Worth All The Mess In The World

The house is thinning out.  One group left yesterday and one leaves tomorrow.  I ponder at times whether to pick up and clean up and then I say to myself, “nah . . . let em play . . .enjoy while you can.”  At one time we had fourteen grandchildren all here in the house at one time.  Fortunately two were the littles so that only left twelve in their downstairs hangout which they love.    They have a play room, a TV for gaming, a TV for watching, ride on toys and even a fridge stocked with sodas if their parents say it’s ok.    When everyone leaves then I clean and I make piles of items that are to be returned.  The most common thing are socks but I find trinkets and little candy wrappers in the most unique places.  Maybe it is a game to see how many things Grammie can find.  I win!! This is what I love – family and togetherness.

The Greatest Teaching Moment

What’s a Zamboni my seven-year-old grandson Blaze asked his cousin Hinckley?   We took the kids to the Brett Ice Rink to watch the older boys skate in their clinic and the three boys from Idaho were enthralled with the entire hockey/ice rink extravaganza.  Hinckley didn’t miss a beat and explained the workings of the Zamboni and at that precise moment it emerged from its parking garage and did its thing and they were mesmerized.  The three boys followed the resident “rink rats” for the entire hour as they swung on railings, ran down the ramp, leaned up against the plexiglass and went up and down the bleachers.    All of our kids lived at the rink and this next generation have taken over in full force.

Hold On To Your Hats

As we drove around herky-jerky in our car dodging potholes, puddles and snowbanks we felt like squished sardines.  We had two carseats in the back and poor Blaze stuck in the middle.  When I took a turn we felt it.  When I hit a hole or a bump we bounced and I would say “hold on your hats!!  After a few days of me using that saying Dash said “I don’t have a hat!” and Maverick put his hand on his head and said “I don’t have a hat either.”    We laughed and continued to bump and sway but I knew those boys needed hats so our rides and my cajoling would all make perfect sense.

A Tender Letter

Dear Brother and Sister Styers,

Thank you for sending your daughter to the mission field and supporting her in her service to the Lord.  It has been a great blessing for Sister Zimmerman and me to have Hermana Styers in the California Sacramento Mission.  

Hermana Styers is possibly the happiest and most effective missionary that will ever walk the streets of the California Sacramento Mission.  She serves with all her heart, might, mind and strength.  She has willingly taken on a challenging companion assignment and literally turned a difficult missionary into an effective missionary.  Most recently, she has served as a sister training leader and blessed the lives of her fellow sisters with deep and abiding love.  She has lifted and blessed others wherever she has served.  She is a great missionary and a great friend.  We love her with all our hearts.  

Sister Zimmerman joins with me in this expression of gratitude.  We recognize the sacrifice you have made to have a daughter in the mission field.  Yet, seeing what a fine, mature person she has become dims the notion that it is a sacrifice and turns the time into a beautiful memories of sacred service.  We feel privileged to have labored with your daughter in the California Sacramento Mission.

Thank you again.  We pray the Lord’s blessing up you and your loved ones.  

Sincerely your fellow servant,

President David W. Zimmerman

Keep The Smile

The doorbell rang and I ran down the stairs to answer it.  It was our Bishop with a letter that was hand delivered for us which first of all was the kindest gesture ever.  Secondly, I carried on a small conversation which I always like to do – I mentioned we had fourteen of our sixteen grandchildren in town so Grammie’s play room was the wild, action spot as was evidenced as he gently peered in through the door.   I graciously showed appreciation for the drive over to do the delivery and we parted.  As soon as I got upstairs my daughter said he kept the smile on his face as he got into his car.  How beautiful was that image.  I read this:  “I learned the power of a sustained smile from living in Red Lodge, Montana for ten years. Recently being on vacation in that tiny town of 2,000 refreshed this for me. I’ve often heard visitors to Pittsburgh say how friendly the people here are and that’s good to know. But people in Red Lodge make Pittsburghers look standoffish. No kidding.  A walk down Broadway, Red Lodge’s main street, has people nodding at you as if you’re old friends. People want to know where you’re from and seem to always know something about that place. When I mention I lived in their lovely state for a decade, the friendly level goes up a notch—unbelievable that it’s possible.  What does this have to do with the title of the blog? Because when we’ve conversed with someone and walk away, I don’t want my smile to fade so quickly that they think: oh, that city person isn’t really that friendly after all. I want my smile to last in their minds long after my words have faded.”

Whimsy and Beau

Today was hair day.  My hairdresser and cool friend Mariah had three of our family all in the same day.  Two were from out town, one was a repeat customer, one had always wanted to meet her and one hadn’t had her hair done in over eighteen months and truly needed a cut and highlights.  Mariah took on the challenge with her usual bouyance, laughter and warmness.  I think she was more thrilled to meet Mrs Crumb though and Mrs Crumb was so indebted to Mariah for all of the number of cookie clients she has produced.   They loved meeting one another and each one separately told me that they were exactly the person I had described and each one felt a deep kinship to one another.    There is joy in sharing friends and being a friend.

The Click

She sat at the end of the long table in the High Council room and bore a beautiful testimony in fluent, elegant Spanish.  President Taylor sat looking on beaming with pride and then tenderly released her as a missionary in the Sacramento California Mission.  Her eyes welled up in tears and in those quiet delicate moments we waited as she removed her name tag.  That tag that was worn for eighteen months with reverence serving as an ambassador for Jesus Christ was now the hardest pivotal act of all in returning.  Rhea explained later that every night as she removed her tag she could hear the magnet click and she accounted for her day – I served,  I was happy,  I taught,  I aspired to higher standards and I was an example – and now although she won’t hear the click – she will still hear that distinct reminder in her mind and as she ends her day and she will say – I did well today.

Our Hermana

It played out beautifully.  We all waited at the airport for our girl who we hadn’t seen in person for eighteen months.    We saw her from a distance wearing “her color” orange and Dash was the first to run and hug her.  The other grandchildren followed and Rhea knew “she wasn’t forgotten.”    Words can’t say how happy we are to have her home but even more so to know she served so faithfully and beautifully as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Let The Fun Begin

The institution of cousinhood.   This was a phrase I sort of made up but watching the cousins bonding and laughing at Red Robin made it obviously true and relevant.   There is a bond, one that I am going to continue to watch,  nurture and encourage as the years go by.  You can have friends come and go but cousins are always there.   The cousins that live here have so much fun together and when a Sunday dinner is missed they are lost and sad.    Tonight Blaze, Maverick and Dash got to meet and rekindle and it didn’t take long for them to be a part of Grammie’s cousin “institution.”   Tomorrow they will get attached to Hatcher, Oaklee and Mayvie and the circle of love will just get bigger.

The Checklist

It is the day before the storm, or the gathering where memories are made, or the day that the countdown began so long ago or the day we thought would never get here.  Today is the day we glance over our lists of all the things that went wrong these past few weeks which always happens where there is something so good going on and the day we are reassured we triumphed over all of them.  Today is the day I prepare my house with clean towels, clean sheets, clean bathrooms and vacuumed floors.  Today I restock the fruit snacks and line up the giant size bags of chips enough to feed a crowd.  I make sure the Mary Jo is stocked with sodas and bake some chocolate chip cookies for Dash.  Today is the day we wonder whether Rhea really caught on to the fact that Devin and Brooke are surprising her and we are quite confident she knows.   The checklist is complete.