I have lots to say but can't tonight because everything deserves some time. Actually, it's all about people and that shouldn't be rushed, even if no one but me reads it.
I will just say this:
I met a marvelous woman--whose blog I follow--today. More about her later.
I met with my personal history group. The girl whose house we meet at wrote an incredible poem which gave me much to think about. She is a very intuitive woman and one of the best people I know. More later.
I got a tender email from a friend, which I cannot tell about later, but which touched me, helped me--her cousin said it would and he didn't even know me or know that it was me it would help--and which gave me many, many things to ponder. She blesses my life. I have printed it so I can read it again and again.
I'm going on a trek with one of my incredible sons tomorrow and I am looking forward to it more than I would have realized. I helped him up when he fell down when he was a baby and now he helps me up when I emotionally fall down. Life is a never ending circle, perhaps. And he's funny.
I am so lucky to have my daughter's sister-in-law as a friend. She is also incredible. Pictures soon to follow of the dearest ornament ever which is all about love.
I read people's blogs on this marvelous thing we call the Internet and am amazed at people's goodness, complexity, commitment, joy and triumph over sorrow and down right funniness. My daughter, Gilmore Girl always seems to say just the thing to make me smile, and just when I need it. How lucky I am to have children.
One of these days I need to finish my ABC's of gratitude. I don't even know what letter I'm on. So, that will come later too.
That's all, nothing said but everything promised.
Showing posts with label gratitude. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gratitude. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
THE ABC'S OF GRATITUDE--L
L--I am grateful for love. Grateful I was born into a family who loved me.
My dad was killed in a plane crash before I was two and I have always missed the love he had for me. the chapter I am writing this week has all the emotion I have always had about being raised without him. It's been hard to write because I have been so angry and feel so cheated.
Mom remarried and Daddy loved me. Even when I was a dirty-rotten-stinker. I adored him. He was a marvelous man. I am a better person for being raised by him and I love him with all my heart.
The love I have for my Mom cannot be described. She loved me totally and I loved her back. I miss her so much that some days I sneak away to the bathroom and cry. She was the ideal mother, fixing tea parties for Holly and me, grinning and bearing my teenage hysterics, adoring my babies and my teenagers, loving Phil as if he were her own son, and always, always, loving me.
I had two amazing sisters. Each was different and unique. Who I am is in some part because of how they treated me when I was growing up. They loved me and I loved them but there was all that sibling stuff going on. My book is full of that sibling stuff. It may be hard for my sister to read--then again maybe she will never have to. I hope she will understand that without all that sibling stuff I would be a weak, easily wounded sissy and that she helped make me strong. My other sister died way to early and when I am crying--in the bathroom for my mom--I cry for her, too.
I have been in love maybe three times in my life. I was lucky that the man I loved the most, Phil, loved me back. He's loved me when I was grumpy, depressed, angry--I threw water on him once from the second story balcony because I was so angry--actually that time we ended up laughing. He's loved me through good times, the birth of our children, the funny, laugh out loud times. He knows me better than anyone else and loves me anyway. He is my strength. He is strong in the gospel and loves the Lord and tries to do what is right. I love him for his commitment and his goodness. I love him for a hundred different reasons.
I love the children. They come as babies and we are charmed. By the time they get interesting it's too late and we are hooked. And they were interesting in unnumbered ways. We waited them out and soon they became interesting in milder ways and now we are friends. I am madly in love with each of them. I love who they have chosen to love and spend their lives with. They have given us grandchildren and the grandchildren are charismatic and we are as hooked on them as we are about our children. Some of them just have dogs and so we love the dogs while we are being patient for the charismatic grandchildren.
And I can't talk about love without mentioning my "goodest," daily, life-changing-for-the-better friends. They know me almost as well as Phil does and maybe even better than the kids. Some are email buddies, some are "spittin' distance" ones and some are not seen often but are friends to the end.
And I've saved the best for last. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus. I am so grateful I had the chance to come to earth and receive a body and find Phil and be allowed to bear Heavenly Father's children. I am in love with the fact that Father trusts me. I let him down and what does he do? Trusts me again. He must love me a lot to let me make all these mistakes and let me decide when I am going to make things better. And he sent Jesus to atone for me and for all His children and then, if that weren't enough, he sent the Holy Ghost to warn, comfort and guide.
