Happy Birthday, Mom!

A very happy birthday to my mom. Hope it's been a great one.

 

We got her some really nice stuff. She's a huge M*A*S*H* fan, so we included two seasons of the show that she didn't own before, along with an old Hanna-Barbera cartoon, some nice clothes that include a pink shirt with Dad's name on it in front of a big red heart and a soft white sweater with cupcake-like sprinkles all over it, and she can never say no to candy.

 

We already ate out at Culver's for her birthday dinner on Friday. But today, she opted for a delicious pork roast with mashed potatoes (mashed from real potatoes) and Cherry Coke. It evoked nice memories of the Sunday dinners we used to have with Grandma and Grandpa. Speaking of Grandma and Grandpa, we also visited their graves after church and watched their special anniversary tape when we got home, at Mom's insistence.

 

Love you so much, Mom.

 

Disney Musical May 20 - Baby Mine

Baby mine, don't you cry
Baby mine, dry your eyes
Rest your head close to my heart
Never to part, baby of mine 

Little one, when you play
Don't you mind what they say
Let those eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear, baby of mine

If they knew sweet little you
They'd end up loving you too
All those same people who scold you
What they'd give just for the right to hold you

From your head down to your toes
You're not much, goodness knows
But you're so precious to me
Sweet as can be, baby of mine

All of those people who scold you
What they'd give just for the right to hold you

From your head down to your toes
You're not much, goodness knows
But you're so precious to me
Sweet as can be, baby of mine
Baby of mine 

One of Disney's sweetest songs and saddest moments. I especially love the version sung by Alison Krauss. 

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Just about everything about poor little Dumbo is authentically depressing. If only being able to touch his mother through their long trunks doesn't put a serious lump in your throat, seeing all the other circus baby animals cuddling with their mothers surely will.

For me, the moment that almost does me in is the mother kangaroo using herself as a rocking chair. The yawning tiger cubs come in at a close second.

You'll need a big, warm hug yourself after this.

Musical May 2022 - Day 28 - Does Your Mother Know

I really like the group ABBA. They have many famous, fantastic songs, but I decided to do one of their slightly lesser-known songs for this challenge.

While I believe in trusting teenagers to choose for themselves, I also believe in certain rules for their own good. And I'm a big believer in not letting a young girl go out by herself with an older boy, and vice versa. 

At least in this song, the "older boy" appears to show some respect for the little girl fawning over him, because he tells her, "You're only a child," as well as "take it easy" and "better slow down." And, of course, there's the question that makes up the very title. 

In this case, the mother most definitely knows now. You are so grounded, little lady. 

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Give Thanks in December - Mary and Joseph

Today, I #GiveThanks for Mother Mary and Father Joseph. Where would our Savior have been without such good earthly parents to look after Him? 

I find Mary especially remarkable. In those days, a girl could be married as soon as twelve (a boy was considered a man at thirteen) so she was surely no older than the Young Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and her pregnancy was a lot more unique, to say the least. 

That had to be quite daunting. If not for the rigid standards of her culture (she could have been executed for having a child before she was even married), the sheer idea of becoming the earthly vessel for the Son of God Himself must have been truly overwhelming, requiring no small amount of faith on her part. 

Such a brave, beautiful woman. 

Joseph is no less amazing in his own way. He showed incredible devotion toward Mary as well as God, and no doubt he was as good a paternal figure as any you could find. 

Technically, he was Jesus's stepfather, so he serves as the perfect example that stepparents deserve a lot more credit than they get. And he still got to have plenty of other children with Mary; it's estimated that Jesus had at least seven biological siblings, and the book of James in the Bible was actually written by Jesus's brother James, rather than the Apostle James. 

What a family that must have been. 

 

Most importantly, Jesus lived the commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother," to the full extent. In the few passages in which we read about His interaction with His mother, He treated her like nothing if not a queen. Because this was an age in which people did not honor their parents like they should, Jesus's example shines all the brighter and lovelier.

So, once again, where would Jesus Christ be today if not for the brief but vital part Father Joseph and Mother Mary played? 

They are my heroes, that's all I have left to say. 

Bittersweet Mother's Day

I love holidays. My whole family loves holidays...but man, holiday spirits in this family have taken a serious wallop these last couple of years.

Mother's Day in 2019 was the last holiday that both my grandparents lived to celebrate. After that, they were both put in a care facility (most definitely not by choice, and not without a good fight), and we were obliged to clean out the house and sell it.

Grandpa died on Father's Day that same year, and Grandma followed him on the Fourth of July.

My own dad died mere weeks before Father's Day as well as my own birthday.

This year, we made sure to visit Grandma's grave (at least they have a nice headstone in a nice, grassy, shady spot), and then we wanted to drive by their old neighborhood and take another look at the old house.

But when we got there, there was no old house to look at anymore.

