This evening we were all sitting in Shad's room doing our own thing when one of the hospital chaplains came to visit.
He talked for a few minutes and then asked, "Are you Christians?' and turned to the son-in-law for a response.
The son-in-law slowly replied, "Not ... really", and then went on to say something that I wasn't really listening to.
I was too busy thinking, "Wait, my son-in-law doesn't think we are Christians? Hadn't he read all the articles on this topic? Didn't he serve a mission? Doesn't he listen to General Conference?..."
and then in a matter of seconds I understood what the son-in-law had heard and responded too.
Every doctor's visit, and there are A LOT of them, ends with the question, "Do you have any questions?"
That is what the son-in-law had heard and "not ,,, really." He didn't have any questions.
While the chaplain stood, with obvious concern, trying to decipher the son-in-law's response and determine where to go from there, I think I might have burst into laughter.
(I blame it on being cooped up in a hospital all day under a great deal of stress. I have no idea how the oldest daughter and the son-in-law do it so well day in and day out. It felt good to chuckle, so good that I was still laughing about it an hour later much to the son-in-law's consternation.)
We quickly cleared up the misunderstanding, declared that, yes indeed we are Christian, and then appreciated the prayer that the chaplain offered in Shad and his family's behalf.
ALL of the prayers that are being offered, by so many people of so many faiths, are felt and appreciated by us. They are what make it possible for us to laugh even in these difficult times
and laughing is good.
Today I am grateful for
laughter.
some of the "best possible news" we could hope for.
the opportunity to be here with Shad and his parents, along with the hubby and the youngest son.
conference talks. So glad that my November Ensign arrived as we were pulling out of the driveway to come to California yesterday.
For an update on Shad and the good news we got today go to the daughter's blog post here.
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Why Would Anyone Want to be a Dentist?
I really like my dentist.
He is a very nice man and takes good care of me and my teeth.
However, I do not like to spend time with him.
I don't know why anyone would choose to be a dentist.
I think the whole sticking your hand in everyone else's mouth is pretty gross, but in my opinion that isn't the worst part of the job.
The thing I couldn't handle is the feeling that nobody likes me.
I would get tired of going to work everyday just to hear people complain about having to visit me.
Now, I know there are some people in the world who have perfect dental hygiene and amazingly healthy teeth and all the dentist does when they visit is pat them on the back and say "Good job! See you in 6 months".
They probably enjoy their trips to the dentist.
I have those kinds of visits every now and then, but those usually involve a lot of time with the hygienist and a few seconds with my dentist.
The long visits with Dr. Thomas are the poke and drill and pull and grind procedures that I know are necessary, but definitely not enjoyable.
I am grateful that I live in a day and age where visiting the dentist is an option.
Where Novocaine makes my time in the chair fairly pain free.
Where I get to have my lousy teeth replaced with strong, gold crowns that allow me to continue biting and chewing and enjoying my food.
Don't get me wrong.
I am glad there are individuals out there who choose to be dentists and take care of my teeth, but I will admit that ever since my eldest son was in the musical "Little Shop of Horrors" in high school, the following refrain flows through my head at least once while my dentist works away in my mouth.
You'll be a dentist
(be a dentist)
You have a talent for causing things pain
(pain)
Son be a dentist
(son be a dentist)
People will pay you to be inhumane
(humane)
Your temperament's wrong for the priesthood
And teaching would suit you still less
Son be a dentist you'll be a success.
Now, my next question is - Why would anyone want to be a proctologist?
He is a very nice man and takes good care of me and my teeth.
However, I do not like to spend time with him.
I don't know why anyone would choose to be a dentist.
I think the whole sticking your hand in everyone else's mouth is pretty gross, but in my opinion that isn't the worst part of the job.
The thing I couldn't handle is the feeling that nobody likes me.
I would get tired of going to work everyday just to hear people complain about having to visit me.
Now, I know there are some people in the world who have perfect dental hygiene and amazingly healthy teeth and all the dentist does when they visit is pat them on the back and say "Good job! See you in 6 months".
They probably enjoy their trips to the dentist.
I have those kinds of visits every now and then, but those usually involve a lot of time with the hygienist and a few seconds with my dentist.
The long visits with Dr. Thomas are the poke and drill and pull and grind procedures that I know are necessary, but definitely not enjoyable.
I am grateful that I live in a day and age where visiting the dentist is an option.
Where Novocaine makes my time in the chair fairly pain free.
Where I get to have my lousy teeth replaced with strong, gold crowns that allow me to continue biting and chewing and enjoying my food.
Don't get me wrong.
I am glad there are individuals out there who choose to be dentists and take care of my teeth, but I will admit that ever since my eldest son was in the musical "Little Shop of Horrors" in high school, the following refrain flows through my head at least once while my dentist works away in my mouth.
You'll be a dentist
(be a dentist)
You have a talent for causing things pain
(pain)
Son be a dentist
(son be a dentist)
People will pay you to be inhumane
(humane)
Your temperament's wrong for the priesthood
And teaching would suit you still less
Son be a dentist you'll be a success.
Now, my next question is - Why would anyone want to be a proctologist?
Sunday, April 11, 2010
He Knows Better Than I
A couple of days ago one of my youngest son's Sunday School teachers died. He was quite young and has 5 children, ages 16 to 2, 3 under the age of 5. There is some question as to the cause of death, but it is most likely that he died of a drug overdose or committed suicide. He has struggled most of his life with some mental illness and drug abuse. He served a mission and married in the temple, but has had long periods of inactivity followed by a renewed desire to do what is right. His family only lived in our ward for about 6 months, but it was during one of his better periods and he had a very positive influence on my son's life. His death has been difficult for my son to understand and I have also struggled with how much information I should share with him as I hear rumors and stories from many different sources. I have chosen to discuss openly all of the possibilities that I can reasonably substantiate, believing that I would rather he hear it from me and we talk about it than he hear it through gossip and silently wonder and worry about it.
Today after church my son asked me "Why are some people's lives so much harder than others?" This is a question that I often ask myself. It seems like no matter how hard some people try they always have challenges while it seems that life just kind of flows along happily for others. I didn't really know how to answer his question. We talked about how sometimes choices that we make or that other people make result in consequences that bring difficulties with them. I also told him that I think Heavenly Father allows us to have challenges so we can learn the things we need to know here on earth and become the person we need to be. I didn't really feel like my answers had made a difference and I wondered what more I could say. I asked his dad and they discussed the subject for awhile with a lot of the same ideas brought out again. Still, I wondered what he was really thinking about the whole question.
Later in the day this son was sitting in the living room singing. He enjoys singing and I will often hear him repeating his current favorite song over and over again. As he sang I tuned in to hear what song was number 1 on his list at the moment. As he sang the same portion of the song a number of times, I didn't recognize it, but the words became clear to me. What he was repeating was a chorus that said:
You know better than I
you know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For you know better than I.
I still didn't recognize the song, but the message of the song was familiar to me. I felt that this was in part an answer to my question of where my son stood following our discussion from earlier in the day. To me he was acknowledging his faith that I may not have all the answers, and his dad might not have all the answers, but his Heavenly Father has the answers to why. Along with that, the fact that he doesn't know why right now is OK, because God knows why and he knows better than any of us.
I asked the son what the song was and he said it was from the DVD "Joseph King of Dreams". I went online and looked up all the words to the song and was really touched by the entire message.
I thought I did what's right
I thought I had the answers
I thought I chose the surest road
But that road brought me here
So I put up a fight
And told you how to help me
Now just when I have given up
The truth is coming clear
Chorus 1:
You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For You know better than I
If this has been a test
I cannot see the reason
But maybe knowing
I don't know is part of getting through
I tried to do what's best
But faith has made it easy
To see the best thing i can do
Is to put my trust in You.
Chorus 2
For, You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For You know better than I
Coda:
I saw one cloud and thought it was a sky
I saw a bird and thought that I could follow
But it was You who taught that bird to fly
If i let You reach me
Will You teach me.
(Repeat Chorus )
For, You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
I'll take what answers you supply
You know better than I
I have developed a great love for the story of Joseph over the years. I am amazed by all the things that had to happen to Joseph in order for him to be who he was meant to be and for him to be in a position to literally save his family from death. If he had not been sold into bondage or thrown into prison what would have happened to him and his extended family when the famine occurred? Knowing the end of the story helps me to see the power of God's love and watchful care during the entire experience.
If I could know the end of the story would I better understand the difficulties that occur in my life and in the lives of others? Maybe, but I don't believe I am meant to know the end of the story yet. I need to have faith that Heavenly Father is aware of what is going on. I need to remember that He loves each one of His children, he knows the individual challenges that we each face and he sees the whole picture much better than I do. For right now that is enough for me to know and hopefully it is something that my son is learning as well.
Today I am grateful for
the opportunity to be at church in my own ward. Does it mean I have spent too much time on the road recently if the first thing I do when I sit down on the church bench is look for my seat belt and then I can't concentrate during the meeting because I don't fell safe because I'm not buckled in?
movies that contain positive messages and children who are willing to watch them.
a lesson reminded of by my son.
Today after church my son asked me "Why are some people's lives so much harder than others?" This is a question that I often ask myself. It seems like no matter how hard some people try they always have challenges while it seems that life just kind of flows along happily for others. I didn't really know how to answer his question. We talked about how sometimes choices that we make or that other people make result in consequences that bring difficulties with them. I also told him that I think Heavenly Father allows us to have challenges so we can learn the things we need to know here on earth and become the person we need to be. I didn't really feel like my answers had made a difference and I wondered what more I could say. I asked his dad and they discussed the subject for awhile with a lot of the same ideas brought out again. Still, I wondered what he was really thinking about the whole question.
