Angela – Page 189 – Letters from Home

Time

Let’s just take a moment and look at Paige’s art. (Pause)

She loved her drawing class this semester, and next semester she’ll be taking a painting class. Art class is the highlight of her day, I think.

Mark and I are alone in the house today. Richard and the boys are skiing and Paige is with Celina in Sahuarita. I stayed in bed until 10:00. Mark came in and we snuggled and talked and read books all morning.

I finished the Little House books on Saturday. I’m glad that I’m no longer missing that essential literature in my makeup. I enjoyed and appreciated them more than I could as a child. Timothy just shook his head when he saw me reading them. He said, “Those books are pointless.” I thought the same thing at age 10.

Today Mark and I are trying to decide what to do together. Have we ever had a whole day alone? I don’t think so! We’re going to get bread sticks for lunch. Mark wants to watch some Scooby Doo. It sounds like a great day.

A Plane Ride for Paige

Oh, boy. It’s been a busy week. You name it, we’ve done it. I even babysat for my neighbors who have 3 month old quadruplets.

Paige begins a huge adventure this afternoon, but she has a fever. She could use your prayers. Thank you.

Happy Friday!

Post update: Paige felt much better after a lot of rest and your thoughtful prayers. She flew to Tucson for the weekend as a birthday surprise for her best friend.

Wintering

People like to ask us if we wish we were back in Arizona. Nope. It’s cold, but that’s part of the Utah package. And we really sacrificed to get here.

The boys are fascinated by our icicles. I do not like the spelling of the word icicles.

The little boys and I like to measure our amaryllis plant growing in the light of the window. We do it several times a day.

Today I’ll finish reading The Long Winter in my Little House marathon. It helps me to feel warm and blessed since it’s not 40 below and I have a furnace and flour.

Today I bought some pretty cards so I can spread some love via mail. Some people I know really need some love.

I also bought a $1 daily planner so I can keep a copy of my to do lists. I was really inspired by a blog post I read by a woman who found her mother’s 1968 planner. She listed everything her mother had written in that planner for a year. What a marvelous picture of a woman’s life, full of 1960’s flavor. I thought it would be interesting to save my lists for 2013 instead of throwing them away. I am a list maker on most days. Maybe in 50 years somebody will be amused to read that I wrote something called blog posts, went to a store called Costco (often!), and at age 38, still hadn’t figured out how to do laundry in an organized way.

Today I didn’t make a list. I’ve been a little aimless in my pursuits, but sometimes that’s good, too. Sometimes I make a list of things I have DONE rather than a list of things I need to DO. This way, I can check off everything on my “list.”

It’s not too hard to be happy in the winter. I surround myself with office supplies and books. Good times!

Thank you, Caroline Ingalls and Marilla Cuthbert

Practicing different songs at the same time!

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but I have never read the Little House books. I have read a few of them, but I missed the overall experience along the way. I’m trying to read them straight through.

These books inspire me to cook things with gravy and cornmeal. They also remind me to be a better housekeeper. Caroline Ingalls and Mrs. Wilder belong in the same category as Marilla Cuthbert for excellent housekeeping. This is what I needed for January reading, since the house has collected a little clutter over the past month. I’ve completed all kinds of extra little jobs, inspired by these stories.

The kids are also getting whipped into shape after Christmas time sloth. They’re coming home to job lists because the best kind of people know how to work. I never give my kids chores. I give them jobs. The choice of names conveys an important message.

They all approach their jobs differently, but an incentive is important for my boys. Our incentives always involve screen time: computer, t.v., or Wii. They must really want to watch something today, because I just found Daniel and Timothy practicing different songs on two different instruments in the same room. I’ll let them get away with it today because they are sharing so nicely.

Saguaro painting

This was my Christmas present from Paige. I like it.

oil on canvas

I’ve missed this

Have you missed Paige’s art on our blog? I have.

Luckily, she has an art portfolio coming home from school in a couple of weeks.

Here’s a little illustration she made for a Christmas card for Timothy. I think she could illustrate a children’s book. I think she could create cute greeting cards.

And then there is this portrait that she showed me today. I think she made this a long time ago. It’s her best friend from Arizona.

At Christmas this year, my mom gave us a copy of my grandmother’s drawings when she was a little girl through her teen years. What a treasure. Paige is working on making a similar book with her own artwork. I can’t wait to see it.

