We’d worked with the twins on sleeping in the hogan. And it appears that it was working.

And on a walk along the river on the Saturday before our appearance before the judge of the Navajo Children’s Court, we were surprised with a visit from one of the Eagles. It was like he was blessing our little family.

On the Sunday that we went to Aunt Ginny and Uncle Gaagii’s, we were surprised to find Aunt Ruth and Uncle Paul there. We were even more surprised on Monday when we walked into the Children's Court that all of our friends from Albuquerque were here as well as a number of the leaders of the Navajo Nation. We had a little excitement after the judge had granted our final adoption request. I spotted that he had a hot appendix. And then the twin's biological mother showed up.

Ajie and the ambulance from the local fire department took care of Judge Uskilith. And the twins and I took care of Shideezhi Hatayhli, the twin's biological mother. And Shideezhi was happy with how things were going with the twins.

After our trip to Window Rock, Arizona, we are now a true family of four.

Tuesday started as our days usually do, up at midnight and six with the twins. Then Ajie and I had a quick breakfast after we put the twins back to bed, then I quickly dressed and was off to the university. After I taught my two classes and attended my grad level class, it was back to the office and to work on the project. And by the time I was done for the day, I’d finished the second and third and started on the fourth printed circuit board for the full circuit. Tomorrow I should be able to start checking the individual boards and then the full circuit.

It was too cold after dinner to take the twins for a walk, so it was playtime. As we were doing belly time, I was sure Tsé was going to laugh, but all I got was a big smile out of him when I blew on his belly. Haseya was the same way when I blew on her belly.

We noticed that with their nine PM feeding that both of the twins seemed to want more formula. So, we gave them a couple more ounces of formula, and they seemed satisfied.

When we first heard from the twins on Wednesday, it was just after five in the morning. I rolled over and looked at the clock and said, “Honey, it’s after five.”

“What!?”, Ajie said.

“It’s after five. Did we miss the midnight feeding?”

“They must not have woken up.”

We crawled out of bed, walked over to the crib, the twins looked at us, and stopped crying. Ajie checked their diapers, and they were soaked. So while Ajie changed them, I went to make up their bottles, and as I did, Ajie said, “Honey, add two ounces to each of their bottles.”

When I brought their bottles into our bedroom, and we sat down to feed them, I asked, “Was this a fluke, them missing their midnight feeding?”

“Maybe.”, Ajie replied. “But, they did eat two more ounces at nine.”

“Could we be lucky enough that they’re going to start sleeping through the night?”

“Let’s hope.”

When the twins finished their bottles, they had taken all but one ounce. Then we put them back to bed, and we stayed up. This gave us time before I had to leave for my eight o’clock class so that we could make frybread breakfast tacos for breakfast. It was nice to have a leisurely breakfast.

After I’d taught my classes, it was back to the office. And no Dr. Joe. So before I started testing the printed circuit boards, I went over each of them carefully looking for problems with the solder points, and I didn’t find any.

When Dr. Joe showed up, we started running tests on each individual printed circuit board. As we were running the tests, I said, “The twins missed their midnight feeding last night.”

“So you got a full nights sleep?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Almost, but were not sure if it’s a fluke or the beginning of them sleeping all night.”

“It was nice when little Mark started sleeping all night.”

“I bet it was. Did you help Mary with him?”

“Yes, we took turns.”

“I wish we could, but we both get up and take care of them.”, I said.

“Probably the best way to handle twins.”, Dr. Joe said.

“It does help. I don’t know how Ajie does it when I’m not there.”

“It’s probably easier. You're not there for her to also take care of.”

I looked at Dr. Joe, frowned, and said, “Ha ha.”

With a grin, Dr. Joe said, “Couldn’t resist.”

As we finished checking the last printed circuit board, Dr. Joe said, “They look good.”

“So, far.”, I replied.

Then carefully, using jumper wires, I hooked the four boards together. Bill had done a good job of designing the boards so that it was easy to interconnect them. Once I had everything connected and double-checked, Dr. Joe and I ran some more tests. And they came out good.

“This scares me.”, I said.

“It shouldn’t.”, Dr. Joe said. “Your design was good, and I watched you build and hook them up, and you were very careful.”

“I know. But it still scares me when things go this well.

“I think I’m going to wait until tomorrow to run the tests with the sensors and indicators.”

“That might be good. It’s going on five-thirty.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Five-thirty! Do we have anything that I can set the four boards on that will fit in the file cabinet?”

“Hold on.”

Dr. Joe found a piece of heavy cardboard that looked like it would hold the circuit boards and fit in the file cabinet, so we carefully transferred the four boards to the cardboard without losing any of the connections. I carefully carried the board and set it in the file cabinet, then I closed and locked the file cabinet.

I then picked up the phone, dialed ‘9’ for an outside line, and called home. When Ajie answered, I explained that I was running late and would be home in about half an hour.

After locking up the office, Dr. Joe and I then walked to the faculty parking lot, and at his car, I said, “Yiska´ago índa, Azee'ííl'íní Oshie.”

Dr. Joe looked at me and asked, “And what does that mean?”

“See you tomorrow, Dr. Joe.”, I replied.

“Well, giga-waabamin naagaj, Mashkikiiwinini Kai.”

“Does that mean the same thing in Ojibwa?”

“Close.”, Dr. Joe said. “It means, see you later, Dr. Kai.”

As I walked away, I smiled and said, “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

At home, and as I pulled into the garage, I saw Ajie standing in the doorway to the house. After I parked and got out of the car, I walked up to Ajie, she grabbed me and kissed me. When we broke the kiss, Ajie said, “I’m glad you called, I was just about to put dinner in the oven.”

“The time just got away from us.”, I replied.

“It happens.”

“How are the twins?”

“They’re great. It’ll be interesting to see if they sleep all night tonight.”

“It would be nice if they would.”

“Yes, it would.”

Well, on Thursday morning, the twins were heard from at a little after midnight, we took care of them, put them back to bed, and we crawled back into bed. Then at five, the twins were heard from again. As we fed them, Ajie said, “I guess the other morning was a fluke.”

“Maybe it’ll be like when they dropped their three AM feeding.”, I replied. “And they’ll try it again and then learn that they like sleeping from nine to five.”

“Let’s hope that it is.”

“Amen to that.”

