So Thankful.....

On Thanksgiving, right before we were getting ready to eat, my text went off, and I checked it, only to see an unknown number.....with an attachment.

Should I open it?  Was it OK?  Would it make my cell phone crash?  Was it spam?

I hesitated.....but I opened it anyway, and to my great delight (& surprise) it was pictures and a message, "Your son with his companion after a fun game of touch football this morning."
(I love how she clarified that it was touch so I wouldn't worry about him getting hurt in tackle football or breaking the rules by doing so!!  She's a mom - she knows how we think!)

 My son, as in Ryan, who is away from home, serving a mission, on his FIRST Thanksgiving.

 A minute later, I got another text; this one with the message, "It was quite muddy!  This is Kristi H.....a sister from the ward."

I have heard so much about this GOOD family from Ryan's letters.  They are so great to him; having him over for dinner often, accompanying them when they teach the people, working hard to get permission from the Mission president for them to proselyte at a high school football game where there would be many important contacts, serving him, driving long distances to help, etc. etc.  The list goes on and on.

I sent her a text telling her I've heard all about her family and thanking her for all she does for Ryan.

She replied, "Your son is a wonderful missionary and we love having him here."

By this time, the Brenchley's were READY to start our feast, but Matt & I were on our phones looking at the pictures & texts.  Matt's mom (I don't think she knew what had happened?) had to scold us saying, “Now, I made the teenagers put away their phones for Thanksgiving – you put yours away, too!”  And I was like, “I’m getting photos of Ryan, I’m not putting it away!!”  What a rebel "teenager" I am!  ;)
This is about as close as we can get to having any contact with him - except for the Christmas and Mother's Day phone calls (or Skype?) that are allowed in the future.  The way technology has changed the whole missionary correspondence - amazing!  I was so thankful for this "tender mercy."  I did get a little emotional and teary after that, though.  Just KNOWING he was OK - more than OK.....Turkey Bowl?  Nothing could be better!!  He's so passionate about that annual tradition!  But, he's away from us, yet he's still getting taken care of.  It's a mixture of feelings; not really too sad, but relief, assurance, and thankfulness. 

A little more than an hour later, my text went off again.  Kristi was sending me more....

 ....with the caption, "I promise he's not starving today!"

"We were happy he could spend Thanksgiving with us."

There were actually two families from the ward in this photo.  I guess they both wanted the missionaries for Thanksgiving dinner (along with 5 other families from the ward - what competition!) so they combined forces and did it all together.  

I have heard a lot about this other family from Ryan, as well.  In fact, Ryan has already "pegged" one of their daughters as Kyle's future wife because he wants to be a part of their family, they're so awesome!  ;)  This family has done so much for Ryan, too.  For example, they have been known to drive 30 minutes to sit in on & fellowship at an investigator's lesson, just to be "stood up" and they have to drive all the way back home for nothing.....but, at least, invite the missionaries for dinner still.  (It makes me feel lazy!)  They have a missionary son out, too, so they understand the life.

I am so thankful for these fantastic families who are working in the Lord's vineyard located in West Virginia!  I'm so thankful for these "surrogate mothers" he has to watch out for him while he's away - it's such a blessing!  They are doing such a good job!!  I love them (his family away from home) and I've never even met them.

Something funny happened in the middle of all this, too.  I kept looking and re-looking at the texts on Thanksgiving and somehow the wrong button got pushed because all of a sudden, I see that my cell phone has dialed Kristi's phone number.  When I realized it, I was like, “Oh No!  Oh No!” and I was frantically trying to end the call as fast as I could, but it wasn’t working.  That would be a big NO-NO to try to call him - or her if she was with him - but I didn't mean to, I PROMISE!  I don't want to be One of Those Moms!  ;)  I don’t know if she answered and heard all the commotion, but if she did, I also hung up on her!  ha-ha. 

Ryan's end of the story was that when Kristi's phone rang (from my inadvertent call), she pulled out her phone and showed Ryan the screen.  He was like, "Oh, no!" and he shot out of the room!  But, she did realize and told him it was just a "pocket-dial."  Whew!

Again.....I'm so thankful.

My New Rank: MM

We took my son, Ryan, to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on Wednesday to begin his 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

He will train there for just 12 days, then fly out into his assigned mission field of West Virginia (& parts of some surrounding states).  We will not see him again until he returns home, and only speak to him on the phone a handful of times on special occasions (Christmas, Mother's Day, & I've *heard* when he is at the airport, departing [but it's not confirmed]).  Our communication will only be through weekly emails or letters.  (SUCH A CHANGE from the instant communication we've grown accustomed to with texts, cell phones, & living in the same home over the past years!)

