Hypothetically Speaking

A completely hypothetical situation:

Suppose you are happily married to a Mr. Save for a Rainy Day type.

Suppose Mr. S.F.A.R.D. came to you last year with a proposal to

have the house paid off in full in a short amount of time.

Suppose his plan made sense to you.

Therefore you agreed to give up trips to Maui, new appliances, and the dream of beautiful, white plantation shutters. Oh the shutters, the shutters.....

Anyway, continuing on with this most hypothetical situation, you go along with the savings plan.

It's not that much fun.

But being the friendly, agreeable type that you are, you smile and give Mr. S.F.A.R.D. a pat on the back when he proudly shows you the growing balance in your savings account.

Things are fine until one day when you happen to be reading the blog of a friend who is having a little remodeling done on her house. She casually mentions that she is having her shiny brass door knobs changed out for a more current, stylish look.

Your heart starts to covet.

You have disliked your own shiny brass door knobs for a very long time.

You start imagining your door knobs looking something like this:

You find yourself dreaming about the knobs. They become foremost in your mind.

You approach Mr. S.F.A.R.D.

You present your case.

After all, it is knobs you're talking about here.

NOT shutters, for Pete's sake.

He listens.

He pauses.

He listens.

He pauses.

Then he does exactly what all good husbands do, he agrees!

He gets the name of a contractor.

The contractor comes. He counts the doors. You pick out the door knobs of your dreams!

All is well until you get the quote....

$1,000.00 just for the knobs!

Not to mention the hinges, towel racks, shower frame and light fixtures that now must accompany the new knobs.

Mr. S.F.A.R.D. wants you to be happy so he encourages you to just pay the money and make the changes.

You can't get yourself to feel completely comfortable with that decision.

You think about it.

You think about it some more.

You dream about it.

You dream about it some more.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea comes to you!

You jump in the car and drive to Home Depot!

You rush to the paint aisle.

There in a $6.00 can lies the answer to your problem....

a special paint made for metal!

You hurry home to experiment.

The conclusion? It works! It works!

You remove all the door knobs to spray them with several heavy coats of the $6.00 miracle.

You love the new look.

You start to get excited and a little carried away.

You begin taking down towel racks, light fixtures, anything that was shiny brass in a

previous life.

While the knobs are off, you decide to give the doors a crisp, clean coat of bright white paint.

Mr. S.F.A.R.D. is so impressed with your efforts, he encourages you to buy a few things to go with the lovely new look.

You choose a fancy new handle set for the front door.

How about one for the back door too.

And two new rocking chairs for the porch.

Wait! The French door off the kitchen is looking a little beat up. Order a new door.

You can't very well paint a ceiling fan. You need a new one. Oh and while the husband is installing one, he might as well install another one in son's room.

The new bathroom / bedroom needs a few accessories. About $300.00 should do it.

And new bedding is a steal at $200.00 with a Khols coupon.

Oh, and this time of year is perfect to invest in some new patio furniture because it is on sale and would look striking with the new back door that was just installed.

As you sit down to tally up the expenses in this purely hypothetical situation, you gasp.

You breathe deeply.

You wonder how to explain yourself to Mr. S.F.A.R.D.

Lucky for you, you married the most genuinely nice person you know.

He thanks you for all you've done, he hugs you and tells you how great the house looks.

You collapse into bed after a long week of work.

You curl up next to Mr. S.F.A.R.D.

You happily fall asleep in his arms....

and thankfully, there is nothing hypothetical about that.

Finish

Finish -verb

To bring something to an end or completion.

EXAMPLE:

6.3 miles of:

Breathing hard, sweating harder.

Passing folks who are a bit slower.

Getting passed by the faster ones.

The cheers of parade goers.

Ipods, shorts, shoes tied tight.

The personal refusal to walk one single step.

The other personal refusal to let a smiley woman pushing two toddlers pass me.

Respect for every single runner in the race.

All for the glory,

the rush,

the reward.

The finish.

How-To's on a Boating Trip

How to make an eleven year old happy on a boating trip:

Give her some skies and a wild ride on a tube!

How to make a one year old happy on a boating trip:

Give her a tootsie roll pop and a comfortable spot to sit.

How to make a 39.9 year old happy on a boating trip:

Give him a wakeboard !

How to make another eleven year old very UNhappy on a boating trip:

Realize that the only life jacket that fits him is a purple Hannah Montana model.

How to turn UNhappy to happy:

Ask friends on other boat if they have another option.

Thanks to great friends for a fantastic weekend!

Inner Beauty

July 24 is a big holiday around these parts. It is a day that we celebrate the Mormon Pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley.

During the month of July there are all kinds of fun activities going on throughout the community. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take the kids to Family Fun Day at This is the Place State Park. We had a great time touring an old pioneer village and making crafts, not to mention that it was an all you can eat popsicle party.

They also had a Mini Days of '47 pageant that kids could try out for. The winners of the pageant would get to ride on an old fashioned fire truck in the children's parade the next week.