Later in the day this son was sitting in the living room singing. He enjoys singing and I will often hear him repeating his current favorite song over and over again. As he sang I tuned in to hear what song was number 1 on his list at the moment. As he sang the same portion of the song a number of times, I didn't recognize it, but the words became clear to me. What he was repeating was a chorus that said:
You know better than I
you know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For you know better than I.
I still didn't recognize the song, but the message of the song was familiar to me. I felt that this was in part an answer to my question of where my son stood following our discussion from earlier in the day. To me he was acknowledging his faith that I may not have all the answers, and his dad might not have all the answers, but his Heavenly Father has the answers to why. Along with that, the fact that he doesn't know why right now is OK, because God knows why and he knows better than any of us.
I asked the son what the song was and he said it was from the DVD "Joseph King of Dreams". I went online and looked up all the words to the song and was really touched by the entire message.
I thought I did what's right
I thought I had the answers
I thought I chose the surest road
But that road brought me here
So I put up a fight
And told you how to help me
Now just when I have given up
The truth is coming clear
Chorus 1:
You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For You know better than I
If this has been a test
I cannot see the reason
But maybe knowing
I don't know is part of getting through
I tried to do what's best
But faith has made it easy
To see the best thing i can do
Is to put my trust in You.
Chorus 2
For, You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For You know better than I
Coda:
I saw one cloud and thought it was a sky
I saw a bird and thought that I could follow
But it was You who taught that bird to fly
If i let You reach me
Will You teach me.
(Repeat Chorus )
For, You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
I'll take what answers you supply
You know better than I
I have developed a great love for the story of Joseph over the years. I am amazed by all the things that had to happen to Joseph in order for him to be who he was meant to be and for him to be in a position to literally save his family from death. If he had not been sold into bondage or thrown into prison what would have happened to him and his extended family when the famine occurred? Knowing the end of the story helps me to see the power of God's love and watchful care during the entire experience.
If I could know the end of the story would I better understand the difficulties that occur in my life and in the lives of others? Maybe, but I don't believe I am meant to know the end of the story yet. I need to have faith that Heavenly Father is aware of what is going on. I need to remember that He loves each one of His children, he knows the individual challenges that we each face and he sees the whole picture much better than I do. For right now that is enough for me to know and hopefully it is something that my son is learning as well.
Today I am grateful for
the opportunity to be at church in my own ward. Does it mean I have spent too much time on the road recently if the first thing I do when I sit down on the church bench is look for my seat belt and then I can't concentrate during the meeting because I don't fell safe because I'm not buckled in?
movies that contain positive messages and children who are willing to watch them.
a lesson reminded of by my son.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Random Questions from my Week
What is it I am looking for that I can't ever seem to find?
Why does the car seat always seem to be where it's not suppose to be?
Why does everything seem simpler in theory than in real life?
How was I so lucky to find the man I married?
Why don't I always appreciate him like I should?
Where am I going to put it?
How do you teach a baby to crawl?
Why would I want a baby to know how to crawl?
Why am I such a loser visiting teacher?
Why do I have a debit card in my purse that expired in 2008?
Do I have another one somewhere that hasn't expired?
Why tell me half the story if you're not going to tell me the other half?
Why does prom have to cost so much?
Why does a baby sleep so much better in someone's arms than in a bed?
Where is my son ever going to wear that ribbon shirt?
At what age do people stop smiling with their whole face?
How would I feel if my son didn't come home at night?
Why is General Conference not being broadcast on public television where I live?
Why does an airplane ticket from Idaho Falls to Phoenix cost $500 and require 2 layovers?
Why does punishing your children frequently require punishing yourself as well?
Why is it so hard for me to push the publish button on all the blog drafts I have written?
What's for dinner?
Who's eating dinner here?
Why did you buy pizza 30 minutes before dinner?
Why do people think making a bad choice will make their life easier?
Why do other people's choices have to affect so many people besides themselves?
Where could my library card be?
Why do we buy toys for kids when they would rather play with an empty soda cup, a water bottle and a pile of junk mail?
Why would anyone choose a hard boiled egg over one filled with money or one made of chocolate?
Why can't I enjoy the beautiful 80 degree weather instead of worrying about when it's going to hit 100?
Can post-partum depression last 26 years?
and the ever popular...
Why do I do the things I do when I know the things I know?
Why does the car seat always seem to be where it's not suppose to be?
Why does everything seem simpler in theory than in real life?
How was I so lucky to find the man I married?
Why don't I always appreciate him like I should?
Where am I going to put it?
How do you teach a baby to crawl?
Why would I want a baby to know how to crawl?
Why am I such a loser visiting teacher?
Why do I have a debit card in my purse that expired in 2008?
Do I have another one somewhere that hasn't expired?
Why tell me half the story if you're not going to tell me the other half?
Why does prom have to cost so much?
Why does a baby sleep so much better in someone's arms than in a bed?
Where is my son ever going to wear that ribbon shirt?
At what age do people stop smiling with their whole face?
How would I feel if my son didn't come home at night?
Why is General Conference not being broadcast on public television where I live?
Why does an airplane ticket from Idaho Falls to Phoenix cost $500 and require 2 layovers?
Why does punishing your children frequently require punishing yourself as well?
Why is it so hard for me to push the publish button on all the blog drafts I have written?
What's for dinner?
Who's eating dinner here?
Why did you buy pizza 30 minutes before dinner?
Why do people think making a bad choice will make their life easier?
Why do other people's choices have to affect so many people besides themselves?
Where could my library card be?
Why do we buy toys for kids when they would rather play with an empty soda cup, a water bottle and a pile of junk mail?
Why would anyone choose a hard boiled egg over one filled with money or one made of chocolate?
Why can't I enjoy the beautiful 80 degree weather instead of worrying about when it's going to hit 100?
Can post-partum depression last 26 years?
and the ever popular...
Why do I do the things I do when I know the things I know?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Family Relations
I have been wondering about something. It has to do with extended family and how I refer to them. I have noticed that when I talk about our (my husbands and my) relatives I seem to believe in segregation. For instance, I usually refer to our nieces as "my niece" (of which there is only one) or "my hubby's niece" (of which there are many) instead of just saying our niece. I'm trying to decide why I make this differentiation. When I think of my aunts and uncles, I feel equally related to both of them - the one I am actually related to by blood as well as the one I am related to by marriage. They are both my Aunt and/or Uncle regardless of the official relationship and I consider myself their niece, not her niece or his niece. When I designate "mine" or "his" does it sound like I value one relative over the other? I really don't think I do, but I kind of think it sounds like it. I do think when you just say our _____ that it can sometimes be confusing. Quite a few years ago there was a young man in our ward who had just returned from his mission. One of my nephews was serving in this same mission and my husband struck up a conversation with this RM. He said, "I have a nephew that is in the same mission you just got home from. His name is Elder ______. Did you know him?" This young man looked at my husband and then looked at him again and said, "I knew an Elder ________, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't your nephew." You see this nephew is quite fair and probably the blondest nephew I have, and the elder could see that my hubby was obviously Native American. My husband laughed and said, "Actually he's my wife's nephew" which helped to clear things up and they decided that yes, it was the same person. It's obvious that my husband is more inclusive than I am, but he ended up having to differentiate anyway, so perhaps he should have just done it in the beginning.
So, I am curious. How do you refer to the relatives you have acquired through marriage? Do you lump everyone into the "our" category or do you separate them into "your ____" and "my ______"? Do you think there is a right way or a wrong way to do it or does it really not matter? Does the distance of the relationship make a difference in what you say? Take for instance, do you say my brother and his brother but refer to the nieces, nephews and cousins as our? In some relationships we have the option of using the ending in-law as in brother-in-law or mother-in-law. but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone referring to someone as their nephew-in-law or their cousin-in-law. Is anyone out there an etiquette expert? Is there some official, written guideline that I need to refer to? And what about the wives of my nephews? Are they now my nieces or our nieces or no nieces at all? Sometimes life can get very complicated.
So, I am curious. How do you refer to the relatives you have acquired through marriage? Do you lump everyone into the "our" category or do you separate them into "your ____" and "my ______"? Do you think there is a right way or a wrong way to do it or does it really not matter? Does the distance of the relationship make a difference in what you say? Take for instance, do you say my brother and his brother but refer to the nieces, nephews and cousins as our? In some relationships we have the option of using the ending in-law as in brother-in-law or mother-in-law. but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone referring to someone as their nephew-in-law or their cousin-in-law. Is anyone out there an etiquette expert? Is there some official, written guideline that I need to refer to? And what about the wives of my nephews? Are they now my nieces or our nieces or no nieces at all? Sometimes life can get very complicated.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Insignificant Flaxing on the Left
This was the message I received from my doctor's office today. Would anyone like to interpret it for me??
Monday, January 19, 2009
Digital TV
Perhaps I should begin this post
by saying that I am not a big fan of TV.
I'm pretty sure I could very happily live
without even one TV in my home.
Unfortunately I am the only member
of my household that feels this way.
My husband is a major TV fan.
I have to admit that I have known
since my very first encounter with him
that TV is a very important part of his life.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact
that he didn't get TV reception in his basement apartment
and his TV was "living"
in the apartment that I moved into
when I returned to BYU following my mission,
I might have never even made his acquaintance.
I should be grateful for TV
because it brought us together,
but usually I'm not,
because most days
I feel like it drives our family apart.
The boys in the family room
watching their shows
and the hubby in the bedroom watching his.
Me talking and never being heard.
Because of my dislike of TV
we have 2 very old, very small
analog television sets with rabbit ears.
Because of my dislike of TV
we do not subscribe to cable or satellite.
Because of my dislike of TV
I haven't been all that worried
about the switch to digital TV.
So what if the TV
doesn't work after February 17th?
Hooray!
Because of my dislike of TV
when my husband ordered coupons
for converter boxes
I put them away in a safe place
and then forgot where that safe place was.
No one told me they had expiration dates,
which by the way,
I think is absolutely ridiculous.
