Thoughts on Easter – A Day Late

Today during sacrament meeting, the choir did the Easter Program. The choir director has cancer and decided to go hatless today and show her new hair. It reminded me of when my sister, Mary, had cancer and lost her hair; there is a picture of my sister with her very short hair and her granddaughter with a little bit of hair. Isabella seems to saying “Lookee, we got hair!” Both heads of hair in the picture remind me of a newness and hope. Isabella is very young, probably 18 months old and still experiencing new things, like her hair getting combed and styled. Mary was recovering and experiencing a new growth of hair being restored to its former glory. When I think of Easter, I think of newness, like Isabella’s new hair and renewal like Mary’s new hair. I think also of hope. The hope of things restored and of thing resurrected. I get my hearing back and so does my dad. But I hope when I see him again that he is still bald, because I am not sure if I will recognize my dad with head full of hair.

Good Friday Weather

4/6/12
6:20 am Penny -Well its snowing at my place. Glad Im letting UTA do the driving...Ithink! haha
7:04 am Susan - Hard to be it is Easter weekend.
7:04 am Penny - I know
7:16 am Penny - Sorens headed up 4th south. 2 trucks and paramedics
7:27 am Susan - There were slideoffs just before Foothill. Cop & ER mobile in Research Park. Heard a siren when I got off at the business loop. What a Good Friday.
9:13 am Susan to Darren, Crystal, Jared & Mark - So did you have fun driving in that **** this morning?
9:15 am Jared - I just hated cleaning my car off
9:18 am Susan to Jared - So it is better weather in Happy Valley (Utah Valley)?glad my nephews are okay.
9:19 am Jared - I don't know... i haven't seen salt lake
9:23 am Susan to Jared - Oh no! happy valley got dumped on too?
9:30 am Susan to Isaac - Is BYU under snow too?the school to the north got dumped on.
9:31 am Isaac - Yep, lots of snow
9:35 am Mark - Beautiful snow covering the ground! Beautiful day! how could i not enjoy it!
9:35 am Susan to Mark - Haha
12:08 pm Darren - I didn't actually ha
12:11 pm Susan to Darren - Ja! You probably laughed at all the poor suckers on the road. At least I hope you did. Lol

Conference Weekend Weather

Thanks to the The Weather Channel, KSL and others, I took the weather was going to be going from one extreme to the other. It did, but not quite as predicted. Saturday was nice; the sun was out. I walked to the library in short sleeves, jeans and socks with shoes. I wished I had worn sandles and capris; my jeans and socks were too warm. People were out biking and I even saw a guy jogging in his shorts and t-shirt. KSL did report that it got into the high 70's at the airport, so it is fair to say that Saturday weather came as predicted. I woke Sunday to the sound of cars traveling on wet pavement. It was probably raining, but soon after the morning session of conference began, I noticed it was snowing. Lightly because the only way I make sure it was snowing was if I looked at the trees outside our condo. Bewteen the sessions, I took another walk around Holladay. I wore my gloves and my hoodie. I could feel the cold go up my legs, the jeans I that wore both days, were not enough. It snowed the whole time, although it melted when it hit the ground. The pictures I took just showed wet sidewalks and grayish skys. I am sure the snow did not melt on impact in Park City, Utah. The Weather Channel app on my iPad was showing colder tempatures. While the weather people weren't exactly right about Salt Lake County, at least they were right on about Park City.

Hot Caramel!

At the University of Utah, I am a loan collector; I collect on student loans and emergency tuition loans. After helping one student with her emergency loan, she brought in some gourmet caramels from a local store. She told me that the salted caramels were the best. So I ate one and it was good. Then I decided to share the rest with the office, since I felt uneasy accepting this student's gift. There were a variety of flavors. My boss, Pat was on his lunch hour so I left a chili caramel on his desk. I thought Pat would look at the wrapper and then try to pawn it off some unsuspecting employee or Lisa, the director of the department. I soon left for lunch and when I came back I found he got quite the surprise when he popped his caramel in his mouth. Apparently he didn't look at the wrapper before he ate it. I am surprised that I wasn't put on academic probation. But then I think Pat is use to the office jokers. After all he joins in on the teasing too, especially if it involves Lisa.