So many others who have already sent out missionary children have told me I am now a "Missionary Mom" (MM) - I didn't even know that I would now have a specific new title or rank!  They have been so kind to check up on me, share tips & tricks, send me texts, visit, and bring me "care packages" already!  :)

I got a bag full of assorted fun size M & M's (I was told it stands for "Missionary & Mom")

All my kids want to eat them, but I ask them, "Are you an MM?  I don't think so!  Run along now!"  ;)

I also got this cute card:

(front)

(inside)

And look at these bright & happy Gerbera daisies another friend brought to me:

A lot of people had told me that dropping him off at the MTC would be terrible, and HARD, and sad, and THE WORST, but truth be told, it was mostly happy!  To be a full-time missionary is something HE WANTS.  And it's something I WANT for him, too.  He was SO READY, he might as well just START!  Plus, I, myself, lived & trained at the MTC [for 8 weeks] 23 years ago, and when we drove into the entrance, I got this feeling of, "Ahhh, I'm coming home!"  And I think that helped a lot!  He's in a GREAT place!

Sure, my eyes filled up with tears during the final hugs and my voice was all quavering as I spoke my last words, but I was able to SMILE a lot, too.  And it's a bit quiet around home.  And I've had him on my mind almost constantly....wondering what he's doing/thinking/feeling.  And, of course, we're praying for him in every prayer.  And we've lost our 3rd driver and overnight "adult" babysitter!  boohoo.  But, it's GOOD!

I won't be writing on this blog about HIS mission.  A separate missionary blog has been set up for him to share HIS experiences on:
http://elderryanbrenchley.blogspot.com

Resolutions Report

I know, I know.....January is already A THIRD of the way over and I haven't even made my New Year's Resolutions for 2014, yet!  What a slacker.  ;) 
I'm hesitant to do it.....and I think I know WHY.  It MAY have something to do with the fact that I already KNOW I wasn't even 100% on my last year's ones!
I wrote them on this blog o' mine, to hold myself accountable, so it's not like I could just "forget" about them ever existing!  {darn}

But, maybe I have to "close out" 2013 before I can move on to 2014???
So, here's the "Report."

1. Invite another couple to go out to dinner with us every month 
THIS one was suppose to be a FUN goal!  And it was......when we could get another couple to accept our invitation, that is!  ;)

THANKS FOR THE GOOD TIMES:

Page's

Sears'

Maxwell's

Knudsen's

Badham's

Lacy's

Waters'

Peterson's

Bryson's

Wood's

It actually turned out to be really tricky....and I hadn't expected it to be!  

At times, I had a High School Flashback - like I was getting turned down for dates, and all!  (Not that I asked too many people out on dates in H.S., but all those awkward/vulnerable/rejection/uneasy/wanting-to-be-accepted gumbo feelings are all related)  Matt, the eternal optimist, would try to tell me that people's schedules are just busy and it's hard to always match up with ours.  And, also, that a surprising number of couples are not even used to going out on weekly, or even monthly, dates.  I, on the other hand, assumed it meant that all these people who had excuses weren't able to go would rather poke needles in their eyes than go out with US!  (Is it ME?  Is it MATT?  Or is it the combination of the two of us?)  We take showers, and Matt wears cologne!!  (maybe THAT IS the issue? ;))
Report:  So, we actually were able to go out with another couple 11 out of the 12 months this year.  
BUT, I will confess; one month, we got invited - by relatives - and we "counted" it anyway.  The other month we missed, we happened to be at Station Park on the very last day, and we ran into some others we knew, and we sat together at an outdoor table to eat our treats, and talked for just a little while.....Matt thinks we should "count" that, too, and call it 100% accomplished!  
But, I'm more.....shall we say, "exact" in observing the rules, so if you ask me, I don't count either of those, and we only had 10 out of 12 for 83%.  
BUT, on the other hand, if you read the wording in the goal, it actually says TO INVITE another couple out, not actually TO GO (I just had the misconception that the two would go hand in hand).  So, looking at the goal LITERALLY, we WERE 100% in our inviting - even 110% - because sometimes we invited multiple couples before we got any takers.  So, YEA, check that one off, after all!?!

