Last Day of June

My friend Elena and I went bike riding to the Falls today!  Elena just got her bike and this was the maiden voyage for it!  This was my first ride to the Falls this year.  It was really fun and we hope to do it some more this summer.  Elena is a great bike riding partner because she plugs her earphones in and is content to ride. That's how I like to do it too.  Just ride and enjoy the view and maybe even push myself so I can get a bonus cardio workout.  That's what we did (except when we stopped and took some pictures of each other)!

It's Not In The Getting But In The Keeping

I keep things way too long and while I may not technically be considered a 'hoarder', it's difficult for me to let go of brochures, pamphlets, receipts, dishes, clothing, old school assignments, furniture, bedding, or anything unless it is absolutely useless.  There could always be a use for this, I say to myself! And sometimes when I have let something go, I have found that there are times when I missed the thing I threw or gave away. I remember right away two things specifically that come to mind.  The handmade doll I got from Nova Scotia, that I handed over to a missionary companion of mine so I could have peace in the apartment. The gorgeous original art  from Irish Artist Ann Gorman depicting a young woman trying her best to look beyond her circumstances entitled, 'Dreamer', given to a friend going through a rough spot. I really valued those items and yet somehow felt it would be better to give them to someone else. Was it wise to give these away if I valued them and still miss them?  I think it was!

 Something has helped me cut down on my accumulations and need to collect!  It is the fact that I have had to leave everything behind more than once in my life.  Most people, when they move, take most of their possessions with them.  Not I!  I have had to walk away from  everything when I've moved! That happened once on a huge scale and then on a smaller scale, 5 other times.  I've left furniture, a piano, a car, all my clothing, appliances, heirlooms, hobbies and a myriad of other things. 

But the leaving behind of possessions has taught me a very important lesson--with most of the things I left behind, I've been able to do just fine without, either because I can replace them or just because they weren't essential to my survival and I am still alive without them.  As a matter of fact, because I have left certain things behind, it has freed me up to pursue new interests and hobbies
that I might not have otherwise!  After all there are only so many hours in the day that you can use and if the object of what you spent your time on is gone, you are free, in essence, to pursue other things to fill your time! For example, the sewing machine I left behind that I didn't replace allowed me to drop that pastime which filled a lot of my time and pursue new things (like blogging)!

Here are a couple of things I think are true regarding possessions!

"The wise man carries his possessions within him"  -Bias

"Treasure your relationships, not your possessions"  -Anthony J. D'Angelo

"The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible."  -Albert Einstein

Now, of course, I just finished confessing that I am sort of a pack rat and I do, after all, own a second blog that has everything to do with collecting "things"!  But I know that these things are really not essential most of the time!

If I were to look back and wonder what it is that I think was and is the most valuable and essential to me, it would have to be my kids.  I have the two greatest boys ever.  I feel lucky that I was able to spend quality time with them before I had to give them up.  Yes, I DO know a lot about leaving things behind and giving things up.  I lost my youngest son due to a fraudulent divorce decree before he turned two, never to raise him, and my oldest son at 10 the same way.  It was heartbreaking for me.  I spent thousands of dollars trying to correct it.  As criminal as this was, it is considered civil law and civil law is different than criminal law.  But what I DID luck out on is that I somehow knew that I needed to do a lot of the following and luckily, I think I did:

Just for this morning, I am
going to step over the laundry,
and pick you up and take you to the park to
play.

Just for this morning, I will
leave the dishes in the sink,
and let you teach me how to put that puzzle
of yours together.

Just for this afternoon, I will
unplug the telephone and
keep the computer off, and sit with you in the
backyard and blow bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I will
not yell once, not even a
tiny grumble when
you scream and whine for the ice
cream truck, and I will buy you one if
he comes by.

Just for this afternoon, I won't
worry about what you are
going to be when you grow up, or second guess
every decision I have made
where you are concerned.

Just for this afternoon, I will let
you help me bake cookies, and I won't
stand over you trying to fix them.
Just for this afternoon, I will take
us to McDonald's and buy us both a
Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold
you in my arms and tell you a story
about how you were born and how
much I love you.

Just for this evening, I will let
you splash in the tub and
not get angry.

Just for this evening, I will let
you stay up late while we sit on the
porch and count all the stars.

Just for this evening, I will
snuggle beside you for hours,
and miss my favorite TV shows.
Just for this evening when I run
my finger through your hair
as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God
has given me the greatest gift ever
given.

I will think about the mothers
And fathers who are searching
for their missing children,
the mothers and fathers who are
visiting their children's graves
instead of their bedrooms, and mothers and
fathers who are in hospital rooms watching
their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't
handle it anymore.

And when I kiss you good night I
will hold you a little tighter, a
little longer. It is then, that I will
thank God for you, and ask
him for nothing, except one more day............. 

Was I perfect?  That's a laugh!  But what I do know is that my boys and I are great friends. They include me in a lot of what they do, more so than any other person.  That is a great compliment to me since they could very well exclude me in a lot of things.
So, while I AM quite a collector of stuff, I hope that I have learned what the most valuable things in life are and if I am ever called upon at a moment's notice to drop all save the most precious, I think I will be able to do it! 



disclaimer:  I did not write the above poem, and I don't know where it comes from.  It was stored on my computer from somewhere.  If you know where it comes from, please let me know so I can assign proper credit!