Leave it to Mike Stewart

Thirty something years ago, my Dad suddenly passed away. John and I drove up from Utah. Mary and Doug flew in from Seattle with their six month old sold, Mike. Since Mike was a baby, he got to fly for free, but not five year old, Tracina. She stayed behind with family in Portland or friends in Olympia, Washington. Since Mary and her family flew in on the night of Dad’s viewing, I got to drive to Twin Falls, Idaho to pick them up, which was thirty miles from Burley. When we got to Payne Mortuary, Mary sat Mike down and immediately he starts moving and smiling at everyone. Our neighbor and former bishop, Lowell Maughan and his wife, Mary smiled back as did any other visitors who were still there. Laura said on the way from the viewing that no one had smiled before Baby Mike arrived. Using his own innocent charm, he changed the somber mood into a more cheerful countenance.
After the funeral in Paul, Idaho, we drove to Manassa Colorado for another funeral and to bury my Dad where he was born and raised. On the way, we stopped at one of my Tracy cousins to spend the night. The next morning at breakfast, someone gave Baby Mike a dill pickle. To everyone’s surprise, Mike sucked on that pickle like it was one of his bottles. Again, Mike was bringing cheer into a dreary event.
Later that night, we pulled in Uncle Kelland and Aunt Wilma’s house outside, LaJara, Colorado. While I was in bathroom getting dressed after my shower, I could hear the piano playing. Then it got louder. I walked out into the living room to see my nephew sitting on my Mom’s lap at the piano. Mike was banging away at keys like only a six month old could. And he was grinning from ear to ear and his audience was smiling. Little Mike knew when to entertain. I doubt that Mike knew that he was performing acts of service. Thirty two years later, I am glad that he flew free. Thank you, Mike Stewart, for bringing cheer to our family when we needed it the most.

Oh Peas No

Text Message – 2/11/12
Aunt Susan – Does your Mom eat peas?
Vanessa – Only if she has too lol
Aunt Susan – It’s my fault your Mom hates peas. Maybe Aunt Laura’s too.
Vanessa – Haha what
Aunt Susan – Yeah I fed her some gross canned peas from your grandma’s cupboard. Aunt Laura & didn’t want to eat them so we made your Mom eat them.
Vanessa – Haha ohhh ew
Aunt Susan – Don’t tell your Mom. She doesn’t need to visit that nightmare again.
Vanessa – Lolzzz

The Summer of 75
The summer I turned 17, my younger sister, Laura and I went to Portland, Oregon to spend a month helping our older sister, Mary, who had a nine month old daughter, Tracina. We stayed home during the day while Mary worked. During the day while we watched Tracina, we would watch TV or play in the backyard; sometimes we would push Tracina in her stroller and buy a few things at the neighborhood grocery store. Sometimes we would bring lunch home, but most of the time, we got our lunch from the cupboard. At first Laura and I ate almost anything from the cupboard, including the cheap canned peas. Once I cooked up the peas, but I decided I didn't want to eat any. Laura was sick of eating canned peas too, so I gave them to Tracina. She ate them all. Maybe because it wasn't baby food. When the month was over, Mary and her husband, Doug decided to move to the Magic Valley. Shortly after they moved they came over for dinner. My Mom served real peas, probably garden fresh peas or Western Family frozen green peas. We all ate the peas on our plate except for Tracina. She would not allow those nasty things near her lips. My mom thought it was the move, because my older brother would not touch peas after moving to Idaho. But I knew the truth, it was those nasty canned peas from a Portland, Oregon cupboard. My Mom still doesn't know the real reason why, but Mary does.

Presdient Hinckley, Part II

I wrote this a year ago; posted it and then deleted it from the blog. I felt it was too long, but I didn't want to abandoned the story. So this year, I edited the draft from last year and reposted it this year. The dates in the title are the days of the actual event, not when I originally wrote it.