I am blessed to have loved and been loved.
My dad was killed in a plane crash before I was two and I have always missed the love he had for me. the chapter I am writing this week has all the emotion I have always had about being raised without him. It's been hard to write because I have been so angry and feel so cheated.
Mom remarried and Daddy loved me. Even when I was a dirty-rotten-stinker. I adored him. He was a marvelous man. I am a better person for being raised by him and I love him with all my heart.
The love I have for my Mom cannot be described. She loved me totally and I loved her back. I miss her so much that some days I sneak away to the bathroom and cry. She was the ideal mother, fixing tea parties for Holly and me, grinning and bearing my teenage hysterics, adoring my babies and my teenagers, loving Phil as if he were her own son, and always, always, loving me.
I had two amazing sisters. Each was different and unique. Who I am is in some part because of how they treated me when I was growing up. They loved me and I loved them but there was all that sibling stuff going on. My book is full of that sibling stuff. It may be hard for my sister to read--then again maybe she will never have to. I hope she will understand that without all that sibling stuff I would be a weak, easily wounded sissy and that she helped make me strong. My other sister died way to early and when I am crying--in the bathroom for my mom--I cry for her, too.
I have been in love maybe three times in my life. I was lucky that the man I loved the most, Phil, loved me back. He's loved me when I was grumpy, depressed, angry--I threw water on him once from the second story balcony because I was so angry--actually that time we ended up laughing. He's loved me through good times, the birth of our children, the funny, laugh out loud times. He knows me better than anyone else and loves me anyway. He is my strength. He is strong in the gospel and loves the Lord and tries to do what is right. I love him for his commitment and his goodness. I love him for a hundred different reasons.
I love the children. They come as babies and we are charmed. By the time they get interesting it's too late and we are hooked. And they were interesting in unnumbered ways. We waited them out and soon they became interesting in milder ways and now we are friends. I am madly in love with each of them. I love who they have chosen to love and spend their lives with. They have given us grandchildren and the grandchildren are charismatic and we are as hooked on them as we are about our children. Some of them just have dogs and so we love the dogs while we are being patient for the charismatic grandchildren.
And I can't talk about love without mentioning my "goodest," daily, life-changing-for-the-better friends. They know me almost as well as Phil does and maybe even better than the kids. Some are email buddies, some are "spittin' distance" ones and some are not seen often but are friends to the end.
And I've saved the best for last. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus. I am so grateful I had the chance to come to earth and receive a body and find Phil and be allowed to bear Heavenly Father's children. I am in love with the fact that Father trusts me. I let him down and what does he do? Trusts me again. He must love me a lot to let me make all these mistakes and let me decide when I am going to make things better. And he sent Jesus to atone for me and for all His children and then, if that weren't enough, he sent the Holy Ghost to warn, comfort and guide.
I am blessed to have loved and been loved.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
GIFTS FOR THE NEW YEAR
Instead of New Year's Resolutions I am making a list of Gifts.
I am going to give the gift of one hundred letters, cards or handmade post cards to others this year. I made a list recently and there are honestly almost one hundred people I want to write to so if I accomplish this it will be because I want to do it, not because I feel I should.
A dear friend gave me a gratitude journal for Christmas and I am going to fill it with the wondrous things in my life. Family, friends, my own miracles, insights, little things like a sprouting seed or big things like the mountain with clouds chasing across the face.
I am going to give myself the gift of all the things that fill me up. Watching the snow fall. Listening to the rain. Holding some one's hand. I will drink in the gift of friendship and pour it back. I will listen to compliments and not say things like, "Oh, it was nothing." Or, "No, I'm not." I will say, "thank you," and give myself the gift of remembering and treasuring them in my heart. I will give honest compliments, too.
I'm going to give myself the gift of slowing down, letting the silence take over, stop filling my life with information and start listening to what I already know, deep down in my spirit. I am going to trust myself.
I am going to give the gift of writing. This I give to myself and maybe someone else will benefit too. I may paint too but if I don't I'm not going to fret about it.
There are a couple of more things on the list but they are pretty private, I am honest and let you see into my soul but not all the way. Even my family doesn't see all the way, only God. As I accomplish these things I may blog about them. I may not.