During my classes, I reminded my students that next week was exam week. And since it was the final quarter for the Electric Circuits class, I told them that it was a pleasure to have had them in class.

When I walked into the office, Dr. Joe looked at me and said, “Well?”

“Well, what?”, I asked.

“Did the twins sleep through the night?”

“No. But we did get a solid five hours.”

“It’ll come in time.”

“Soon, I hope.”

I walked over and took the piece of cardboard out of the file cabinet that had the four printed circuit boards on it, and carefully carried it to the worktable. I slid the boards off of the cardboard and onto the worktable, then I went over all the interconnections between the four printed circuit boards, and they looked good.

We powered up the circuit, and I looked for things that might be overheating. And Dr. Joe took various readings. Everything that we checked was right on the money.

That meant that it was time to hook up all the sensors and the indicators and see what happens. So, I powered down the circuit and started attaching all the sensors and indicators. When I’d finished that, we powered up the circuit. And I watched as the indicators showed the self-checking that the circuits went through on power-up. Finally, all the indicators showed green. I smiled, and Dr. Joe said, “I like to see green lights.”

“Me too, boss.”, I said.

“So, what’s next?”

“Let it burn in until we go home. Then tomorrow we’ll run the tests that N.A.S.A. gave us and see if everything clicks.”

“And then?”

“Next week, I’ll tear it down and use it as a model to build the others.”

“How long do you think that’ll take?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Not as long as this first one did.”, I replied. “But I’ll still be careful and take my time. So, I don’t want to set a deadline. It’ll make me rush, and I don’t like that when I’m working on something like this.”

“That’s fine by me, Kai.”

Dr. Joe left to teach a class, and I sat there not just watching the circuit, but reading some technical publications. When Dr. Joe was back, it was almost five. We looked at the circuit, and we still had all green lights, and the test meters that we’d attached were all within the parameters that they should be. So we shut down the test, disconnected the meters, placed the circuit on the cardboard, and locked it up.

When I was home, I had my usual greeting from Ajie. Then I went into the house and walked over to where the twins were in their playpen. I looked at them and said, “There’s my two little ones. I hope you were good for mommy today.”

I got some smiles from them, and Haseya reached up for me. She wanted me to pick her up. So I reached into the playpen, picked her up, and held and talked to her for a minute. Then I put Haseya back in the playpen and picked up Tsé and did the same thing with him. Then I put him back in the playpen. Then I started up their mobile.

After dinner, I was sure I was going to get Tsé to laugh or at least giggle, but no. The grins from both of the twins as I played with them was a big grin, but no laughs from either one.

Friday was the last day of classes before finals week. So, after my classes, it was back to the office and more tests on the project. The office was dark as I walked up to the door, so I knew Dr. Joe wasn’t here. So I let myself in and went to work setting up the tests on the circuit that N.A.S.A. had sent. I powered up the circuit, but I waited for Dr. Joe to show up before I started any testing. And I didn’t have to wait long.

As Dr. Joe walked in, and as he handed me a sandwich and something to drink, he said, “I figured that you didn’t get any lunch, so I got you something.”

“You’re right.”, I said, “I didn’t even think about it.”

We carefully hooked up the test modules that Dr. Joe had built. And then, we carefully stepped through the tests outlined by N.A.S.A. and took note of everything that happened. By five o’clock, we were halfway through the outlined tests. Dr. Joe asked, “Kai, do you want to keep going or finish up on Monday?”

“Well.”, I said. “We have everything set up. But if we continue, we might be here until midnight.”

“Do you think it’ll take that long?”

“Maybe not. And I’m game if you are.”, I said.

“Let me call Mary and tell her that I’m going to be late.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Then, I’ll call Ajie.”

Dr. Joe called Mary, and I could tell that she wasn’t happy, but she understood. Let’s hope that Ajie was the same way.

I picked up the phone, dialed ‘9’ for an outside line, then dialed our home number. When Ajie answered, I said, “Hi honey, I’m going to be late.”

“Any idea how late?”, Ajie asked.

“Not really. We have everything set up for the tests and don’t want to tear it down before we’re finished.”

“So, midnight?”

“That’s possible, but I hope not.”

“Is Dr. Joe with you?”

“Yes, and Mary also knows that we’ll be late.”

“Well, you put up with me working late at the ER. So I guess I can’t complain when you have to work late.”

“Thanks, love. Kiss the twins for me.”

“I will. Call me if you’re going to be later than midnight.”

“I will. Ayóó' áníínísh'ní, Ajie Nez. - (I love you, Ajie Nez.)”

“Ayóó' áníínísh'ní aldó’, Kai Nez. - (I love you too, Kai Nez.)”

As I hung up the phone, Dr. Joe said, “I’ll run and get us some food.”

“Double cheeseburger with pickles, french fries, and a ginger ale milkshake.”, I replied.

“Oh, you want me to run to the drive-in?”

“A girl can try. Can’t she?”

“Okay. Keep working, and I’ll be right back.”

It took Dr. Joe about a half an hour to make the food run, and I continued to follow the testing instructions from N.A.S.A. When Dr. Joe was back, we took a break. Sat back and ate our food. As we were eating, Dr. Joe reminded me of graduation the Sunday after this. And I told him that I needed to stop in the book store on Monday and pick up Ajies and my regalia. I also told him that our parents would be coming into town next Friday for graduation.

At about ten-thirty, Dr. Joe and I finished up the necessary testing, and it was successful. But, I shook my head. Dr. Joe saw me and asked, “What’s wrong, Kai?”

“It was too easy. It was a complicated circuit, and it was just too easy.”, I replied.

“Kai, believe in yourself. You carefully designed the circuit and drew the schematic. And everything went together perfectly. And we just proved it.”

“I know.”

We took apart the test setup and put everything into the file cabinet, then Dr. Joe called Mary and told her that he’d be on the way home real soon. Then I called Ajie and told her the same thing, and she was happy to hear it.

Dr. Joe and I locked up the office and walked together to the faculty parking lot. On the way, we ran into one of the university’s police officers, and he walked with us to the parking lot. We stopped first at Dr. Joe’s car, and then the officer walked with me to my car. As the officer and I said goodnight, he said, “We like to walk the females that are on campus to their cars when it’s this late.”

I smiled, and I said, “I really appreciate it.” But I didn’t tell him that I had my brown belt in karate.

