"Unpack"

Has anyone else noticed a proliferation of the verb "unpack" in contexts that have nothing to do with travel or luggage?

It seems to be cropping up everywhere, but is especially prevalent in Christian writings.

It's this kind of thing...

I just read this passage from the book of Job and I'm still trying to unpack what it means to me.

I was so overwhelmed by this recent experience and I need to unpack it a bit to see what I've learned.

This song was so powerful, I'm trying to unpack it's impact on me.

Every time I encounter it, it jars me and I go, "what the...?" Are we no longer allowed to use simpler phrases like, "I'm trying to figure this out" or "I want to spend a little more time thinking about this" or "I know I need to apply this to my life and I'm working at how to do it".

Unpack? So, you're gonna pull it out of whatever slot it's currently residing in inside your head, and then sort it into dirty stuff that needs to be laundered and mostly clean stuff that can be put away and used again? Or is it that you're going to leave it in it's bag and get to it later after it's really smelly and wrinkly? Or perhaps you just want to put aside the enjoyable part of the experience and concentrate on the drudgery that is cleaning up after the fun?

I know, I know, that's not what they mean. And I know what they're saying when they describe the need to unpack an experience or something they read or heard.

All I'm thinking is that of all the verbs we could appropriate to describe the way we work through our life experiences, unpacking is not at the top of my list. I mean, really, you've taken a fabulous trip, enjoyed your time away, soaked up all that the locale and the people you spent time with had to offer, and then you arrive home. And you must unpack the bags. You're tired, but glad to be home, and only wish you had a magic wand that would put all the clothes and stuff back where it belongs, clean and ready for use. But no, you have to unpack them and then put the luggage away.

It's not my favorite part of travel. And thus, not a word I typically want to use when describing the often great process of applying and learning from an experience.

Enough of my ranting. Anya and Karen just made molasses cookies and I need to try one so I can unpack the cookies' impact on my taste buds.

The Game Of Life!

Don't know if you've ever played this game (if you haven't and you plan to, I'd recommend setting aside at least 1 &1/2 hours. It's takes a while to live a life) but it's a fave in our fam. The premise is that you move through the board and take what life gives you and then deal with it. The object of the game is to earn as much money as possible (I'm not thrilled with the message that sends, but as you'll see, we don't seem to take it much to heart around the Smith House). You can go to college, choose a career, get married, have kids, take vacations, pay for trips, buy art, send your kids to camp, win a game show, yada yada yada.
We've added a few twists to the Smith Fam version. First of all, there's these spaces called "Spin to Win" where you basically place a bet to see if you can get a windfall. We, of course, can't possible tolerate gambling, even with money that is painfully unreal, because that would just be unconscionable.

Okay, actually we just don't like the time it takes each time you land on Spin to Win, so those spaces are now $10,000 lottery winners.

And, one of the quirks of the play-by-the-rules game is that you can go through the game and never have kids (evidently, the creators wanted a few people to experience the desert that is infertility). Well, for our child loving daughter Anya, that is just not acceptable. So we added the adoptions rule: for $20,000 you can adopt a child (or two or three or four) at the beginning of any turn. (Don't worry, the money all goes toward legitimate fees and costs. Yeah, right.) The only downside to adoption is that you don't get the obligatory $5000 baby gifts that you get when you land on a birth space. I know, it's not fair, but no one ever said life was fair.As a side note, I find it odd that the makers of Life have fashioned the game in such a way that you MUST get married. It is impossible to progress without getting hitched. Evidently, being single is not really living in the minds of those creative minds at Milton Bradley. Who knew that the many single friends we have in real life weren't really living? But I digress...Of course, if you add extra children to your family, soon one minivan is not enough. I mean, they only made room in the vans for two parents and four children, which is fa-a-a-a-r to few for Anya. So we added a new option: you can also purchase another car for $20,000 at the beginning of any turn with which you can then transport your ever burgeoning family.