2. Get ready IN THE MORNING
I thought this one would be hard....and it was.
There is such a PULL for me to just hit the ground running in the morning to get things done - and getting ready just seems to get in the way of all that!  So, I really had to force myself to do this against my own natural urges.
Report:  I did this usually 5 out of 7 days (with Saturday frequently being the day I didn't)  So, I was about 71%.  Which is 5X better than it was before I started this goal! says Matt, the eternal optimist.  But, it's still not an instinctive habit.  {dang}

3. Write more on my blog
Even thought I really enjoy this one....it was hard to get it done!  There were too many days that had no blogging time in them. 
Report:  I had a frequency in my head, that I kept quiet - AND was super lofty, of how often I wanted to write on my blog.  Did I reach that number?  No.
BUT, again, if you read the wording in the goal, it actually says to write MORE.  So, looking at the goal LITERALLY (and the yearly count blogger so conveniently adds up for me) I did indeed write more than in 2012 and in 2011!  So, check it off?  Sure! says Matt, the eternal optimist.....or is that defined as a "short cutter?"  ;)   

4. Healthier Lifestyle
OK.....remember how I was going to introduce a new healthy thing per month and write on my blog about it?  Well, I did it in January, February, and March.....and then STOPPED!  Well, I stopped writing about it after March, and I stopped doing anything new one month later, in April.  I didn't even get to the "eat breakfast" month or the "reduce soda" month, let alone the "control your condiments/toppings" month or "more sleep" month.  (Probably because I knew they were too lofty?!?)
Report:  I sucked it up on this one.  Even though, I planned and announced my new thing those first few months, I never did do well at weight lifting in February, so I give myself a 16%.  And that's not even me being my usual "hard on myself/holding myself to high expectations" self!  That's the cold, hard truth.  Matt even has no comment.

5. Make new recipes out of ward cookbook
This totally should've been easy, and yummy....but I kinda forgot about it for the majority of the year, AND I had a heck of a time finding coconut pudding mix! (pina colada dip)
Report:  Buffalo Dip - check!
Famous Dip - check!
Pina Colada Fruit Dip - not until just last week, so it was already 2014....and since this was a 2013 goal, I was 66%.  (But, Matt would tell me to "count" it, of course!)  ;)

Final Verdict?  According to me:  I flopped!  According to Matt:  I achieved!
So, now that I've analyzed it all and "talked through" the rulings some, MAYBE I CAN do something for 2014.....

It is with great reluctance, I present to you my goals for the new year:
 
I saw THIS on Pinterest which I'm interested in, so here goes:

5 BOOKS I WANT TO READ:
(Let's go with the ones that are on my shelf right now)
She Got Up Off the Couch (a sequel to the one I was reading back here)
Reached
Fairy Godmothers, Inc.
The Book of Mormon (before our "Moroni's Quest" Youth Conference in June)
My Story (Elizabeth Smart)

4 PLACES I WANT TO SEE:
Nauvoo, IL
Cape Canaveral, FL (specifically the Ron Jon Cape Caribe Resort)
the different islands in Hawaii (via cruise?)
Disneyland

3 THINGS I WANT TO DO:
Be in the family cast of the Nauvoo Pageant
Finish Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Brookelle
Fill those empty spaces in our home with furniture & finally hanging things on the walls.

2 THINGS I WANT TO LEARN:
Gluten-Free baking/cooking
How to do a photo slideshow with music

1 THING I WANT TO CHANGE:
Give more compliments/encouragement to others.


There was also THIS ONE on Pinterest that I thought I'd do.  (some things are the same as above)

A BAD HABIT I'M GOING TO BREAK:  Staying up late (when I don't HAVE to because of work)...just to do [sometimes frivolous] things like surfing the internet, late-night T.V., and "getting one more thing done."  {Don't look at the time stamp of this post!} ;)

A NEW SKILL I'D LIKE TO LEARN:  See questionnaire above

A PERSON I'D LIKE TO BE MORE LIKE:  Jesus Christ - particularly His attributes of being calm, non-judgmental, & patient.  (Did I just describe Matt?  I believe I did!  Opposites attract?!?)

A GOOD DEED I'M GOING TO DO:  Keeping this one to myself....I want it to be anonymous!  ;)

A PLACE I'D LIKE TO VISIT:  See questionnaire above

A BOOK I'D LIKE TO READ:  See questionnaire above

A LETTER I'M GOING TO WRITE:  Maybe my OWN MISSIONARY SON? (possibly at the end of the year?)  If not, my Young Women at church or my children's Primary teachers - ANY or ALL.

A NEW FOOD I'D LIKE TO TRY:  Korean or Indian - our neighbors said they know some good places to take us!

I'M GOING TO DO BETTER AT:  Exercising in the winter.  My friend has recommended Bikini Body Mommy.  Apparently, it has a work out every day - and it started on Jan. 6th.....and I am going to start sometime....anytime now!  ;)

I shall look back on this post next year and either be really proud of myself....or extremely disappointed...