At about eleven-thirty, I pulled into the garage and was met at the door by Ajie dressed only in her robe. After a sweet kiss, I asked, “Are the twins asleep?”

“Yes.”, Ajie said. “And we’ll see if they miss their midnight feeding tonight.”

“That would be nice.”

“It would. But we’ll need to be quiet when we go to bed.”

“I’ll get ready for bed in the other bathroom.”

At just about midnight, Ajie and I tiptoed into the master suite. I looked at the twins in their crib, and they were sound asleep. I smiled at them and whispered, “Yá'át'ééh hiilchi'i' yázhí. – (Good night little ones.)”

Ajie and I crawled into bed, kissed goodnight, and cuddled together. And we didn’t hear a peep out of the twins until five Saturday morning.

It looks like that if we went to bed at nine, the same times the twins did, that we could get eight hours of sleep. But nine is too early for us to go to bed.

The twins didn’t have us up at midnight either Sunday night or Monday night. So, it looks like they’re now sleeping nine to five.

Monday began finals week for the winter quarter. All of the finals that I’m giving are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. So, I figured that I wasn’t going to be working on the project on those two days and only a half-day on Friday since our parents were coming for graduation.

On Monday morning, when I was in the office, I carefully removed all the jumper wires that connected the four printed circuit boards that made up the circuit. Now I needed to build three duplicates of each of the four boards. So, I took the first circuit board, found the three matching boards, carefully checked them for any problems, and didn’t find any. Then I got out the parts for the first board, integrated circuit sockets, resistors, capacitors, etc., and separated them into three separate piles. Piles, yes, but organized piles.

Then using the first of the four printed circuit boards that were part of the test circuit as a model, I would add a few identical parts to each of the three printed circuit boards, carefully soldered them in place, and then carefully checked each solder point. And then I’d add a few more parts, and so on. I’m not going to bore you with all of this construction. But, I figured that it would take me into next week to build all of these, interconnect them, and stack them.

At some point on Monday, Dr. Joe walked into the office. I just glanced up at him and went back to work, and he sat at his desk. Finally, I looked up at him and said, “Good morning, Dr. Joe.”

“It’s more like good afternoon, Kai.”, Dr. Joe said.

“What time is it?”

“Almost one.”

“What?”

“Uh huh. And I figure that you didn’t get lunch. Did you?”

“No. Plus, I need to go to the book store.”

“If you want to go to the student union, grab lunch, and then go to the book store, I’ll be here all afternoon. I’ve got exams to grade.”

“Good. I’m not far from being done with these, and I’m at a good point to stop. At least with you here, I won’t have to put everything away.”

“So, go.”

As I grabbed my purse, I said, “I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

I went to the faculty dining room in the student union, and after a quick lunch, I went down to the book store. When I was in the book store, I found a clerk and told her that I was picking up graduation regalia for Nez and Nez. She disappeared into the back of the store and came out carrying two garment bags in the University of New Mexico colors.

She hung them on a rod near one of the registers and unzipped one of the garment bags. She looked at what was in it, and said, “The color of this hood is apricot, and that’s for the nursing school. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”, I replied.

Then she unzipped the other one and said, “The hood on this one is royal blue, and that’s for a regular PhD. Is that correct?”

“Yes, it is.”

I signed for the regalia and took them up off the rack. Boy are these heavy. I struggled with them for a minute then got them arranged so I could carry them, and I took them to the car and put them in the trunk.

When I was back in the office, as he said he would be, Dr. Joe was still there. And as I walked in, I said, “That regalia for a doctoral is heavy.”

“Yes, it is.”, Dr. Joe replied.

I went back to work, and just after four, I finished the first set of three boards. I took a quick look at all the solder points, and they looked good. And Dr. Joe had finished grading his exams. So we locked everything in the file cabinet and headed home. As we walked to the faculty parking lot, I reminded Dr. Joe that I had exams to give tomorrow, and I’d only be in the office to grade them and the same on Wednesday.

Dr. Joe and I then walked to the parking lot together, said, see you tomorrow to each other and headed home. Later as I pulled into the garage, Ajie was standing at the door to the house, as I got out of the car, I said, “Come and help me.”

As she walked towards the car, Ajie asked, “What do you need help with?”

And as she walked up to me, I kissed her, and said, “These garment bags are heavy.”

“What garment bags?”

“The ones with our doctoral regalia in them.”

“That’s right. You picked them up today.”

“That I did.”

We walked to the back of the car, and I opened the trunk. Then I lifted one of the garment bags out of the trunk and handed it to Ajie, she took it, and said, “These are heavy.”

“Told you.”

“Let’s take them into the bedroom. I want to look at them.”

“Okay. Where are the twins?”, I asked.

“Napping in the playpen.”, Ajie replied.

We took the two garment bags into the master suite, set them on the bed, and unzipped them. Ajie looked them over and said, “These are sharp.”

“They should be for what they cost.”, I replied.

“We should probably try them on.”

Ajie and I took our respective regalia out of the garment bags and put them on. We put on the gown, the tam, and the hood, then we looked at each other, and we both smiled. Ajie was he first to say something when she said, “That does look sharp.”

“It does.”, I replied. “In an academic sort of way. But, give me a long skirt, a nice blouse, a pair of moccasins, a nice headband, and some silver.”

“So wear that under it next Sunday.”

“I like that idea.”

“You’re a rebel.”

“You know it.”

We took off the regalia, put them back in the garment bags, and hung them in the walk-in closet.

Seeing that I was in the office all day, I didn’t have to change out of my fancier clothes. So, we went out into the big room, I looked at the twins, and they were still sleeping. Then Ajie and I put our dinner together and had a quiet dinner.

After we finished our dinner and the twins had theirs, we decided to try something. I went out into the garage and retrieved the side-by-side stroller and brought it into the entrance hall. Then I helped Ajie bundle up the twins. We then carried the twins out to where the stroller was and put them in the seats. I couldn’t tell if they were confused or curious about what was going to happen.

I opened both front doors, and we pushed them outside and down the walk to the gate in the front courtyard. I opened the gate, and Ajie pushed the stroller through it, and it just barely fit. We continued walking down the driveway and then down our road to the intersection and then back to the house. The twins seemed interested in what we were doing since they normally saw where we’d been instead of where we’re going.