Book Review: Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts

I loved the concept of this book. It’s a collection of stories about the women of the Revolutionary War era. I liked reading about women from the southern colonies, not just Abigail Adams. However, the slim amount of material written by women in this era, along with some annoying habits of the author left me a little disappointed.

It’s not the author’s fault that there isn’t much primary source material from the period. Many women didn’t have the luxury of education or time to write. Also, many women burned their letters. It was the ladylike thing to do. I blame Martha Washington for the world’s lack of understanding of George Washington because she burned much of his correspondence.

Since there is no way to really know what the women thought or felt, Roberts compensates by inserting her own feelings into the situation. Roberts repeats the phrase, “she must have…” again and again, inserting a modern feminist tension where there may not have been any.

Cokie’s shortsighted feminism is a major weakness in the book. Childbearing is depicted primarily as a burden. She celebrates these women for all that they did without their husbands, but she can’t seem to cheer for their husbands at the same time.

She finds every opportunity to list faults in Washington, Adams, and Franklin. She had a hangup about George Washington writing about beautiful ladies. She especially seems to dislike Franklin because he left his wife to run the business while he had fun in Europe. It seems pretty clear that Franklin’s wife wished to be home. History is rarely as simple as, “He was a jerk. She was a martyr. We should rewrite the history books.” Roberts doesn’t make a serious effort to explore other motives or possibilities.

Not far into the book I realized that author doesn’t trust the few primary sources that she quotes to speak for themselves. This author’s thoughts are really intrusive. Abigail, in 18th century prose, is suddenly interrupted by Cokie’s, “No kidding!” (How annoying.)

John Adams by David McCullough gives a more complete picture of several women of the day because he allows historical characters to speak for themselves. His research is amazing. I recommend that you read this instead of Founding Mothers.

Book Review: Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt

This is a “classic in Mormon literature,” and I decided that it was time to read the whole thing. Anyone who has attended institute or seminary has heard parts of Parley’s autobiography, especially his description of Joseph Smith.

It’s a good read, especially if you know Joseph Smith’s history because Parley weaves in and out of Joseph’s sphere and gives a remarkable view of what was going on in the Church elsewhere. For instance, I didn’t know (or had forgotten) that while Joseph, Hyrum, and others were in Liberty Jail, Parley P. Pratt, W.W. Phelps, and King Follett were imprisoned in a different town.

It was touching to read a vision he had of his deceased wife, sent to comfort him in prison. I turned down the page to remember that part. Parley’s account of his escape was a lot of fun to read. I think he enjoyed writing it.

He gives a broader view of where Church members lived. Not everyone followed the saints to Ohio, Nauvoo, and Salt Lake City. Members lived throughout the eastern states and missionaries were continually sent back to strengthen these branches.

Parley’s autobiography is a big travel log. From England to San Francisco, Canada to Chile, he really got around, without purse or scrip. He was often sick, nearly froze to death, nearly died of thirst, and endured many ocean voyages and treks across the west. One of his principal duties, wherever he lived, was to write for the Church.

I liked that he included some of his sermons from his mission to Canada, which resulted in the baptism of Lorenzo Snow & Joseph Fielding. These were my favorite doctrinal chapters.

His autobiography is nearly silent about his 12 wives. Now and then he mentions a different one by name. Nowhere does he share the names of all of them. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Perhaps, given the opposition to polygamy, he doesn’t mention their names in order to protect them. He died at the hands of the estranged husband of his twelfth wife.

His posterity is enormous, and you may be interested to know that Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are both descendants (great-great and great-great-great grandsons) of Parley P. Pratt.

Year in Review

I love commencements, commemorations, lists, and encapsulating things. I’m an organizer, and the close of the year makes me itchy to craft a denouement for the year’s events.

Richard thinks that 2012 was our biggest year. I feel tired just thinking about all that we have done. Maybe I’m too tired to write the perfect summation, but I will try to give words to some of my thoughts about our year.

2012 was the end of an era for us. We had spent 15 years living outside of Utah and now we had an opportunity to come home. Our hearts weren’t always drawn to Utah. We loved the adventures that we found on our own and the people in Texas and Arizona. But our perceptions and needs changed in the past few years, making the answer to an offer to move to Salt Lake an obvious “Yes!”