I am going to give the gift of one hundred letters, cards or handmade post cards to others this year. I made a list recently and there are honestly almost one hundred people I want to write to so if I accomplish this it will be because I want to do it, not because I feel I should.
A dear friend gave me a gratitude journal for Christmas and I am going to fill it with the wondrous things in my life. Family, friends, my own miracles, insights, little things like a sprouting seed or big things like the mountain with clouds chasing across the face.
I am going to give myself the gift of all the things that fill me up. Watching the snow fall. Listening to the rain. Holding some one's hand. I will drink in the gift of friendship and pour it back. I will listen to compliments and not say things like, "Oh, it was nothing." Or, "No, I'm not." I will say, "thank you," and give myself the gift of remembering and treasuring them in my heart. I will give honest compliments, too.
I'm going to give myself the gift of slowing down, letting the silence take over, stop filling my life with information and start listening to what I already know, deep down in my spirit. I am going to trust myself.
I am going to give the gift of writing. This I give to myself and maybe someone else will benefit too. I may paint too but if I don't I'm not going to fret about it.
There are a couple of more things on the list but they are pretty private, I am honest and let you see into my soul but not all the way. Even my family doesn't see all the way, only God. As I accomplish these things I may blog about them. I may not.
I wish all who come here a wonderful year, full of bright promise. May the bright still be shining next December 31st. May your lives be filled with Joy and the knowledge of who you really are.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
A FEW IMPORTANT THINGS
Yesterday my sister, Julie--who has pneumonia and shouldn't be going anywhere--her daughter, Lezlie, Lezlie's daughter Megan--the fantastic ice dancer--and Adrienne--whose name I may have misspelled--Julie's daughter-in-law came to see us. What fun that was. Everyone but Julie lives in the East so I don’t get to see them very often. Lezlie brought me a very fat, large ceramic frog for my birthday. She used to tell me a Big Mouthed Frog joke when she was a kid and her little face was hysterical—she was very dramatic. I loved to hear her tell the joke and loved her. And still do. So that's one thing, family--immediate family and extended family--is important.
Today, in Relief Society, our RS president, Joan, who lives across the street, gave a great lesson on gratitude. She had us list all the things we were grateful for and the whole list consisted of good things--easy things--nice things. After she was finished it was time for testimony meeting and the last person who bore her testimony talked about trials and how no matter how difficult life gets it will be all right. I wish I could remember what she said word for word. Trials, that make us stronger, bring us closer to the Lord, humble us and make us appreciative--now that's something to be grateful for and it's mega-important. Her words to remember: “It’s going to be all right.”
Patty, one of the sisters in the audience said that if you have gratitude the devil has no power to bring you down into depression. She didn’t say it exactly like that but that’s what my little ears heard and I’m choosing to believe it. So, I’m going to start a gratitude list and hope to be less tempted and less willing to follow the road of least resistance and hope I won’t buy into the doom and gloom as often.
And lastly, lemon meringue pie is important. My husband brought me one on Friday as a surprise and I told him I should learn to make lemon meringue pie but he said, "Don't worry about it, we only eat lemon meringue pie about once a year," and he's right. So, that's something I don't have to worry about and having one less thing to worry about is nice. And important.
Today, in Relief Society, our RS president, Joan, who lives across the street, gave a great lesson on gratitude. She had us list all the things we were grateful for and the whole list consisted of good things--easy things--nice things. After she was finished it was time for testimony meeting and the last person who bore her testimony talked about trials and how no matter how difficult life gets it will be all right. I wish I could remember what she said word for word. Trials, that make us stronger, bring us closer to the Lord, humble us and make us appreciative--now that's something to be grateful for and it's mega-important. Her words to remember: “It’s going to be all right.”
Patty, one of the sisters in the audience said that if you have gratitude the devil has no power to bring you down into depression. She didn’t say it exactly like that but that’s what my little ears heard and I’m choosing to believe it. So, I’m going to start a gratitude list and hope to be less tempted and less willing to follow the road of least resistance and hope I won’t buy into the doom and gloom as often.
And lastly, lemon meringue pie is important. My husband brought me one on Friday as a surprise and I told him I should learn to make lemon meringue pie but he said, "Don't worry about it, we only eat lemon meringue pie about once a year," and he's right. So, that's something I don't have to worry about and having one less thing to worry about is nice. And important.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
