Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Karen Mello Burton 9 comments

that time

When I walked out of the elevator in my silvery shoes and wind blown hair I heard Chopin being played on the piano in the lobby. Memories. Flooded. You played that same song when we were newly entwined.

And I thought of being here 18 months ago as we celebrated our son's wedding. The flowers. The food. The people. Always about the people.

Remember that time? Or those times? Where we notice the ornamentation in faces and experiences, not just in architecture and fancy things.

I remember.
Karen Mello Burton 23 comments

reflections on the weekend

With my youngest 2 boys on a scout camp out Friday night, Geo and I had a day and a half together, just the 2 of us.  I got up early to get the kids out the door by 7 am (school holiday), and then went running for half an hour.  I saw my breath as I jogged around my little neighbor a couple of times, and realized Fall was really here now, with it's crisp morning air and crunching leaves under my feet.  Back home to get some paperwork sorted through for school, and then some errands.

I had spent the past couple of days putting together a box for my missionary son in Mexico, and I wanted to be sure and get it sent out Friday.  3-5 day delivery.  Pretty good.  So as Geo made his way out the door to BYU for a lunch meeting,  I loaded up the box and paid 33 bucks to send a pair of pants, a sweater, some Starbursts, and chocolate chip cookies to Monterrey, Mexico for my red-headed son, whom I miss incredibly.

Back home- I cleaned out the car and got it ready to drive down to the credit union for a refi.  Unknown to us, there was a cash gift for anyone refinancing a car or home, so we not only walked away with a much better deal on our monthly car payments, but we also walked away with a couple hundred dollars.  A night out on the town seemed in order, no?

To the mall where I bought a winter coat and some jeans (skinny ones... heehee), and Geo got himself a cool new watch with a fat black leather band.  Some sushi for dinner.  And we never even felt the pinch, using our windfall money.  Bonus.  It was fun to stroll around and shop for real, without having to call home to check on the kids.

At home we curled up in sleeping bags in the living room and watched "The Philadelphia Story", because I was having a total Hepburn, Grant, Stewart craving.  So much fun to watch the banter between all three characters.  They were such pros at that kind of acting.  We laughed a lot.

Saturday morning I went to visit my bleachers at the high school across the street (yes, I consider them mine now), and then Geo played football with the young husbands and dads in the ward.  It was fun to see him hold his own with those youngsters.  He had a good time, and we both felt revitalized and good after some great exercise.  It is so cool to experience the connection between body and spirit.  I love that about exercising.

The boys arrived back home around 5 pm, just before G and I were heading out to have dinner with  high school friend of G's that he hadn't seen in 27 years.  Wow, we are old.  But it was a great night, and a wonderful way to end a good day and a half.  We needed some time together, just the 2 of us.  And now it is back to the grindstone until we can find another secret weekend.
Karen Mello Burton 28 comments

wedding recap in pictures

I missed my blog over these past 5 days or so, but it was a wonderful weekend as we got our boy #1 hitched to his beautiful bride.  Great fun, great visits, great food, great spirit.  I loved every second of it.

The photos following the ceremony are still being processed, but there were some terrific ones taken of the bride and groom before the big day, and also at the reception the night before the wedding (can I just add here how wonderful it was to have the big shindig the day before???).

So, for your viewing pleasure, here are the visual representations of the happiness we enjoyed over the last few days...

Our missionary was moved around as the evening progressed.  The cardboard cut out was life-sized, so it was even funnier!
Perry's band members each did an acoustic tribute to the happy couple.  It was really personal and nice.
In order left to right: My sister Jen, #4, Perry, Mindy, back of my niece's head, me, #3, and Geo.  Tearing up the dance floor.  :)
The photographer.  My BFF, Luann Hawker.  She is a magician behind the camera.
Karen Mello Burton 24 comments

their own path

Between being a girl (I think you know what I mean), and being a teacher, and being a mom, I totally passed out with my laptop by my side in bed last night.  I woke up at 3:30 when I reached for my husband and felt metal instead.  But I was in the process of posting this:

They asked for my help in choosing the right photo, and this one was so cool.  All of the symbolism.  Walking in step, hand-in-hand, on a path.  You get it.

My boy is all grown up, and so excited to marry his sweet bride who loves him so.  It is a good day.
Karen Mello Burton 16 comments

day 342: leggy

My guy and I went to dinner tonight to celebrate our 23rd anniversary tomorrow.  Geo and crab legs.  Two of my favorite things.  I must admit that it has been kind of nice to have some time this week without the kids (thank you scout camp) and to reconnect.  We have needed this after the cuh-razy summer we have had.  Tomorrow lunch with the future in-laws at PF Changs. 

Click here to hear my cover for the week.
Karen Mello Burton 12 comments

day 339: eternal round



Thank you for holding my hand.  For pulling me up when I have needed pulling.  For pushing when I have needed encouragement. 