Well, the other day
when the hubby was talking about going out
and buying converter boxes at full price
I slipped and said,
"Maybe it would be smarter to just buy a digital TV."
You should have seen his face light up.
Ever since that thoughtless moment
all I've heard is "I better go look at TVs".
Well, tonight he suggested we go by Walmart
and check out their TVs.
I do try to be a supportive wife,
every now and then,
so I said OK.
We walked into the electronics department
and there on the far wall was a sea of TVs,
all big enough to view from across the room.
I tried to act interested
and walked closer with him
and the closer I got
the more I realized
I am definitely not a fan of digital TV either,
especially not on a big screen.
There were snowboarders
on every screen and I was sure
I was going to plunge to my death momentarily.
It was all very, very well defined
and I felt like I was on
the STAR TOURS ride at Disneyland
(which I will admit here,
but no where else,
I usually ride with my eyes closed)
and was going to loose my hot dogs any second.
Maybe it was the number of sets,
all showing the same highly defined image,
but I got vertigo like you can not believe.
My husband thinks it was just an excuse
to not buy a TV, but I am not lying.
It just about did me in and
I had to get out of there.
The oldest son says it's OK
if I can't watch the TV.
They'll put it in the family room
and I won't ever have to look at it,
except to dust it I'm sure,
but at least then it will be turned off.
Such a thoughtful child.
The family says they'll "only" get a 32 inch screen,
so maybe that won't send me over the edge.
I'm pretty sure we're getting a new TV
any day now
and my husband works hard and deserves one.
Those are my words not his.
See I am a supportive wife.
I also buy him TV shows on DVD
because I love him and he loves them,
even though I know he'll ignore me
when he watches them.
As long as he doesn't watch them
in high definition maybe I'm OK with that.
One last thing.
Can anyone tell me why
the government cares
what kind of TV reception I get?
I just don't understand
why this is a government issue.
I just finished reading a book
about a new government
that is ruling earth
after earth as we know it is destroyed.
The centralized government
doesn't like the fact that the
districts around North America
rebelled against them and
they squash the rebellion and
then as a reminder of who's in charge
each year the government requires
each district to send 2 of their young adults
to the hunger games -
a reality show
where the last person alive wins
and gets to stay alive.
The citizens of the districts
who can't afford food,
who live without electricity most of the time,
and work to provide luxuries for the leaders
are required to watch day after day
as these games transpire
and the youth kill each other
one by one.
Amazingly, there is always enough electricity
to power TV sets
either in homes
or in the public square
during this time.
Please hurry and explain to me
why the government cares
what kind of TV reception I get.
by saying that I am not a big fan of TV.
I'm pretty sure I could very happily live
without even one TV in my home.
Unfortunately I am the only member
of my household that feels this way.
My husband is a major TV fan.
I have to admit that I have known
since my very first encounter with him
that TV is a very important part of his life.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact
that he didn't get TV reception in his basement apartment
and his TV was "living"
in the apartment that I moved into
when I returned to BYU following my mission,
I might have never even made his acquaintance.
I should be grateful for TV
because it brought us together,
but usually I'm not,
because most days
I feel like it drives our family apart.
The boys in the family room
watching their shows
and the hubby in the bedroom watching his.
Me talking and never being heard.
Because of my dislike of TV
we have 2 very old, very small
analog television sets with rabbit ears.
Because of my dislike of TV
we do not subscribe to cable or satellite.
Because of my dislike of TV
I haven't been all that worried
about the switch to digital TV.
So what if the TV
doesn't work after February 17th?
Hooray!
Because of my dislike of TV
when my husband ordered coupons
for converter boxes
I put them away in a safe place
and then forgot where that safe place was.
No one told me they had expiration dates,
which by the way,
I think is absolutely ridiculous.
Well, the other day
when the hubby was talking about going out
and buying converter boxes at full price
I slipped and said,
"Maybe it would be smarter to just buy a digital TV."
You should have seen his face light up.
Ever since that thoughtless moment
all I've heard is "I better go look at TVs".
Well, tonight he suggested we go by Walmart
and check out their TVs.
I do try to be a supportive wife,
every now and then,
so I said OK.
We walked into the electronics department
and there on the far wall was a sea of TVs,
all big enough to view from across the room.
I tried to act interested
and walked closer with him
and the closer I got
the more I realized
I am definitely not a fan of digital TV either,
especially not on a big screen.
There were snowboarders
on every screen and I was sure
I was going to plunge to my death momentarily.
It was all very, very well defined
and I felt like I was on
the STAR TOURS ride at Disneyland
(which I will admit here,
but no where else,
I usually ride with my eyes closed)
and was going to loose my hot dogs any second.
Maybe it was the number of sets,
all showing the same highly defined image,
but I got vertigo like you can not believe.
My husband thinks it was just an excuse
to not buy a TV, but I am not lying.
It just about did me in and
I had to get out of there.
The oldest son says it's OK
if I can't watch the TV.
They'll put it in the family room
and I won't ever have to look at it,
except to dust it I'm sure,
but at least then it will be turned off.
Such a thoughtful child.
The family says they'll "only" get a 32 inch screen,
so maybe that won't send me over the edge.
I'm pretty sure we're getting a new TV
any day now
and my husband works hard and deserves one.
Those are my words not his.
See I am a supportive wife.
I also buy him TV shows on DVD
because I love him and he loves them,
even though I know he'll ignore me
when he watches them.
As long as he doesn't watch them
in high definition maybe I'm OK with that.
One last thing.
Can anyone tell me why
the government cares
what kind of TV reception I get?
I just don't understand
why this is a government issue.
I just finished reading a book
about a new government
that is ruling earth
after earth as we know it is destroyed.
The centralized government
doesn't like the fact that the
districts around North America
rebelled against them and
they squash the rebellion and
then as a reminder of who's in charge
each year the government requires
each district to send 2 of their young adults
to the hunger games -
a reality show
where the last person alive wins
and gets to stay alive.
The citizens of the districts
who can't afford food,
who live without electricity most of the time,
and work to provide luxuries for the leaders
are required to watch day after day
as these games transpire
and the youth kill each other
one by one.
Amazingly, there is always enough electricity
to power TV sets
either in homes
or in the public square
during this time.
Please hurry and explain to me
why the government cares
what kind of TV reception I get.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
TP-ed
I went outside this morning
to go to the church and run off the bulletin
and low and behold
there was some extra white here and there in our front yard.
No, it didn't snow
(although it felt like it was cold enough
and I did have to scrape the frost
off the van windows before I could drive it).
Someone had decorated our yard with toilet paper.
Now, I know that people get tp-ed
when someone doesn't like them,
but I also know that people get tp-ed
when someone does like them.
What I don't know is
"How do you tell the difference?"
Like or Dislike?
Do you wrap the toilet paper
clockwise for like
and counter clockwise for don't like?
How about bows?
Do you tie bows in the toilet paper for like
or for don't like?
Perhaps it has to do with
the quality of toilet paper
which is used?
2 ply means like.
Flimsy 1 ply definitely dislike
or perhaps just frugal.
If some paper is
left on the rolls
so it is actually still usable
that probably means really like.
Right?
What does it mean when you add yard trash
to the decorating scheme?
Does this mean you cared enough
to add some special little touches
or does it mean
you really think we have a junky yard
and so it doesn't matter
if you add your trash to ours?
I have thought about this a lot today
trying to figure out if it's like or dislike
and still I'm not absolutely sure.
However I did decide
that anyone who will lovingly wrap
a little car up tight
on a cold, cold night
can't be a bad person,
so it must be like.
Today I am thankful for
my last Sunday afternoon nap for a while.
my grown up Nursery kids who are going to be Sunbeams next week.
baked potatoes.
to go to the church and run off the bulletin
and low and behold
there was some extra white here and there in our front yard.
No, it didn't snow
(although it felt like it was cold enough
and I did have to scrape the frost
off the van windows before I could drive it).
Someone had decorated our yard with toilet paper.
Now, I know that people get tp-ed
when someone doesn't like them,
but I also know that people get tp-ed
when someone does like them.
What I don't know is
"How do you tell the difference?"
Like or Dislike?
Do you wrap the toilet paper
clockwise for like
and counter clockwise for don't like?
How about bows?
Do you tie bows in the toilet paper for like
or for don't like?
Perhaps it has to do with
the quality of toilet paper
which is used?
2 ply means like.
Flimsy 1 ply definitely dislike
or perhaps just frugal.
If some paper is
left on the rolls
so it is actually still usable
that probably means really like.
Right?
What does it mean when you add yard trash
to the decorating scheme?
Does this mean you cared enough
to add some special little touches
or does it mean
you really think we have a junky yard
and so it doesn't matter
if you add your trash to ours?
I have thought about this a lot today
trying to figure out if it's like or dislike
and still I'm not absolutely sure.
However I did decide
that anyone who will lovingly wrap
a little car up tight
on a cold, cold night
can't be a bad person,
so it must be like.
Today I am thankful for
my last Sunday afternoon nap for a while.
my grown up Nursery kids who are going to be Sunbeams next week.
baked potatoes.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Puzzling Trips to the Doctor
My mom doesn't look forward to her daily trips to Provo for her cancer treatments, but I actually have a hard time not getting a little bit excited. The radiation waiting room has a puzzle set up between the rows of chairs and I quite enjoy the time I spend there. The first day was a long visit and I worked for quite a while on a puzzle with lots and lots of snowmen on it. It was close to being finished and all that was left were the harder pieces, but I was able to fill in quite a few holes. The next day I was looking forward to working on it again, but it was gone and a new one was in it's place. This was a Charles Wysocki Winter Scene with houses and people. It was just barely started which made me happy because I knew I would get a chance to work on it for a few days.
I am not much of a border person. I am happy to let someone else work on the border while I focus on the easier parts of the puzzle. I like to work on places where there is a distinct difference in color and the buildings on this puzzle were just up my alley.