That caught the attention of a certain 11 year old. Rachel waited in line for a turn to interview with the adult royalty who also happened to be the judges.

When she came out she said, "I think it went pretty well."

Later that afternoon they had a program to announce the winners of the pageant. Lincoln put an arm around Rachel and said, "You're going to win, I know it!" He was more like a nervous father than a twin brother.

They announced the two attendants and then the queen.

Linc was right! Rachel won!

I was in the very back so I quickly scrambled up to the front to snap some pictures.

Rachel received a pink, sparkly cowboy hat with a tiara on it and a bunch of gifts

wrapped up in cellophane.

As Rachel exited the stage, she had a sad expression on her face. "What's wrong?" I asked.

She nodded toward a little girl. I looked over to see the girl sobbing in her mother's arms.

Instinctively, Rachel walked over and sat down next to them. She put an arm around the girl and gave her the prizes. Then she said something to the girl. They hugged and Rachel left.

"What did you say to her?", I asked.

"I told her that it didn't really matter who won, and that she is very beautiful and she should try again next time."

A few minutes later, the girl, her mother and little sister found us.

The girl had dried her tears and with a sweet smile, she said to Rach, "Thank you for making me feel special." Then she gave Rachel another hug. As they were walking away, the baby sister ran back and threw her arms around Rachel's legs.

That moment in time was one of the highlights of my life so far. As we walked to the car I told Rachel that I am very happy for her. Being the queen is a big deal and it will be a fun memory. But the kindness and sensitivity that she showed is what matters most to me. Tears rolled down my face and I did not apologize for them.

Last Saturday was the big parade. We had a cheering section for Rach and I know it will be a memory she will never forget.

When Rachel looks back on summer memories, she will remember the hat, the parade, the fun.

I will remember the tenderness of a moment when inner beauty was the real winner.

Backflip

Backflip noun

A generic term for an acrobatic sequence of

body movements in which a person starts from a standing position,

Leaps in the air,

Completes one backwards revolution while still in the air,

Lands on his or her feet.

CAUTION: Most persons 40 and over should not attempt without training from a professional.

Don't ask me how I know.

See Sam Chapter 4

See Sam. Sam is an artist.

Like most artists, Sam likes to be creative with color.

Sometimes Sam colors on paper.

Sam makes beautiful pictures.

Other times, Sam colors on things like Sister's bedspread.

"Hmmm", says Sister.

Sometimes Sam colors on clothes, like the time

she wanted orange polka dots on her shirt instead of white.

Sometimes Sam wishes she was old enough to wear make-up so she colors on her face.

"SAM!", says mom, "You must color on paper, not on things!"

"Yes!" "Yes!" agrees Sam. "Me's color on paper!"

"Good job!", says Mom.

The next day mom walks into her bedroom....

"Oh dear", says mom when she looks at the window

.

"SAM", Mom calls.

(Sam is in the kitchen having a snack.

Drawing on windows has made Sam hungry.)

"Sam, did you color on the window?", asks Mom.

Sam nods.

"Oh Sam", Mom sighs.

"You will need to clean up the window."

Sam cleans up the window.

Mom reminds Sam to color on paper next time.

"Yes!", agrees Sam. "Me's color on paper!"

"Good job Sam.", says Mom.

Happy Sam.

Happy Mom.

Thank You Marvene

A few days ago, Mark and I visited a friend who is dying of cancer.

It was a bitter sweet experience.

I am hesitant to admit that I had a bit of anxiety about our visit.

What do you say to someone who is approaching the end of her life on earth?

Our friend has struggled with cancer on and off for the past twenty or so years.
She has truly fought for her life with every single ounce of strength she possesses.

She has battled back against all odds before and her family was hopeful that she might be able to do it again. She endured a recent round of chemotherapy in a last effort of hope but her body was unable to take anymore treatments.

Time is short.

As I have thought about her life, I have wondered how one could experience so much adversity and yet be so determined to press forward.

Around the time of her first diagnosis of cancer, Marvene's son died in a plane crash. She told me of the unmatched heartache, anguish and deep sorrow that comes from losing a child.

"How do you keep breathing?", I asked her.

"If you get too focused on the negative, you miss a lot of the joy.", she answered.

That pretty much sums up the way she has chosen to live.

Losing a son and battling cancer would make most people want to throw up their arms in anger. Marvene, dropped to her knees in humility and prayer.

She is centered on the good, the lovely, the joyful.

She knows who she is and more importantly she knows who's she is.

She has a very personal, intimate relationship with the Savior.

She has turned to Him and in that process, she has come to really know Him.

I know a lot of good, Christ-like people but none more than Marvene.

She is very near perfection in my eyes.

She is compassion, strength, tenderness and pure love.

So what do you say to a friend who is dying?

The answer for me was simply two words:

Thank You.

Thank you for your example in living.

Thank you for the lessons I have learned by watching you.

Thank you for your charitable heart and rock solid testimony.

Thank you for your friendship.

Thank you for being you, Marvene.

May God bless and keep you.