 1. At some point our airplane crossed over the International Dateline and it became November 1. It was dark out when we flew into Taipei. I remember stopping in one of the Taiwanese airport bathrooms and seeing the little trash bin next to the toilets, which I had been warned about. My armpits got really sore as I walked around with my backpack, because I had put on deodorant that gave me a rash. A girl named Donna, who had stayed with us at general conference, picked us up in a Saab; it might have been her mother's, who was impressed that someone would give up two years of their life for their religion, even though she was a Buddhist or something. (And writing this makes me realize I never mentioned Donna in my general conference memory post.) I think as we were driving we passed some lights that were meant to look like fireworks (like they have at Fat Cats in Provo). We checked into our hotel room and I think I took a shower after my parents went to bed. We were surprised to find that the bathroom had a window into the bedroom. It was opaque, but still. I think Donna showed us how to control the temperature of the room.
2000. Before school, I remember seeing some young kids on the playground sharing their Halloween candy. That day we went to the computer lab, and the board outside the classroom across from the computer lab said something like "It's turkey tieme" and they had a turkey that had neckties as its feathers.
1998. I remember getting a jack-o-lantern gumball from my yellow pillowcase while I was taking Halloween stuff down and putting Thanksgiving stuff up.
Related posts: A Year of Holiday Memories
A pillowcase full of trick-or-treat memories
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