In case you haven’t noticed, when my life gets hectic and I’m feeling overwhelmed, I stop blogging. Either I don’t have time, or I’m afraid that my emotions will get the better of me and I’ll post something I shouldn’t have.
Well, I’ll confess that my long hiatus between blog posts was one of those cases where I wasn’t writing because I felt like I was barely treading water. Between medical choices and a hospital stay and a holiday and youth conference and remodeling and mold and taxes… I just didn’t want to talk about it.
Brian and I just kept saying one one bad night that had us up past 1 after barely sleeping the previous two nights that surely this was all a sign of good things to come.
Well, tonight I found the good things. I am so filled with joy that my heart is brimming!
Tonight, Patrick and I attended a garden reception with the planning committee and garden owners responsible for the Mountain Valley Garden Tour that will be happening tomorrow and Saturday. I am so completely overwhelmed by the absolute love and kindness shown to us by people who are complete strangers to us!
All week long I’ve been listening to radio spots and reading news articles and watching TV interviews about the Garden Tour and every time I heard about it, it started sounding better and better.
If you’ve missed my shameless advertising, they’ve planned an event similar to the Parade of Homes… only it’s the chance to tour private gardens throughout Park City, Midway and Heber. That’s what I found out before. But through the advertising, I’ve learned that there will also be gardening workshops. And, there will also be live bands. And there will be a silent auction. And there Jazz Bear will be there. And.. well… it’s going to be simply amazing! Two days of garden bliss!
At least, that’s what I got a taste of tonight. First of all, I was worried about driving all the way to Heber – an hour through the canyon – that late alone with Patrick. But I got on the road and realized that it wasn’t much longer than I drive when we are in rush hour.. Only it wasn’t rush hour. It was beautiful mountain scenery! It was fresh air! There were cows!
We arrived just a little early, so I decided we could stop at Dairy Keen – a local hot spot burger joint with a toy train that goes around and around the ceiling. I stopped so Patrick could see the train. It was worth it.. he was in heaven.. But while I went to pick up my burger, he dumped his cup of water in his lap.. And by the time I got him changed into dry clothes – instead of being a fashionable 10 minutes late, we were half an hour late.
Thankfully, they understood.
And Patrick more than made up for it. He was a perfect angel tonight! Social as can be. He went and personally greeted every single person there. He even played with one girl’s celery for a good 10 minutes straight.
Ronald McDonald made a guest appearance tonight. We weren’t sure how this would go over.. But once I pointed out his big red shoes, and then Ronald let him stand on them to reach his big red zipper.. Patrick was sold! They were friends from there on out.
Thank goodness someone else there had a camera, though, because Patrick was so quick that taking any pictures of my own was impossible.
Those will have to come later.
Anyway, we took pictures with Ronald (a.k.a. “Ro-Ro”) and all of the guests and then Patrick wandered and looked at the gardens and mingled some more. I even got a second to sit down and eat a very yummy, though messy, eclair.
The event organizers had a gift bag for Patrick all full of fun things like CD’s and stickers and toys and his own gardening shovel and spade (which he will LOVE! because they’re real metal). They said it was to keep him entertained in the car for all the extra travel he’d do this weekend.
And then we said our goodbyes. Patrick would have stayed another hour. But I knew he’d be too tired tomorrow. So I took him to the car and put on his pajamas. We drove home listening to soft music. He fell asleep and I got a peaceful one hour drive down the canyon as the sun set over the mountains and lake.
I can’t tell that these words aren’t really capturing it. But trust me.. this evening was amazing! A true gift!
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this kind of attention. I never feel like I know the right things to say and do. Thank goodness Patrick is so good at it that it almost makes up for me.
The thing is, though, that there are no words or actions that can really capture what it is to have people just reach out and help you and love you like this! There are no words to capture the absolute treasure it is to have been given a summer evening with my son.. of giving my son the chance to just be a little boy… even if it was all done because he’s not your average little boy.
If this evening is a foreshadowing of the next two days to come, then this weekend is going to be wonderful. I wish more of the people I love could share it!
I guess I could throw in one more plug. It isn’t too late to buy tickets. They’ll be for sale for $15 tomorrow and Saturday at any of the gardens. Just go here http://www.cotaforpatrickh.com/node/315 and follow the link to their website and there’s a list of locations.
Patrick and I will be back there Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at the Paulus garden in Park City. With trout. And the Jazz bear. Seriously, how can you resist that?
Patrick Hoopes 