I didn't see too many other people who had an interest in the puzzles while I was there. The first day there was a man working on it when I got there. He told me he has to do one piece every time he came and then he could sit down and read his book. He was looking for one specific piece, with a unique shape, and it took him awhile to find it and then he was content to stop. Stop?! I even have a hard time stopping when my mom comes out, ready to leave. One day a lady came in and asked the receptionist at the counter if she could please work on the puzzle. Her husband was waiting for an appointment in a different office, but their office was boring and she'd rather wait in here. We had fun handing each other pieces for the part of the puzzle each of us were working on. Her husband came to look for her at one point and she said "I'll be right here." He asked if she wanted to go into the appointment with him and she said, "No, I'll be fine right here." I don't know if that was the answer that he wanted to hear, but he didn't seem to be too surprised by it.
One day while I was plugging away on the puzzle a woman approached me and asked me if I could do her a favor. They were making a brochure for the medical building and they needed some subjects to be in it. I tore myself away from the puzzle long enough to sign a wavier and get taken on a fun ride in and out and in and out and in and out of the sliding doors to the parking lot in a wheelchair carrying on a pretend conversation with the pretend employee who was pushing me. It was my one moment of fame and I'll never even know if I made the brochure or not. The photographer told me I did such a good job he was going to make a poster and put me smack dab in the middle. I think I'd rather be working on "my" puzzle than plastered on a poster.
It's fun every day to walk up to the puzzle and see what has been accomplished while I was gone. I wonder about those other puzzlers who come each day and put pieces into this community puzzle. Who are they waiting for? What kind of cancer is their family member or friend fighting against? How many puzzles will they work on before they stop coming? I was a little sad as I left the waiting room today. I won't be back to work on the puzzle anymore. I wonder when this one will be finished and what the next one will look like and who will come to take my place?
I am not much of a border person. I am happy to let someone else work on the border while I focus on the easier parts of the puzzle. I like to work on places where there is a distinct difference in color and the buildings on this puzzle were just up my alley.
I didn't see too many other people who had an interest in the puzzles while I was there. The first day there was a man working on it when I got there. He told me he has to do one piece every time he came and then he could sit down and read his book. He was looking for one specific piece, with a unique shape, and it took him awhile to find it and then he was content to stop. Stop?! I even have a hard time stopping when my mom comes out, ready to leave. One day a lady came in and asked the receptionist at the counter if she could please work on the puzzle. Her husband was waiting for an appointment in a different office, but their office was boring and she'd rather wait in here. We had fun handing each other pieces for the part of the puzzle each of us were working on. Her husband came to look for her at one point and she said "I'll be right here." He asked if she wanted to go into the appointment with him and she said, "No, I'll be fine right here." I don't know if that was the answer that he wanted to hear, but he didn't seem to be too surprised by it.
One day while I was plugging away on the puzzle a woman approached me and asked me if I could do her a favor. They were making a brochure for the medical building and they needed some subjects to be in it. I tore myself away from the puzzle long enough to sign a wavier and get taken on a fun ride in and out and in and out and in and out of the sliding doors to the parking lot in a wheelchair carrying on a pretend conversation with the pretend employee who was pushing me. It was my one moment of fame and I'll never even know if I made the brochure or not. The photographer told me I did such a good job he was going to make a poster and put me smack dab in the middle. I think I'd rather be working on "my" puzzle than plastered on a poster.
It's fun every day to walk up to the puzzle and see what has been accomplished while I was gone. I wonder about those other puzzlers who come each day and put pieces into this community puzzle. Who are they waiting for? What kind of cancer is their family member or friend fighting against? How many puzzles will they work on before they stop coming? I was a little sad as I left the waiting room today. I won't be back to work on the puzzle anymore. I wonder when this one will be finished and what the next one will look like and who will come to take my place?
A Question for my Weatherman
This is something that I have always wondered about -
If the high temperature for the day
never gets above 32 degrees,
then why/how does snow melt on that day?
It seems to me that everything
should just stay frozen.
Now I have heard that heat
escaping from homes through the roof
causes the snow to melt and icicles to form.
Supposedly you can tell
how well insulated your house is
by the number and size of your icicles,
so that is a possible explanation.
I also understand that
where the sun is actually hitting
ie. the driveway, the asphalt,
the mailbox, the roof top, the sidewalk
might be warmer
than the actual recorded high temperature
and that is why the snow melts.
It still seems rather strange to me though,
if water freezes at 32 degrees
if it is below 32 degrees
it should just stay frozen!
That would make sense.
Monday, December 8, 2008
How Did It Happen?
The youngest son was complaining over the weekend
that his shoulder really hurt.
I felt it and looked at it
and it seemed to look and feel different than the other one
but then he said it was getting better
so I didn't worry about it.
Today at school it started hurting again
and class was kind of boring
so he went to the school nurse
to have her check it out.
She said it was dislocated
and popped it back into place.
Apparently it hurt even more after that
and I had to run drugs to the school for him.
So, how do you think this 16-year-old dislocated his shoulder?
Here is a list of some activities
he was involved in during the past few days.
Which one do you think did it?
Playing front yard football with the neighbors.
Covertly decorating a house in the middle of the night.
Hugging a girl.
Shooting Pool.
Washing the mountain of dishes
that he put off washing for way too long.
Playing computer games.
Texting, under the desk, during class.
Playing the trombone at a pancake breakfast.
Driving the car.
Playing basketball with the young men.
Climbing out of the top bunk of the bunk bed.
Having a push and shove match with his brother.
Throwing rocks at a stray cat.
Being pulled out of the path of a bus by a friend.
Picking up his back pack.
Taking out the trash.
Helping his oldest sister move.
What do you think?
Which dangerous activity caused the damage?
Today I am thankful
that the nurse didn't report me to CPS for neglecting my son.
that said son wasn't hit by a bus.
that the dishes did finally get washed.
that his shoulder really hurt.
I felt it and looked at it
and it seemed to look and feel different than the other one
but then he said it was getting better
so I didn't worry about it.
Today at school it started hurting again
and class was kind of boring
so he went to the school nurse
to have her check it out.
She said it was dislocated
and popped it back into place.
Apparently it hurt even more after that
and I had to run drugs to the school for him.
So, how do you think this 16-year-old dislocated his shoulder?
Here is a list of some activities
he was involved in during the past few days.
Which one do you think did it?
Playing front yard football with the neighbors.
Covertly decorating a house in the middle of the night.
Hugging a girl.
Shooting Pool.
Washing the mountain of dishesthat he put off washing for way too long.
Playing computer games.
Texting, under the desk, during class.
Playing the trombone at a pancake breakfast.
Driving the car.
Playing basketball with the young men.
Climbing out of the top bunk of the bunk bed.
Having a push and shove match with his brother.
Throwing rocks at a stray cat.
Being pulled out of the path of a bus by a friend.
Picking up his back pack.
Taking out the trash.
Helping his oldest sister move.
What do you think?
Which dangerous activity caused the damage?
Today I am thankful
that the nurse didn't report me to CPS for neglecting my son.
that said son wasn't hit by a bus.
that the dishes did finally get washed.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Real or Man-made?
I found this interesting item
on one of my walks along the beach
when I was there this summer.
I find it really intriguing.
I have it sitting by my computer
and look at it everyday.
The base is made of sand
with lots of tiny holes
and seashells.
Some days I marvel at how nature
could create something so unique,
the "tree" is even "decorated".
Then other days I think
that some beach bum
fashioned this nick-knack
for me to discover.
on one of my walks along the beach
when I was there this summer.
I have it sitting by my computer
and look at it everyday.
The base is made of sand
with lots of tiny holes
and seashells.
could create something so unique,
the "tree" is even "decorated".
Then other days I think
that some beach bum
fashioned this nick-knack
for me to discover.
I want to hear your opinion -
Real or Man-made???
Monday, October 6, 2008
Who Comes Up With These Ideas?
Today one of my teacher friends from the elementary school I use to work at asked me to come in and help her get some stuff accomplished. The school administration doesn't allow anyone to be in the building after 5:00 PM or on weekends and even though she comes in every morning at 6:30 AM (preceded by a 45 minute drive from her home) she was feeling overwhelmed. The powers that be had agreed to let the teachers into the school today and tomorrow to work from 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM, even though it is their fall break. This teacher has a difficult 1st Grade class this year and she says if she turns her back to put a paper in her file cabinet all heck breaks loose so she had a lot of piles that she wanted to get rid of. I enjoyed helping her out and getting caught up on all the school gossip. Talking to her, and the other teachers there, raised some interesting questions though.
#1 - This whole "no school access" on nights and weekends. The principal says it is a district policy, but my daughter taught in this district for the past two years and they were allowed to be in the school at any time and I live next door to an elementary school in this district that also seems to have teachers visiting during the weekend. Now, I know ideally teachers should only have to work their compensated hours and be able to get everything done, but really there are times when that is ideal but definitely not realistic. For example, what if the copy machine is broken for three days and when it gets fixed all 40 teachers need to use it to run off next week's reading seat work that is required to be copied because the district can't afford to buy the workbooks. How many teachers can make their copies in the 1 hour after school on Friday??
#2 - This school has a no recess policy. NO RECESS. NONE. There is way too much learning that needs to take place for us to give the 4 through 10 year olds a 15 minute break. Who ever came up with that great idea has never tried to get a 4 or 5 or 6 year old to sit still for hours at a time.
