Daily Gratitude Journal

All good things must come to an end - and with the 30th of the month, my Daily Gratitude Journal will come to an end also. Not that I don't have things to be grateful anymore now that November is ending, but I would like to move on to the concept of Advent and counting down until Christmas.

So on this final day of my journal, I will note that I am grateful for our visit to the East coast to visit our kids and grandkids there. I am grateful that they want us to come - and grateful that we want to be there too. I hear too often from people who really don't like to be with their families - especially people who don't like to be with their mothers - and my heart aches a little for those people - all of them!

I believe that there truly is "beauty all around" when loving families are together - in fact or in spirit!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I am certainly grateful today for the very lovely visit we have had with Eliza, Matt, Theo, Ida, Hannah, and Robbie!!

And sorry to see it end!!

But grateful for beautiful memories - and that we will be together again very soon for the holiday festivities!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I thought I'd posted up until the 30th!! Alas my memory is going.

But it seems pretty obvious that I would be grateful for spending today with the Selanders and the Hamills - and for having spent the day with all of them yesterday.

I'm also grateful for digital cameras that are storing up my visual memories that I can always peruse!!

Not so grateful for the freezing cold weather and the north wind that has been blowing - but grateful indeed for warm clothes and central heat!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I am grateful for family reunions!!

Mark your calendar now for 2011!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I am grateful for opportunities to serve in the church.

And good people to serve with!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I am grateful for college roommates - who are still a part of my life.

Can it have been so long ago??

Daily Gratitude Journal

I am grateful for Harry's family.
And that it is a forever family too!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I am grateful that Harry was born of goodly parents too.

A blessing that goes on and on!

Daily Gratitude Journal

Today is the 47th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Regardless of your political viewpoint, his murder was a crime, a dark page in the annals of American history.

I was a freshman in college, and we were stunned and horrified at the news. It was like an end of something innocent, and an introduction into the sometimes bleak world of adulthood.

But I am grateful that our nation has a system in place so that the violent death of a leader does not spell anarchy and doom. Grateful that we can count on order amid potential chaos.

God bless America!

Daily Gratitude Journal

We are off to Virginia to be with some of our favorite people - and leaving others of our favorite people behind.

I am grateful for Ara and Ella - the oldest grandkids. I just spent a long weekend with them - and loved every minute of it. Such bright, hard-working, generous girls.

I am truly blessed!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I was born of goodly parents.

And I am grateful for that blessing in my life.

Daily Gratitude Journal

The days of November are flying by - and we are getting ready to go east. For that reason, I'm going to start "combining my blessings!"

This is a fave photo of mine - of "the little kids" as I used to call them!! I was a teen when Leslie, Donna, and David were born. I recall coming home for Christmas break my freshman year - David was 2 I think - and as I walked up to the side door, he came running out to hug me!!

And of course, those years when I was a playground aide in the summertime, Leslie and Donna would go to work with me at the playground. Those were good times.

And now we are all adults and all equals. I'm grateful for relationships that grow and get better with the passing years!

Daily Gratitude Journal

My brother Bobby is the one in the middle. One of the things I love about Bobby is that he's still Bobby - and not Bob!!

Bobby is loving and kind. He and June care for their grandkids often. And when you watch them, you can see that they care and are invested in the lives of these lucky children.

I'm grateful for grandparents who care - and for kind, loving little brothers!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

My brother Bill - don't call him Billy anymore!!

I really didn't grow up with Bill - I'm 10+ years older. But I have fond memories of "Billy Boy!!"

Bill is infinitely kind and considerate of our mother. He goes to a lot of effort to do for her. And he'll do for anyone who needs it actually. He does have "issues" - but don't we all.

I grateful for a brother who "fills the Bill!"

Daily Gratitude Journal

Richard came to Utah after his mission and worked for Harry. And I fixed him up with his wife!! (The one and only time I succeeded in that venture!) And my kids had a lot of fun with their Uncle Richard.

We've been away from Utah for 30+ years, and we don't see Richard all that much anymore. But when we do, it's always enjoyable. I called him last spring about my mom's birthday party, and our conversation sort of "picked up where we left off" if you follow my drift.

I'm grateful for that kind of sibling relationship!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

Here's my sister Mary with her daugther Tami. There are also not any baby or small child pictures of Mary - although I distinctly remember when she was born! Alice and I went to Grandpa Clayton's house - he was married to Helen Pratt then - and there had been a burglar - and we saw the footprints in the mud. I remember wondering if we were a movie or something!!

Mary was always quiet and pleasant to be around. When she went to Ricks College, she often came down to visit me. After Bonny was born, she seemed to come even more often, and loved to tend Bonny. In fact, she was Bonny's first babysitter!! I was nervous about leaving her - she was about 10 days old - and we went to the ballet. Harry wouldn't let me call at the intermission to see how she was doing. He said it would spoil the evening if she was fussing and then I wouldn't enjoy the rest of the performance!

When we got back home, Mary rather disappointingly told us that Bonny had slept the whole time!! Mary had been looking forward to holding her!