As we walked back up to the front doors, I opened both of them, then I pulled the doorbell, and we heard the doorbell ring. Ajie said to the twins, “Haseya and Tsé, did you hear the bell?”

I pulled the rope again, and Ajie said to the twins, “There’s that bell again.”

We took the twins inside and carried them into the big room, set them on the couch, and unbundled them. Then it was playtime. And this time, when I blew on the twin's tummies, I was sure that I’d get at least a giggle out of them. But no such luck. However, I got some big smiles.

The twins ate and were changed at about eight and were in bed at nine. And as Ajie and I crawled into bed just after ten, I whispered, “Think they’ll make it till five?”

“Let’s hope.”, Ajie replied. Then she became amorous, and we know where that led.

The twins did make it until five on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I was giving exams, so I wasn’t planning on working on the project. And that’s what I did. I’d give an exam and come back to the office to grade them. And by Wednesday afternoon, I’d given five exams, and had all but one graded. My last exam on Wednesday wasn’t until three in the afternoon, so right after that, I headed home with all five exams in my briefcase.

Late Wednesday afternoon, when I was home, Ajie met me at the door, and she caught on to me being a little upset. So, she asked, “Honey, what’s wrong?”

“Well.”, I replied. “I’m wondering if I’m doing a good job teaching.”

“Why? What happened?”

“As I expected, I’m giving a couple of ‘D’s.’ But, I’ve got one student that I’m going to have to flunk.”

“Honey, that happens. I gave out a couple of ‘F’s’ last quarter.”

“I know you did.”, I replied. “But this will be my first.”

“I know, love.”, Ajie said. “What kind of a student is he?”

“He’s struggled, and we talked after class a couple of times. But I think that he was having trouble grasping the subject.”

“Honey, it happens. You’re a good teacher, and you know that.”

“I know. It just bothers me.”

“Don’t let it.”, Ajie said. “You teach some big classes, and you need to realize that not everyone is an A student. And this boy may be in the wrong major, and you flunking him may send him down another path. The right path.”

“You’re right.”, I replied. “Now, where are my two little ones?”

“There you go, changing the subject. They’re in the playpen.”

I walked over to the office and got rid of my briefcase. Then I walked into the big room and over to the playpen. As I walked up, I said, “There’s my two little ones. Yá’át’ééh, Tsé dóó Haseya. - (It is good, Tsé and Haseya.)”

I saw two smiling faces looking up at me. I then picked up Tsé, looked at him, kissed his forehead, then blew on his belly. He squirmed around, but no giggle. I put Tsé down, and I picked up Haseya and did the same to her. And her reaction was the same. She just squirmed around. I looked at Ajie and said, “No, giggles out of these two yet.”

“No, and it’s not for trying on our part.”, Ajie replied. “They’ll laugh when they’re ready.”

“I know.”

I know that I’ve never told you of one thing that we do with the twins of a regular basis, and that’s to sit on the couch with them cradled in our arms. One time I’d be holding Haseya, and Ajie would be holding Tsé. And the next time we’d switch. And that’s what we did tonight before the twin’s bedtime.

Thursday morning, as I was walking across campus towards my office, I heard someone call my name, “Dr. Nez?”

I turned and looked. It was the boy who had flunked the final, and I replied, “Yes.”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”, the boy asked.

“Yes.”, I replied. “It’s Mr. Edwards. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, Dr. Nez, Tom Edwards, and I’m in your Electric Circuits class.”

“Yes, I know, Mr. Edwards. What can I do for you?”

“I know that I messed up on my final. Didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.”

“Dr. Nez, you’re a good instructor, but I just couldn’t get a grasp on the subject matter. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m in the correct major.”

“Mr. Edwards, this happens to college students all the time. They come to the university thinking that they know what they want to do, but after taking a few of the classes, they realize that they’re in the wrong major.”

“Dr. Nez, I think that I may be one of those.”, Mr. Edwards said.

“It’s possible.”, I replied. “May I make a suggestion?”

“Of course, Dr. Nez.”

“Go over to testing and counseling, and ask them to give you an aptitude test. And there may be someone there that can also counsel you. And tell them that I sent you.”

“Thank you, Dr. Nez. I’ll do that.”

“Good luck, Mr. Edwards.”

We parted company, and I went to the office, and Dr. Joe was there. As I walked in, he said, “You look to be in a good mood.”

“I am.”, I replied. And I went on to tell him about the student that I’d just talked with.

Dr. Joe then said, “It was good for him to see that he might be in the wrong major and that testing and counseling may help him.”

Then I said, “I’ve been thinking.”

“Now we’re in trouble.”, Dr. Joe quipped.

I glared at Dr. Joe, and said, “Now you’re beginning to sound like Ajie.”

“What are you thinking, Kai.”

“I figure that I can start and finish the second of the four integrated circuit boards today. But in only being here a half-day tomorrow, that I won’t get the third one started and finished. And it might be better not to start the third one tomorrow, but get a fresh start next Tuesday.”

“I can see your point.”, Dr. Joe said. “Start putting something like that together and then taking a four-day break from it, may not be good. So, a fresh start on Tuesday would be best.

“So, you figure that you’ll have those three circuit boards completed next week?”

“If the testing goes good, yes.”, I replied. “But I’d like to have all next week to give them a good going over.”

“Would you be ready to turn the project over around the first of April?”

“I would say so.”

I spent the rest of the day working on the second set of printed circuit boards, and I had them finished and tested around four in the afternoon. Then I put everything away and headed home.

When I was home, and Ajie and I had greeted each other, Ajie said, “My mom called today, and Bill and Bridget are coming with them this weekend.”

“That’s great.”, I replied. “But, they’ll be staying in the hogan again.”

With a little laugh, Ajie said, “Mom said that Bill and Bridget were looking forward to staying in the hogan again.”

“We’re going to have to start renting it out.”

“What as a bed and breakfast?”

“That could be fun, but not with the little ones.”

I spent the evening working on my finals and the grade reports. I was planning on taking the grade reports to the university tomorrow morning. When I got to Mr. Edward’s grades, he’s the boy that talked to me earlier this morning, I looked at them, and called Ajie over and told her about the boy.

Ajie then asked, “What were his other grades like?”

“He struggled even with the pop quizzes.”, I replied. “And his midterm exam was a low ‘D’.”