The Viewing and Funeral (February 1 & 2, 2008)
Since I went to Sister Hinckley's viewing, I knew I had to go to President Hinckley’s viewing. Jay and I stood in line for President Benson and President Hunter, both Idaho native like us, so I invited Jay to come with me. Both President Benson and President Hunter's viewings were held in the Church Office Building by the Joseph Smith Building. But President Hinckley’s viewing had to be moved to the Conference Center because so many people wanted to pay their respects. That first Friday night in February, Jay and I drove to the Trax station. It was bit crowded on Trax, not everyone was going to the viewing. When one young woman, who was on her way to work, found out where we going, she commented that she had seen one of his interviews and thought President Hinckley was pretty cool guy. Apparently, President Hinckley had left a favorable impression of those who were not members of the church. I was touched by the young woman's remarks.
When we got off Trax, I thought we would be able to walk into Conference Center, but there was a long line in front, so we walked around to the west side of the Conference Center. It was probably six or six-thirty when we got in line halfway to or maybe almost to 200 North. We stood in the cold and the dark for quite a few hours. The line snaked in and out of the plaza on the southwest corner of the Conference Center. About ten o'clock we got inside. My ankles were cold and they hurt. My knees might have hurt too. But what surprised me the most was that after all that standing outside, my enlarged nerve in my left foot was not aching at all. Jay and I still stood as we rode an escalator or two for the next hour or so. We did get to sit in the giant room where General conference is held every six months. It was nice to have a break from standing. Once I sat on a couch while Jay saved my place in line. Finally about eleven, we saw President Hinckley lying in his casket. It was very quiet and peaceful as we passed thru the Hall of the Prophets where President Hinckley lay in state. We passed quickly by President Hinckley’s casket; there was such a feeling of reverence in the room. Now I understood why those coming down the escalators were sober-looking. He looked calm and at peace. I have to admit, I almost didn't recognize him without his glasses.
Then at 11:30, Jay and I were back in the bitter cold waiting for Trax. It probably wasn't a long wait (especially compared to wait before) before the Sandy train came and took us to the Trax station we needed. When we got home, we turned the furnace and before long we crawled into our separate beds. Jay probably had a bite to eat before retiring. The next morning we watched the funeral and the graveside services on TV. After spending an evening in the bitter cold weather, I don't think we wanted to spend a few morning hours freezing in line. And besides, we needed some rest after a long bitter cold night. I am thinking that most of local stations broadcasted it as I don't think we watched the funeral and graveside services on the same station.

President Hinckley, Part 1

I wrote this a year ago, posted and then deleted because it was just too long. But I did not abandoned it. This year I edited it and decided to divide in to two parts. Now you can take a break. Even though I broke it up; it is still too long. The dates in the headings represent the actual dates, not when I wrote originally wrote it.
The News (January 27, 2008)
Four years ago on the last Sunday of January, my sister, Laura from Washington State called and broke the news that President Hinckley had passed away. I am not sure how she found out, but soon the TV was on. Apparently, those in their teens and twenties were the first to know. The youth probably texted each other before KSL could find a reporter to send to Temple Square. I could be wrong, but KSL was showing some students from a local institute singing hymns at Temple Square or maybe the Institute at the University of Utah. The next morning, The Salt Lake Tribune had a half page sized picture of President Hinckley on the front page. The Tribune also gave President Hinckley his own section; a first for any prophet. A short article on Tuesday appeared in the paper about East High School students wearing the Sunday best on a Monday. Even the Utah Chronicle (aka the Chrony) had a front page article about President Hinckley. When I was a student there, President Kimball died and there wasn't anything about him, nada. But then, President Hinckley attended and probably graduated from the University of Utah, whereas President Kimball was an Arizona native and businessman before he moved to Salt Lake. But I think it was more than being a Utah alumnus that got President Hinckley a spot on the front page of the Chrony. President Hinckley reached out to the youth, probably like no other prophet of the church had in the 20th and 21st century. While I was in high school, I don't remember receiving a phone call to wear my Sunday best the day after President Lee died. Granted, President Lee was only the President for possibly three short years and President Hinckley was President of the church for more than ten years.
When I had heard that President Hinckley died, there was some shock and some disbelief. I thought he was going to live to be 100. After all, when he had his 95th birthday celebration, he told the crowd at the Conference Center that he would see them in five years. But then quickly, I realized he was with Marjorie, his wife of countless years. She had passed away shortly after Jay and I bought our condo. Even though I felt sad at his passing, I also felt joy. I imagine President Hinckley was smiling when he saw Sister Hinckley. I just hope he didn't knock the air out of her when he greeted her in heaven. He was probably quite thrilled to see the love of his life after a few long years. I remember when President Hinckley visited our ward almost four years ago, which was shortly after his wife died. When it came to bless for his grandson to bless his daughter, President Hinckley came down from the stand. I was surprised at how frail and how old he was. He seemed so lonely without Marjorie. I could tell he missed her greatly. President Hinckley was the first president of the church that I remembered who lost his wife while serving as a prophet. When I went to Sister Hinckley's viewing in the Relief Society building downtown, I walked around the Salt Lake Temple before boarding Trax. While I was walking by the temple, I knew President Hinckley and Sister Hinckley would be together again just like I know that I see my crazy, but lovable father again. Love is eternal and families can be forever. When I was in college, President, then Elder Hinckley came and spoke in stake conference. I had probably heard him in General Conference during a few radio broadcasts. But in the fall of 1978, it was the first time or second time; I had probably seen him speak in person. Because it was a smaller setting, I somehow felt more of his spirit or personality. I remember him speaking about a flight that he shared with a couple he knew. Just the way he spoke of the couple brought President Hinckley closer to my realm. This apostle was a real human being who experience life like me and the other college students.
When I attended the University of Utah, Chase Peterson was inaugurated as President. President Hinckley, then apart of the first presidency of the church, gave one of the prayers. Listening to his prayer, I felt his testimony. I swear his prayer went right thru the Special Events Center (now the Huntsman Center) roof and right to heaven. President Hinckley was speaking to God, his Father, and his Creator. It was an eloquent prayer.

