The Chaos Theory

Here's my theory about Chaos: Chaos happens because the Forces of the Universe combine to bring the various people and interests in your life together in a nebulous, swirling cloud. And then said Forces, chuckling to themselves mirthlessly, drop said nebulous swirling cloud into one short week of one month of one year of your little, supposedly important life. Behold: CHAOS.

OK, that description could be a little overdramatic. And to be honest, I like a little chaos every now and then just to shake things up. But I think the Forces went a little overboard a couple of weeks ago.

This is my sister Kiirstin.

Isn't she pretty? She's even prettier when you consider that this picture was taken mere hours after she gave birth to my new nephew Henry on April 17. (And yes, she might kill me for posting this photo.)

And thus began my Week of Chaos. Lovely chaos, because many good things came of that week. But boy-howdy, I was EXHAUSTED at the end of it. So here is the rundown, with explanations and pictures. I warn you: reading this super-long post is going to take some concentration. If you suffer from ADHD, stop reading now.

Friday, April 16, 5:30 pm
A very nice receptionist from the city of Cottonwood Heights called me and asked if I would be interested in having an interview with the city manager and HR director regarding the Public Relations Specialist position I had applied for the previous week. I calmly accepted, scheduled the interview for the following Monday, thanked her, then hung up the phone and proceeded to have a mini-anxiety attack. (Did I tell you I suffer from a mild anxiety disorder? Hmm. Well, that will play a part in the week to come. Stay tuned.) Kiirsti and her daughter, who had spent most of the day with me after she had a doctor's appointment to strip her membranes (ladies, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout), went home soon after that.

Friday, April 16, 9:50 pm
My brother-in-law Kurt called and very sweetly asked if I would be willing to stay the night at their house with Kinsley that night since they were going to the hospital to "have Kiirsti checked." Yeah right, Kurt. They don't "check" full-term pregnant ladies whose contractions are four to five minutes apart! I packed a bag and made it to their house in record time, then sent them on their way.

Saturday, April 17, 7:30 am
No baby yet. So I packed up Kinsley and took her to my house where Saturday festivities were in full swing. (Saturday festivities = everyone in their pajamas watching TV).

Saturday, April 17, 9:16 am
My parents, on the second to last leg of their journey from Minnesota to Utah to see the new baby, are chatting with me on the phone about when we think Kiirsti will have her baby. My dad gets pulled over by a cop. After laughing loudly at him, I hang up. Kiirsti chooses this exact moment to give birth to Henry Gerald Meng. Happy Birthday, little Henry! Hopefully you don't grow up to be a criminal like your grandpa!

Saturday, April 17, 11:15 am
We ate...

....so that Carter can be on time to his 12:00 soccer game--the first of the season and the one in which mom and coach messed up and didn't get him his jersey.

At least we remembered shin guards.

Saturday, April 17, 5:00 pm
I sent the family to Brendan's football fundraiser dinner--a luau. I then took Kinsley to meet her new baby brother and see Mommy and Daddy.


Then, I took Kinsley home with me to stay the night with us.

Sunday, April 18, 1:00 pm
After sleeping in and generally being lazy, I took Kinsley to the hospital again to see Kurt, Kiirstin, and Henry and to meet up with my parents, who then took Kinsley with them to my brother Cameron's house in Eagle Mountain. (Sadly, Kurt's uncle had passed away only a few days before, and since the funeral was on Monday, they were expecting to have houseguests through Monday night. With everything else going on, Mom and Dad took Kinsley with them to make things a little easier on Kurt while Kiirsti was in the hospital.)

Monday, April 19
I dropped Carter off at my friend Renae's house and went to work at the preschool. I took a change of clothes and then tried to keep my hair and makeup nice through four hours of playing so that I could look professional for my job interview with Liane Stillman and Linda Dunlavy at 1:45. The interview went well. However, my anxiety reared its ugly head again. I had already received many calls and texts and emails of reassurance from family and friends, but the minute I walked into the room my hands went from being sweaty to being ice cold. My underarms were soaked. I know I must have maintained a calm exterior, but in my brain I just tried to control my breathing enough to answer their questions.

After the interview, I drove home kicking myself for everything I thought I'd done wrong and vowed to bury myself in food. I did this by cooking dinner for my parents and my sister and her family and spent the evening with them--still stressing out over the interview.

Wednesday, April 21
My brother Cameron and his daughter Leah met my parents and me at a Trax station, and we headed downtown to the Church History Library to meet with....

...Marlin K. Jensen, member of the Quorum of the Seventy and lead historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My mom donated some documents that had belonged to my grandfather, who had worked closely with the leadership of the Church during his career with the Genealogical Society. Elder Jensen was very kind and very interesting. (He's also shorter in person than he is on TV during general conference. But...everyone's short to me, I guess.) It was a great visit--and probably the last time I'll EVER see the fourth floor of the Church History Library.

Thursday, April 22
This is pretty much all we did when hanging out with my parents that week:

Grandpa tickled the kids, took them for walks to look at birds with the binoculars, and fed them candy while Mom cooked and cuddled the babies and bestowed liberal amounts of chocolate pudding. And then, in the midst of all this family togetherness, Linda called from Cottonwood Heights to ask if I would kindly come to city council meeting the following Tuesday in order to be INTERVIEWED BY THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL. Granted, I have met all of the city council members many times before, but this did not stop my little friend, Anxiety, from becoming my constant companion for the next five days.

Friday, April 23
Carter and I attended Kindergarten orientation at the neighborhood school. Carter ate cookies and colored pictures in his new classroom while I was made to realize what an ineffective mother I am for not having Carter's immunizations up to date, nor his vision and hearing screenings and Kindergarten checkup finished. The family barbecue made up for it, though. We ate lots of food and cuddled babies. And then we watched Nacho Libre. It was a good night.


Saturday, April 24
More soccer.

But the highlight of the day was lunch with one of my absolute favorite people in the whole world, my friend Jen Davis. She was in town with her dad, Mark, to see her brother Jordan graduate from BYU.

We ate at Bajio, talked for two hours, and had a great time. I love my Jencita so much, and I hate that she lives so far away!


Sunday, April 25
My parents left. :(

Tuesday, April 27, 9:00 pm
My interview. The Thing I had been dreading and anticipating for five days. Before I left home, I texted Randy and asked him to give me some words of encouragement. Then I put on my game face and left to face my doom.

On my way to the city offices, I received these texts from Randy:

"John F. Kennedy once said, 'When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters: one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.'"

"And to quote one of your favorite authors, Henry David Thoreau, 'Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.'"

And then this:

"And another brilliant man, Randy, said, 'I love you and you are the perfect person for this position. The council is not interviewing you to find reasons not to hire you...only looking for confirmation that you are the right person for the job. You'll do great.'"

I nailed the interview. The next afternoon, they offered me the job and I accepted. I start my new job on June 3.

So--I present to you all of the above evidence that my definition of the chaos theory is completely true. But I'll take a Week of Chaos anytime if it means I and my family will be blessed because of it. Now, looking back, I wouldn't trade that week for anything.