Memory Monday #3

Sometimes I have to do things in my life that I don't necessarily anticipate with great joy or gladness. One of those things is coming up and I just can't stop thinking of Grandma and how she would always tell me, "Enjoy! Go, and ENJOY!" Another thing she would always say to me when I might be wishing something was over already or when I was having a tough time is "You'll pass this way but once." These were her little reminders to enjoy the ride, have fun on the way, get the most out of every moment. I have often found myself living for tomorrow, so-to-speak. Her wise words help me to live for today.

We have a wonderful family friend who is also our psychologist/counselor. I think he was the latter first and the former second...but now he is both, and we love him. In a conversation I had with him shortly after Grandma died, he told me that I know my mother very well and that I will almost always know exactly what she would tell me in any given situation. Those are comforting words to a momma's girl left without her momma to give her advice. So, today I know that Grandma would say, "Enjoy, go and ENJOY!" I will go and do the things my mother has commanded...and I would exhort you to do the same! You'll pass this way but once!

"Men are that they might have joy." 2 Nephi 2:25

Memory Monday #2

I had an opportunity this week to give some things to a friend who needed them much more than I. It made me think of Grandma. She is a giver. She gave a lot of things to a lot of people. I want to tell you about one particular instance.

I have a friend who moved away with her little family to a different state. We were really close friends, so Grandma knew her well, too. One day, Grandma felt like she should put some money in an envelope and send it to my friend. (Grandma did that a lot...she liked to put money in envelopes and send them to people...Jeron and Dylan and Jadee will hopefully always remember cards with money in them from Grandma Rita.) Grandma didn't know that my friend really needed that money to be able to buy food for her kids, but Grandma did know how to listen to the Holy Ghost and follow His promptings. So, she found a little card and put a little money in it and sent it to my friend. It was the answer to her prayers.

Most of the time we never get to know the results of our service to others, but this time, Grandma got to know. My friend sent her a beautiful card telling of her situation and her prayers and how Grandma had answered them. Someday, when I find that card, I will share it with you. Until then, if you are blessed to have, be givers. You never know how you might bless the lives of those around you through your "gifts".

"O then how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another." Mosiah 4:21

Memory Monday

One of the things that saddens me most about my mom passing on is that my kids will never get to really know all about her first-hand. I know that one of her desires was to be around long enough for the grandkids to remember her. I'm sure that Jeron and Dylan will...Jadee will remember something...Maggie & Davis probably not so much. Though it is not my first choice, I suppose that second-hand will have to do. I have decided that every Monday I will write about a memory I have of my mom, so that they will be recorded for all the grandkids. I invite anyone else who has a memory or story they'd like to share to do so on their blog or in my comments on Memories Monday. Here goes the first installment...

Yesterday I attended church in Utah with my dear friend, Jamie. It's been a long time since I have been able to attend Sunday School and Relief Society, so the break was great and the Spirit was strong. The Relief Society lesson was on being a peacemaker. The teacher opened the discussion to the class to share examples from our lives of the peacemakers we know. Of course, I had the perfect example and the perfect experience to illustrate, but the subject matter is still a little too close to share with a bunch of people I don't know (so I'll share it here instead...at least if I don't know you, I don't know that I don't know you!).

(I will write as though I am sharing with my kids and niece and nephew...since this is mostly for them.)

Grandma is a peacemaker. She was also a school teacher. One of the reasons she was such a great school teacher is that she was a great peacemaker. Love and peace go hand-in-hand. She loved teaching and she loved every child who walked through her door. She even loved their parents, and she knew just how "handle" the hard ones.

After her first cancer diagnosis back in 1997, I took over for her as a substitute in her 1st grade class. She had a great group of kids that year and it was a lot of fun. There was one little girl in the class who was particularly bright and quite a busy-body. Her mom was as busy as the little girl, and she caused me a lot of grief with phone calls and visits to the classroom. This little girl, it seemed to her mother, did no wrong. I didn't know how to handle this mom very well. She mostly made me feel nervous and defensive. Grandma, on the other hand, was a professional at handling these types of situations. One night I was telling Grandma my woes about this little girl and her mother. She listened intently, then said, "I'll tell you what to do the next time she calls. You say, What can I do for you Mrs. So & so? How can I help? She will have no need to be defensive and by offering to help her, you'll be diffusing the situation." Peacemakers don't find fault, they are not defensive, they love and respect others. Grandma is a peacemaker. In that short conversation, she taught me that love and respect go a lot further than being right, that blaming others accomplishes little if anything, and that by serving others we can make peace.

I taught school for nearly 8 years after that experience, and the lesson I learned that night served me better than any education course I ever took. There are many other examples of Grandma as a peacemaker...and many Memory Mondays to post about them coming up. Until then...be a peacemaker!