Ann Norman, Family Friend

Cleaning Aaron’s Bedroom and The Silent Wrath of Aaron:

I was hanging out the Thatcher’s late one afternoon. It was either late summer, or school had just  started, and I think we were in Eighth Grade. I was with my cousin Malissa Norman Potter. Aaron and Jeff were not home, probably at baseball practice or something. Kathy came out of his bedroom and said gosh this bedroom is a mess! So, being the outstanding friends that Malissa and I were, we quickly volunteered to clean his bedroom! I am not quite sure why, I hated to clean my own, let alone Aaron’s! Kathy jumped at the offer with a huge smile on her face, and told us to get to it! Oh boy. Clean Aaron’s room we did. Dusted every nook and cranny. Made the bed (probably even washed his sheets), folded clothes, organized the closet, everything. Shiny clean. Left if smelling like girls (what’s wrong with that!) hehehehe. Once finished, we were quite pleased with our work, and Kathy even more so than us! I am sure she was just laughing hysterically inside, full well knowing what Aaron’s reaction would be. Well. Aaron came home. And, I think it’s the only time in his nearly perfect life that he got REALLY angry. This anger surfaced in the form of silence towards me and Malissa, and I am sure yelling at his Mom as soon as we left!  We thought it was funny, and scrammed before we really got into hot water with him.  For the next several days, maybe even weeks, both Malissa and I caught the silent wrath of Aaron. Hehehehe. I was told recently by his mother that he is still mad at me for that! I’ll take the wrath now, because in his silent wrath as an adult, I am pretty sure it comes with a silent giggle. 

                                            

Busted!

It was a good day to hatch a plan for some mischief (of course only pretend mischief because we NEVER did anything wrong!). Jeff, Aaron, Chris Baldwin, Jared Weeks, me and my cousin Malissa all decided we were going to sneak out that night. The goal: toilet paper Matt Alexander. I am not sure why him, you’ll have to ask Jeff, I think that was his idea. The boys had all the four wheelers, and since we all lived in different parts of Paradise, they would come collect me and Malissa and we would meet in the middle of town. Aaron was assigned to pick me up on this mission.  So, around midnight, I went to tell my Mom and Dad I was sneaking out with Aaron and Jeff, and said I would be back later. Hehehehe. (So Aaron’s kids, when you recreate your Dad’s shenanigans, just tell your Mom and Dad first, and how can they say no!) I walked down our driveway, and Aaron came quietly up the road with the lights off so as to not wake up my parents. So off we went to meet the others. Now, what we didn’t know until we got to the middle of town, was that there was a policeman driving around checking out this sleepy town. And, lucky for us, as we were driving down the back road of Paradise (the road that goes by Gary Bowen’s house) on main street there was a cop going the other direction. As we got close to Chris’s house, all of a sudden Jeff and Chris jump out and tell us to come hide! So we did, the cop went away, and it was a near miss. However, this was not the drama! Armed with toilet paper, we all make our way from near Chris’s house, to Matt Alexander’s. To this day, I am amazed that John caught us. He must have been changing sprinklers or something, because we were pretty quiet and sneaky. Just as we got to the yard, out comes John Alexander. Eek! Jeff, the leader of our pack, did the slick talking, got us out of there with little trouble, and we then went home, still armed with our toilet paper. That was a fun adventure in Paradise! 

Armies of Helaman

When we were kids, in primary, can’t really remember what age, many of you may remember when Aaron, Rick Obray and Chris Baldwin would sing Armies of Helaman. It was really awesome. I know they were invited many places to sing that on Sundays, for various events, I think if I recall right, once in Stake Conference too. It was magnificent. And you really felt like these boys were that army! Many years later, I decided to go on a mission. By the time I went, most of the boys my age had returned from their missions, including Aaron, Rick and Chris. So, at my farewell, I asked them to sing that song. It was beyond awesome! The Return Missionary version of Aaron, Chris and Rick – the real and experienced army singing that again. Thinking of that still brings really happy tears to my eyes. I should say publically here to the three of them thank you so much for doing that. I don’t know if I ever got the chance to tell you that. And somewhere I have it recorded, I will find it. However, this time, they sang the last verse differently. It started with “We have returned from serving the Lord…” Kathy rewrote the ending. I can’t remember the rest of the words they sang, but I do remember that, because when they sang “We have returned from serving the Lord…” The Spirit was so strong you just felt wrapped up in a blanket by it. It’s a memory I will never forget.  Here are the words to the song:

We have been born, as Nephi of old, 

To goodly parents who love the Lord. 

We have been taught, and we understand, 

That we must do as the Lord commands. 

We have been saved for these latter days, 

To build the kingdom in righteous ways. 

We hear the words our prophet declares: 

Let each who’s worthy go forth and share.

We know his plan and we will prepare (this is where they sang “We have returned from serving the Lord),

Increase our knowledge through study and prayer. 

Daily we’ll learn until we are called

To take the gospel to all the world.

Chorus

We are as the army of Helaman

We have been taught in our youth. 

And we will be the Lord’s missionaries

To bring the world his truth. 

Big A, Little a, R-O-N

Remember the orange couches in the Paradise Church that were out in the foyer? One Sunday, I was sitting out there during either a break between classes with Kathy. Others were there, probably Malissa, Bonnie and Teri Norman – my cousins. And Kathy told us how she got Aaron to learn to spell his name. She taught him this little poem – Big A, little a, R-O-N. And by repeating that over and over, he learned to spell his name. Oh the genius of Kathy Thatcher! We all thought the name Big A comes from the fact that he is a giant among men (in many, many ways that are not just physical, this man is a spiritual giant as well), but really, that’s where it comes from! So the moral of this story is, if you want your kid to grow into a name, choose that name well! He sure did grow up to be Big A!

Grandpa Norman

Lastly, this isn’t so much a story as it is a great memory and reminders. My Grandpa Myron Norman loved Aaron and Jeff like he loved us. They were a part of our big Norman family, and Grandpa was always so proud of both of them. He followed their baseball lives, and talking about them would put this twinkle in his eye that came only when he was really happy. And remember night games on Sundays at their house? And Grandma’s chocolate cake? Here is what I really want Aaron to know about this. A few times in the past few years, when I have had a REALLY difficult time with something, or felt extremely alone or scared, I have felt strongly the calming and peaceful presence of my Grandpa. Just letting me know that we are not alone, that they are on the other side cheering for us, that I am loved. Beyond what I can understand about love, we are all loved that much. This week, as we fasted and have prayed for you, I felt so strongly that my Grandpa is there for you. Cheering you on just like he did at those games. So proud of you. Such love. You should know this. 

Oh Aaron, and Jeff, Kathy and Dave, and all the Thatchers, how I love you! What great, magic memories we made in that little town of Paradise. I am so happy that fate landed us all together as kids, there isn’t another set of people, in any other place ever I would have chosen over the ones I was blessed to grow up with. Godspeed! This too shall pass, and there will be many more stories and memories to tell!