The End is Near

BigBuddy leaves this week for college.

Today I was released from my calling - didn't take many pictures is my only regret. I love those sisters dearly and love never ends, so I'll be okay. However, there are still issues that I am quite concerned about, and so I will serve them, just not with the same authority, but with the same heart.

Until, and if I move, but I'm not going there yet!

Almost time to see my Cowgirl and my mom and dad. Miss them so much!

Meanwhile, lot of changes have been going on, anticipating an end sometime ????

The stickers are off MyGirl's walls.



Tomorrow my living room sofa will soon be out of my dining room, where its currently tipped on its side. And, by the end of the day the dining room table should no longer be the depository for the kitchen counters and the rest of the house.


Only one room left to paint before the carpet gets laid.



Summer is officially over - school starts tomorrow, and my baby won't be going to elementary school anymore! And his brother won't even be living in this state. And his best friend won't stop by to chat with me too.



My living room is now the music room. The rug goes in front of the front door, but we moved it into the music room when we were carrying open buckets of paint up the stairs.

The stress has been over since three days after I wrote the last post, lest anyone worried about me. Making a good choice always beats getting worn out by not consciously making a choice. I just needed to remind myself of my options.

The best part of today was when BigBuddy came home tonight and started talking to me and didn't stop for over an hour. Then, he paused and said, I guess I really like to talk. . . this from the former 4-1/2 month old who had to be taken out of church not for crying but for babbling and talking pretty much every week until he was six years old. He's always had plenty to say and as he's become a teenager, listening to him has become one of the great joys of my life.
How grateful I am for his words, and how much I will miss them! He promises he'll call me at least once a week. I hope I can make it that long. I will miss nights like this, sharing his hopes and dreams, what he's learned and how he's figuring out growing up, girls and buddies, and faith and testimony! Wish I could just bottle it all up.

Stress is a Choice

Note to self -
You already know this.

Choose not to be stressed.
Choose to take time to be calm when you can see stress on the horizon.
Choose to go pick up the scriptures and say a prayer instead of let a thousand ideas/worries flood your mind and keep you from sleeping.
Choose to say to yourself - Oh Well, when its beyond your control, and then throw that thought over your shoulder.
Choose to not make any excuses for yourself about why you can't handle . . . and then just deal with a small piece at a time, trusting the Lord doesn't ask you to run faster than you have strength, and He means it.
Choose to do something good for someone else to keep a decent perspective - It's Not All About You And Your Life!
Choose to have a plan and follow it, and when circumstances {others} derail your plan, choose to not be unhappy inside and embrace the new opportunities, and know that tomorrow is a new day to start again.
Choose to remember that you pass on character traits to your children so if you don't want them to be stressed, you shouldn't be that way either.
Choose to practice good health habits which will keep your energy up and able to accomplish what is needed without needing a "sugar high" or a "chocolate fix."

Got it???
Now DO IT!

P.S.
Reread this regularly as needed!

Opposition

What a week!?!

Was sick, got better.
Missed church last Sunday, went to the church six times in the past four days.
Three social events in the evenings, stressful shopping trips in the mornings.
Hot flashes, looking for blankets to warm me up.
Been exasperating to some, been tested in patience with others.
Ached for another's pain, rejoiced in another's bliss.
Researched a new city, Mike turned down a job offer.
Said the right thing, said the wrong thing.
Slept the day away, crammed as much into a 24 hour time period as possible.
Bought a lot of things, returned a lot of things.
Cleaned the house immaculately, apologized for the sorry state of my house.
Made appointments, missed an appointment.
Felt incredibly sore, relaxed by the pool (one evening).
Listened a lot, chatted a lot.
Prayed earnestly, worried needlessly.
Served a "make this again" dinner it is SOOO GOOD, threw a recipe away.
Created meaningfully, discarded carelessly.
Was a patient, was a nurse.
Cried randomly, laughed effortlessly.
Tore off wallpaper, and wondered what I was thinking in the first place when I put it up!

It's just been one of those weeks. It took me all weekend to even put these few thoughts down.
Opposition in all things.

Some opposites I love - day and night, black and white, salt and pepper, male and female
Others I resist - life and death, ease and trials, sickness and health

Tonight I'm just grateful to be able to look back and say, I made it through it all. I often wonder, what will my children remember about This week or this day? Is it just part of the blending in of one's life? And if so, then how are we growing? Where is the progress? Did my actions or my words make a difference? If its just a regular week then it will have been filled with all kinds of highs and lows, and opposition, and my inevitable mess-ups, but they won't really remember much about them next month or next year or in a decade. And, how merciful is that!

On the other hand, don't I want them to remember and savor and treasure each and every day? Of course, and yet I can already look at this summer and summarize with only two weeks left, we had a little fun, Mike was bored until he was really busy, and throughout all this Amy got worse and passed. The boys did a lot together when Steven wasn't working, and Renee babysat and played games and I continued my Relief Society work and we all worked together to majorly declutter and fix up the house with more work to go. Nothing exciting or great, just our real life.

But what will make this year's summer stand out as one I will always remember with great joy is that each one of my children has grown closer to the Lord this summer. What more could I ask for? Nothing. And so, if this is the price - opposition and challenges and heartache and even some teenage attitude and neck pain, then let it be so. Far be it from me to alter the plan of God to bring us back to Him, opposition and all.