Just came home from a fabulous weekend in Utah with Sam. My grandpa, Norman Turner, finally passed away after several years being stuck in a not-so-useful body. He was ready to go, and we all consider it a blessing from a merciful God that his final struggle wasn't drawn out over the course of weeks or months. And it was another wonderful tender mercy that all of Grandpa's descendants were able to come to the funeral, including my parents who are missionaries in France!
I took Sam with me. His middle name is Norman, and we really want him to understand who his grandpa is, and why he's named after him. It would have been nice if Sam had been able to know him while he was healthy. I hope that Sam remembers some of the stories he heard this weekend.
Speaking of Sam...there is something about sign language and music - and this is not just Sam. While we're at church, Sam is never inclined to sign the songs. He turns on his ears and looks all over the room, but usually isn't signing. This is difficult for his mom in Primary, who spends a lot of time tapping Sam and telling him to pay attention :) But whatever, he's 7. But somehow everything changes when we fly to Utah and nobody is signing. Somehow, you just have an urge that you NEED to express yourself with your hands. You can't handle just using your voice. So, during the funeral and at church the next day, Sam sang every single song in sign language. He did a pretty good job translating for himself. A lot of fingerspelling - it was clear which words he didn't know the meaning of - but he's a better signer than I gave him credit for! I think this sudden desire to sign music in a hearing crowd is a little bit of a desire to say, "Hey, I have this whole part of my life that I want you to know about me!" and partly just a natural expression when you're feeling a little emotional. And we were definitely feeling a little emotional. I didn't sign during the funeral, though, because I was on the stand waving my arm in the traditional manner. And you know what - it makes your arm tired. I like signing better :) But I definitely feel more competent beating the music instead of signing it. Anyway, it still made me laugh at how my son stubbornly avoids signing while we're in a signing environment, but as soon as nobody who cares is around, he's suddenly Mr. ASL :) I think he might be a little contrary :) In the nicest way :)
While we were in Utah, the song "I want it that way" by the Backstreet Boys came on the radio. This is significant because a week ago, the song came on the radio while I was driving alone, and for some reason, I was taken by one of these moods to sign. And since practicing interpretation is on my to-do list right now, I let myself go. Ok, so guess what - that song makes NO sense at all. As far as I can tell, the only point of the lyrics was rhyme and meter. But the song came on again a few days later, and after thinking, "What is this a 90's revival week or something?" found myself trying to sign it AGAIN. Then I remembered that it was lame and stopped myself. So when it came on again in Utah, I was starting to feel the conspiracy theories. But at least my sisters were there to confirm that the lyrics were totally lame. And, it came on again on the way to the grocery store the day after I got back. I changed the station. :)
Ok, one more music story. I went to the ASL ward in Provo while I was there. It was fun to catch up with a few people who had moved from DC. The music leader was really fabulous, he's interpreted for church broadcasts before, and I admit, he's one of my faves :) One thing he did that I really liked was changing the way he signed repeated phrases. In "I believe in Christ", for example, he first signed, "I trust Christ", which changed to "I have faith in Christ", "I actually believe in Christ", "I definitely believe in Christ" and maybe a few more that I can't remember. I've seen this done before, but I never really "got it." But this time, I really enjoyed it! In English, we use the changes in the music to give emphasis and meaning to the repeated words. I was impressed by how powerful it was to add emphasis this way in ASL. Makes me want to try it in Primary. Except I think that would probably be a little complex for some of the kids. Anyway, we'll have to find some ways to incorporate this new realization of mine...
Well, that's my report from our trip to Utah. It's always funny to me how I still have things to write about when I'm not at home :)
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