Mary is always interested in everyone's lives - and seems to have a great memory for events and other important data. She quietly goes around helping out - often after an event, when I am going through the photos, I notice that there are none of Mary - probably because she is busy in the kitchen - fixing or cleaning up!!

Mary is a wonderful sister to me - and I am grateful for that!

Daily Gratitude Journal

There are few, if any, photos of Mary and Charley as infants and very small children. This may be one of the earliest. It had nothing to do with how much they were loved - but had everything to do with economic conditions and taking care of first things first! (We almost look like "po' white trash" here - but we weren't!!)

Charley has always been a great brother. He was always cheerful with me anyway!! I do recall an incident when he hit me over the head with a rake, however. It drew blood - and so I got may hair washed and curled midweek - an almost unheard of treat. I soon got over my chagrin as I proudly sashayed to school with my bouncing blonde curls!!

Charley and his lovely wife Jeanette are really good about coming down and visiting with Mom and helping out around the place. They help spruce up her yard with flowers - something that truly brings her joy.

This last time around, they persuaded Mom to return to Utah with them for a visit. Mom stayed 16 days - and had the time of her life - I think she added years to her life frankly, she was that excited and delighted with the trip.

I'm grateful to Charley for his thoughtful care of our mother!

Daily Gratitude Journal

This is my brother Lyn. It was taken a few years ago!! (lol) Lyn and I are two years apart, and we were pretty close. We sometimes double-dated, we rode to seminary together for a few years, he is the one who sent me a BYU application and encouraged me to go there, and while at BYU, he "watched out" for me - sometimes to my distress, I might add!

When Harry and I were ushers at the Tabernacle - for the Utah Symphony - he and Roseann often joined us - since we earned a pair of extra tickets for ushering.

Over the years of living apart and not seeing one another very often, our relationship was not at all close. But he came to my mom's 90th birthday party, and he seemed to genuinely want to change that state of affairs.

I am grateful for that.

Daily Gratitude Journal

I am grateful for my big sister Joan. Joan was 4 years older than me and 6 years older than Alice, so we really didn't "play" together. In fact, we kind of squabbled a lot.

Fortunately the passing years put us at a place where we are peers - and we can love and enjoy one another's company.

And as a side note, I am eternally grateful for the ward cookbook Joan shared with us 33 years ago!! It's still a staple at our house!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I love that the title of this photo in my files is "Dancing Queens!"

Tonight the Little Women and Eve are having a Grandma's Sleepover at our house.

I am so grateful for grandchildren and sleepovers and snuggling on the couch watching movies we love.

Don't you wish you could join us??

Daily Gratitude Journal

I have 5 wonderful sisters, but Alice and I were only two years apart in age, so we spent a lot of years together, growing and learning and dreaming of the future.

We played paper dolls together - it was a whole world to us - we saved our allowances to buy particular ones - a weekly trek to the dime store was a treat - sometimes just to look again at the set we were saving up for!! Our favorites were the movie stars and the bride and groom sets - so you could get males to be the fathers in the families in our paper doll world!

At some point, we started cutting out pictures of furniture, appliances, bicycles, toys, and other items to set up for our paper doll world families. We would glue them on to cardboard to keep them together. Then we graduated to photos of rooms - and we started setting up whole houses. We were so excited for the Sunday paper and The Home Magazine that came with the LA Times - it was the high point of our week.

These elaborate cardboard homes were basically flat, so they fit nicely under our beds - we had to be careful though, because Mom would sometimes get tired of the volume of them and just toss them out! But we would just start over again.

We were a little jealous of Judy next door - her mom subscribed to regular slick magazines, so her paper doll world houses were a bit grander than ours. Her mom also gave her an expandable file box to keep hers in - I thought that was the height of luxury. Maybe that's why I keep buying file boxes!!

Over the years when I've talked to Judy, she has commented that she has never met anyone but the three of us who played paper dolls quite the way we did. I tried to influence my own daughters to do so - but I think it's something that has to occur; you can't force it.

I am so grateful for a wonderful childhood memory - and a sister and a friend who shared it with me.

Daily Gratitude Journal

Hmm - love the oversized glasses, don't you? Noah would probably approve though - he's one for adopting his very own style!!

Noah was a sweet baby - and he still is a sweet person. Loved to sit in my lap as a very young baby - and have stories read to him. He would literally sit there for an hour while I read - he was 9 or 10 months old. (Remember Dad's Back?)

Usually not too critical of others. Very kind to children and old people. Comes by that honestly. Somewhat opinionated though. But then, he actually comes by that honestly too - we are an opinionated bunch.

One time coming out of the old Sav-on, a blind man was sitting on the sidewalk playing a guitar with an open case that folks were dropping money into. Noah was about 4 or 5. He wanted to put some money in, so I gave it to him. He came back and said, "I know what I can be when I grow up. I can be a person who plays the guitar for people on the sidewalk."

