Valentine's Day

This was our first Valentine's Day as a married couple.  On Friday evenings our plans changed and we ended up at home.  For some reason when I (Alex) want to celebrate I am always drawn to breakfast foods for dinner.  I don't know why.  We pulled out the chocolate peppermint waffle mix, made frozen fruit smoothies, and had fresh strawberry and pineapple.  Delish.  We settled in for another romantic evening watching the Olympics as Arthur snoozed in his recliner starting about 8pm after some early mornings at work.

Our activities on Saturday for this weekend of love included going to the library (we love books) as well as a trip to purchase a bike for Arthur (we love biking as well).  This is Arthur's first bike since he was a kid so we are excited to hit the roads and trails once the weather warms up.  Plus, if you couldn't already guess, watching more of the Olympics (we love sports).

That evening I made a special dinner for Arthur.  After all the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  We had flat iron steak, baked potato with cheese and broccoli, corn bread, and fruit cups. We both dressed up to dine at our card table in the kitchen.  Afterwards we danced around the kitchen to some memorable  songs from our relationship.  And finally, the main moment was pulling out the cherry cheese cake I made for Arthur.  I then I realized I don't have a pie server so presentation left some to be desired since it ended up as a glob of cheesecake.  My husband doesn't like cherries though but he requested cherry cheesecake.  Being the dutiful wife I am, I separated all the cherries out of a can of cherry pie fill to use just the filling part to cover the pie.  Love makes you do crazy things sometimes.  Omnia Vincit Amor.

Armchair Olympians

It is Alex's opinion that the best thing about even number years is not elections but the Olympics.  We have been thoroughly enjoying watching the Winter Olympics.  Winter seems to drag by sometimes and if it must be cold and snowy at least the Olympics makes ice and snow exciting since we no longer get snow days.  In the evenings we curl up in our basement under blankets and watch in wonderment as athletes across the world compete.  The following are some of our thoughts on the Olympics:

- Competition is art.  What these athletes accomplish; honing their skills and their bodies to stretch the limits of human potential, is beautiful to watch and equal in every way to the more "high brow" art we tend call more intellectual.  If you can think of a competitive event as art, as winning or losing as something that brings context rather than an ultimate aim, watching becomes much more relaxed and allows you to appreciate the efforts of the team/person you aren't necessarily cheering for.

- Norway has quite the history at the winter Olympics.  Alex first fell in love with the Olympics in 1994 when they were held in Lillehammer.  She was very disappointed after the 2 weeks ended that they only show sports constantly for the Olympics every few years.  Two years seemed like a lifetime to wait for the magic of the Olympics to return.   Also, it is family lore that Alex has ancestors that were Norwegian vikings who got shipwrecked in Scotland or Ireland and just stayed there for several centuries until coming to the US.  She has always cheered for Norway.

- Norway is crazy about cross country skiing which is becoming one of our favorite sports to watch.  While this year they had some setbacks they are the top cross country skiing country.  One interesting fact that especially appeals to Alex with her background in sports science is that 5 of the top 7 best VO2max values recorded have been in Norwegian men.  (Background info:  VO2max is the measurement of aerobic fitness.  It is how well your body can take in and use oxygen.  This is the test where the participant wears a mask and runs on a treadmill as the speed and incline increases until they can't go any longer-- pretty brutal.)  Also of the top 15 values 8 compete in cross country skiing.  This is compared to ultramarathoners and bikers.  The highest value is a Norwegian cyclist at 97.5 ml/kg/min.  My estimated VO2max is about 43 which is pretty good for my age group.  To put it in perspective Lance Armstrong and Steve Prefontaine are both at 84 are 20, and 21 on this list, behind a boatful of Norwegians.

-Speaking of Scandinavian dominance, 3 of the top 5 countries in Olympic medals per capita are from the relatively sparsely populated peninsula.  Finland, in first place, has one Olympic medal for every 17,904 citizens.  While the United States has won the most total medals, it is 37th in per capita medals (one medal for every 130,521 citizens).  The U.S, due to its population, could not possibly match that pace.  It would take 17,503 medals and only 17,283 medals have ever been awarded.  There are some really interesting thoughts to be had about what those statistics have to say about culture, but we'll save those for another day.