“What are you thinking of doing?”

“He’s boarder line ‘F’. If he had one more point, he’d have a ‘D’.”

“That’s a tough call. But, faculty does have leeway on grades.”

“So, I could give him the ‘D’?”

“You could.”

“I think I’ll sleep on it.”

“Good idea. Come and help me put the twins to bed.”

We didn’t hear from the twins until about five on Friday morning, and when we did, Ajie said, “I think these two are sleeping through the night now.”

“Knock on wood.”, I replied. “I hope you’re right.”

Later as we were feeding the twins, Ajie asked, “Have you decided what you’re going to do with that student?”

“Mr. Edwards.”, I replied. “I think I have. On his own, he’s realized that he’s in the wrong major. And an ‘F’ is hard to overcome for your grade point average, so I think that I’m going to give him a ‘D’.”

“I thought that you might do that.”

“What time are mom and dad due?”, I asked.

“I think the plane is supposed to arrive at two-fifty.”, Ajie replied.

“Are they renting a car again?”

“That’s what mom said.”

“After breakfast, I’m going to run to the university and turn in my grades. Anything that I can get while I’m out?”

“Make a stop at the grocery store and see what you can find for dessert for the eight of us. And pick up the makings for a couple of batches of sangria.”

“Will do.”

After Ajie and I had breakfast, I headed for the university and the registrar's office to turn in my grade reports. Then on the way home, it was a stop at the grocery store.

When I was home, after putting away the groceries and making a batch of sangria, I replenished the firewood in the bedrooms and hogan, plus I refilled the kerosene lanterns. Then I found Ajie and made her relax as I told her that the house was fine and didn’t need another dusting.

At a little after three, the telephone rang, Ajie grabbed it before I had a chance, and I heard her say, “Hello, Nez residence.” … “Oh, hi, dad. Did you have a good flight?” … “Good.” … “Okay, we’ll see you about three-thirty.” … “Don’t get lost. Bye.”

Ajie looked at me and said, “That was your dad, and they’re on their way from the airport.”

“I figured as much.”, I said.

And of course, through all of this, the twins demanded our attention.

Right about three-thirty we heard the ding from the sensor in the driveway, I picked up Tsé and Ajie grabbed Haseya, and we walked to the front door. Just as we got there, we heard the ding-dong from the front gate. I opened both front doors, and we watched as our parents and Bill and Bridget walked towards us. As they walked up, our mothers reached out for the twins, and my mother took Tsé, and Ajie’s mother took Haseya. Then they said hello to us, and I said, “Now we know who’s most important.”

“Yeah, the twins.”, Ajie said.

My dad said, “Of course. We can spoil them and leave them with you.”

I looked at my dad and shook my head, then I said, “Yá’át’ééh. T'áá shoodí wóshde´e´’. - (It is good. Please come in.)”

As they walked into the house, my dad grabbed the doorbell rope and pulled it. And we all heard the bell ring.

We went into the house and greeted each other with hugs. Then Bridget said, “It hasn't bin that lang since we've seen thaim, bit th' wee ones hae sure grown.”

“They have grown.”, Ajie said. “They’ve almost outgrown the bigger cradleboards that we got them.”

“Are they sleeping through the night yet.”, my mother-in-law asked.

“Yes, mom, they just started and are making it from nine till about five the next morning.”

“That’s good.”

“Yes, it is!”

A short time later, Ajie and I were working on dinner, and our parents and Bill and Bridget were taking care of the twins by playing with them as much as you can play with fourteen-week old babies. But it appeared that the twins were enjoying themselves. Ajie and I watched as Bill took Tsé, and Bridget took Haseya.

Ajie and I then went back to work on dinner. A few minutes we heard a baby laugh, Ajie and I looked at each other, then we heard another laugh. Ajie and I walked out into the big room, and Ajie asked, “Did I hear one of the babies laugh?”

“Aye, Ah wis tickling Haseya 'n' she laughed.”, Bridget said.

“Then I tickled Tsé, and he laughed.”, Bill said.

“Was that their first laugh?”, my mother asked.

“Yes, the first laugh for both of them.”. Ajie replied.

“Does that mean something special?”, Bridget asked.

“Something very special.”, my mother said.

“Whit's that?”

“The Navajo people believe that when a baby is born that they belong to two worlds, the spirit world, and our world. And when they first laugh, it’s seen as a sign that the baby wants to join their family and the community here on Earth.”

“That is special.”

“It’s really special now.”, Ajie said. “The baby's grandparents and aunt and uncle are here to witness it. And you and Bill have to come back when we have the A’wee Chi’deedloh.”

“Th’ whit?”, Bridget asked.

“The Baby Laughed Ceremony. You and Bill had the good fortune of bringing the first laugh out of both Tsé and Haseya, so you are responsible for throwing a party. And you have to help the babies host it and give out rock salt, candy, and gifts.”

“Whin is this pairtie?”, Bridget asked.

“We don’t know, but soon.”, Ajie said.

“I don’t know if we can come back out.”, Bill said. “School starts soon.”

“We can work something out.”, I said.

“Is it that important?”

“Yes.”, my mother said. “It’s tradition. And you don’t want to upset the spirits.”

Bill and Bridget looked at each other. And I said, “Let me talk to Naainish after dinner and see what he says.”

“Naainish?”, Bill asked.

“Our medicine man friend.”

The twins had their dinner then sat with us at the table while we ate. And Ajie had put together a wonderful dinner for us, plus the tres leches cake that I’d bought for dessert. Of course, my dad made coffee for them to have with the cake. Bill and Bridget surprised me when they both had sangria with Ajie and me.

After dinner, Ajie suggested that we take the twins for a walk. I said that I’d stay home and call Naainish, our mothers said they’d stay with me and clean up the kitchen. So, Ajie, our fathers, Bill, and Bridget took the twins in their stroller for a walk in the neighborhood.

While they were gone, I tried to track down Naainish. First I called his place, then I called my Aunt Ruth. No, I didn’t tell her that the twins had laughed. But she had to talk to my mother. My mother and aunt were talking in Navajo, and while they were talking, I heard my mother mention the A’wee Chi’deedloh or Baby Laughed Ceremony, and I just shook my head.

When my mother hung up, I asked, “You didn’t tell Aunt Ruth that the twins laughed. Did you?”