Thank you for using these hands to work hard for our family.  For fixing things.  For making things.

Thank you for playing the piano.  For writing.  For washing dishes.

Thank you for running your finger tips over my eye lids.  For touching my hair.  For wiping tears.

Thank you for wearing your wedding ring.  For showing your commitment to me.  For being my husband.

Happy Anniversary week.
Karen Mello Burton 11 comments

day 259: smoochy face

In the words of Thoroughly Modern Millie:

Aphrododite, don't forget me.
Romeo and Juliet me.

photo by Luann Hawker at www.wholegrainphotography.net
Karen Mello Burton 14 comments

day 202: fumes

blue changing to honeydew green

two people in a closed room

rollers dipped and flying

as we splash on primer
to cover imperfections

to cover imperfections

to cover imperfections

and we cover us /

we enjoy isolation

and talk about sons and girls

and feelings /

i look up as i whiten the ceiling

and end up speckled 

in paint and thoughts and life  /


Karen Mello Burton 9 comments

day 183: lucky me

Thought from my husband tonight:

Roadblocks are also important in helping us find direction.  They steer things and help us discover new routes.

Silent thought from me:

True.  We can navigate through a lot more than we realize most times.

Thought from husband:

We are a good team.  And we are good-looking.

Silent thought from me:

Funny and smart.  How did I get so lucky?

Karen Mello Burton 7 comments

day 151: atravez uma janela (through a window)

My Vo (grandmother) once told me the story of her parents' courtship.

He visited with her through a window for a full year, getting more and more acquainted with her before being allowed into the house by her father.

This would have been around 1905 on an island called Sao Miguel in the Azores, off the coast of Portugal.  This marriage was earned.  This relationship was worked for.

I like that I came from that.
Karen Mello Burton 6 comments

day eighty-one: how goofing off saves our marriage


Karen Mello Burton 5 comments

day fifty-three: test day

I woke up this morning with the gnawing feeling of my behavioral analysis test looming over me. I had been to classes regularly. I had taken notes. I had studied. I thought I was mostly prepared, but I had gotten out of the habit of taking tests. It's been 22 years since I graduated from BYU, back in '87, and frankly I was pretty shaken up about it. But I plugged myself in and took my test online and feel good about it. I would say 92%.

Test #2. Out to lunch with Geo so that we can reevaluate our schedules and make sure we are spending enough time, with our crazy-busy schedules, to be together as a couple. We do well, I think, but my overly attentive husband wants to ramp it up. The test? Not feeling completely defensive and overwhelmed. My score? I would say 85%.

And the final test of the day. Going to an open house for a remodel my friend had done on an old home in Salt Lake, and looking at my tired kitchen cabinets and feeling like I want to rip everything out and start over. My house is 67 years-old, and some days feels like it. We have done some nice improvements here, like paint, carpet, furniture, appliances. And most of the time it is exactly the way I want it to be, but then I go and do something irresponsible, like attend an open house of a beautifully remodeled home even older than mine. Ugh. Score- 74%
Karen Mello Burton 10 comments

day three: date night

You know, all it takes sometimes to get through the day with a decent attitude is the prospect of going out in the evening. So when the man asked what I wanted to do tonight I asked him to plan the whole thing (along with my BFF's husband, since it is a double date) so that I could be surprised and feel taken care of. OK, sometimes we need to ask to get what we want, right?

Today was a good day, mostly because my district mentor came into my room and scooped up some of the paper work I had looming over me and took it away. She said she would take care of things for me and get back to me on Monday. Oh, happy day! I was on my way to getting things figured out and done, but because I am a first year Spec Ed teacher she took some pity on me. Usually all of the forms and meetings I have been buried in don't happen for months into the school year, but when kids enter the system "unpapered" we need to get everything lined up right.

Smart little boys and girls. Cute faces. Promise.

And now off to eat a nice dinner with Mr. Mine.
Karen Mello Burton 16 comments

school of love


This post is not, in any way, meant to be full of bragging or boasting, but I am one of the lucky few who has a husband that adores me. I can admit it with my head held high, not in pride, but in security. And although I have a stack of love letters (sorry, but it's true) to prove it, the real proof has come nice and spread out over 22 years of feeling cherished and respected.

I wanted to post this today because I talked to a close friend this afternoon who was recently informed by her husband that things are at a dead end for him, as far as his interest in their marriage. This friend of mine, who is loving and kind and deserves gobs of affection, is going to have to rethink her future from today on out. New eyes. New expectations (which is sometimes a good thing).

I have had marriage on the brain during this past week as I was reunited with my husband after being gone for eleven days on a girls-only road trip. Also, there was a little marrieds' seminar held in our congregation concerning intimacy in marriage this past Sunday. Mostly young couples attended, but because Geo is the bishop we also attended as a kind of "we're a lot older than you so we may have some insight" kind of couple. We sat in the back and giggled a bit, almost like the back-row type, as we heard some of the complaints from these younger couples. We weren't the only ones laughing, by the way. It was a, well, intimate discussion full of some innocent questions and advice being flung around like rice at a wedding. And when we left that night I ended up realizing how much I value my spouse. We have our little roadblocks here and there, but the fundamental things are in place.