#3 - This year the state of Arizona has adopted a new plan for the English language learners in all of the schools. All of the non English speaking children in each grade are put in one class and the English speaking children are put in another one. The teacher that I assisted has the English speaking first grade with 23 students and the other first grade teacher has the non English speakers in a class of 17. The non English teacher is required to teach English for at least 4 hours every day. Apparently the rest of the day is spent telling the students repeatedly "No Spanish. No Spanish. No Spanish." At the recent parent teacher conferences one of the non English speaking parents told the teacher "It appears from your class picture that all the children in your class are Hispanic." The teacher said "yes, I have all the non English speaking children". The parent said "where are the English speaking models?" Hmm, a parent that doesn't even speak English can figure out that this is probably not a good idea. Who in the state of Arizona thought it was? The non English kindergarten teacher is also my friend. She has 20 Spanish speakers and a little girl from Indonesia. She told me there has been great progress in her class. The child from Indonesia can now speak almost fluent Spanish. However, it gets even better. If a child in the non English class makes enough progress to pass the English language test then they are transferred out of the non English class to the English class. The non English teacher loses her best student and English role model that she has worked really hard to make proficient and the English teacher gets another student. Apparently the goal is that by the end of the school year the English class will be at 40 and the non English class will be at 0. That makes sense doesn't it?
#4 - One of my jobs today was to remove all the name tags, number lines and alphabet models off of the children's desks. This teacher attended several workshops this summer, offered by the district, that encouraged the teachers to let their students write their own name tags for their desks and decorate them in order to help them feel ownership of their desk and their belongings. A month into school, the district came in and told all the teachers that had attended those workshops that this was unacceptable and that the name tags needed to be replaced with computer generated D'nalian name tags. Also, they must use this specific number line and this specific handwriting model. Perhaps this information could have been shared before school started and not after the desks were all "decorated". It would have saved a lot of time and a couple of blisters, not to mention money, paper, tape and laminating film.
#5 - In this school no student work is allowed to be displayed that is not COMPLETELY PERFECT. Perfect - no misspelled words, no imperfect letter formation, no teacher corrections of any kind. Nothing that is predominately "coloring" can be hung up. Also art work is not a valuable use of time and therefore cannot be displayed. The walls in this school resemble an office building and not an elementary school.
After 8 hours with my teacher friends I was reminded of all the reasons I can't get excited about being a teacher. I miss being around the kids, but I hate all the dumb rules and the fact that the rules change every year. I admire anyone who continues to be a dedicated teacher despite all the setbacks.
On a happier note, I did get a chance to sit on "Cloud 9" for a couple of minutes today, but it wasn't quite the same without the 5 year olds checking on my happiness level.
Today I am thankful for
a friend who pays me to help her.
chances to spend time with old friends.
razorblades.
#1 - This whole "no school access" on nights and weekends. The principal says it is a district policy, but my daughter taught in this district for the past two years and they were allowed to be in the school at any time and I live next door to an elementary school in this district that also seems to have teachers visiting during the weekend. Now, I know ideally teachers should only have to work their compensated hours and be able to get everything done, but really there are times when that is ideal but definitely not realistic. For example, what if the copy machine is broken for three days and when it gets fixed all 40 teachers need to use it to run off next week's reading seat work that is required to be copied because the district can't afford to buy the workbooks. How many teachers can make their copies in the 1 hour after school on Friday??
#2 - This school has a no recess policy. NO RECESS. NONE. There is way too much learning that needs to take place for us to give the 4 through 10 year olds a 15 minute break. Who ever came up with that great idea has never tried to get a 4 or 5 or 6 year old to sit still for hours at a time.
#3 - This year the state of Arizona has adopted a new plan for the English language learners in all of the schools. All of the non English speaking children in each grade are put in one class and the English speaking children are put in another one. The teacher that I assisted has the English speaking first grade with 23 students and the other first grade teacher has the non English speakers in a class of 17. The non English teacher is required to teach English for at least 4 hours every day. Apparently the rest of the day is spent telling the students repeatedly "No Spanish. No Spanish. No Spanish." At the recent parent teacher conferences one of the non English speaking parents told the teacher "It appears from your class picture that all the children in your class are Hispanic." The teacher said "yes, I have all the non English speaking children". The parent said "where are the English speaking models?" Hmm, a parent that doesn't even speak English can figure out that this is probably not a good idea. Who in the state of Arizona thought it was? The non English kindergarten teacher is also my friend. She has 20 Spanish speakers and a little girl from Indonesia. She told me there has been great progress in her class. The child from Indonesia can now speak almost fluent Spanish. However, it gets even better. If a child in the non English class makes enough progress to pass the English language test then they are transferred out of the non English class to the English class. The non English teacher loses her best student and English role model that she has worked really hard to make proficient and the English teacher gets another student. Apparently the goal is that by the end of the school year the English class will be at 40 and the non English class will be at 0. That makes sense doesn't it?
#4 - One of my jobs today was to remove all the name tags, number lines and alphabet models off of the children's desks. This teacher attended several workshops this summer, offered by the district, that encouraged the teachers to let their students write their own name tags for their desks and decorate them in order to help them feel ownership of their desk and their belongings. A month into school, the district came in and told all the teachers that had attended those workshops that this was unacceptable and that the name tags needed to be replaced with computer generated D'nalian name tags. Also, they must use this specific number line and this specific handwriting model. Perhaps this information could have been shared before school started and not after the desks were all "decorated". It would have saved a lot of time and a couple of blisters, not to mention money, paper, tape and laminating film.
#5 - In this school no student work is allowed to be displayed that is not COMPLETELY PERFECT. Perfect - no misspelled words, no imperfect letter formation, no teacher corrections of any kind. Nothing that is predominately "coloring" can be hung up. Also art work is not a valuable use of time and therefore cannot be displayed. The walls in this school resemble an office building and not an elementary school.
After 8 hours with my teacher friends I was reminded of all the reasons I can't get excited about being a teacher. I miss being around the kids, but I hate all the dumb rules and the fact that the rules change every year. I admire anyone who continues to be a dedicated teacher despite all the setbacks.
On a happier note, I did get a chance to sit on "Cloud 9" for a couple of minutes today, but it wasn't quite the same without the 5 year olds checking on my happiness level.
Today I am thankful for
a friend who pays me to help her.
chances to spend time with old friends.
razorblades.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Cloud 9
Well, I climbed back into an airplane today,
on my way home to Arizona,
even though I'm still not sure
how they manage to stay up in the air
and then come down safely.
My son-in-law told me to imagine a hurricane.
He said, "It's not just the air
that does the damage
but the speed of the wind
that makes a hurricane so strong,
strong enough to even lift whole houses
off the ground.
Now an airliner going 4 to 5 times
faster then a hurricane
has no problem staying off the ground
being lighter then a house,
most of the time."
I think this was meant to be comforting,
and reassuring, but it really wasn't.
Perhaps my son-in-law doesn't like me
and was hoping to get rid of me
by causing me to have a heart attack.
I mean, I've seen what kind of devastation
Hurricane Katrina left in her wake
as well as Hurricane Ike just recently.
I don't like the picture of my airplane
being tossed around in a hurricane and
then dropped when the wind speed slows down.
Also what about that last sentence,
"most of the time."
What happens during the other times?
Said son-in-law is studying to be a pilot
and actually just got his pilot's license
so he must know what he is talking about,
but I still don't seem to catch the vision.
Oh well,
enough of that since I obviously landed safely
or I wouldn't be here posting this blog.
Today I was again reminded
of how much I enjoy looking out the window
of an airplane at the ground below.
On recent flights, for some reason,
I have opted to sit in the aisle seat
and haven't had the opportunity to
gaze out on the terrain as it passes by.
I have been missing out.
I spent almost all of my flight today
staring out the window,
admiring the scenery,
and trying to see how many
landmarks I could recognize.
I was amazed at how many
I could actually pick out.
The Grand Canyon being the easiest, of course.
Toward the end of the journey
we ran into some large patches
of white, fluffy clouds.
They looked so soft and substantial
and I could just imagine snuggling down into one.
For some reason they reminded me
of the idiom, "On Cloud Nine".
I started trying to determine
which cloud was cloud 9
and if it would look different
than any of the other clouds.
When I was an instructional assistant
at an elementary school close to my home,
one of the Kindergarten classes,
that I would often visit,
got a group time rug
with the alphabet and numbers on it.
Each letter of the alphabet was
written around the outside
and the numbers - 1 to 10 -
were each written on a cloud.
The first time I visited
after the carpet arrived
I informed all the children
that "Cloud 9" was my special cloud.
I told them it was my happy spot.
After that, whenever I would drop in,
they would clear my space and
demand that I sit there,
as only a 5 year old can do.
Then they would all anxiously ask,
"Do you feel happy now"?
Today I could picture myself
all wrapped up in one of those
soft, fluffy marshmallow clouds
feeling very, very relaxed
and very, very happy.
So, I'm sure you are all
as curious as I was to find out
where the phrase "On Cloud Nine",
which means to be
in a state of blissful happiness,
originated.
A commonly heard explanation
is that the expression originated
as one of the classifications of clouds
which were defined by the US Weather Bureau
in the 1950s, in which 'Cloud Nine'
denotes the fluffy cumulonimbus type
that are considered so attractive.
Wow! That means all the clouds
I saw were Cloud Nines.
Another explanation is that the phrase
derives from Buddhism
and that Cloud Nine is one of the stages
of the progress to enlightenment
of a Bodhisattva ( one destined to become a Buddha).
Neither of these explanations holds water,
(unlike clouds which often do hold water.)
To begin with,
both the cloud classifications
and the Buddhist stages to enlightenment
have ten levels.
To single out the last but one stage of either
is rather like attributing the source
of the 'whole nine yards' to American Football,
where it is ten yards rather than nine
that is a significant measure.
Also, the fact that nine
is far from the only number
that has been linked with clouds,
argues against those origins.
Early examples of 'cloud' expressions
include clouds seven, eight, nine
and even thirty-nine.
Thirty-nine? That must be
super duper happy!
It seems that it is the clouds themselves,
rather than the number of them,
that were in the thoughts of those
who coined this phrase.
