The Last Lunch

I am contemplating what tomorrow will be like.  It will be the last school lunch I will ever make for my children.  I began back in 1988 when Bret began school and have continued through all seven children and will end with Rhea tomorrow.  That is a span of  thirty years.  So for Rhea alone, from kindergarten through high school that is thirteen years at one hundred and eighty school days a year which equals two thousand, three hundred and forty lunches so lovingly made in my kitchen.  Maybe lovingly isn’t the right word since I was often tired, sick, low on food, frustrated and in a hurry.  Tomorrow I will lovingly make her last lunch.  Dang – I should be dang tired after making thousands and thousands of lunches.  Dang!!!!

Stand Outs

Some things just stand out.  Rhea gave a talk and I thought to myself how blessed I am to have such a great daughter,   Dan Miles spoke and was so deeply moved while sharing his deep conviction of the truthfulness of the Gospel and Pauline Lane left us with Howard W. Hunter’s list of rules to live by:  mend a quarrel, seek out a forgotten friend, dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust, give a soft answer, encourage youth, manifest your loyalty in word and deed, keep a promise, forego a grudge, forgive an enemy, apologize, try to understand, examine your demands on others, think first of someone else, be kind, be gentle, laugh a little more, express your gratitude, welcome a stranger, gladden the heart of a child, speak your love and then speak it again.  An amazing Sabbath day but what stood out the most was Rhea’s coat that she left in the chapel.

 

Friends Forever

A sweet moment indeed to watch Kali grow up and now to be married.  It was as close as Rhea having a sister marry the way the two of them have ‘chummed’ together.  There were sleep overs, cabin trips, vacations, movie nights, camp outs and road trips.  Kali’s two bridesmaids were Rhea and Austyn.  That seems fitting, basically her two sisters.  The day was great.  The girls looked happy and we anticipated  their traditional “arms out, on the back pose” which can be added to the collection of all the others.  They could mural a wall with as many as there are.

 

Kali’s Night

Our crew headed into the temple this evening.  We looked like the party bus, that is for sure.  It was Kali’s night to go through so it was very cool to be there with my ward ladies and the Jones crew.    There was a power outage in Anchorage Tuesday evening so there was a huge confusion because a lot of the names called in were lost, that made for a long long night figuring out how to fit everyone in.  The party bus finally made it home about eleven thirty after a long but rewarding night.

Finally, An Upgrade

I am not Kate Spade . . . but I sure do like her sunglass collection.  Today, I am sporting my new prescription Kate Spade sunglasses that I just picked up.  Not only do the tortoise shell frames bring out the blonde highlights in my hair, well that was what my eyeglass salesperson told me, but the side bars are blue – kind of a sporty touch.  Not only did I receive my glasses, my case is beyond Kate Spade New York fashionable and they even gave me a gift bag to take my goods out of the store.  Apologies for my very unfashionable photo of me in my shades.

 

Living Well

Human behavior is intriguing.   If life began all over again for me with what I know now I would have studied it in school and had a profession where I could use those skills.  I continually think about what goes on inside myself and how my positive thoughts influence how I am towards others.  I work on having positive thoughts, kind of an ongoing training.  When phrases such as these are used you just can’t help but feel good, do good and anticipate all the wonderful things in life that lie ahead:  “I’m chomping at the bit, overwhelmed with delight to, beside myself with joy and anticipation, over the moon to, drooling in eager anticipation of, palpitating at the possibility of, waiting eagerly, hoping to see and setting my eyes on.”  Let’s live these great phrases.

 

A Sweet Day

Elder Bednar has said, “I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and that the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us.”   Today was such a day for tender mercies.  I attended the funeral services for a woman I didn’t know but I knew her sister and went there for support.  As I walked in to sign the guest book a good friend, Marilyn Wratislaw,   stood right behind me.  We embraced and ended up visiting off and on during the services.  I have wanted to see Marilyn for so long and there she was.  A tender mercy.  During the services it was very apparent that Jeanne had touched the lives of many.  Soon after the tragic impact of the car accident a man stopped to give assist and recognized Jeanne.  She was the woman responsible for bringing his children back into his life.  She worked for OCS.  A tender mercy.  On the way home I called Merada Gregory to tell her I had visited with Marilyn Wratislaw and she was so happy.  She said she had just told her husband she felt like she should go to the services but other priorities had got in the way.   She recognized the tender mercy – I was there to fill in.

 

 

Snap, Crackle, Pop

And she cracked.  I have been watching this tree for the past few weeks, it leaned and bent and arced more than I thought it could.  And then . . . there was this hole in the landscape and a cracked off tall stump of a tree left.  I don’t remember hearing the snap, nor hearing the “look out below” crack but there it lie waiting for the chainsaw to do its thing.  It missed Mr. Turtle Sandbox which would have been a devastating sight for our grandkids to have to view.  They probably would have blamed Grammie for the mishap.

A Better Time

When I scroll through Facebook and come to one of these from “The Fabulous Fifties” I always remember a memory.  So for all my children that might not know what one of these are:  the shoe salesman sits on the chair part and the customer  puts their foot into the shoe on the part with the rubber grip on it. The salesman ties the customer’s shoe and checks for room at the end of the toe and on the sides.  I never liked it when the salesman did this for a few reasons.  He always told me my one foot was bigger than the other (the norm for many) and he always kind of cocked his head while saying, “oh I don’t know if I have THAT size.”  (thanks buddy – yes I have big feet). He also tied the shoes so tight and then he would say go walk in them and tell me what you think.  Sooo embarrassing and my feet hurt.   Thank goodness for shoe sales now where you just pull the box with your size down, slip your feet in, it fits, and you buy it.  

 

Alaskan Summers

My heart jumped a beat when I saw this sign.  I think I am the only one in the Mat-su Valley or the world who gets a little excited when there is an upcoming amount of road work scheduled.  After a brief moment of intense therapy I concluded my rush of excitement must be my love of change.  I like to drive and see what they have done and also ponder what changes I think they are going to do.  I am weird.  I know.