A Funeral To Attend

I thought I'd post this before I head out the door.  Do you like funerals?  I really don't.  But since my Dad has requested me to go, I go.  I really don't even know this person.  It's one of my Dad's cousins that he hasn't seen in a bizillion years and whom I've never even met.  It's for the son of one of my Grandma's sister's kids.  But when Dad makes a special request, I do it, because I don't know how many more events he will even be able to attend. He is getting very frail.  He knows it, but he has such courage in his ever-growing weakness.  My hat goes off to him in the face of his own inevitable mortality.  My mom has been gone for a year and a half and I know it has been so lonely for him. He had a pacemaker put in before she died because he wanted to be around to take care of her until she died, which he did.  So the pacemaker has kept his own heart going but he continues to get weaker and weaker.  His legs will give out on him unexpectedly for no reason.  And he gets really tired very easily.  Yet he continues to put in full days at work.  He owns condos that he rents out and he does all the maintenance himself.  When someone recently moved out, of course the place was trashed.  (Why do so many renters trash where they live?) So he has completely redone everything himself--replaced the horrible kitchen counters, fixed the broken dishwasher, put in a new microwave, painted the rooms, put in new linoleum, re-done the garage, etc. etc.  He is amazing!  I hope that I have the motivation he does when I get to be in my 80's. 

But today, I'll be at a funeral.  Hope you have a wonderful day!

Us (My sister, Laura, Dad and me before heading to the funeral

Memorial Day Gardening

Home Depot was really crowded today!  I think everyone had my same intentions--get some flowers to spruce up the yard for summer.  And boy did they have the blooms out in full array.  There was most any kind of flower you could imagine blooming and ready to be re-potted or planted in your own personal space.  I could have really done it up right, I tell you.  But I kept my self control and got out of there only spending about $25!  From that I was able to pot 2 large planters and 2 hanging baskets.  I have them out on my deck and it brightens up the surroundings considerably!  Along with the hummingbird feeder and the modest garden down below, I think that my summer planting urge has been quelled for awhile unless I see a really great sale later on this summer!

Out Tooling Around Ophir

Greg and I took a little 2 hour motorcycle ride today out to a little place called Ophir, UT.  It is this tiny little mining town that has a very small population and retains all of the charm and quaintness of somewhere right out of time.

The weather was gorgeous and the traffic was down so we had lots of room on the freeways and highways to just go!  We rode through Lehi, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain and Cedar Fort.  The further we got out on Highway 73, the more wide open it became, until we were riding with miles of vast space on either side of us, with the mountains looming far away in the distance.  There was not a tree for miles and yet in the distance I could see the one outline of a lone tree in a distant field, its stark outline providing a memorable backdrop to the nothingness in front of us!

Finally we turned off onto a little road, which led us into the very tiny town of Ophir, with a population of 23 last Census count in 2000.  To me, it seemed a little larger now than that.  There were some really nice, even ornate homes lining the street on either side and a city hall.  As we drove slowly down the street, we passed an old mining shaft where miners once combed through the mountain looking for silver deposits. It is said that once upon a time there was so much silver there that the Indians around the area used silver bullets!  In this town, unlike on the road we had just turned off,  there were many trees and they made a quiet whisper through the hills, as if to tell us that there was a story that needed to be told.  We passed a few very old buildings and then we found a large recreation area with a swimming pool and a camping area!  What a fun recreational activity you could have there.  We had parked to walk around and stretch and people driving by all waved to us really friendly! (Except for the couple on the Harley-Davidson!)

First Post Office turned Tavern turned Drug Store!

 The old Mining shaft
We turned homeward after stretching our legs and trying to work the kinks out of the rear ends.  Frankly, that was about all we wanted to go today.  It's been awhile since we have taken a real motorcycle trip. But that was certainly a fun outing and goes to show that here in Utah we have a lot of great places to visit within a short distance.  A motorcycle is really the way to do it too!

I Think I Like This Version Better

A Son's April Fool's Day Joke Or Dang, He Got Me That Time!

Yesterday was a very uneventful day for me, until 10:30 PM.  My son, E, called me on the phone.  He lives here in town and is going to college, majoring in some sort of Geography where one does environmental planning for cities and towns.

I laughed to myself, thinking, "He really must think I'm naiive if he thinks he is going to pull one over on me tonight."
After a few words of greeting and small talk, I asked him if he thought he was going to try and get me for April Fool's, because I was ready for it.  He said, "What? It's April Fool's?  Oh, now you're really not going to believe me when I tell you what I'm about to tell you. I'll just call you back another time"
My curiosity got the best of me and I said, "Oh just go ahead and tell me." 

After a long, pregnant pause he said, "I've been expelled from the University.  I was in the administration office on Tuesday and these three guys started getting insulting with me, making fun of my Indiana State hat, and it escalated from there.  I was having a bad day anyway, and I just couldn't handle these three f_____s messing with me like that, so I ended up breaking one guys nose, breaking a knee and laying out the third."

