This blurry photo is about like my experience watching senior awards night through teary eyes. The choir sang And So It Goes by Billy Joel, and when seniors sing at graduation time, every word seems more poignant.
During his senior year, Tim served on the seminary council and was the Instrumental Music Sterling Scholar. He worked hard in his landscaping business and restored old Fiats.
He made this beautiful furniture. 😍
He is always bringing home surprises.
We are proud of him!
If I could choose a symbol for Tim right now, it would be his stack of work shirts on laundry day. It’s a point of contentment for me to know he works hard.
Another symbol might also be his 1980 Fiat Spider. Right now the car is an empty shell as Tim installs new carpet and paints the interior. It’s a daunting project, but he is chill about it. He knows how to work and have fun.
Tim has a regional woods competition this week. I can’t wait to show you his finished cabinet and bed. They are beautifully made.
It’s been a long time since the high school has held a dance. To attend, each person had to take a Covid test the day before Prom, and Tim and several of his friends since elementary school went together. They have changed a lot, but I still see their little faces in my mind. I love looking at these pictures and observing each personality.
I don’t write much here about Richard, probably because I want to keep him to myself.
Here is something I wrote in 2012 about our wedding day. It’s worth clicking on this link to see the photo I included with the post, especially if you are family.
Effort in life is not always recognized. Sometimes it’s because the work is behind the scenes, or people are too busy to take the time to say something. Sometimes it’s because people see the work as effortless or habitual and they take it for granted. A very few see effort and turn to jealousy. Most people, though, are simply not aware.
Dr. Barbara Morgan Gardner, a religious educator said,
Worthwhile effort is often only perceptible to those who have put forth similar effort. This is true for any topic, whether it be calculus, home economics, or whatever the work is. People who put forth significant effort recognize somebody else who has put forth that effort.
Barbara Morgan Gardner, from an address given at the 2020 BYU LDS Educators Society Conference, featured in the McKay Today School of Education magazine, Spring 2021.
When we are young and developing talents, there are many ways to find recognition for our work. Mentors are everywhere. Eventually, there comes a time when that begins to turn. We become the mentors. This, too, takes effort, but there is little recognition here.
This quote led me to think about the Savior’s efforts. I exist in his efforts, as if in water, yet I don’t know the depth of that water. I hope I am growing in my recognition of what he has done for me.
One by one, our family gets closer to being fully vaccinated for Covid-19. I have had the worst time this weekend after my second dose, but I am still grateful for vaccines. They are miracles.
For the first five or six years we lived here, I would pull out the tulip leaves before they would bloom beneath the trees because I was uncomfortable seeing leaves coming up through the periwinkle. We hadn’t planted the bulbs and it just looked messy to me. I didn’t see the potential. One year, I decided to let them come up and bloom and they have astonished me by their beauty ever since.
There are parallels in life. I find that the less I do to pave every path for my teens, the more they find their independence and flourish. It’s not that I give up entirely, but I trust the simple religious practices, family rules, and their foundation in the gospel to be an anchor and a guide. In tulips, the bulb and roots weather the winters, not the leaves and blooms. Latent abilities and futures are waiting to spring forth when conditions are right for tulips and for teens. It’s good to step out of the way and not get frustrated by the random leaves when they start coming up where I did not plant. Teen years, like these flower beds, are a bit messy and haphazard. As Tim approaches graduation, I am in awe at all that he has accomplished. In many ways, he has succeeded because I stopped trying to prune back his many random interests and pastimes.
This book has thoughtful, Christ-centered writing and beautiful watercolor illustrations. It doesn’t have the usual jargon that Christian books use, and the author is sincere in telling her personal journey. Bible verses are hand-written and come from a variety of translations, which I found helpful. Peace settled within me as I read this book. It’s beautiful enough to keep on your coffee table and full of wisdom. I loved it.
The stake presidency and I made a video for children to watch during ward conferences this year. I wrote here a few months ago when we recorded it that I forgot to put on my shoes. 🤦 Leadership via Zoom and YouTube requires a lot of ego strength because it’s rare to get any feedback. On this last day of ward conference season, I am grateful to have witnessed the efforts from church leaders to help every person feel loved.
One Sunday a few months ago, I knocked on a door of a Primary leader on the day of her ward conference. Inside the house, children scurried to the door and I could hear their voices. “Mom! It’s the Primary president!” I was in a mask. This was not a family I knew. But the little girl had watched the video and could recognize me. One promise given to me when I was set apart in this calling was that children would feel the Savior’s love through my ministering. As ward conferences come to an end, and I have not been able to minister face to face with the children this year, I hope there are many who recognized the Savior’s love in our little video for them. I will probably never know, but that’s the way it is with most service. You stretch, try, and trust, then repeat. And sometimes you rush to the goal and forget to put on your shoes.
One of the nicest things someone has done for me lately is to ask to read a short book of family history that I wrote. She not only read it, but took the time to compliment me when she returned it. She asked questions about people and noticed that I had written it when I was raising small children. She said she liked my ancestors. It really made a difference to hear every word from this valued friend.
The time my friend invested to read and tell me good job was like someone shining a light on a dark stage, recently darkened by the passing of my grandmother and our kids growing up. Thank you, J for shining a light.