“Of course I did.”, my mother replied. “Why?”

“The whole Nation will know about it within the hour.”

“So?”

“I just wanted to keep it quiet until we were ready to do the ceremony.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s okay.”

Since I haven’t found Naainish, I took a chance and called Quah Ah. If you remember, Quah Ah is the medicine woman from the Taos Pueblo and is also Naainish’s daughter.

When Quah Ah answered the phone, I said, “Hello, Quah Ah, it’s Kai Nez.”

“Well, hello Dr. Nez.”, Quah Ah said. “And congratulations.”

“Thank you. By some chance is Naainish there?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Could I speak to him.”

“Of course. Just a minute.”

A minute later, Naainish picked up the phone, and I explained what was going on. When I finished, Naainish asked, “Are Bill and Bridget Navajo?”

“You know that they aren’t”, I replied.

“Who was there that is a Navajo?”

“Ajie, my mother, and me.”

“Okay. Ajie isn’t Navajo, but you and your mother are.”

“Everyone is going home Monday. They’re just here for our graduation. So who could do the Baby Laughed Ceremony with the twins.”

“You witnessed the laughing. Didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You can do it for them as you witnessed it.”

“Ajie can’t?”

“No. When do you want to do it?”, Naainish asked.

I didn’t say anything.

After a short time, Naainish said, “Kai, are you still there?”

“Yes.”, I replied.

“When do you want to do this?”

“I don’t know if I want to do it without Ajie.”, I said.

“Kai Nez, this is important.”, Naainish replied.

“Yes, it is. But, so is Ajie.”

It was quiet on the other end of the line.

Finally, I said, “I’ll talk with Ajie about it. Goodbye.” And I hung up.

My mother looked at me and said, “That was a little tense.”

“A bit.”, I said.

“Care to tell?”

I bit my lip, shook my head no, and said, “Not right now.”

“I’m here when you’re ready to talk about it.”, my mother said.

“Thanks, mom.”

I saw my mother-in-law and mother look at each other, and my mother shrugged her shoulders. And just then, we heard the ding-dong from the front gate sensor, and I said, “It sounds like everyone is back.”

We heard the front door open and everyone talking. Then everyone came into the big room, Ajie was carrying Tsé and Bridget was carrying Haseya, and they took them to their playpen. I saw my mother walk over to Ajie and tell her something. Ajie then looked at me, then walked over to me and asked, “Honey, what happened.”

I said, “Not here.”

Ajie grabbed my hand and pulled me out onto the back courtyard. Then Ajie asked, “Okay, what happened?”

I told her about the conversation between Naainish and me. And I finished with, “You’re their mother, and you were there. You need to help host the ceremony.”

“Honey, I understand why Bill and Bridget can’t do it. I also understand why I can’t. I’m not a Navajo. Will I be there? Try and stop me. Will I help you? Yes. Is this important to do for the twins? Yes.

“And, honey, knowing Naainish and the way he says things, could it be that you took him the wrong way?”

“I don’t know.”, I said. “When he said that you couldn’t do it, I saw red.”

“Kai. Honey, believe me. I’ll be there with you and the twins.”

“Okay. I know this needs to happen quickly. When do you want to do it.”

“Do it next weekend, and I’ll stay and help.”, we heard my mother say.

We looked towards where she was standing, and I asked, “How long have you been standing there?”

“Not long. I was worried about my only child.”

“I think I just misunderstood Naainish. And Ajie brought me to my senses.”

“Good. Now, what are we doing for this A’wee Chi’deedloh - (Baby Laughed Ceremony).”

“So, you’re willing to stay?”, Ajie asked.

“Yes, but only if it’s next weekend.”, my mother said.

“Can we do it that quickly?”

“We can.”

“Let’s do it.”

We went back inside, and Ajie’s mother asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.”, Ajie replied. “And, Bill and Bridget, you are off the hook for hosting the Baby Laughed Ceremony.”

“Ah wanted tae dae th' ceremony.”, Bridget said.

“You need to be a Navajo to do it, and luckily Kai and her mom were here so that they can host it.”

“When's it goin’ tae be?”

“Next weekend.”

“That’s too close to school starting.”, Bill said.

“We know, and it’s going to be a push to put it together, but Kai’s mom is going to stay.”, Ajie said.

I saw my dad look at my mother with a raised eyebrow. And I knew that they’d talk more about that later tonight.

At about the time that we put the twins to bed, everyone else went to bed. But before they went, Ajie and I reminded everyone that we had to be at the university at nine tomorrow for a graduation rehearsal. Then our dad’s said that they were taking everyone out to dinner.

I’m not going to bore you with the practice for graduation on Saturday morning, other than to say that there were going to be five PhDs awarded along with a few master's degrees and maybe two-hundred undergraduate degrees.

We spent the afternoon talking about the ceremony for the twins, and we decided to hold it as an open house on Sunday afternoon. Then we had to come up with what the babies were going to hand out to those who stopped in to celebrate. Tradition is that they give out rock salt, candy, or some small gifts.

For dinner, our fathers took us to Old Town Albuquerque and the La Placita Dining Rooms. The twins were very good all through dinner.

When we were back home, Ajie and I had to put our regalia on so that our parents could take pictures. And of course, the twins had to be in a couple of the pictures.

Sunday morning Ajie and I had to be at the University Arena by nine o’clock for the ten o’clock start of graduation. So we were up early, and Charlie and Jackie were here at eight to watch the twins. Our parents and Bill and Bridget were going to follow us, and when my father-in-law heard me call it “The Pit.”, he said, “Wait a minute. The University of New Mexico and they call the arena The Pit.”

“That’s what they call it.”, I said.

“Doesn’t New Mexico have a very good basketball team, and isn’t the arena supposed to be one of the best and one of the loudest?”

“That’s what they say.”

Then I handed my dad six tickets and said, “These seats are close to the stage, so you’ll be able to see everything.”

Ajie had been giving Charlie and Jackie instructions for the twins. Then I said, “Charlie, there are ten steaks in the freezer would you take them out at ten so they’ll thaw out.”

“Steaks?”, Charlie said.

“Sure, we’re throwing a party after graduation, and you and Jackie are invited.”

“We can’t.”

“Why not? Got a heavy date?”

“Ah. No. But, you’ve got family.”