-Sochi is a subtropical beach resort town roughly the same latitude as Atlanta.  If you want to read an interesting story about how they did that, click here.  As good as the organizers did "winterizing" Sochi, the snow conditions have invariably been slushy and that has had an adverse effect on multiple competitions, and it is speculated that the conditions are a major reason Norway was not is usual dominant self in cross country skiing.  As I currently understand it, the politics that led to Sochi being chosen is one of the few blemishes on these games.

-It is fascinating to me (Arthur) as an engineer to learn about the thought and effort that goes into the equipment these athletes use.  BMW designed the United States' bobsleds, espionage is a major concern for different country's luge sleds, there is speculation that the suits designed by UnderArmor for the U.S. speed skating team are to blame for their poor showing, and the superiority of the Finnish and German skies have been credited for their strong showing in cross country skiing (the poor Norwegians designed their skies for more frozen conditions).  

- At one time I (Alex) wasn't a huge figure skating fan.  I thought it was a little wimpy compared to speed skating, especially short track.  I have slowly gained more appreciation for what these athletes are capable of doing.  In pairs skating we were impressed when one group did a throw where the guy threw the gal about 5 feet in front of him and several feet up.  She did a quad toe loop in the air and landed it.  How does he throw someone 5 feet?  Arthur's a big guy but he didn't think he could toss me 5 feet (we didn't try this).  Also he is on ice, how does he not go backwards?  How does she spin 4 times without a push off? How in the world does she land on one blade?  It is my experience that most people struggle to stand on one leg for more than a few seconds let alone a single blade.  The spins figure skaters do is also some impressive physics.  It is a great way to see physics concepts in real life with centrifugal force in the spins and how center of mass affects speed and acceleration.

- Also ice skating is the only sport in which throwing items on the playing surface is allowable.  That would be major penalties and delays of game in any other sport.  

  

- Who thought skeleton was a good idea?  I understand the need for speed and thrill seeking.  Isn't that what bobsled and luge are for?  Is it smart or safe to go careening down a chute of ice at 80 mph experiencings 5 Gs of force with your chin inches from the ice and your head as the first thing that is going to hit anything in your path?  These athletes have guts.  It would be interesting to see if skeleton athletes grew up as "emergency room" children. 

- The Super Bowl is known for its commercials but the Olympics has them beat hands down.  Of course what could be better than a 30 seconds inspirational sports movie as a commercial?  We will even admit that we got a little misty-eyed watching a few of them.   

Maybe next week we will resume normal life but the we will eagerly await the next presidential election year since that means the Summer Olympics in Rio.  Omnia Vincit Amor. 

Chaperones

Right now Arthur and I are curled up in the basement watching the Olympics.  It is such a relaxing and restful evening.  Which we desperately needed.  We just spent 36 hours with a group of middle school and high school students, and survived relatively unscathed.

Friday afternoon Arthur and I got off work early to go with the youth group to Kansas City to a youth conference called Acquire the Fire.  I was assigned to the 15 passenger van with the high school girls.  Myself and the other female sponsor decided we didn't really want to drive.  I was able to sweet talk my loving husband into switching to our van to drive.  Arthur was excited to get the opportunity to drive such a massive vehicle around (I don't even like driving my little car around downtown KC), however it meant extended time with the segment of the population that tends to make Arthur cringe-- high school girls.  After a quick safety check of mirrors, controls, etc., we cruised down the interstate with Arthur at the helm and myself as his trusted co-pilot for navigation and crowd control.

Here's our selfie from the conference.

The conference was Friday evening and all day Saturday with 2,000 teenagers from around the region.  There was a worship band, a few mini concerts by other bands, messages, and drama presentations.  It was all geared towards teenagers-- fast paced, lots of action.  Someone had tipped me off that it was going to be loud and recommended taking ear plugs-- I am glad I did.  My ears are not as young as they used to be and I work with enough patients who have difficulty hearing I will try to protect mine.  There was a lot of video graphics and lighting effects.   Sunglasses might not have been a bad idea either.  One thing that Arthur and I have talked about lately is different tastes in worship music.  It seems to be an issue which every church deals with to some extent and many even have different worship services because of different music preferences.  We attend the more traditional service at our church although we joke that most of it is actually worship music written in the 1980s and not necessarily hymns that are centuries old.  It seemed like most of the kids really enjoyed the music this weekend.  I think it is great reminder that worship isn't about the style of the music but the heart and the message of the lyrics.  It is my own opinion that harps might be a little tame for heaven and what we experience this weekend might be a good representation of worship in heaven.  I love Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6.  Isaiah is in the Lord's throne room with seraphim all around saying:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

The foundations of the temple was shaking.  The room was filled with smoke.  Imagine that for a moment.  The Lord's throne room is not a place for tame worship.  This weekend there were times when you could feel the drums and the base throughout the auditorium.  I think the fog machine also filled the stage with smoke.  I, personally, am more of the "Be still and know that I am God" but I don't think it will be quiet when the mountains and rocks cry out in worship someday.

