Scott Aces Another Test

I think I was a junior in high school when I wrote in my journal, "I am going to marry Scott when I'm 23 and he's 24." My prediction came true a year behind schedule, but I have to laugh when I think of the detours we went through to get to the altar and the extent to which my dreams have come true ever since. My vision was so incredibly simplistic. I think I planned for us to divide our time between college and dates at the Market Street Broiler until the day we got married. After that, it was going to be five kids and a house in the suburbs. Nobody can say that it didn't end up exactly as I planned, major detours notwithstanding. (Living in dfferent states and states of mind?) The thing that still astounds me is that I asked for a string and I got a tapestry.

When I pictured Scott as a dad, I thought of the single image of him holding a newborn. If Scott had been able to see ahead of time that ten years after holding his firstborn above his head at a restaurant for everyone to admire, he would be buying little blue outfits for his 6th, he would have run the other way. I'm glad he didn't run then, because now it's too late. At least until his foot heals. He wouldn't get to the corner in his walking boot! Once again, I have to give Scott credit for being amazing. It's been six weeks of agony, depression and constant pain and setbacks since Scott tore his achilles. And that's just me! (Just kidding, Scott) Two weeks into the ordeal, Scott slipped in the bathroom and broke his toe. He was cramped into a small space with his crutches, unable to get up. I laughed so hard, I couldn't move. He was like a bug on its back.

Everyone else laughed, too, at Scott's injury. When they announced it in Relief Society, there were chuckles all around the room. The guys who were at the bastketball game to witness the injury have turned it into a legend they all retell at any neighborhood gathering. It gets funnier and funnier, how Scott fell to the ground and started yelling, "Who kicked me?! Who did that? I don't just fall down all by myself!" He then stared crawling, or swimming, as my dad tells it, to the sidelines, repeatedly falling as he went. Hilarious, huh? You wouldn't think so, but for some reason, everybody feels compelled to laugh. At one point, I complained to a friend about all the ribbing, even though I was the biggest offender. I said it didn't seem very funny that Scott was drugged up on the couch with a torn achilles and a broken toe on top of it. My friend suggested that it was Scott's personality that enabled everyone to laugh at him. He's a teaser and a joker and he's funny and easy-going. He makes everyone feel like a friend. He shares laughs with everyone around him, and he also cares about them. I'm so thankful Scott takes the teasing along with the concern. His good nature has gotten us through his ordeal with more than a little humor. Now I can even laugh at the fact that he secretly hobbled to Dillard's for their big sale a week after his injury and bought two pairs of shoes. This was during the time I was carrying things around for him because of the crutches. (Can you bring me my book? Can you pick up that paper? Can you hand me a pillow?) I said to him, "I didn't realize that I could put whatever you need in a Dillard's bag and you'd be able to carry it."

I knew Scott was perfect husband material. Then he proved to be incredible dad material. He's passed the test for best friend, provider, son, son-in-law, uncle and neighbor. I often hear about his integrity as an attorney, and I know that integrity carries through to all aspects of his life. Now he has passed another test. I had no idea when I planned my life with Scott back in the '80's that he would have such forbearance in the face of adversity. He brushed it off when Freestone jumped off the couch onto his injured foot yesterday. Wow! A guy who laughs at himself as he slowly makes his way limping to the street with the garbage cans? Priceless. Scott, sorry I didn't put the garbage in Dillard's bags for you. I'll try to be more compassionate...just like you. :)