I pointed my finger at Charlie and said, “Look, little brother. You and Jackie are part of our New Mexico family. So, you’re included in this. Understand?”

“Okay, sis.”, Charlie said. “We’ll stay.”

Ajie and I grabbed our garment bags, carried them to her car, put them in the trunk, and headed for “The Pit.” I took it easy so that I wouldn’t lose my dad. As we parked and got out of the cars, I pointed to the main entrance to the arena and said, “Go in there, and they’ll show you where to go. We have to go downstairs. And we’ll see you at home afterward.”

Ajie and I took our garment bags out of the trunk and followed our families towards “The Pit.”

Now, Ajie and I are dressed as we usually are for these things. Long fancy skirts, fancy blouses, and wrap moccasins. We were wearing some silver jewelry. Like Concho belts, the matching silver feather earrings, a couple of rings, a few silver and turquoise bracelets, Ajie wore the hair pipe and Concho choker, and I wore the choker that both of my grandfathers had made. We both had our hair in a single braid and only had on a simple braided leather headband.

We all walked into the arena, and there were people there to direct our families towards their seats, and Ajie and I headed downstairs. There was one room set aside for the doctoral candidates, and the other three were already there when we walked in.

The only other woman said, “I wish I’d have dressed comfortably. These shoes are already killing me.”

We both smiled, and Ajie said, “We both learned to dress this way when we graduated with our bachelor's degrees. It was outside, it was hot, and it was a long ceremony.”

“How many were in your class.”, the woman asked.

“Thirty-five hundred.”

“Thirty-five hundred! What university was that?”

“Ohio State.”

“Oh, and you came out here for your graduate degree?”

“Our people are out here, plus we love the area.”

“By the way you’re dressed, I assume that you’re both natives.”

“Yes, Navajo.”

Just then, we heard the music start, and I said, “We’d better get dressed.”

Ajie and I removed our regalia from our garment bags and put on our gown and tam. We were to carry, not wear, our hood for the processional. Our guide showed up and took us to our place in line. We were at the front of all the graduates and behind the faculty. The music changed to the processional, and we slowly walked into the arena. The doctoral candidates followed President Lingham, the President of the Board of Trustees, and the Deans of all the colleges up onto the platform and stood by our seats.

After all the graduates were in the arena, we sat, and then listened to all the speeches. Finally, they started handing out doctoral degrees, the first two were from the College of Education, and the third was from the Business School.

Then we watched as our friend Vickie Etsitty, Dean of the School of Nursing, got up and joined President Lingham, President of the University, Dean Miller, the Dean of the Graduate School, who were already standing. Then they were joined by Dean Emeritus Martha Milford, who was the Dean of the School of Nursing before Vickie.

Dean Vickie walked up to the microphone and said, “We are here today to grant a doctoral degree to the first person to ever earn a doctoral degree from the University of New Mexico’s School of Nursing. So, would Ajie Nez please join us.”

Ajie got up and carrying her hood walked up to where President Lingham and the Deans were standing and handed her hood to the Dean of the Graduate School. They had Ajie face the other graduates. As the three Deans placed the hood around Ajie’s neck, the Dean of the Graduate School said, “It is with great honor that I grant you, Ajie Nez, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing. Congratulations, Dr. Nez.”

As Dean Miller handed her her diploma, Ajie said, “Thank you very much.”

And there was some nice applause as she also received hugs from Vickie and Dean Milford. I hadn’t noticed before, but there was a photographer taking pictures. He quickly posed the four of them and took a couple more pictures.

Ajie then walked over to where we were sitting. Ajie and I looked at each other and smiled. I wanted to jump up and hug and kiss her right then and there. But I didn’t.

Vickie and Dean Milford then sat. And I watched as Dean Rutherford and Assistant Dean Oshie, better known as Dr. Joe, walked up and joined President Lingham and Dean Miller.

Then Dean Rutherford walked up to the microphone and said, “We are here today to grant a doctoral degree to the first woman to ever earn a doctoral degree from the University of New Mexico’s Engineering School. So, would Kai Nez please join us.”

I stood, and carrying my hood walked over to where the President and the Deans were. I handed my hood to the Dean of the Graduate School. And as he handed it to President Lingham, he said, “I relinquish this honor to President Lingham.”

President Lingham then walked up to the microphone and said, “When I first met this young woman a few years ago, I was surprised that she had a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering. That surprise has turned to wonderment as I’ve watched the things she's accomplished while working on her doctoral.

“Not only is she the first woman to earn a Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at the University of New Mexico. But she is the youngest person ever to earn a Doctoral at the university beating her cousin Dr. Ajie Nez by one week.”

Then as Dean Rutherford, Dean Oshie, and Dean Miller placed my hood around my neck, President Lingham said, “So, it is with very great honor that I grant you, Kai Nez, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering. Congratulations, Dr. Nez.”

I said, “Thank you very much.” Then I shook everyone's hand. And Dean Miller handed me my diploma.

And, yes, that photographer was there taking pictures of me being hooded. He tried to pose us, but I ignored him and walked back over to where Ajie and the others were sitting, Ajie jumped up and hugged me. That got some applause. And I also caught a couple of camera flashes.

We then sat there and watched them grant Master’s degrees and undergraduate degrees. This regalia was warm.

I’m glad we elected to graduate at the end of the winter quarter. There are fewer graduates, and it’s indoors. And when we filed out of the arena, we filed out right behind the faculty.

When we were back in the room where we’d put on our regalia, the other woman looked at me and said, “Now I know who you are. You’ve been in the newspaper a couple of times, and you did something on the university’s TV station about a launch of some kind of space ship.”

“Yes, the Apollo 7 launch.”, I replied.

We got out of our regalia, packed everything up, and headed home. When we got to the car, I noticed that the car our parents had driven was still there.

Back at home, as we pulled in the driveway, there was a pickup truck there. Naainish’s pickup truck. Now what?

We pulled into the garage, took our garment bags out of the trunk, and went into the house. We found Charlie and Jackie sitting in the big room watching TV, and the twins were in their playpen. No Naainish.

Ajie said, “Hi, guys. How were the twins?”

“Wonderful.”, Jackie replied.

“Where’s Naainish?”, I asked.

“Out in the courtyard.”, Charlie replied. “He wouldn’t come into the house without you here.”

