I am thankful

When I was a young married woman and staying home with my children, I got caught up in soap operas. In one of “my shows” a girl got pregnant by one brother, who then went off to war and went missing, so she married the other brother to be the father of her baby because he was the only one she told about the baby, then the father of the baby turned up alive and came back to a bewildered woman who couldn’t decide who she really loved. Well, the evil girl in the show decided to see who the woman really loved and invited her and the father of her child >> but not her husband >> to a party. The woman with the baby had refused to talk to the father of the child and her husband, the brother of the father of the baby, refused to talk to him about it. The woman was asked if she was going to go without her husband, when they all knew the reason for the invitation was to catch her in a love triangle, and she decided to go simply to prove that she loved her husband, dun-dun-dun.

I quit watching soaps after that.

So, I said to myself how stupid that was that something so personal could go on in a family and they couldn’t just talk to each other about it. Throughout my life, I have had to relearn that lesson over and over. It is difficult to talk to people you love about problems in your relationships. This weekend, once again, I learned the value of speaking up; the reality that not saying anything, because you don’t want to offend someone, only magnifies the problem; that family love is strong and can perpetuate forgiveness even in the worst of circumstances.

I am thankful for family.

Wouldn't it be nice if it was this easy?

Tech Support: Yes, . how can I help you?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?
Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?
Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?
Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?
Tech Support: What programs are running ?
Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.
Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ?
Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.
Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?
Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.
Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?
Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.
Customer: So, what should I do?
Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.
Customer: Okay, done.
Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?
Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.
Customer: Thank you, Tech Support.

Joy, hope and excitement

Learn to look at the signs of the times with a positive attitude >> look forward to the return of our Savior when there will be a thousand years of peace on this earth >> remember that the righteous will suffer with the wicked, but in the end the righteous will prevail >> move through this life with a spirit of joy and hope and excitement >> be of good cheer >> if you are prepared you shall not fear >> look to the Lord in every thought, doubt not, fear not >>

I love it when the lesson is inspiring and we are uplifted and filled with joy and hope for the week to follow. Thank you Sherri Wright you are an inspiration to all of us.

My weekend

I woke up Friday morning thinking what a glorious 3 days I had ahead of me. Tarzan was going fishing and I had 3 days to myself to get caught up--NOT.

All of the details are not important, but just say, I was busy doing things for other people 80% of the time, the other 20% was for sleep and my stuff, LOL.

The important part is what happened to Tarzan on his fishing trip. On Saturday, I lost contact with him and I decided he had wandered out of phone range. Saturday night about sundown I got a sick feeling in my stomach that he was in trouble. I tried to call him several times, but could not get him on the phone. I did that thing I always do when I have no control over a situation. I said a prayer, and made myself think about other things. Even though I was not actively worrying about him, I didn't fall asleep until 3:00 a.m.

Sunday, I went to church and called Tarzan after Welfare Meeting. No answer. I called him after Sacrament Meeting. No answer. He should be coming home by now. I called him after Sunday School. No answer. I got up in the middle of Relief Society and called the house. He was home. We were supposed to go to a wedding after Church--

but...

When I got him on the phone I could tell by his voice there was something wrong...

Here is what happened on Saturday night just about sundown. He and his friend had gone to an area with a boat dock and fire pits so they could fish and cook and have a safe place to spend the night. Tarzan was walking down some stairs to the dock. The bottom step had a loose board. When he stepped on it, it gave way and he began to fall toward a big metal pole. He saw the pole and turned his head, but he hit it full force. He heard his neck crack and thought he had broken it. He blacked out for a few seconds and then his friend called out to him--"Are you okay." He answered, "no, I don't think I am." His "friend" didn't even put his fishing pole down.

Right then, three young people, two boys and one girl came over to see if he was alright. They made him lie still while they checked his vitals and asked questions to see if he was okay. When they determined he was alright, they said a final, "are you okay then?" He answered in his best weak voice, indicating the cute girl with them, "I think I need her to give me mouth-to-mouth." They all had a good laugh and he got up and settled in for the night. Tarzan is a nut!

I called Brother Carden to come over and give him a blessing. Tarzan really likes him and readily accepted the blessing. We were both worried about a blood clot. In the blessing Brother Carden counseled him to go to the doctor. He has an appointment on Friday, so he is waiting until then. I made him promise to watch for any signs of trouble today as he skipped off to work.

Right now, he has a bruise the size of Texas (Come to think of it, the bruise is kind of shaped like Texas). It covers his right breast and shoulder and is under his arm as well where he hit the pole. The only reason his eye didn't swell up and bruise is that he turned his head. He has a doozy of a headache.

The final result of all this is that tomorrow we go out and buy new chargers for both of our phones to use in the car.

I sure Love Tarzan.

Maybe I should rename my blog "Life with Tarzan."

Tarzan Speaks

As we watched this historical moment unfold before our eyes in the comfort of our home, Sandi and I both regressed mentally thinking about people who mean a lot to us, some of whom are no longer here: my mother, who passed away just this summer, my grandfather, Sandi’s father, grandparents, and mother, our children, and our grandchildren.

Sandi and I have an interracial marriage. We don’t see things as black and white, but we often discuss them as black and white. We know that this election was not about race. We know it was about greatness and a movement toward change in Washington. We have vowed to support President Elect Obama, not as a black man or white woman or an interracial couple, but as Americans with common problems and common hopes.

We appreciate the fact that we now have a new, great thinker for our next Commander In Chief, and as an extra point of appreciation for us, he is a black man in a world where we thought there was a limit to what a black man could accomplish.

There is something to ponder about this man that has been said to us. What are the chances of a young black man from Kenya going to Hawaii in the 1960’s >> and a young white woman from the heartland of America, Kansas, also being there at the same time >> that they would meet >> and overcome the racial attitudes of the time to marry and produce an offspring >> who weaved himself through school, turmoil and political mine fields >> to become the orator and great thinker that he is >> and to have won over America where we as a nation have placed our hope, future and destiny in the hands of a 47 year old man who happens to be black.

There is something else to ponder about this election. In the 60’s we had the rebellion of the young folks, the hippies, the war protestors, fighting in the streets and general unrest. We had another rebellion from today’s young folks. The way they rebelled is a testament to all of us. They became involved in the process, informed on the issues and chose the ballet over the bullet. With this in mind, I can say to the rest of you seniors, we can feel confident that our young folks can make sound decisions. We should not be concerned about passing the gavel of authority over to them when needed.

We believe that the torch has been passed, not only to us, but to all Americans. Obama has asked each of us to do our share to help him govern. He has asked us to except the challenge to talk to our neighbors, to look out for one another, and at home, turn off the TV and get more involved with our children and families. What could be greater than that?

The past few hours have been emotional, thrilling and filled with hope for the future. We pray for and support President Elect Obama and hope that America will rally and we will no longer have red and blue states, but that we will have purple states and become one people, one nation—under God.