Moments

"I never thought a production could change my life, but moments did! Moments was amazing!! Thank you to everyone in it!" I saw this post on my young friend's wall. It gave me an idea for a posting on my blog. The moments that change our life. Sometimes we don't know the moment is changing our life, either we are in shock or just oblivious to change that is occurring until we look back on the event and then realize it was a life changing moment. Apparently my friend was aware of life changing moment. Sometimes an event will happen that causes one to look at their lives or at things differently. Maybe my friend was inspired; I haven't talked to her. Usually when I call her I get her voice mail.
Some of the moments that change my life were 30 plus years in February. Life was good when I had just gotten back from Logan to see a college friend. There on my bed was an urgent note to call home. When I called I found out my dad had been hospitalized for heart trouble. It was the beginning of a painful two weeks. He died the next weekend and two weeks later my family returned from Colorado where we had laid Dad to rest. I knew on the 2nd return that my life would never be the same. I had experienced the reality that life was fraught with trials and challenges. I had challenges before, but none like this. Life was still good, but no longer a complete bliss.
Probably a less noticeable change of life occurred 10 or 15 years ago. President Walker of the Holladay North Stake asked us to read the Book of Mormon between (the weekend before) Thanksgiving and the end of the year. I thought there was no way I could do that. But I decided to accept the challenge; I mapped out a plan to read a few moments in the morning before work and then a few moments at night. I decided to read a book a week with the exception of Alma, which was two weeks. And to my surprise I finished the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I gained confidence and later when President Hinckley asked us to red the Book of Mormon from August to the end of the year, 6 or 5 years ago, I was up to the challenge. I knew I could do it.
On stove light is a quote magnet that reads "we do not remember days. . . we remember moments." I have a tendency to disagree with that quote, partly because I do remember my birthday in 2000. I was with my family and because of that it was one my best birthday. Nothing happened to change my life or how I thought of things. But I did gain a greater appreciation of my family.
But I have to admit after reading my friend's post on Facebook, I am more in agreement with the quote. We do remember life defining moments. We may not remember much of the day because the moment stands out. I don't remember much about that February Sunday, but I remember the moment I saw the note and when I called home. I remember being with my mom to select my dad's casket. I remember my dad's cousin talking about how we say that we have a tendency to put off things until it is too late. I remember Baby Mike pounding away on the keys of my Aunt Wilma's piano. He got us to smile in a somber time.. I don't remember the days of my first Book of Mormon challenge but I do remember the moment of doubt when President Walker challenged the stake and I remember the hope as I planned the outline of accomplishing the goal and the satisfaction when I read the last verse of Moroni. I remember the moments of bribing Jared with pizza from The Pie when President Hinckley challenged the whole world wide church to read the Book of Mormon. Reading was a challenge for Jared, but he read it while listening to Book of Mormon on CD. All for the love of the pie. It was a nice winter afternoon when we drove over to The Pie to bring home two giant pizzas for the family. Like my challenge there were moments of doubt and moments of hope. And definitely a moment of joy when Jared took his first bite of the pie on that early January day.
Yes, we do remember moments, especially those that change our lives or inspire us.