Love

I walked by the bathroom and quickly ran to my room to grab my phone in order to take a picture of what I had seen. My dad was blow drying my mom's hair. I didn't take the picture because this was shocking or out of the ordinary for my parents but rather I wanted to capture and freeze the moment within a picture to be reviewed again and again. My mom recently had shoulder surgery and blow drying her hair is difficult and she continues to learn when to let go and ask for help and my dad continues to see a need and seeks to help.

As I drove to my home after witnessing this moment of love, my heart swelled and I bookmarked this moment in my head and my heart hopefully never to be forgotten. I believe love is not only demonstrated by the words we speak but also by our acts and our acceptance of such service.

This I Believe...

She walked towards the car with her head down. "Shae, he doesn't like me. He won't walk to the car with me after school." I swept her up into my arms and let her talk about her day. Her brother soon ran to the car and we traveled to grandma's house.

Fast forward a couple of months and this same little girl was leaving school when a classmate grabbed her backpack and coat and started to play keep away. She stood there, looking around and wondered what to do as her coat was eventually ripped in the struggle. Just when she had given up hope, a voice yelled at the classmate and soon the backpack and coat was returned to the little girl. The boy then went to the classmates older sibling and let them know what happened. The kids ran to grandma's van and then the boy said he had something to take care of and he ran back to the classmate and told her "What you did was not okay. If it happens again, I will go to your house and tell your mom how you've been treating my sister." The brother returned to the van and told his sister and grandma that he had taken care of the situation which left the sister smiling in gratitude.

Love. It may not often be expressed or felt by those closest to us and yet it's there and will come through when needed most. This I believe...

The Polar Bear and the Nativity

We have a tradition in my family. Wait. My siblings and I have a tradition in which we place random objects in my mom's nativity each Christmas and brace ourselves for the discovery of placed items. Well, I thought about items I could place in the nativity but then forgot about it until it was too late.

My sister Pip called today and asked if I was the one who placed the polar bear next to the animals in the nativity and I started to laugh and wished I had been that clever. We went through each sibling(didn't take long since there are only 3 of us) and decided it must have been our dad or one of Pip's kids. Meanwhile, my mom is blaming me and my sister and the following picture was sent via text because "the polar bear will haunt you until you come clean about what you did."

My sister called me a few minutes ago and the case of the polar bear has been solved. She picked up her kids from school and asked her oldest if he had placed something in the nativity and apparently grandma had already asked him because he said "Why does everyone think I am the one who did it?" And then laughter came from the backseat and my seven year old nieces cover was blown. That sneaky little girl. In her defense, she claims grandma gave her permission to place the polar bear in the nativity. Grandma says she was given permission to play with the bear and it was found in the Christmas tree (along with an eagle) before finding his home next to the cattle in the nativity. I'm already preparing for next Christmas.

Lesson on Giving Thanks

My sister in law is one talented and thoughtful person and I am blessed to call her family and friend. I received a thank you note and a couple of pictures from the girls and it made my day.

Day and after day I check the mail and I am greeted by bills, magazines, AARP applications(WHAT?!), and coupons and then once in awhile I find correspondence from those I love. I think I'll start writing more letters.

Hope

We began the drive downtown laughing and discussing the Christmas season and then reality hit. We were stuck in traffic and worried about finding a parking spot and arriving at the concert on time. We watched a cop chase a car that almost hit him and another cop took the license plate number of a bus driver who didn't wait for pedestrians. My friend and I found ourselves confused, on edge, and anxious to get to our destination and then I heard a little girl yell Merry Christmas and saw a little boy dancing on the sidewalk and  suddenly the wait didn't seem to matter. A parking spot a block from the conference center became free as soon as we were passing and thus continued the night of Christmas miracles.

The Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert featuring Alfie Boe and Tom Brokaw was absolutely amazing and I will not admit how many times tears came as we listened to the beautiful music and heard the spoken word. Alfie sang Bring Him Home(The Prayer) from Les Mis and wow is all I can say. I may have a little crush on Tom Brokaw's brain and brilliance and loved hearing him speak. He told a story of Gail Halvorsen, a pilot during WWII, who met young children and shared a couple of sticks of gum and then dropped his and others candy rations attached to handkerchief parachutes for the children in Berlin. Soon candy came from all over the world. Candy for the enemy. Hope for the enemy. Halversen was at the concert and spoke to Tom about his experience and I am fairly certain that many tears fell as he related his experience. It made me think of the shooting at an elementary school this past week and the thought that in the midst of the dark and often terrible  circumstances, we can seek and find hope.

On my way home, another Christmas miracle brought me hope and peace. I passed the cemetery near my home and saw luminaries faintly glowing and quickly turned off my radio, dimmed my lights and enjoyed the stillness of the night.

My Life in Pictures

It's been awhile. At least two months and I would say that I vow to do better with writing and documenting my life on this blog, but I must be honest and will instead say that I will think about the blog more and write as often as I can. Whoo. That feels better.

In order to catch up, I'll simply include pictures of some of the events during the past few months...

August- Co-chair weekend in Monterey...

Mumford and Sons

August- Annual BYU football game with Steve and Jamie Lyn.

 Eastern Idaho State Fair Labor Day tradition with the family and Meags. The Indian Relays is my favorite event.

  September- 1st Annual Dinner in White SLC.

October- Disneyland and Club 33 as a reward for running a half marathon the week before.

Pumpkin carving party with Nicole and Jamie Lyn. I carved the mummy-I impressed myself with my skills. 

October- Weekend in Chi-town for food, fun, and friends!

Skydeck Chicago 

I loved seeing this face(Tay) in Chicago...

 

Spending time with friends over Thanksgiving-Meagers and Pelos.

Andy Warhol exhibit at BYU with Hawk.

I Run...for Me

I started running in college. It was a great stress reliever and all I had to do(easier was put on my running shoes, leave my apartment, and start moving. It wasn't easy and yes, there were runs that were better than others but I kept going and it helped to have a couple of friends to run with.

Fast forward to 2012 and I found myself wanting to return to running and the next thing I knew, I had signed up for a half marathon. Yes, I paid money to run 13.1 miles. I found a training schedule and the running regimen began. The first couple of days I didn't run far or fast but I focused on the fact that I was running. During the weeks of training, I gradually found myself looking forward to the runs. It became a time to let go of worries, struggles, and concerns and focus on me. I learned to listen to my body and felt my body respond to the mental pep talks and my legs carried me mile after mile. I often ran in the early morning and watched the sun rise over the mountains and felt gratitude for life and my physical body. For the ability to move. To run. To feel pain and soreness. To make progress.

The day of the race came and I was surprisingly calm. I knew I had prepared and told myself it was just like any other long run(except for the fact that I now had hundreds of people running with me and there was a 6 hour time limit.) The race started and the first 7 miles went quickly and then the doubts came.

 "I could hide in a bush and call my parents to meet me somewhere."

                       "Ugh. My legs hurt and I can't keep going."

"I 'm sure I can walk the rest and still finish in under 6 hours..."

Each time a negative thought came, I forced it out and focused on something positive. Several friends sent me text messages and one sent a motivational video which definitely helped me as I ran miles 7-9. I focused on each step and did my best to enjoy the beautiful canyon and changing leaves as I pushed myself closer to the finish line. I thought of ancestors who once lived in that area and felt my pace quicken and my legs move with more determination. As I approached mile 12, I saw a couple of home owners turn on sprinkles and I smiled and thanked them for the kind gesture as I ran through the water and laughed while others also found a brief respite from the run.

Soon I heard people yelling and I saw the finish line and I looked around to find my parents and then I heard it- my dad's whistle. And the sound of the whistle and hearing my name as I crossed the finish line made it all worth it. Even more than that, I had set and accomplished a goal. A hard and difficult goal.

I ran for me...and won.