The Mergenthaler Family

I said the 2024 North American Eclipse deserved its own post, so I must follow through. Unfortunately, the words eclipse and glimpse don't actually rhyme, so you're left with a lame title. Logan gets ten thousand gold stars for getting the eclipse on our radar and encouraging us to travel a few hours to the path of totality (it would be 96% totality at home). Rick and I are poor planners regarding sightseeing and impromptu adventures, and I know we have missed out on some really cool experiences because of indifference. Actually, it was not indifference, but more likely, we were living life in survival mode--raising babies and keeping up with responsibilities. Take the 2017 eclipse as an example. Little Gavin and I had driven Emily from our home in Tucson to Provo to help her move into her first college apartment. During the eclipse, Gavin and I were at Target getting necessities while Emily was somewhere else checking other to-do items off our list. The sky turned greenish, an...

Letters From the Nest, April 19, 2024 Dear Children, A few weeks ago, a poem by Langston Hughes caught my attention. I liked it so much that I spent an unseemly number of minutes searching Etsy and Amazon for a reasonably priced, artsy print of the poem to display in my office. Dreams By Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. I read it, and thought, “Well, isn’t that nice--the way dreams bring joy, hope, and excitement to our lives?” Later that day, I told your dad about the poem, how much I liked it, and my disappointment at not finding the right way to display it. I read it to him with a dreamy, wistful tone. He looked like I just asked him to give up eating Guitard milk chocolate chips and said,  “Well, that’s depressing. Dead bird? Emptiness? I thought you didn’t like cold weather.” I’m not against feedback or opinions that don’t exactly m...

 It's about time for a real what-have-we-been-up-to update. In spite of intentions to do this monthly, I cheated the last few months with essays and a book post. A lot has happened since February. Pictures are usually better than words. And, in pictures, you can't hear any of the fighting. :) Brooklyn and Sean finished up their winter basketball seasons. All of us had fun going to the games. Andrew and Ricky, especially, liked jumping on the court to play half-time one-on-one even if they might have made enemies with a staff member who didn't like them on the court as non-paying participants. We traveled to Washington for Spring Break. Some of the kids and I explored the beaches while Rick, Ricky, and Andrew spent time at Planet Fitness lifting weights.  We took many trips to the park by Grandma and Grandpa's house. The zip line is always a hit. The kids also like playing Wii Sports and Mario Brothers on Grandpa's gaming system. Brooklyn and Gavin had fun with the E...