We spent the night at a church in Kansas City.  Nothing like sleeping on the floor in a room with 40 other people.  Once again the ear plugs came in handy.  We also both had sleeping pads and were so exhausted  that we slept great.  For about 4 and a half hours.  We did manage to get teenagers up on a Saturday morning and out the door by just after 7am.  After the morning session we went to Minsky's Pizza for lunch which was Arthur's highlight for the trip.  I also feel like I won some "cool" points by going with the high school girls to Starbucks. 

In one of the messages that I really liked the speaker talked about our legacies.  God uses us despite our backgrounds or qualifications, many times in spite of them.   We were asked to look at our hands and think about we can change the world or our corner of it.  In looking at my hands I saw a scar from running the zipline at camp in Alaska and all that I learned through those three months.  I saw the ring on my finger that my husband gave me last summer when we exchanged our wedding vows and thought about how I am so thankful and blessed that God gave me such a wonderful man but also considered how God will use our marriage and family for His kingdom.  My hands are small but I am told by many of my patients that they are strong.  Sometimes I am told I have magical fingers, or fingers of death depending on which therapeutic technique I am using at the time.  How do I use my hands to touch those who a hurting through my profession beyond their physical needs?  

After the conference we loaded everyone back up in the vans and tried to find our way out of downtown Kansas City late at night.  Does this sound familiar, like one of our recent posts?  We shared the story of our first date in Kansas City with some of the girls as we drove out of town.  Arthur showed his skills as a driver and did a great job.  On the way home the rest of the gang fell asleep but we kept ourselves awake with different mind challenges.  I lost a bet because I got the capital of Massachusetts wrong but Arthur doubted me that the 10th, 11th, and 12th presidents were Tyler, Polk, and Taylor.  If anyone had been awake and heard this conversation we may have lost some of our coolness.  We pulled into our driveway at about 1:30am and exhausted.  We didn't see the light of day until 10am the next morning.  Being teenagers again was exhausting.  Omni Vincit Amor.  

Filling the gaps

One of Arthur's favorite movies is Rocky.  So his favorite movie is actually Rocky IV (I should get wife points for knowing this specifically) but when we first started dating he was crazy about all the films in the Rocky Balboa saga.  I watched the original Rocky recently and it is slightly concerning how much I have mentioned it on the blog lately-- hopefully our readers will forgive this lack of refinement.  (Arthur's editorial comment:  Lack of refinement??  My dear Alex, Rocky won three Academy Awards, made the American Film Institute's list of top movies, and the cinematography continues to influence how movies are filmed to this day.  You don't have to speak with a British accent and wear a tuxedo to be high culture.)  The following is the dialogue between Rocky and his friend Paulie about Rocky dating Paulie's sister Adrian:

Paulie:  You like her?
Rocky: Sure, I like her.
Paulie: What's the attraction?
Rocky: I dunno... she fills gaps.
Paulie: What's 'gaps'?
Rocky: I dunno, she's got gaps, I got gaps, together we fill gaps.

My mother actually quoted these lines to me during a discussion about Arthur's and my relationship when we were getting more serious about each other.   I was quite surprised that my mom was giving relationship advice from Rocky but it's an idea that Arthur and I talk about frequently in our marriage.  We both bring certain personalities, skills, background, and experiences to the table-- both good and bad.  We also each have areas where we may lack certain skills or experiences and the other person "fills in these gaps"  The more scientific and technical term would be synergy.  Here's the definition of synergy from wikipedia:

Synergy is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of their individual effects. The term synergy comes from a Greek word meaning "working together".

I would like to think that our relationship is more than just addition, 1+1=2, but more of a synergistic effect where 1+1= better than 2.  We are better together than individually.  This is true for many different realms of life.  In talking with someone about personal ministry one time I mentioned that if I was to marry, it would be less likely that I would pursue doing healthcare in developing nations which was a dream at that time.  I was under the impression that marriage and family would possibly decrease my ability to reach out to others.  (Please remember I was college, younger, and less wise than I hopefully am now.)  This friend then pointed out that if I was to get married my career path might look slightly different than becoming a physical therapist in some remote African village, it wouldn't necessarily hinder my impact for His kingdom.  They pointed out that many times in ministry 2 are better than 1 and the impact might be more than doubled.  And this is true in many other areas too.  I have always competed in individual sports and haven't really experienced personally the thrill of a team working together in athletic competitions.  I suppose marriage is the ultimate team sport.