Noah is quite creative - hopefully he will find his niche some day soon!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

Hannah has a wonderful way of raising her eyebrows and smiling with her whole face!! You truly know when she's happy.

She has other sterling qualities - like being one of the most resourceful children I ever met. She is not easily deterred from her appointed mission - heaven help whoever gets in her way!!

She was a very inquisitive child - the only climber in the bunch even. And she loved Cosmos - in a way no one else did - not sure why she doesn't have a cat now.

We "went to school" together for 3 years - and I loved how she was perfectly happy with me being there. She'd come to my room and bring her friends - I really missed it when she left.

Speaking of school, I have always been impressed with her determination to learn whatever needed learning. She reminds me of the kind of student I was in my early years.

She makes and keeps friends - a trait she will treasure in the years to come - and I'm sure she treasures it now.

Looking forward to our upcoming visit!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

Perhaps you have noticed that I am going through our children, one by one, noting some of the reasons why I am so grateful for each one of you. And today's star is Eliza!!

Like Phoebe, Eliza came after a long wait. Unlike Phoebe, others came quickly after she did!! But that did not diminish my enjoyment of this sweet little girl - who early on showed that she had a mind of her own! I have come to know that her single-minded sense of purpose has been a blessing in her life - take note of that, all you parents out there. Qualities that may seem to make your life a little more difficult at times are often qualities that we actually should be fostering!

Eliza was a quiet child - something that wasn't the usual in our household. And she was very thoughtful - thoughtful as in being kind, but also thoughtful as in thinking things through! She was very deliberate and thorough - something of a perfectionist too.

And I miss her wonderful piano skills in our silent household!!

Looking forward to our upcoming visit!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I am indeed grateful for Phoebe!! After our last visit with her here, I was sad to see her go - what's not to love about Phoebe??

She calls herself the true middle child. She was, for a time, almost like an only child, since Bonny and Harry were in school when she was born. She and I had some good times together during those years - times I do treasure. As I treasure all the times we get to enjoy together.

When she was heading off to BYU, Dad was the bishop, so he wrote her ecclesiastical endorsement - quoted Yeats - claimed that that was what clinched it for her!! Maybe it was.

"I sigh that kiss you, for I must own, that I shall miss you, when you have grown!!"

Fortunately for us, now that she's grown, it's just as much fun as it ever was!

Daily Gratitude Journal

We were surprised and delighted when Harry was born. The doctor had made it sound like we would only have girls, owing to certain chemical factors in my make-up. When he was born, I guess we seemed somewhat shocked, because the nurse said, "Did you want a boy?"

We assured her that we were just surprised - delighted indeed - and pleasantly surprised.

Harry is a great son - I've enjoyed being his mom all these years - in fact, I still enjoy it!! And enjoy that he seems to enjoy it too!

Thanks, Harry, and here's to more happy years ahead!!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I can't let Bontober end without saying how grateful I am for Bonny, who made us parents! (My own personal Bontober celebration goes until November 9th this year - I'm celebrating 40 days to commemorate her 40 years!!)

What a wonderful little person to start us on the path of parenthood!! And she's become such a wonderful woman!!

Thanks, Bonny, for being patient with us - in so many ways!

Daily Gratitude Journal

I teach school all day - and I spend lots of time with kids who don't like being there!! It is such a conundrum for me - probably because I always loved school!

I am flabbergasted at kids - and even many of the other teachers there - who say they hate reading!! I can't even remember not being able to read let alone not loving it.

So I'm grateful for school and reading - and for the joy they bring into my life!!

(I don't want to hear about it if you don't like school - or if you don't like to read!!)

Day Two - Daily Gratitude Journal -

Today I am thinking about how grateful I am for the wonderful friendships in my life. If I tried to do a post on my friends, it would get pretty long!!

What I love about our friends is that time and distance have not diminished the experience - they have only enhanced it. It is good to have daily friends, ward friends, work friends, school friends, parents of our kids' friends' friends, college friends, Utah friends, from the past friends, in-law friends - what a wonderful world of friends we have!!

Hug a friend today - better yet, send them a card!! (I know you are thinking email or Facebooking them, but a card, now that says you care!)

Daily Gratitude Journal

I was reading a magazine article today about how significant it is to focus on gratitude. There are mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits that we enjoy when we focus on what we have, and not on what we don't have.

Over the years, I have started more than one "gratitude journal" but haven't ever been very consistent. And I may not be very consistent this time - after all - I only got to 1997 in my 40 years of posts about our then 40 years of marriage - which are now approaching 43 years!!

But if it's helpful to do so, then doing so for any length of time is probably helpful too!!

Today I am grateful for so many good memories! I have been sending Bonny "Bontober B-day Wishes" for 32 days now - I'm planning to send 40 of them - in honor of her 40th birthday - and I have been trying to include a "memory" in each one. How wonderful it is to ponder a special day or a special time or a special dress or a special doll - and to find a measure of joy in doing so.

Think of a happy memory today. Or better still, make a happy memory today that you or someone you love can relive in the days, months, and years ahead!