The imagery was originally
of a 'cloud cuckoo land'
or 'head in the clouds' dreaminess,
induced by either intoxication or inspiration,
rather than the 'idyllic happiness'
that we now associate with the phrase.
The early references
all come from mid 20th century USA.
The early favourite was 'cloud seven'
and many of the oldest citations use that form,
as in this piece
from The Dictionary of American Slang, 1960,
which was the first printed definition of the term
"Cloud seven -
completely happy, perfectly satisfied;
in a euphoric state."
This early preference for seven
as the significant number
may have been influenced
by the existing phrase 'seventh heaven'.
Since the 1980s or so, 'cloud nine'
has become predominant.
Now wasn't that informative?
Apparently we cannot be ecstatically happy
without the help of alcoholic beverages.
I think I beg to differ with that assumption.
I have managed to be extremely happy
sans booze on more than one occasion.
But hey, now we have all learned
something new today.
Today I am thankful for
a sister to drive me to the airport and take care of my mom.
my own home.
the break I had from the HOT September temperatures. It was a "comfortable" 106 degrees today according to our pilot.
on my way home to Arizona,
even though I'm still not sure
how they manage to stay up in the air
and then come down safely.
My son-in-law told me to imagine a hurricane.
He said, "It's not just the air
that does the damage
but the speed of the wind
that makes a hurricane so strong,
strong enough to even lift whole houses
off the ground.
Now an airliner going 4 to 5 times
faster then a hurricane
has no problem staying off the ground
being lighter then a house,
most of the time."
I think this was meant to be comforting,
and reassuring, but it really wasn't.
Perhaps my son-in-law doesn't like me
and was hoping to get rid of me
by causing me to have a heart attack.
I mean, I've seen what kind of devastation
Hurricane Katrina left in her wake
as well as Hurricane Ike just recently.
I don't like the picture of my airplane
being tossed around in a hurricane and
then dropped when the wind speed slows down.
Also what about that last sentence,
"most of the time."
What happens during the other times?
Said son-in-law is studying to be a pilot
and actually just got his pilot's license
so he must know what he is talking about,
but I still don't seem to catch the vision.
Oh well,
enough of that since I obviously landed safely
or I wouldn't be here posting this blog.
Today I was again reminded
of how much I enjoy looking out the window
of an airplane at the ground below.
On recent flights, for some reason,
I have opted to sit in the aisle seat
and haven't had the opportunity to
gaze out on the terrain as it passes by.
I have been missing out.
I spent almost all of my flight today
staring out the window,
admiring the scenery,
and trying to see how many
landmarks I could recognize.
I was amazed at how many
I could actually pick out.
The Grand Canyon being the easiest, of course.
Toward the end of the journey
we ran into some large patches
of white, fluffy clouds.
They looked so soft and substantial
and I could just imagine snuggling down into one.
For some reason they reminded me
of the idiom, "On Cloud Nine".
I started trying to determine
which cloud was cloud 9
and if it would look different
than any of the other clouds.
When I was an instructional assistant
at an elementary school close to my home,
one of the Kindergarten classes,
that I would often visit,
got a group time rug
with the alphabet and numbers on it.
Each letter of the alphabet was
written around the outside
and the numbers - 1 to 10 -
were each written on a cloud.
The first time I visited
after the carpet arrived
I informed all the children
that "Cloud 9" was my special cloud.
I told them it was my happy spot.
After that, whenever I would drop in,
they would clear my space and
demand that I sit there,
as only a 5 year old can do.
Then they would all anxiously ask,
"Do you feel happy now"?
Today I could picture myself
all wrapped up in one of those
soft, fluffy marshmallow clouds
feeling very, very relaxed
and very, very happy.
So, I'm sure you are all
as curious as I was to find out
where the phrase "On Cloud Nine",
which means to be
in a state of blissful happiness,
originated.
A commonly heard explanation
is that the expression originated
as one of the classifications of clouds
which were defined by the US Weather Bureau
in the 1950s, in which 'Cloud Nine'
denotes the fluffy cumulonimbus type
that are considered so attractive.
Wow! That means all the clouds
I saw were Cloud Nines.
Another explanation is that the phrase
derives from Buddhism
and that Cloud Nine is one of the stages
of the progress to enlightenment
of a Bodhisattva ( one destined to become a Buddha).
Neither of these explanations holds water,
(unlike clouds which often do hold water.)
To begin with,
both the cloud classifications
and the Buddhist stages to enlightenment
have ten levels.
To single out the last but one stage of either
is rather like attributing the source
of the 'whole nine yards' to American Football,
where it is ten yards rather than nine
that is a significant measure.
Also, the fact that nine
is far from the only number
that has been linked with clouds,
argues against those origins.
Early examples of 'cloud' expressions
include clouds seven, eight, nine
and even thirty-nine.
Thirty-nine? That must be
super duper happy!
It seems that it is the clouds themselves,
rather than the number of them,
that were in the thoughts of those
who coined this phrase.
The imagery was originally
of a 'cloud cuckoo land'
or 'head in the clouds' dreaminess,
induced by either intoxication or inspiration,
rather than the 'idyllic happiness'
that we now associate with the phrase.
The early references
all come from mid 20th century USA.
The early favourite was 'cloud seven'
and many of the oldest citations use that form,
as in this piece
from The Dictionary of American Slang, 1960,
which was the first printed definition of the term
"Cloud seven -
completely happy, perfectly satisfied;
in a euphoric state."
This early preference for seven
as the significant number
may have been influenced
by the existing phrase 'seventh heaven'.
Since the 1980s or so, 'cloud nine'
has become predominant.
Now wasn't that informative?
Apparently we cannot be ecstatically happy
without the help of alcoholic beverages.
I think I beg to differ with that assumption.
I have managed to be extremely happy
sans booze on more than one occasion.
But hey, now we have all learned
something new today.
Today I am thankful for
a sister to drive me to the airport and take care of my mom.
my own home.
the break I had from the HOT September temperatures. It was a "comfortable" 106 degrees today according to our pilot.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Green Cash Money for my Opinions
Today a nice lady came to my house
and conducted a survey
on politics and other important issues of the day
and paid me $25.00
just for sharing my opinions.
I feel like I have a lot of opinions
but my opinions don't translate very well
into categories on a survey.
I don't want to just say
never, sometimes or always.
I want to share my Whole opinion.
The Why I feel that way.
After taking this survey though
I definitely decided I am a fence-sitter.
I hang out in the middle of the scale a lot.
It's not because I don't have an opinion
it's just that I can see how both sides feel
and why they feel that way.
I am easily swayed
or not totally sure which side
I agree with the most.
A few of the questions got me thinking though.
One of them was if I would vote for a black president
if Obama weren't that president.
Yes, I really think I would happily vote
for a president who was black
if I felt he were qualified for the job
and his beliefs were similair to mine.
Another one asked if I ever tried to live a less sinful life.
After I answered that one yes the next question asked
"Do you do this by focusing
on refraining from sinning
or on helping others?"
I answered refraining from sinning
but the more I thought about
this the more I wondered
if that is part of my problem in life.
I often feel that I am too focused on me
and need to be more focused on others.
While I am hunkered down in my house
valiantly trying to not do anything sinful
I could be out in the world
making a difference and helping others.
That's something I need to work on.
It was interesting to have to actually
verbalize some of my thoughts and feelings
concerning the current political hub-bub
and I was again reminded of the fact that
I should be a little more actively engaged
in educating myself on some of the issues.
Only 2 more months and
we will have to live with the choices we have made.
Today I am thankful
that I live in a free country where I can voice my opinions.
for $25.00 that I earned.
that there are people that actually want to be president of the United States.
and conducted a survey
on politics and other important issues of the day
and paid me $25.00
just for sharing my opinions.
I feel like I have a lot of opinions
but my opinions don't translate very well
into categories on a survey.
I don't want to just say
never, sometimes or always.
I want to share my Whole opinion.
The Why I feel that way.
After taking this survey though
I definitely decided I am a fence-sitter.
I hang out in the middle of the scale a lot.
It's not because I don't have an opinion
it's just that I can see how both sides feel
and why they feel that way.
I am easily swayed
or not totally sure which side
I agree with the most.
A few of the questions got me thinking though.
One of them was if I would vote for a black president
if Obama weren't that president.
Yes, I really think I would happily vote
for a president who was black
if I felt he were qualified for the job
and his beliefs were similair to mine.
Another one asked if I ever tried to live a less sinful life.
After I answered that one yes the next question asked
"Do you do this by focusing
on refraining from sinning
or on helping others?"
I answered refraining from sinning
but the more I thought about
this the more I wondered
if that is part of my problem in life.
I often feel that I am too focused on me
and need to be more focused on others.
While I am hunkered down in my house
valiantly trying to not do anything sinful
I could be out in the world
making a difference and helping others.
That's something I need to work on.
It was interesting to have to actually
verbalize some of my thoughts and feelings
concerning the current political hub-bub
and I was again reminded of the fact that
I should be a little more actively engaged
in educating myself on some of the issues.
Only 2 more months and
we will have to live with the choices we have made.
Today I am thankful
that I live in a free country where I can voice my opinions.
for $25.00 that I earned.
that there are people that actually want to be president of the United States.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Expectations
I've been thinking a lot about
expectations
for the past few days.
My friend's mother is undergoing
chemotherapy and stem cell replacement.
She was admitted to the hospital
a couple of days ago but
that doesn't really mean things are going bad.
It's to be expected.
I picked up a new prescription
and the pharmacist
shared with me the possible
side effects I could expect.
My daughter brought me the
4th book in the Twilight Series
by Stephenie Myers.
I should be excited about reading it
but I expect that it isn't
going to be as good as I would like
or have the ending that I would choose.
(You see I am a Jacob fan.
Go figure.)
I expect to be disappointed.
My youngest shared some
unexpected news with me yesterday.
He expects to fail his math class
because the homework I expected
he was doing didn't get done.