In another blog we read often, The Art of Manliness, there was a post on marriage as a master mind.  The idea of a master mind is "when two or more people come together as a group with positive energy, a definite aim, and complete harmony, a "third mind" is essentially formed".  A committee working as a group as the power of multiple minds but in a close relationship with harmony a super power is formed.  This article talked about some famous couples such as Nobel prize winners, Pierre and Marie Curie, Johnny Cash and his wife June who won a few Grammy awards for their duets, and many other couples who have ran businesses together, writing books, etc.  I am personally thankful that Arthur and I are not business partners in a career  (although one of my goals in the 5th grade was to become an electrical engineer but now I am married to one).  I would like to think that we encourage one another in our individual pursuits and also share many mutual goals and interests.  The following quote is also from the post on master minds by a researcher studying self-expanision and growth in marriages:

“People have a fundamental motivation to improve the self and add to who they are as a person,” Dr. Lewandowski says. “If your partner is helping you become a better person, you become happier and more satisfied in the relationship.”

Some examples of self-expansion that have occurred in our relationship include:
-Arthur making me watch Net-flix documentaries on everything from origami to Steinway painos
-I once read all 1124 pages of Systematic Theology so I could understand what Arthur was rambling on about during our nightly phone conversations
- I am now occasionally aware of what is going on in politics today and the multiple sides of issues, once again due to Arthur's ramblings
- Arthur now eats spinach salad at basically every meal
- I now will eat Asian food
- Together we have pursued interests in sustainable living and renewable energy
- Arthur is becoming tidier and more organized
- Since Arthur lives with a physical therapist he is becoming more interested in making physical activity and fitness a part of his day.
- We both share a love for travel and the outdoors.  Since it is winter and neither of us has much vacation time we are pursuing these interests together vicariously through watching survival tv shows
- A common practice at dinner is to share about what we are learning through audiobooks or if we have read any interesting news articles that day.

The researcher mention above also did a study where couples were asked to describe their relationship using a scale of 7 circles.  At one end of the scale was two separate circles, the middle was two circles that overlap, and the opposite end was two circles draw virtually one top of the other.  It showed that those couples in fulfilling relationship picked the circles with the great overlap-- together they fill gaps.  Omni Vincit Amor.

Storms

We were jarred awake by a phone call at about 6am the other morning.  It was Arthur's boss calling to tell him to just stay put as a winter storm moved through the region.  I (Alex) will admit some jealous feelings towards my husband who would get to spend the day snuggled in our warm house watching it snow out the window while drinking something warm.  Instead I dragged myself out of bed slightly groggy from being awoken already that morning by Arthur's phone alarm at 4:30am so he could shovel the drive.  He got out of bed, looked out the window, and decided it wasn't worth it-- I told him that the night before.  Arthur checked the weather on the internet and stated, "I am not sure I trust the credibility and accuracy of this website.  It says it is 59F out."  A few moments later, "Oh, that's in Texas."

Before I headed out the door I snagged my snow boots, mittens, hat, scarf, etc (I'm including all these boring details so that our parents are reassured that we are properly prepared for weather) and waited for my co-worker to pick me up so we could carpool to work.  Arthur and I knew last year when we made the decision to each commute 30 miles in opposite directions we would not be a fan of bad weather.  However I am blessed with a co-worker at the clinic who lives in the same town and probably volunteered my first day on the job to carpool for bad weather days.  The interstate was snowpacked but taking it slow we made it just fine.  That morning at work I did see 4 patients, two being over the age of 80.  Excuse me while I get on my soap box for a short period of time.  Older people need to just cancel their physical therapy appointments if the weather is bad.  Walkers or canes are not good on ice and snow.  It is interesting that all the patients under 40 will call and cancel but we have elderly patients trudging in all day. 

As the day went on all my afternoon patients cancelled since the storm was getting worse so we headed home shortly after lunch.  Generally it isn't a good sign when you pull onto the interstate and there is a snowplow in the ditch.  The wind had picked up blowing the snow which decreased visibility.  There were even fewer cars out that afternoon.  Topping out at about 35mph we made it home safely only to get stuck at the end of our street.  I'm pretty sure our street is the last to be plowed in town, especially if school is cancelled. 