“That’s interesting. How long has he been here?”

“About an hour.”

“We're going to put our regalia away and then go out there. Our families should be here at any time.”

“Okay. We’ll keep a lookout for them.”

Ajie and I took our garment bags to the master suite’s walk-in-closet and hung them up, then I looked out into the courtyard, and Naainish was sitting by the fire pit, which had a fire burning in it.

Ajie and I walked out onto the courtyard and to where Naainish was sitting. Without looking at us, Naainish said, “Kai Nez. Ajie Nez. Sit with me.”

Ajie and I sat across the fire from Naainish, he looked at me and said, “Kai Nez, I think that I upset you.”

“No, Naainish.”, I said. “I think that I took you wrong. You were short with me, and I just reacted. And I reacted the wrong way.

“I didn’t understand that it had to be a Navajo that helped the child host with the celebration. And when you told me that Ajie couldn’t, I just saw red.”

“I felt the anger in your words and had to talk with you.”

“I’m glad that you came. I was going to call you, but didn’t have time this morning.”

“I knew that you’d be busy today. So I came with the thought of waiting until you were home.”

“I’m glad you did. Can you stay for dinner?”

“No, I need to go to Santa Fe.”

“You’re more than welcome to stay, Naainish.”, Ajie said.

“I know. But I can’t.”

“Okay, Naainish.”

We said hágoónee' - (see you later) to Naainish. Then we walked out the back gate and to his pickup truck with him.

Our families were back shortly after Naainish left, and my father and father-in-law couldn’t stop talking about being in “The Pit.” I whispered to Ajie, “I’m getting them something I saw in the bookstore.”

“What’s that?”, Ajie asked.

“They have t-shirts that have a picture of “The Pit” on them, and it says on them ‘I survived ‘The Pit’ – U of New Mexico Basketball.’”

“Can’t get them before they leave. Can you?”

“No, but I’ll get them, and we can send them.”

As all of us were sitting at the table eating steaks that I’d cooked on the wood-fired grill and the yummy side dishes that Ajie and our mothers made, we talked about the graduation. And Bridget couldn’t get over what President Lingham did.

I couldn’t get over the pushy photographer. And both of our parents told us to send them copies of the pictures. I told them that we would if we could get a hold of them since they were taking them for the university.

As Charlie and Jackie were leaving, we thanked them. And Jackie said that if we ever needed them to watch the twins again just to ask. We hold them that we would.

Of course, the twins were taken care of by everyone, and then we put them into their cradleboards, and Bill and Bridget took them out for a walk. And the rest of us talked, and I told them about the talk with Naainish.

Then my mother told us again that she’d like to stay for the Baby Laughed Ceremony. And of course, we told her that she was more than welcome. I think my dad was even thinking of staying but decided against it. But my mother-in-law then decided that it would be interesting to stay and help with the ceremony. So it sounded like we were going to have company for a week.

We called the airlines and changed our mother's reservations until the following Monday. And there was no problem doing it.

When Bill and Bridget came back with the twins, I walked over to help them unstrap the twins from their cradleboards. As I unstrapped and unbundled Tsé, I tickled his stomach. Tsé got a big smile and started giggling. I smiled at him and said, “So, you are a giggle puss.”

I ticked him again, and he gave us a louder giggle boarding on a real laugh. Ajie walked over and said, “Gee, Tsé, you’ll giggle for daddy. Will you giggle for mommy.” And Ajie ticked his stomach, and we heard a real laugh from him.

I walked over to where Bridget was unstrapping Haseya, and I helped her unbundle Haseya. Then I tickled her belly, and she grinned. Then as I ticked her again, I said, “Are you going to be a giggle puss like your brother?”

Haseya bypassed the giggle and went right to a laugh. I looked over at Ajie and said, “Ajie, she has your laugh.”

“You think?”, Ajie asked.

“I do.”

“Don’t get them stirred up too much. They’re going to bed soon.”

As I tickled Haseya again and she laughed, I said, “Okay.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“I just love to hear her laugh.”

“I know. So do I.”

I picked up Haseya, and Ajie picked up Tsé, and we put them in their playpen, and I wound up the mobile.

My mother-in-law said, “I think they’re ready for their Baby Laughed Ceremony.”

Later as Ajie and I were cuddling in bed, I whispered, “Daddy?”

“Huh?”, Ajie asked.

“When we were tickling the twins, you called me daddy.”

“I say things like that to them all the time. Like when you’re coming home, I say daddy’s home.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

I pulled her close, kissed her, and …

Monday was an early up for various reasons. The twins were up at five for a diaper change and a feeding. Then we put them back to bed. Our fathers, Bill, and Bridget, had an early flight back home. So, right after the twins were back in bed, Ajie and I started on a good breakfast. Yes, it was frybread breakfast tacos.

My parents were the first up, and my dad made coffee. Bill and Bridget were next. Then Ajie’s parents joined us. We had a nice leisurely breakfast. At eight o’clock, we were all standing at the front door and saying hágoónee' - (see you later) to each other. As Bridget hugged me, she whispered, “Kai, you are such a special in-law.”

“Bridget.”, I whispered. “So, are you. And you and Bill are welcome any time.”

We waved as our fathers, Bill, and Bridget drove down the driveway.

Then we all, Ajie, me, and our mothers, went back into the house. My mother made another pot of coffee, and we sat at the table and started making plans for the twin's ceremony. One thing that we knew for sure was that there was no time to send invitations, so it would be telephone calls.

We also decided that it should be held in the hogan, as it’s a sacred place. And that it would be this coming Sunday from two till four.

Right after we had the twins up at nine, Ajie called Aunt Ginny and asked about the Baby Laughed Ceremony and what sort of gifts are given out. And now knowing that Aunt Ginny knows that the twins had laughed, it will be all over the Nation very quickly. Remember, Aunt Ginny works for the Navajo Nation Council.

Shortly, Ajie walked up to me and said, “Your mother, my mother, and I are going shopping. We need to start getting the things to get this show on the road. So, you’re in charge of the twins.”

“Okay.”, I replied. “I’ll see how much I can spoil them before you get back.”

“Just behave yourself.”

The three of them left, and I walked over and looked at the twins and said, “Well, kids, mom’s gone. What kind of trouble can we get into?”

The twins looked at me and smiled.