According to him, the teacher
expects him to know how to do the work
even though she doesn't do any teaching
like we would expect a teacher to do.
He wants to drop the class and
have a study hall 4th hour
and try again next semester,
but he expects
me to say no
and he expects
his dad to say no too.
My oldest and her hubby
bought a NEW couch that
I didn't expect.
I never expected that
my children would buy
NEW couches before I did
and now two of them have.
I expect that if I
walked into a furniture store
and said "I want to buy that
"NEW couch" that I would
walk out of the store
the new owner of a NEW couch.
However, the reason I haven't done that
is I don't expect
that a NEW couch
would make me happy.
I expect a NEW couch
to just be something else
for me to worry about
and feel bad about
when it got dirty
or broken
or not NEW anymore
and I expect those things
would happen.
Today is my birthday.
Sometimes my birthdays
have not lived up to my expectations.
Over the years
I have lowered my expectations
and it has made me
a happier birthday girl.
Anything good that happens
is more than I expected.
Like the phone call
I just got from my mom
and didn't expect.
So, are expectations
good or bad or neither?
Should they be high
or low?
Lowering my birthday expectations
seems to have been a good thing but
should I lower my expectations
where the son and his math class are concerned?
Perhaps high expectations
will bring the desired result there.
However, when I go to a movie
with high expectations
I am often disappointed.
Take "Forest Gump" and
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
for example, both good movies
that I don't care for
because they didn't live
up to my high expectations.
If I had gone into either of those movies
with lower expectations,
I think they would be on my
"movies I really like" list.
Does that mean if I put high expectations
on my son
nd he doesn't meet them
I will have to take him off
my "Righteous Children I really like" list?
How about with the medication?
Do I get nauseated and tired
because that little white pill
really has that side effect for me
or because I expect to feel
nauseated and tired?
Or should I always have
old, ugly furniture
because I expectNEW furniture
to get ugly and old?
I suspect there is something
wrong with that logic.
When I was going to BYU,
studying to be a teacher,
we learned about self-fulfilling prophecies.
If you place high or low expectations
on children or events or things
often those expectations
become self-fulfilling prophecies
and you get what you expect.
We all know people that expect
good things to happen to them,
and they do and
we all know people that expect
bad things to happen to them
and they do.
Is that because of their expectations?
So if I expect to be disappointed
in the book I will be?
Then why when I expected the movies
to be great weren't they?
Or when I expected the son to
be doing his homework
when he said he was
didn't he?
Didn't I expect hard enough
or high enough
or sincerely enough?
I expect to be pondering these questions
and others like them,
for a long, long time.
expectations
for the past few days.
My friend's mother is undergoing
chemotherapy and stem cell replacement.
She was admitted to the hospital
a couple of days ago but
that doesn't really mean things are going bad.
It's to be expected.
I picked up a new prescription
and the pharmacist
shared with me the possible
side effects I could expect.
My daughter brought me the
4th book in the Twilight Series
by Stephenie Myers.
I should be excited about reading it
but I expect that it isn't
going to be as good as I would like
or have the ending that I would choose.
(You see I am a Jacob fan.
Go figure.)
I expect to be disappointed.
My youngest shared some
unexpected news with me yesterday.
He expects to fail his math class
because the homework I expected
he was doing didn't get done.
According to him, the teacher
expects him to know how to do the work
even though she doesn't do any teaching
like we would expect a teacher to do.
He wants to drop the class and
have a study hall 4th hour
and try again next semester,
but he expects
me to say no
and he expects
his dad to say no too.
My oldest and her hubby
bought a NEW couch that
I didn't expect.
I never expected that
my children would buy
NEW couches before I did
and now two of them have.
I expect that if I
walked into a furniture store
and said "I want to buy that
"NEW couch" that I would
walk out of the store
the new owner of a NEW couch.
However, the reason I haven't done that
is I don't expect
that a NEW couch
would make me happy.
I expect a NEW couch
to just be something else
for me to worry about
and feel bad about
when it got dirty
or broken
or not NEW anymore
and I expect those things
would happen.
Today is my birthday.
Sometimes my birthdays
have not lived up to my expectations.
Over the years
I have lowered my expectations
and it has made me
a happier birthday girl.
Anything good that happens
is more than I expected.
Like the phone call
I just got from my mom
and didn't expect.
So, are expectations
good or bad or neither?
Should they be high
or low?
Lowering my birthday expectations
seems to have been a good thing but
should I lower my expectations
where the son and his math class are concerned?
Perhaps high expectations
will bring the desired result there.
However, when I go to a movie
with high expectations
I am often disappointed.
Take "Forest Gump" and
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
for example, both good movies
that I don't care for
because they didn't live
up to my high expectations.
If I had gone into either of those movies
with lower expectations,
I think they would be on my
"movies I really like" list.
Does that mean if I put high expectations
on my son
nd he doesn't meet them
I will have to take him off
my "Righteous Children I really like" list?
How about with the medication?
Do I get nauseated and tired
because that little white pill
really has that side effect for me
or because I expect to feel
nauseated and tired?
Or should I always have
old, ugly furniture
because I expectNEW furniture
to get ugly and old?
I suspect there is something
wrong with that logic.
When I was going to BYU,
studying to be a teacher,
we learned about self-fulfilling prophecies.
If you place high or low expectations
on children or events or things
often those expectations
become self-fulfilling prophecies
and you get what you expect.
We all know people that expect
good things to happen to them,
and they do and
we all know people that expect
bad things to happen to them
and they do.
Is that because of their expectations?
So if I expect to be disappointed
in the book I will be?
Then why when I expected the movies
to be great weren't they?
Or when I expected the son to
be doing his homework
when he said he was
didn't he?
Didn't I expect hard enough
or high enough
or sincerely enough?
I expect to be pondering these questions
and others like them,
for a long, long time.
Today I am thankful for
Birthday Surprises - phone calls, e-mails, cards, gifts, visits, a rain storm, 64 degrees, and door bell ditchers.
Opportunities to reflect and set goals.
the fact that marching band music is usually played outside. It was a great concert, but LOUD!
My birthmonth gift today was free birthday lunch at Denny's with my hubby. They even decorated with birthday banners, just for me.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Would I Wear a Wig?
Today I saw a lady whose hair
was just a little too perfect.
I kept looking at her hair
trying to decide
was just a little too perfect.
I kept looking at her hair
trying to decide
if it was real
or a wig.
This got me thinking about wigs.
If I lost my hair for some reason
would I wear a wig?
This is a very interesting question.
My first response would be to say no.
I am not a person who is into appearances.
I am who I am and
what you see is what you get.
I don't really care if my hair is gray,
or needs cut,
or is missing.
Well, perhaps I care,
but I am usually too lazy
to do anything about it and
I think wearing a wig would
be the same way.
More effort than it was worth.
I have always said
if I ever have the chance
to create my own world
all the people in my world
would be bald.
Bald would be all we knew and
so it wouldn't be weird or anything.
Think of all the money we could
save on shampoo.
Think of all the time we could
save getting ready in the morning.
Just buff and go!
Think of all the long hair we wouldn't
have to clean up off the bathroom floor
or try to dissolve out of our drains,
or pull out of our food,
or brush off of our clothes,
or vacuum off of our carpet
I think it's an idea
that has merit.
But back to the wig question.
I also don't like to attract attention
and sometimes people notice
if you are walking around without hair.
Maybe for anonymity sake
I would choose the wig.
If I got a wig
would I want one that looked
like my natural hair.
Do people really buy
gray wigs?
Or would I want something
wild and crazy?
No, not wild and crazy.
Remember the wig is
so I won't stand out
in a crowd.
Hopefully this question
will always be a what if
but
What if you lost your hair?
Would you wear a wig?
or a wig.
This got me thinking about wigs.
If I lost my hair for some reason
would I wear a wig?
This is a very interesting question.
My first response would be to say no.
I am not a person who is into appearances.
I am who I am and
what you see is what you get.
I don't really care if my hair is gray,
or needs cut,
or is missing.
Well, perhaps I care,
but I am usually too lazy
to do anything about it and
I think wearing a wig would
be the same way.
More effort than it was worth.
I have always said
if I ever have the chance
to create my own world
all the people in my world
would be bald.
Bald would be all we knew and
so it wouldn't be weird or anything.
Think of all the money we could
save on shampoo.
Think of all the time we could
save getting ready in the morning.
Just buff and go!
Think of all the long hair we wouldn't
have to clean up off the bathroom floor
or try to dissolve out of our drains,
or pull out of our food,
or brush off of our clothes,
or vacuum off of our carpet
I think it's an idea
that has merit.
But back to the wig question.
I also don't like to attract attention
and sometimes people notice
if you are walking around without hair.
Maybe for anonymity sake
I would choose the wig.
If I got a wig
would I want one that looked
like my natural hair.
Do people really buy
gray wigs?
Or would I want something
wild and crazy?
No, not wild and crazy.
Remember the wig is
so I won't stand out
in a crowd.
Hopefully this question
will always be a what if
but
What if you lost your hair?
Would you wear a wig?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
In the News
We get the newspaper in my home because of me.
I am the one who orders it
I am the one who orders it
and I am the one who reads it.
My mom is a newspaper reader
My mom is a newspaper reader
so I must get it from her.
She sometimes reads the newspaper back to front
and I use to laugh at her because of it.
Now sometimes I catch myself
reading the newspaper back to front.
Recently my newspaper made some changes
Recently my newspaper made some changes
and the front page is now
"magazine" style instead of "newspaper" style.
I didn't like it at first.
It bugged me.
Now I like it better though
I didn't like it at first.
It bugged me.
Now I like it better though
because it is easier to read that way.
Especially when you are sitting in a chair
and not at a table.
Now it bugs me that the rest of the newspaper
is still newspaper style.
Another thing that bugs me is that the comics
Another thing that bugs me is that the comics
and the Sudoku puzzle
are now in the sports section.
