Worth the View

 

Another week of work, studying and enjoying our new life out here. Jaden finished up his orientation week at CMU and passed his Security+ exam so he now has another certification to add to his resume and skill set. To celebrate his success we went to a super yummy breakfast place called Pamela’s diner. One of my friends from high school moved to Utah from Pittsburgh our junior year so once I knew we were moving out here I asked her all about places to go and visit and she said Pamela’s diner was a must. Apparently their hot cakes are a Pittsburgh classic and let me tell you they did not disappoint.  They are crepe-style pancakes so they are super thin and rolled up like a crepe and stuffed with fresh fruit and brown sugar then drizzled with syrup and just like that we were in breakfast heaven. Jaden ranted and raved about it the rest of the day and told friends here and back home all about them. I think he’s already counting down the days until we decide to go back. We also spent some time walking around CMU’s campus after going to the gym. There are incredible city views peeking through the intricate buildings. Fun fact Jaden showed me the world’s most painted fence is on campus. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records because it has hundreds and hundreds of layers of paint. Every year multiple times a year students paint another coat of paint adding to the size and number of layers.

 

The other big experience of the week besides Pamela’s pancakes was going to a Pittsburgh Pirates game with our friends from Weber (we have named the four couples “The Carnegie Crew”). It’s a well known fact the Pirates aren’t very good and that was proven to be true when we left partway through the 7th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals were up 8-0. Final score was 13-0… yikes. I don’t think we even saw a Pirates player make it to third base while we were there. However regardless of whether or not we are die hard fans the stadium views were absolutely worth the price of tickets and time spent watching the Pirates get hammered. PNC Park is widely known to be one of the most beautiful stadium settings. Walking up to our seats and turning to see this view really did kind of take our breath away. It’s amazing to see the skyscrapers and bridges rise above the river creating the most picturesque city backdrop. It also proved to be a nice distraction from the lack of entertainment going on on the field below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaden makes fun of me because I like to turn random events into life lessons or spiritual metaphors. So in honor of him I’m going to share two lessons I learned from the Pirates game.

The View Really is Worth It

I’ve given a lot about the idea of “the view was worth it” since the game. It wasn’t the game that made the night fun it was the people we were with and the view we experienced. And I think that that is a pretty accurate description of the purpose of this life. We are promised that although there will be misery and loss the view will be worth all of it. I can imagine when we get to heaven and look down at the way our lives played out we’ll look around at our family and loved ones and all be able to say together “the view was worth it.” I hope that in moments where we feel like the scoreboard in our lives reads 13-0 that we can remember the simple lesson that: it may not seem like it now but the view is worth it. And I also hope that we can find glimpses of those views throughout life. I truly believe that, although the world is divided and it seems wherever we look there is conflict and contention brewing at an all time high, there is also beauty and goodness and breathtaking views. I know I want to be better at finding those views and treasuring that beauty. I’ve only written a few blog posts so far but by the time I get down to the bottom of the post where I list the peaches and pits for the week I’ve found by the time I list all of the peaches from the week I have a harder time coming up with the pits. That has taught me a lesson on perspective and focusing on the good.

There Really are Wins and Losses

After we decided to leave we met this family on the elevator down to the parking garage and the dad turned to his son who couldn’t have been older than four and said to him “Good thing the Pirates won, huh?” to which the kid responded with a big grin on his face, “GOOO PIRATES!!!” It gave us all a pretty good laugh. It sounds like that dad was trying to keep that kid’s spirits high for as long as possible and help him believe the Pirates really are good. But at the same time we also laughed over the fact that I can’t imagine Jaden ever saying something like that to our future kids. He will definitely be the one to point out that there are clear winners and losers. But beyond that he will also teach them that you can’t always win and that losing gives you opportunities to work hard and grow to hopefully lead to more wins. And I don’t mind that perspective because it’s true, life is a series of successes and failures, wins and losses, peaches and pits. And if we can one day teach our kids that first there is a clear distinction of wins and losses and second there is value in both then I think that we’ll help instill in them a broader perspective as well as an understanding of repentance. Because we all make mistakes and have losses in our lives and we all need Christ to help us win in the end.

So there’s my soapbox. Those are the lessons I learned this week. There is beauty and good views all around us and the end view will be worth it. That doesn’t mean there won’t be wins and losses but both have worth and administer to our growth and make the end view even better.

Peaches:

• Getting a package in the mail from my dad with some new custom shirts he had designed
• Amanda and Tanner inviting us over for manicotti after learning that Jaden loved it
• Good friends letting us use our washer and dryer when we were out of quarters
• Lighting candles and enjoying the sound of rain while I worked, very cozy
• FaceTiming my mini BFF Myla on her second birthday
• Jaden passed his Security+ certification exam
• Pamela’s pancakes
• Amazing campus views
• Spending time with the Carnegie Crew
• Amazing stadium views
• The Pirates have a player whose last name is Hayes and he of course reminded us of our cutie nephew Hayes
• Almost got caught in the rain after our big breakfast but it was just lightly raining or what we like to call “misting” long enough for us to get to our car
• Didn’t get towed after we realized we parked in an area that was specific for customers only and we weren’t customers
• FaceTiming with family
• Hearing how Jaden met a friend at orientation day that is blind and had another kid during a get to know you activity say he was glad he was on the same team and understood his English better than anyone else's
  
• Attending church and Relief Society and sitting next to a woman who hadn't been to church in twenty years and getting to know her
  

Pits:

• Leaving to take Jaden to campus to come back and have my parking space taken not once, not twice but three times in a week! This is the spot out back on our private driveway not the street
• The zip tie strap around the dryer hose broke so it won’t stay on the vent that goes outside, our shower/tub faucets won’t stop dripping and we have never been able to get the light fixture in my cloffice to work. After sending pics to the rental management company we found the whole unit will have to be replaced, the joys of living in an old house
• The Pirates lost
• Mourning the fact that next week the semester officially begins and Jaden will be all-in school and homework
• The wrap I got at dinner before the game didn’t have any dressing on it like it was supposed to so it was pretty dry and gross
• All ice cream shops were closed when we left the game
• Pittsburgh doesn’t appear to carry Jaden’s favorite Tillamook Mudslide ice cream (promise we’re not ice creamaholics it is just very obviously our current favorite treat of choice)

 

Lessons Learned:

• Our neighborhood in Squirrel Hill is predominantly Jewish so it is very interesting to witness their comings and goings to the synagogue around the corner from our house on Saturday which is their Sabbath. We look forward to learning more about their beliefs and culture during our time here
• We can’t keep our chocolate chips in our pantry because they will melt so we store them in the fridge
• We learned how to submit maintenance requests through our renter’s portal
• The view really is worth it
• There really are wins and losses
• Talk to the people you sit by, what they tell you might surprise you and you reaching out might have a bigger impact than you realize