It was nice to have the afternoon to enjoy a good "snow day".  We both took naps and did some reading.  Then my wonderful husband made dinner and did all of the dishes.  He had been "volunteered" by me to do this when I walked out the door that morning since I was a little jealous that he was staying home.  That evening we watched another survival show on Netflix.  At breakfast we had been discussing how well we could survive if we were stranded in the snow.  I decided with the contents of my purse-- newspaper, chapstick, and a cell phone battery I could possibly start a fire.  I could also use the extra newspaper for added insulation in my coat if needed.  I'm glad I didn't have to pull out any of these skills and only used the chapstick for my cracking lips.  About 8:30 that night Arthur decided to go out and shovel the drive since the snow was letting up.  Since we only have one snow shovel and I know how much he loves clearing snow I opted to stay inside and plan our vacation for this spring.  (Arthur's editorial comment:  As a man it is my duty and responsibility to maintain my property.  I want everyone who passes by our house to look at our driveway and say, "Don't mess with that guy.  He is capable of withstanding freezing temperatures and physical exertion."  Even if passers-by have no sinister intentions it is a point of pride to care about the upkeep of my home.)  After making dinner and shoveling the drive he gets the "Husband of the Day Award" hands down.

The next morning we carefully headed to work again, once again with the appropriate clothing due to temperature readings of 0F and a wind chill.  Everything was pretty with a new layer of fresh snow as the sun was peeking over the horizon.  I was also introduced to a new natural phenomenon.  On each side of the sun were two bright patched that looked like the sun with what appeared to be rainbows shooting upwards.  I found out later that this is called a sun dog.  It is cause be light reflecting off of ice crystals in the atmosphere at very cold temperatures.  Check out the picture on wikipedia which is much better than my description.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog.  After storms, especially in the winter, I am always struck by the beauty of nature following the fury.  Whether it is everything washed clean by a good thunderstorm or a rainbow, ice that makes even ordinary trees sparkle like they are studded with diamonds, on the stark brightness of pure white snow covering the landscape.  Always look for beauty, even following life's storms.  Omni Vincit Amor. 

T-shirt quilt

I'm fairly sure that fashion has been the topic of some blog post along the way.  It has been an ongoing topic between us as a couple.  During Arthur's last year of school there was some discussion about updating his wardrobe in preparation for a professional job.  Arthur was against this idea and is all for wearing t-shirts everyday for most occasions.  His reasoning is that a person should be respected for who they are an not what they wear.  I agree with him on this but also think it is respectful to dress for the occasion.  Anyway, it was decided (probably more by me than by Arthur) that t-shirts from his high school days were no longer a necessity in his wardrobe.  I at least waited till we had been married about 1 month before we sat down and sorted through his clothes.  I think this was a little difficult for him.  I did not realize the emotional attachment he had to some of his clothing.

We put all of his high school t-shirts in a box in the basement for several months.  (Good news, he still never ran out of clothing.)  This winter I pulled them out to make a t-shirt quilt for Arthur.  My sewing experience has been limited to about 1 niche-- raggedy edge blankets.  I have made about 4 raggedy edge t-shirt quilts and 2 regular quilts.  This method is fairly simple which is why I can handle it.  All the blocks are squares of the same size, all the seams are the same size, and all the sewing is straight lines.

On the left is the quilt I made for my dorm room in college and other is my high school t-shirts.

This is one of my favorites, all my K-State t-shirts (plus some lovely throw pillows in the background).

I have tweaked my technique a little over the years, mostly cutting out the steps I have determined superfluous- ironing interfacing on the backs of the t-shirts, cutting batting, quilting the batting into the blocks.  For this particular quilt I cut all the blocks using a 15" square of plexiglass and a rotary cutter.  Arthur told me that he couldn't handle being in the basement and just standing by watching the carnage and hearing the cries of agony from his t-shirts as I cut them up-- he might have a flare for being dramatic.  I then bought a gray flannel sheet set on Christmas clearance for a much better deal than buying flannel by the yard.  I tore the sheet into strips and cut them into squares with the plexiglass pattern.  On this quilt I decided to use the t-shirt on the front and then two blocks of flannel for the filling and the back.  I have learned that flannel likes to stick to itself just like those old Sunday School flannel graphs. Once my blocks were cut out I pulled out the artistic skills to determine the layout.