Why is that so believable?  Because E. loves to fight.  He does MMA throwdowns and just waits for anyone to even look like they want to fight.  He would be in the fray in 2 seconds.  He's a really good boy, but he has that little bit of extra testosterone in him that needs an outlet.  If he had a girlfriend or something I'm sure he would settle right down.  But no girlfriend,  he's busy with school right now. ;)  I've been surprised that he hasn't gotten into more trouble than he has. So far he had kept it down to a few late night escapades with paint ball guns, and one or two meetings in an empty parking lot, but nothing involving the law or disciplinary processes.


At this point I was still skeptical and rolling my eyes, but then he told me that his court date was May 15th and that he was probably, in addition to being expelled, looking at 6 months in jail.  He told me that his roommate's dad was an attorney and would probably agree to represent him for a reduced rate and that he could probably get the sentence down to maybe a month, and that he could get it expunged later.  As far as the University, he could probably enroll in the "other" university in town, although it doesn't have his major and he would totally lose this semester, that is just finishing up.


My despair began to set in and I started seeing a bleak outlook for my son, who I had such high hopes for.  In addition to finishing up school, I also had hoped that he would serve a two year mission for our church.  He is 21 right now, and the standard age for serving is 19.  He has had braces until just this past month and that has made it impossible for him to go out at this time, as they don't allow missionaries to go out with braces.  So he has just gone ahead and finished more school.  With a police record and being expelled from school, a mission for the church would be next to impossible.  They just don't let just anyone go out.  You can't have felons out serving the Lord.  They need to at least have their acts cleaned up!


My eyes started tearing up and I started telling him things like, "I KNEW that MMA throwdown stuff was bad.  You start thinking you can take it outside the ring. Now look where it's gotten you.  Are you on steroids?  What the heck were you thinking?  And this, after all my begging and pleading for you to keep yourself out of trouble...."  I told him I had to go.


I told my husband what had happened and I was in tears because this was devastating to me.

Then the phone rang, and there was E. on the phone again. I prayed that he was gong to tell me, APRIL FOOL'S! !!!  

And he did.

Avoiding A Ticket And Finding A Memory

The day could have been so much worse than it was.  Actually it was a pretty good day! But it could have been a crummy day...if I had gotten that ticket.

Every city has one--a road that says 30 mph but where everyone wants to go faster because the very nature of the road invites you to. The road is wide, uncrowded, open, long, made for driving......well, faster. I was driving that street, as I do almost every day, since it's how I get home in Sandy, Utah.  My mind was elsewhere, thinking about a million other things, planning what to make for dinner, planning out the next day, weighing the importance of one activity against another, wondering if I will have a job by the end of this month.  My speed crept up, unbeknownst to me, to about 20 miles over the speed limit.  I was in my driving trance. 

I noticed a quick flash out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw an on-coming car.  Wait, did that car just flash its headlights?  Why, I believe it did.  I don't see that too often here in the city.  As a matter of fact, hardly ever.
When I lived in Floyd, Virginia, I saw it all the time.  The shortest way from Floyd to Christiansburg is Rt. 8, a 30-mile stretch of country highway, with a speed limit of 55 mph.  Since Floyd is such a tiny place (it boasts all of one stoplight), one finds many occasions to go to the larger town of Christiansburg!  It is a beautiful stretch of road, with hills and trees and views that are breathtaking.  After all, it is right on the border of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  While there are many places where one needs to go much slower than 55 because of the sharp turns, the blind entrances, and the steep uphill climbs, not to mention some sheer drop-offs, there are other places where 55 mph is just really tough to abide by.  I often found myself flying down the road at speeds that were closer to common freeway speeds on I-15.

                        My Virginia Stomping Grounds

Of course, it was a favorite lurking place for the County Sheriff's men.  They had such clever places to hide.  A favorite place for them was right at the bottom of a hill that was hidden until you passed them, almost always over the speed limit.  Of course they weren't always there, so you just had to know that maybe, they would be waiting.  But country folk look out for one another.  Just as it is so common for people to raise a friendly hand in greeting as they pass each other in opposite directions on the road, so it is also the practice to warn your fellow southern citizen that the Fuzz is on the prowl!  You can almost be certain that if someone knows that the cops are in the vicinity, you will get a warning flash from your oncoming friend!  I can't even count the number of times I was saved from a sure write-up because of the friendly flash of an oncoming car's headlights!

But this time, it was the neighborly flash of a car from my city neighborhood.  It was surprising, really.  Nevertheless it came at a welcome time, because sitting on the side of the road as I rounded the bend at the crest of the hill, was a cop.  He had his speed gun out, ready to sock it to me.  But he didn't get me that day, thanks to the flash of some headlights from an unknown neighbor.

While that incident made me very grateful and happy,  heck it saved me at least $80,  it also created a bittersweet memory of the life I once lived in the hills of Virginia, where cops have it hard because everyone warns their neighbors and where they greet one another with raised hands as they pass on the road.