Everything was gone, including most of the trees and shrubs.

All that was left was a bunch of dirt, rocks, a few scanty patches of grass, a mountain of discarded branches, and a good number of tire tracks in the dirt.

You can imagine the shock this was to all of us, especially my mom, since that was her childhood home. She had lived there since she was three years old, and even after she found her own life, there was no shortage of visits over the years, and not just on holidays.

The house was as familiar and safe as any I had ever known. Flashbacks kept playing in front of my eyes all day long, and even now, I'm still seeing parts of that house, that backyard, and all that other stuff. I can even see the old doghouses they kept in one corner of their yard, ages after they stopped keeping dogs.

Of course, there was nothing we could have done either way. The house was no longer our legal property, and according to Mom, it was quite the fixer-upper; there was a lot of work to do with the wiring and plumbing and such, and maybe they figured any further maintenance would have cost more than it was worth. It would have been safer as well as cheaper to simply start over from scratch.

I suspect the house may have also sustained some damage from that earthquake we experienced a couple of months ago, since it was much closer to the epicenter than we were.

Whatever the situation, whatever their reasons for total demolishing, I'm sure their reasons were perfectly valid.

And without Grandma and Grandpa living there anymore, the house was nothing more than an empty shell anyway.

Still, that was something none of us were prepared to see with our own eyes, least of all today, of all days.

 

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At least we got to keep some of the things that used to be in that house; we have some of Grandma and Grandpa's old furniture and we even used their special dishes for tonight's dinner.

And we still tried to make the most of today. We got Mom some really nice stuff that she loved, and my sister brought all the grandkids over.

Another thing that makes Grandma and Grandpa's passing more bearable is knowing they're together again; they were only separated from each other for a short time, and I really hope Dad's interacting with them now. Contrary to how most in-laws are depicted, Dad fit into Mom's side of the family seamlessly. He got along especially well with Grandpa since he'd lost his own dad as a teenager; I remember how they would tease each other, always in a good-natured fashion, and on the few occasions when Dad couldn't join us, Grandpa always sent us home with a batch of his famous gingersnap cookies, which Dad could never resist.

I'm sure they were just as shocked and devastated as we were when Dad died, and now that they've also passed away, I tell them now and then, "Tell Dad hi for me," or, "Give Dad a hug for me."

 

Book of Mormon 2020 - 1 Nephi - Chapters 5-6

After reading chapter 5 of the first book of Nephi, I find myself feeling a great deal of sympathy for Sariah and an even greater deal of respect for Lehi.

Sariah's fear in this chapter is every mother's worst fear: the fear of losing her children. Losing one child is bad enough, but the idea of losing ALL of your children in one fell swoop (especially if you have almost no chance of finding their bodies) is truly gutting. No wonder Sariah complained against Lehi like she did; in those days, children were especially sacred because society saw multiple children as a sign of God's blessing. The more children you had, the more you must be in God's favor.

So, this journey in the wilderness was not only a test for Nephi and his brothers, but also a test for Sariah and Lehi as a couple. Could their marriage endure a trial of this magnitude? With Lehi as a holder of the priesthood, did Sariah harbor enough faith, trust, and support for her husband?

As for Lehi, he shows true love and compassion for his wife. He could have very easily brushed her feelings aside or even argued back...but instead, he took the time to sincerely acknowledge her feelings and remind her of God's tender mercies. In this moment, Lehi was everything a worthy husband, father, and priesthood holder ought to be. In this moment, the wife was placed on the same pedestal as the husband, if not just a little higher.

Then, of course, their sons do come back to them alive and well, and Sariah's confidence in both Lehi and the Lord is sure. It's enough to warm your heart from the inside out.

And chapter 6 is a quick enough read, but this particular passage stood out to me: "Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world." I know the Book of Mormon has not sat well with many people I have known personally; sadly, some of those people no longer talk to me, and I've long since given up on them. I wouldn't turn them away if they approached me again, but I'm not holding my breath anymore, and any trust I had in them before is gone.

Anyway, that's enough about me. My point is that goodness knows this world would have a lot to say about the Book of Mormon, and none of it would be good. I still find it odd that some people believe Joseph Smith somehow "invented" this entire book on his own, when Joseph Smith was a very simple farm boy who was lucky to be able to read and write at all. After all, J.R.R. Tolkien was a very distinguished English professor and it took him many years to get even one work of fiction off the ground. For that matter, all the books we know and love weren't completed in a hurry, and it also took a good while just to build up a decent fan base.

But it goes to show: the world's ways are not God's ways, and God's not supposed to lower Himself to fit the world's standards; rather, the world's supposed to raise itself to fit God's standards. Reminds me of a talk I heard a while back in stake conference, about a large clock that was kept quite high, and the great height meant the people would have to change their personal watches to match the time on that clock instead of changing that clock to match their personal watches. Hopefully that makes sense!