That was the easy part.  Next I had to sew.  I did get a sewing machine for Christmas last year so I pulled out the owner's manual and tried to figure out how to use it.  Thank goodness for pictures and instructions.  I felt like I could conquer the world when I got it to wind the bobbin.  When my machine was up and humming I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.  (once again those home economics roots peeking through.)  I then pinned and sewed the blocks into rows and then the rows together.  One problem with my short cut of not quilting the squares or using interfacing is that t-shirt material has a tendency to stretch more than flannel.  My solution to this was tucking all the bunched up fabric under the seams where I hope the raggedy edge will cover up my shoddy workmanship (now all home econ foremothers are cringing- oh well.)    I was also glad that my mother happened to be coming to visit the day my sewing machine started to eat a large hole in one of the t-shirts so she could help me fix that goof.  The next task was fringing all the seams which tasks a while but on this quilt I only had 24 blocks so it went much quicker than quilt with 80 blocks and I had a nice sharp pair of sewing scissors.  I suppose sometimes having the right tools do make all the difference.  The final step was washing it so the seams all ravel out.  This makes a mess in the washer and dryer.  Now it is ready for Arthur to snuggle up under it on a chilly evening while reading or watching tv and reminiscing about his beloved high school t-shirts and the memories and accolades they represent.  I consider this an example of compromise in our relationship-- Arthur gave up his t-shirts but gets a warm quilt in return (and a happy wife).  Maybe I'll have to make him some matching t-shirt throw pillows, but I  won't push my luck.  Omni Vincit Amor.  

Here's the final product!

Flashback: Formal

One of our first dates, though it is only a first date in retrospect, was when I took Alex to a fraternity formal.  I say first date in retrospect because it carried with it no expectation of developing into a relationship; and while I (Arthur) was definitely checking in to what kind of person Alex was, Alex was more interested in checking out all of my other fraternity brothers. Our evening began with several of my fraternity brothers and I making dinner for Alex and the other dates.   I honestly can’t remember what we prepared we definitely put a lot of effort into impressing the young ladies. 

To what extent we succeeded (Alex just informed me that it was all right) I probably lost some ground when I missed the road getting out of town (twice).  We departed from our college town to Kansas City traveling with another couple and had a very enjoyable time chatting and getting to know each other.  Once we got to our destination I let Alex off in front of the building where the formal was and went to park the car.  Due to some poor navigation it was another half hour before I rejoined her (Giving Alex plenty of time to scout out the other gentlemen and wonder where in the world her date went and if he was coming back.)  I did eventually return and once again we had a wonderful time.  That first formal was an interesting one because we didn’t quite know how to interact with one another, hence, Alex seemed to want to dance to every song and I obliged even though it might not necessarily have been my cup of tea. 

When the night was through the adventure had not yet ended; I was not quite sure how to escape downtown Kansas City.  It should probably be noted at this point that my fraternity brother in the back seat was supposed to be in charge of navigation, but the driver always gets blamed for everything.  Regardless of blame, our merry party was soon heading towards a rougher section of town and Alex was having none of that. She whipped out the atlas and soon had us safely headed towards home.  And again the conversation along the way was very enjoyable.  

Alex’s editorial comments:  Alex had been lost in Kansas City a few times before with different groups and knew enough to know that there were certain areas you did not want to find yourself in at midnight.  As the men of the party were discussing that maybe they should turn east into this area of town she decided that it was not a good time to sit back but maybe someone with some navigational skills should step in so she did—she has a tendency to be a control freak at times.  She was able to navigate them to the only part of KC she was familiar with and get them back on the interstate headed in the right direction.  At that point she could relax since the vehicle was headed home.  About 20 minutes later, Arthur looked over and asked if they had found I-70 yet.  This was just the beginning of an understanding of Arthur’s struggles with navigation.  It was also very entertaining for Alex to retell this story to her parents the next day.  Her dad got quite the kick out of it.  Little did he know that in a few years he would be giving his only daughter to this "navigationally challenged" guy to love and protect for life. 

Whatever we talked about along the way, it was apparently good enough to trump all these navigational errors because about a week later when Arthur asked Alex if they could start “hanging out intentionally” she agreed. A few months later Alex moved to KC so Arthur came and visited her several times-- Alex always praying that he would be able to find her place or his way back out of the city again.  It just goes to show once again that love conquers all and that Alex always navigates. Omnia Vincit Amor.