And to my friend I say, "Hold your head up high. You are worthy of being loved and cherished." Relationships might end, but the other person only takes away the parts of you that you allow him/her to take.
Karen Mello Burton 11 comments

Musical Monday: Devoted to You

For this week's music post I felt like getting a bit nostalgic, so I rummaged through the piano bench and found the sheet music to Devoted to You, which was written in the 1950's, but made
famous by Carly Simon and James Taylor a couple of decades later.


Geo and I sang this as a duet almost twenty-two years ago at our wedding breakfast at the Lion House in downtown Salt Lake City. It isn't blemish-free, but it is sung with genuine love and affection for each other. Yes, today it is all about the sentiment, folks! Enjoy.

Devoted to You

 Kazzy's voice has been silenced by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act(see the details here). Sorry you can't listen to her sing directly. But send her a message and she'll try to work something out.
Karen Mello Burton 10 comments

companionship

Push, pull, love, unlove.
Difficulty, ease, famine, feast.

All of these experienced, simultaneously, in these past months. And yet the best things surface and the ones that don't matter in the deep sense seem to fade in their importance.

At lunch, yesterday, my husband sitting across from me. A surprise invitation to share in food and thinking. Hopefulness expressed through misty blue eyes as he recounts real-life realizations. Children, sustenance, practicalities. My rock. My assurance. Not without small fissures, but balanced with my own.

We float, my rock and I.
Karen Mello Burton 8 comments

warm focus


When you blow air with your mouth wide open as big as you can it spreads out and loses its power before it can reach your hand at the end of your outstretched arm. But blow air with puckered lips and it keeps its focus all the way out to that same hand.

I have learned from my photographer BFF, ladyhawker, that the same is true when setting the aperture on your camera. A large aperture might give a wider shot but the depth of field is more shallow. And, in contrast, a smaller aperture will give a deep depth of field.

I have had to learn this truth over and over in my personal life. Keep my eye on the prize. Keep my focus. I want that hand to feel my warm breath.
Karen Mello Burton 10 comments

Curry, Chaiya Chaiya, and Om




India has become an important place to our family.  Only my husband has been there, but his enthusiasm for all things Indian has rubbed off on all of us.  Cooking Indian food has become one of our favorite things to do together.  I have a couple of baskets of spices sitting right on the counter, ready and waiting to be used.  Chicken Kurma, Naan,...  mmmmmm


This is the symbol I painted on our bedroom wall. The inside graphic is  the "Om" symbol; representing the need to meditate, and the outside surrounding circle is the henna tattoo that brides paint around their navels; representing marriage and commitment. 

But beyond the wonderful cuisine (and so-so fun Bollywood movies with their incredibly addicting songs) there are so many other things that we have appreciated about Indian culture.  Living the "middle way" has become a mantra that my husband recites over and over to himself when things seem to be pulling at him from all sides.  I have learned to try and embrace this same philosophy, although it is a hard one to master.  As much as I try to deny it I have had to face the facts: I am quite high-strung.  I am constantly working on pacing myself and not running from one thing to the next, either literally or in my mind.  Looking at this symbol on my wall each day helps to remind me that meditation and marriage go hand in hand when I need to get my priorities straight.  

Relax, Kaz.  Give yourself time to ponder your life.  Give special attention to your husband and special devotion to your marriage.  Slow down.  Breathe.  Breathe.

 Thank you, India.
Karen Mello Burton 6 comments

Red Party Shoes on my 21st Anniversary

Maybe it really is a girl thing, but shoes can make me happy.  These red shoes, for example, always make me feel like I am in a daring mood and ready to have some fun.  I took this picture on our way home from SLC on Tuesday after celebrating our anniversary (the road was bumpy-hence the blur).  

We had had an emotional week and weekend and we promised that for at least one evening we would not talk about any of the things we had been dealing with.  And we tried to not talk about the kids either.  Or work.  Or the house.  Some of you may be scratching your chin right now wondering what we DID talk about, but I am fortunate enough to have a husband who talks to me about our marriage, about how he can better serve me (it's good to be me), and about our goals and dreams.  

After going to the temple we went to Madeline's in South Jordan and had all-you-can-eat crab legs.  The meal also came with a rib eye steak, but get real.  I was out to eat my weight in crab legs and I think I actually came close.  We laughed as we accidentally splashed melted butter across the table and even flicked a rogue piece of crab meat every now and then.  It was fun and flirtatious and just what the doctor ordered.  

And at the end of the evening as we walked back into the house and my youngest ran up and hugged me I felt like clicking my red heels together and whispering, "There's no place like home."
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