I read the newspaper.
My sons read the sports section
I read the newspaper.
My sons read the sports section
and it has a habit of disappearing.
Actually, it doesn't disappear.
Actually, it doesn't disappear.
I know exactly where it is -
on the floor in their bathroom.
It just makes it more difficult for me
It just makes it more difficult for me
to read that section
(and do MY sudoku)
when it's not with the rest of the paper.
There are certain parts of the paper
There are certain parts of the paper
that I read in depth,
parts where I browse the headlines and
parts that I pretty much ignore.
This morning I had read most of my newspaper
This morning I had read most of my newspaper
and I had learned some interesting things
and had had some profound thoughts.
If underwear is worn as outerwear,
If underwear is worn as outerwear,
which is apparently the new trend,
does it then cease to be underwear?
What do we call it then?
If the minorities in the US
If the minorities in the US
become the majority of its citizens
then are they still considered minorities?
Today the National Archives released
Today the National Archives released
the OSS (Office of Strategic Services)
personnel files of 24,000 individuals
who served the US in an international spy ring
during World War II.
during World War II.
This organization was a precursor to the CIA.
Some of the names on the list
were famed chef Julia Childs
(the oldest son performed
a very entertaining impersonation
of "Julia the Spy"
after I shared this information with him.),
supreme court justice Arthur Goldberg,
and two of President Theodore Roosevelt's sons,
Quentin and Kermit.
I get a laugh out of "Kermit the Spy".
For some reason I picture him wearing green
and infiltrating Ireland.
The average valley household in the Phoenix area spends $693 on alcohol in a year.
The average valley household in the Phoenix area spends $693 on alcohol in a year.
I wonder where my $693 dollars went?
I certainly didn't spend it on alcohol.
I probably spent it on diet soda. Is that any better?
Cindy McCain suffered a mild sprain to her wrist
Cindy McCain suffered a mild sprain to her wrist
when someone was a little zealous
in the hand shaking on the campaign trail.
We need to get her coming to a Mormon church
to build up those hand shaking muscles.
A father accidentally ran over his daughter.
A father accidentally ran over his daughter.
Sad, but it sometimes happens,
just usually not when the daughter is 21 years old.
Makes the "accidental" part
a tiny bit harder to believe
for a mother of adult children.
I learned a new term - Staycation.
I learned a new term - Staycation.
This is when gas costs so much that you choose
to have your vacation very close to home.
I was just finishing up my reading and
I was just finishing up my reading and
getting ready to do MY sudoku
when the eldest son absconded with the sports section.
Since I was feeling lazy and
Since I was feeling lazy and
not wanting to do anything productive
I decided to read some of the newspaper
that I don't frequently read
while I waited for him to finish.
I chose the Legal Notices.
Who really reads the legal notices?
I hope John Doe does
I chose the Legal Notices.
Who really reads the legal notices?
I hope John Doe does
because almost everyone of them pertains to him.
How do you think "John Doe"
became the fictitious name of choice?
Do you think there are any
actual John Does in the world?
Why in the legal notices are
women referred to as "John" Doe as well?
I also hope dead people read the legal notices
I also hope dead people read the legal notices
because if Clarence King (deceased)
fails to personally appear
at the appointed time and place,
without good cause
(is being dead considered good cause?),
his parent/child relationship
with his children will be terminated.
Wasn't there an angel named Clarence
that appeared somewhere
to someone once?
Maybe it's the same person and
he'll make an appearance in court too.
How can a corporation be a foreign corporation
How can a corporation be a foreign corporation
if it was incorporated in New Mexico?
The name of said corporation is
Double M Mud Company
and the character of the business
it initially intends to conduct in Arizona is
"any and all lawful business
in which corporations may engage."
Sounds kind of broad to me.
What kind of business
does the Double M Mud Company actually run?
I don't think I would be so curious
if I hadn't read something
in another newspaper the other day.
In the AU-AUTHUM ACTION NEWS
(the Salt River Pima/Maricopa
Indian Community paper)
there was an article entitled
"Back in the days..."
The reporter had interviewed
some of the Elders (Senior Citizens) in the community
about what life was like when they were growing up.
I found this paragraph intriguing
"Mud was a delicacy;
when asked about it these women all said
it was 'good'.
Eschief said, 'My mom only liked the new mud.
Not just any old mud,
but the one after the rains
would drench the creeks and then dry up.
This is when it would taste like chocolate'.".
I think the Double M stands for Double Mint
and they are going to start selling
mud "chocolate" bars,
but not just any old mud - foreign New Mexico mud.
Keep your eyes open for them
the next time you go shopping.
I also learned,
I also learned,
while my son was reading the sports section to me,
(don't you hate it when
people read the newspaper to you
when you really just want to read it yourself?)
that I cannot say
"White Water River Rafting"
five times fast.
Heck, I can hardly say it one time slow.
It comes out
"White Water Wiver Wafting" every time.
This son has to make Wiver Wafting comments
every time he sees me now.
Try it. It's fun to say.
The last thing I gleaned from today's newspaper,
The last thing I gleaned from today's newspaper,
once I got the sports section back,
was that perhaps some professional athletes really are
as intellectually deficient as is sometimes said.
When Jose Calderon Manuel,
who plays for the NBA Toronto Raptors,
was asked about the publicity photos taken of
the Olympic basketball Men's
and Women's teams from Spain
in which they all made "slant-eyed gestures"
his comment was
"We felt it was something appropriate
and that it would be interpreted
as an affectionate gesture."
See what I mean.
Not so bright.
I guess it's now very definite
that I will never be a professional athlete.
I've gotten too darn smart
from reading the newspaper.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Happy Pioneer Day!
Living in Arizona it is sometimes difficult to remember Pioneer Day since it is just another day of the week here and nothing special. I was reading a friend's blog and was grateful for the reminder she gave me that today was a day for reflection. I am grateful for my pioneer ancestors, the Smiths, the Cheevers, the Braithwaites, the Martells, the Stokers, the Rileys ... all those that were probably afraid, but were still willing to take a step (or 2 or 3 or thousands) into the dark because of the faith they had in Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. I often wonder where I would be and what my life would be like if it were not for them and their faith. Did they realize how many lives they would impact when they took that first step? I have been listening to a CD about faith by Jack Christianson. He asks a question in this talk that has caused me to pause and think. "What have I done today in faith?" What choices do I make every day because of faith? Do I read my scriptures because I have faith that it will make a difference in my day and my life? Do I say my prayers having faith that my Heavenly Father is there listening and wanting to bless me? Do I get out of bed with faith that I will eventually feel better if I just get up and make an effort to do something? Do I let my 16 year old get behind the wheel of our van with faith that we will reach our destination safely? Will the choices I make in faith today make a difference in the lives of those that come after me? Do I have faith that they will? Not all pioneers lived a hundred years ago. There are pioneers all around us. My friend's mother has cancer and she is in the process of having her stem cells harvested so she can beat this disease. She is grateful for medical pioneers who spend their time and energy in looking for ways to fight other people's battles. The pioneer that has touched my life the most this year is my son's girlfriend, who is also my daughter's roommate.
She has recently taken a huge step in faith. She made the decision to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptised despite opposition from her family. She had faith that this decision would make a positive difference in her life. I sometimes wonder if I would have had the courage and the faith to join the church if I had not been blessed to be born into a family that had already found the gospel. I admire the pioneer spirit I see in this young woman.
I am grateful for all of the pioneers in my life. Hopefully I can remember their faith and follow their example. I really liked the thought my friend ended her blog for today with. I will steal it to complete mine as well.
"Thank heaven we can look backward to remember, forward to hope and be present to find peace and joy!"
I hope you remember what I'm thankful for today from reading this blog. I'm too lazy to write them again.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Why?
Why do I live in Tempe, AZ if I love the rain?
Why do I have boys in my life if it isn't to take out the trash and carry heavy boxes?
Why does the same 15-year-old who so adamantly and not so nicely tells me over and over again all afternoon that he is perfectly capable of packing a suitcase and does not need his mother's help suddenly become helpless at 2:00 in the morning when he finally gets around to doing it?
Why do gasoline prices go up 10 cents a gallon overnight when there is a holiday when they're already higher than they should be? $3.75 a gallon - that's ridiculous!
There are so many questions I have going through my head. For some of them the answer seems obvious. I live in Tempe because that's where my husband has a job and I kind of like living with my hubby and having money. However the obvious answer is not the right one today. I live in Tempe so that when it is a beautiful, 65 degree, rainy day during the almost last week of May I can truly, truly appreciate it for the blessing and wonder that it is. If I lived in Seattle I probably wouldn't recognize today as a perfect weather day.
Oh, and the reason I have boys in my life is so one of them can drive that same helpless 15-year-old to his 3:00 AM rendezvous with the Priest's group and I don't have to.
Why do I have boys in my life if it isn't to take out the trash and carry heavy boxes?
Why does the same 15-year-old who so adamantly and not so nicely tells me over and over again all afternoon that he is perfectly capable of packing a suitcase and does not need his mother's help suddenly become helpless at 2:00 in the morning when he finally gets around to doing it?
Why do gasoline prices go up 10 cents a gallon overnight when there is a holiday when they're already higher than they should be? $3.75 a gallon - that's ridiculous!
There are so many questions I have going through my head. For some of them the answer seems obvious. I live in Tempe because that's where my husband has a job and I kind of like living with my hubby and having money. However the obvious answer is not the right one today. I live in Tempe so that when it is a beautiful, 65 degree, rainy day during the almost last week of May I can truly, truly appreciate it for the blessing and wonder that it is. If I lived in Seattle I probably wouldn't recognize today as a perfect weather day.
Oh, and the reason I have boys in my life is so one of them can drive that same helpless 15-year-old to his 3:00 AM rendezvous with the Priest's group and I don't have to.
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