On another side note, I must say that Anya's propensity for a large family has caused us to wonder if living in Utah with it's many super size families has caused her to have an altered view of family size, but for now we rest in the hope that she only wants 10 kids in her game board life. Although she really does like watching reruns of Jon & Kate Plus 8. Hmmm...

What Anya discovered on our recent Game of Life playing day is that there is a downside to having a family with 10 children. First of all there's the space that says send your kids to camp for $5000 a piece. Ouch.

And the space that says take a family cruise at $10000 per ticket. Double ouch.

Or the worst ignominy of all: send your kids to college; $50,000 each.
Yikes.

And this on a salary of $70,000 per payday, which had already been severely reduced by the adoption of 10 children and the purchase of the aforementioned minivan.

Add on $500,000 in college tuition, and her bank account was sorely depleted. She had a mere $50,000 left. Quite a bit in real life terms, but a mere pittance in The Game Of Life.I, on the other hand, had a more lucrative career ($100,000 + each payday) and a small family, so I ended the game with over $1.6 million, and the title of champeen 'o Life.Anya's only saving grace was that at retirement she received a handsome retirement present in the form of cash from each child. There's gotta be some advantage to having all those kids.

She still lost. But I'm sure she found comfort in the many fond memories of those blessed days with her family, packed into two minivans and driving around a multi-colored path praying they didn't land on the "build a new house at a cost of $60,000 per bedroom, one bedroom per child" space.

That one is a killer.

Just the falls and us

Recently we took a quick stroll up to one of our favorite spots, Bridal Veil Falls. I think there's a Bridal Veil Falls in virtually every state that has a waterfall. You'd think that the pioneers or settlers or explorers or whoever it is that names these things could have become more creative. I mean, yeah, they do look a veil, but do we really need 40 some odd falls to honor that white filmy cloth? Why not Rapunzel's Tresses Falls, or Comet Falls, or Straw Broom Falls or Wigwam Falls. Just one of the various random, and utterly useless, thoughts that course through my wee brain.

Our Bridal Veil Falls (Fabio's Head Falls?) is located just a few miles into Provo Canyon and a short 10 minute drive from our home. It's on a lovely paved bike/running path that follows the river up the canyon, and the path runs directly in front of the falls. When the falls are really flowing, the pool at the bottom will often cover the path.

Since it's on said path, it's virtually always populated with other fall gazers, bikers, roller-bladers and runners. So it's actually quite miraculous that we snapped these shots with no one in the frame but us.How 'bout Vampire Cape Falls?

Maybe not.

Shorn

Emily is the possessor of some the thickest, most dense hair on the planet. She's broken numerous pony tail holders just trying to get them around her mass of hair. It's gorgeous hair, but there is a LOT of it.

Emily's kept it long ever since she overcame her initial birth baldness (I think as some sort of subliminal response to being virtually shiny-headed for almost 6 months). But this summer, she's been fed up with the weight of it, it's blanket-like heating of her neck and head, grown weary of the struggle to put it all into one pony tail and keep the holder from snapping her hand as it breaks under the strain.

So, she decided she wanted it cut. Not just trimmed. Cut. As in short.

Here's how she looked on Friday before heading to the salon:
Upon our arrival, worker of wonders Brianne, having consulted with Emily about what she wanted, began putting Em's hair into five braids.By doing it this way, the hair could be sent off to Locks of Love to be used to make hair pieces/wigs for childhood cancer victims. The first cut is the deepest...baby I know...the first cut is the deepest.I think she had enough hair for several wigs. Wow.Once it was on the table and off her head, she looked like this.

Fortunately, Brianne was not done. That hairstyle would have been, at best, less-than-attractive. At worst, freakish.

After Brianne finished her magic, the result was nothing short of fabulous!
Emily loves it, we love it, her head is cooler and the world is a happier place. (I'm pretty sure this haircut had ramifications across the globe. Kind of like the butterfly effect.)
Our biggest shock was how much older it made her look. Who'd have thought that one haircut could turn her from a little girl to an almost-teenager in less than an hour?

Loving it, though. Simply loving it.