Funeral Revelation

Between sessions of conference on Saturday, I attended a funeral for 93 year old man in our ward.  He use to be our home teacher.  He hardly ever said anything.  His wife had a lot to say.  My only memory of him that stands out was when he volunteered to drive the teenagers to girls camp one year.  He was in his eighties.  Who has a van, wants to drive a few hours in the mountains, with teenager girls in the car, when you're 80 something?!!  Why would you volunteer to do that?

I found out at his funeral.  He was an amazing family man.  His grandkids, all young adults now, love, love, love him.  They have amazing memories.  He was patient, fun, fun, fun, and always concerned and interested in others.  He was hard working, devoted, and a master mechanic.

He hardly said anything!  I knew him for 14 years, and never knew him at all.  A couple years ago there was another elderly man that I knew from church, who hardly said anything, but I found out that he was a nuclear physicist and WWII hero.  This funeral brought it home to me that we don't value, appreciate, or respect elders in our culture, like they do in others.  I knew these men, but never asked them anything, never asked about them, never listened, never got to know them.  My lack of effort and appreciation probably wasn't much to them, but a great loss for me.  I don't want it to happen ever again.

Why Am I Blogging?

I started this blog a year ago this week.  I had thought about blogging for a long time, but it was listening to an address by Henry B. Eyring, given at a genealogy conference, that finally got me started.  He spoke of keeping a record for his children of daily examples of God's hand in the lives of his family members.  I wanted to be more aware of that myself and I wanted to keep a record.  I like journaling.  I wanted to jot down things that I'm thankful for too - a gratitude journal.  As I look back, it's easy for me to get caught up in the day-to-day and often that's not spiritual, and often I'm not grateful, but I still like what I've recorded.  Although there is a two month gap, I'm recommitting to blog.  I hope that gradually more spiritual thoughts and gratitude will appear here, because I'm trying to become more aware.  (I'm also going to try to go back and fill in the gap.)

Honoring Our Veterans

The music teacher at school is experienced and wise.  She always plans the 5th and 6th grade music program early in the year.  The later in the year you wait, the harder it is to get cooperation from the very cool 6th graders.  I'm sure it's always great to get that program out of the way too.  The smartest thing she does is organize a Veteran's Day program, complete with invitations to veterans from the Veteran's Home.  The students sings some beautiful songs, dance to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", and recite the Preamble and the Gettysburg Address from memory.  When they sing the songs from each branch of the military, those in the audience who have served, stand for their song and receive applause. 

Smokey and Cheetah do their part.

Those from the Veteran's Home arrived about 5 minutes late for our final performance.  The boys who were dressed in scout uniforms for the flag ceremony helped all the men in wheelchairs in.  As each entered the gym, they received a standing ovation.  It was hard to stay composed during the military songs.  A couple of the men on the front row had tears rolling down their faces.  Even the self-centered 5th and 6th graders clue in to the dedication of our service men and women.  After the performance, the 6th graders hand out cards that they have written to the veterans.  Many stay and visit.  Our music teacher not only gets the program over with, she gets a beautiful sincere performance from the students, and they look outside of themselves and learn a few serious things. 

Family History

This is the year that I get serious about family history work.  Little things have been spurring me on all year.  Progress is slow, but I'm on the path, headed in the right direction.  At church I signed up to start the family history class next week.  I've taken this class two or three times and I've gotten nowhere, but this time they are teaching it different.  I'm positive that I'll be able to figure out some way to do some kind of family history work.  My greatest desire would be to actually do everything that you have to do to get a family name ready to take to the temple.  I really, really, really want to know how to get one of those pink cards on my own.  It might be a ways down the road, but by the time the Boise Temple reopens in a year, I want to do the work for a name that I have found.

The Relief Society lesson was on temples and family history work.  A couple comments really struck me.  One person said that as she learns about her ancestors, she begins to know who she really is.  I need to know more about who I am.  Our RS president testified that doing family history work is a way to save your family.  I think that's a good deal.  Spend time doing something that's interesting and fun, and you can rescue some family members in the process.  I'm doing it!

Blessing of Cleanliness

I am thankful to live in a time and place where clean water is readily available and modern conveniences make it easy to live clean.  I love bathing every day, washing my hair, washing my hands (a lot), and brushing my teeth.  It’s refreshing.  It’s a blessing.  I love crawling into bed with clean sheets, clothes that are ironed crisp, scrubbed bathrooms, and the shine on newly mopped floors.  I like the tracks left from vacuuming, shampooed carpets, and washed windows.  I like to sweep the front porch and spray off the patio.  Being clean and being surrounded by clean, feels so good. 

I didn’t do much spring cleaning, but our houseguests moved out on Friday, so we moved back into our own bed this weekend.  I enlisted the help of Terr and we did two days of summer cleansing before we settled in.  It was good to move things, go through things, eliminate clutter, and organize.  I’m thankful for my home and all my things.  I appreciate everything more when it’s dusted, wiped, scrubbed, and polished.  We’ve worked hard and slept well the last few nights. 

I Need to Pay Attention

When I started this blog, I had read and listened to Henry B. Eyring’s talk about keeping a journal.  He wanted to record every day events that would show God’s hand working in his life and his family.  He wanted his children to be able to recognize it and to be grateful for these blessings.  It would build their faith.  I wanted to include spiritual experiences like this in my blog.  As I look back, I haven’t focused on spirituality and gratitude much.  I have kept something of a journal which is good.  This blog is always evolving though, so it may become a record of more spiritual things.  I just need to be more spiritual and more mindful.  I’m a good person, and pretty smart, but I tend to not notice and not think.  I need to be more thoughtful.  My lacking in depth is just laziness, in combination with my easy-going nature. 