With our move, we found that we could now drop in on Grandma when we felt like it and be at family events, big and small. No longer would temples be hours away; we could now drive 10 or 15 minutes and find ourselves in a temple of our choice. Our Utah neighbors are also fellow ward members, and this added dimension of relationship makes me realize how much I missed being understood and known by my neighbors in other states.

2012 brought us back to community. When we made the decision to put the kids in public school, it broke my heart, but we were strongly and explicitly led by the Spirit in our decision. I gave up cherished career. All I ever wanted to do was teach and be with my kids, and for 11 years I felt blessed that I could do it. The compensation for my personal sense of loss is this concept of community. I find a lot of fulfillment helping with reading and homework in the school. I love the halls of our elementary school. I love the teachers. I love the kids. On my birthday, which also happened to be election day, I sat in the hallway of the school, listening to children read to me. A steady flow of people came through the doors, heading to the polls. I had only been in town for 2 months, but I knew so many of those people because I had met them at school and church. These people knew me as a neighbor and a ward member, and many had helped counsel me as we made the decision to change to public school. Their warm hellos that day were a perfect gift.

My heart, while yearning for my children, has been filled with a love for those who teach them. I have learned that being a community member isn’t just about giving, it’s about receiving, too. The generosity and power of this community centers in the church and schools. I had watched our Arizona community splinter over education, an effect of which was manifested in my group of young women who didn’t know one another because almost every girl attended a different form of school. Although I knew and respected the circumstances for all of these different school choices, I was sorry that the girls were missing an element of community in their lives. I also watched the already sparse home schooling community splinter over a religious divide. I didn’t realize how divided our previous community was until I jumped into our new one.

You readers know how much we tried to be valuable community members during our years our home schooling, and you will also know how much we loved our previous neighbors. Our new community and decisions about schools are based on current and personal needs. It does not erase the love we had for people wherever we lived or diminish the experiences we enjoyed in home school. We have learned to respect personal decisions about education.

2012 brought a change in Richard’s career path, a culmination of many years of effort in his field. Nobody outside work really knows what Richard does, but it involves signal processing and communications, and he is good at it. He’s doing things in his new job that he has wanted to do for years. Hooray for our quiet hero, our breadwinner and anchor in our home.

2012 brought extreme physical, emotional, and spiritual demands. I am still dealing with a bit of anxiety which began after I got heat stroke during youth conference. Richard and I found that living in different states for so many weeks during the move drew us closer emotionally. The kids had to stretch in enormous ways as they became acclimated to public school and found new friends. We have had more reasons to ask for priesthood blessings this year than ever, and these blessings have been a real source of strength and help.

2012 had few constants. Our definition and location of our beloved home changed. Our callings changed. In January, I was Young Women president. Richard was on the high council. Now I am a Mia Maid advisor. Richard has a calling to help facilitate the new youth curriculum, i.e. help the new teachers incorporate the videos and teaching methods. We have a new climate. Our wardrobes and bedding have taken completely new forms. We are not together as often. We have new music and dance teachers and a new instrument in our home. We have unannounced visitors all of the time. Even our day for Family Home Evening has had to change. Perhaps the only constants are the people we kiss good night and our faith, but how comforting that through all this change, we have had each other.

We have needed people this year, and family and friends have carried us. Generosity in so many forms has graced our lives. Being a recipient of service helped me to find an appropriate place to put some old anger. We are surrounded by extended family who enrich our lives.

When I told Richard that I would marry him, I remember saying that we’d have a wonderful life together. Who knew what things we would experience over the years, especially during the big year of 2012, but it has been wonderful. I find that although I resist change, learning to embrace each season is a beautiful way to live.

Thank you for reading, blog friends and family. Happy New Year!

Waiting for a Robert Lewis Stevenson

We’re sick here. Very ill. Viral.

Childhood illness is just not fair, especially at Christmas. The new sleds have only had a token number of runs.

I find it remarkable that a childhood full of illness was what sparked so much creativity in Robert Lewis Stevenson. His nurse evidently didn’t let him watch endless episodes of America’s Funniest Home Videos on Netflix like I’ve allowed my boys to view this week.

It’s funny to hear them laugh at something with croaking laughs. It’s not funny to hear them coughing violently all day.

Viruses are bad, very bad. If you’re healthy and you haven’t had your flu shot, you should do it today.