Today a person came to our door and delivered a $299 check.  It was completely out of the blue.  An earnest prayer had been said that morning and this was an answer received loud and clear.  It was very moving.

I want to be more observant and in tune.  Spiritual experiences shouldn’t have to be so blatant.  I want to recognize little, daily ones.

Hard Labor

Every year I sign-up to work in the cannery one day in the summer.  Actually it's only a four hour shift.  The cannery's open and running (on mostly volunteer labor) six days a week, but there is usually only one day in the summer when our stake has an assignment.  I like it because I don't have to take time off work, and because it's usually apricots or peaches.  (Once, back in '91, I did meat chunks.  I was pregnant at the time.  Never again.)  You work on the line with people of all ages and professions.  It makes you feel good to volunteer and do a service that is so necessary and appreciated.

You always make friends, but this time I went with a friend and we worked side-by-side.  No matter what job you're doing, the first hour always reminds you of the episode of I Love Lucy when she's working in a chocolate factory and can't keep up.  It always makes me laugh when we're so inept.  We were assigned part of the line where the cans are filled with apricots.  There were three of us (all elementary school teachers) who had to either knock a few apricots off, if the cans were overflowing, or put a few in, if the cans weren't full.  We either didn't have enough apricots, or our trough was overflowing.  It's really funny in a panicy sort of way.

After the first hour you get into a kind of groove, even if it's not very efficient.  You figure out a few tricks or some sort of system that half-way works.  By the third hour it's not near as funny.  You keep checking the clock.  You feel it in your feet, legs, back, neck, and head.  It's really noisy in there.  You're wet and sticky and sweaty.  When you leave, you're beat.  You have a whole new appreciation for people who do all kinds of manual or menial labor.  It's hard!

Just a side note - My favorite assignment is to be put on the machine where the apricots are sliced in half.  I always line up the crease in the fruit so it gets sliced there.  It really bugs me when I'm working some place else, and I see apricots that are cut every which way.  Next time I'm going to request that spot, and I'm going to train the others up to do it right.  Who wants to open a can of apricots that have been sliced willy-nilly?   

More Gratitude

1. I'm thankful that my mom taught me how to sew.  I love picking out patterns and fabrics.  I love spending a day creating something.  It's therapy to work through something a step at a time.  I'm thankful for my Pfaff 1222, my high school graduation present.  It still runs like a dream.
2. Ibuprofen.  I'm a whimp.  I don't like the slightest pain or discomfort.  I don't take it daily, but I take a lot, and it helps.
3. I love trees.  I'm getting excited to see the blossoms and all the leaves budding out.  I love their bark, branches, and unique shapes.  I love the birds and squirrels that hang out in them.  I think trees are almost like people.  They have their own personalities.    

Shout for Joy

As the primary secretary, I've been going down the hall to check on nursery, and then slipping into the RS lesson and spending 30-40 minutes.  It's just been years since I've been able to go, and I really miss the women and the spiritual boost.

Last Sunday the lesson was on the word of wisdom, and one of the quotes stated that in the preexistence when we found out that we would receive a body, we shouted for joy.  You looked around the room at a good number of middle aged women and wondered how many of them would shout for joy now when looking in the mirror at their body.  Since about the age of 12 most of us have struggled in some way with body image.  I can't say I love the roll around my middle or the fact that what few eyelashes I have are stubby and blond.  There's about 15 pounds of me that I don't like at all, but I am happy and grateful for the body I have.

I've been especially thankful for the good health I've always enjoyed.  I like my brunette hair and have never desired to be a blond (maybe a little auburn).  I have good eyesight, and even now that I use glasses for distance and reading, I can get away without them.  I'm glad I didn't blast music into my ears through headphones.  Hearing aides just aren't the same.  Physically I've been able to walk, climb, lift, carry, and work.  I have good balance.  I've never been too athletic, but I'm not competitive either so sports weren't a priority.  I'm most grateful that I was able to be pregnant and give birth.  That whole miracle was thrilling and enjoyable every minute.

So a shout for joy every morning might be in order.  What I'll be working on will be making good food choices, and staying limber and active.  I need to take calcium, vitamins, and get check-ups.  Most important I need to learn how to let my spirit have control over my physical body.  I'll work on those things.

So when I think about it, I could shout for joy.

Gratitude

Just a few things that I'm grateful for:

• The sky.  The colors of blue and the colors of a sunrise and sunset.  The clouds.  It's peaceful and always changing, and beautiful.
• Buds on the trees and spring plants sprouting out of the ground.  New life; strong and a pretty color of green.
• Little kid's voices and the happy, crazy things they talk about.
• I'm thankful to work in an elementary school because kids will skip, and twirl, and dance down the hall.
• Fluffy, warm socks.

Gratitude

It was mentioned at church that the youth speaker, a twelve year old girl, had heard a conference address by Henry B. Eyring a couple years ago, where he spoke of writing a journal where he recorded blessings.  He felt it was important to his family that a record be kept of the evidences of the Lord's hand in his family's life.  I remember that talk and how it really struck me, but I didn't do anything about it.  This young girl did.  She started writing about a blessing in her life, or something she was grateful for every day.  She has stuck with it ever since.  I'm so impressed with that.

I might not record things every day, but I do mentally go through my blessing and express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father through prayer.  I'd like this blog to be a record of blessings and gratitude too.  So here are three things that I am grateful for today:
1.  The McClure family in Georgia.  They have it together, and they are a happy family.
2.  My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Thomas, who read Rifles for Watie to us.  I'll never forget the book, and I've used it to entice reluctant boy readers.  This month another one had success.
3.  The missionaries in Japan are all accounted for and safe after the earthquake and tsunami.  A miracle.