WHAT 2014 GOALS DO YOU HAVE?

Brace Yourself: My Sewing Machine was Put to Use Twice in a Week

The first time was last weekend.

And THEN I used it again just now!  (I know!  Amazing!)

To sew THESE all on:

{Interesting note about that chair the sash is on.....in the store, the chair looked just about the same color as that scout sash.  And then we got it home, and it was NOT.
You can see how much of a difference the colors are in that picture.}

BACK TO MY SEWING.....
In the exhibit above, if you'll count, you'll discover that there are 21 merit badges......

Which means what?

I'll tell you.

It just so happens to be the [minimum] amount one needs to earn the Eagle rank.

And if you look closer, you'll notice (or not if you're non-scout oriented) amongst those 21, includes all 12 of the "required" ones to become an Eagle Scout, too.

{When I first bought this sash way back when, it was so long that I had to fold, tuck, and pin it to fit the boy....

now we've had to let it all down.  He done went and growed up!}

Which means what?

I GUESS HE FINALLY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE!?!?! 

{We set forth a rule.  A driver's license comes after you get your Eagle.}

How else will we know our children are responsible enough?  Mature enough?  Accountable enough? to get behind the wheel of a car.  (We decided this is one way to know.)

So then, this was the scene in our Living Room during the month of October....

.....while he was doing his Eagle PROJECT.  

Since we don't even have any furniture in there, yet, there was plenty of room for boxes, bags, & Bambi to take over the room!  ;)

For his project, he collected new & gently used DVDs for a Children' Hospital.
He got the brilliant idea from yours truly....who had heard something similar in the past from a friend.... 
But, on Haylee & I's most recent visit to the hospital, it was brought to my remembrance how much it is needed!  Haylee, at age 11, was finally to the point where she did very well during that particular visit, but as I watched all the other toddler-aged children (and their parents) around me struggling, my own past "nightmare" hospital/Dr. appts episodes came back to me.....I knew then that the hospital experience wouldn't work without all the various donations they receive (from dolls, to markers, to books, to crafts, to DVDs.)

So, the DVD drive was born.

THANK YOU to everyone who donated!

 The day came when he was able to deliver them to the hospital.  He ended up with over 240 DVDs to donate!

He felt pretty darn good about it that day.  I don't know if it had more to do with the good, warm, fuzzy feeling you get from helping/serving others OR if he was just SO GLAD/RELIEVED/EXCITED he was finally done!  (Got-the-monkey-off-his-back type thing.)

Congratulations, Ryan!

You were a part of history in the making!  You gave me a reason to get my sewing machine out...TWICE in the same week! 

******
But, can I just say it was a royal pain in the butt to STICK TO OUR GUNS of not letting him have his driver's license until he got his Eagle.  Because it was sooo inconvenient for me to drive him everywhere!  So, then I stopped doing that after a "grace period."  And then it was just plain inconvenient for me not to have an extra driver to help me out!
I don't know if he even learned anything from the consequence of not having a driver's license until age 17 1/2.......except that I AM SERIOUS.  I am a [wo]man of my word!

Hopefully, Kyle has watched & learned!

hopefully.

WHAT "Lazy Days of Summer?"

This is officially the last week of Summer vacation for us and it's simply CRAZY to me.  How can it be over just like that?  

Every year, my children mourn the end of summer and dread the start of school, lamenting,

"We didn't even DO anything this summer!!" 

in their best feeling-jipped-voices.  Which really means they didn't do a million, ba-jillion, totally outrageous, much-too-lofty-of-a-plan, EXPENSIVE, UNREALISTIC things.  Like go to Legoland, Universal Studios, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, The Grand Canyon, Seven Peaks, Timpanogas Cave, the Taj Majal, MLB games, Florida, Texas, New York, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Washington, Canada AND Mexico at least once each.  And that they didn't go to Boondocks, swimming, Dairy Queen, Galaxy, the zoo, Classic Fun Center, mini golfing, bowling, gymnastics class, to the movies & museums, boating, hiking, to the beach, and parachuting at least once a week.
And they LOOK OVER the ton of "other things" they DID do!

It never works -- I never have felt sorry for them!

UNTIL THIS YEAR.

Because, THIS YEAR, when they say, We didn't even DO anything this summer.....it's pretty much true!

As far as the traditional SUMMER-ISH FUN that is supposed to go on.

I even bought a pool punch pass and declared, This summer we are going to have "Water Wednesdays" which means we will go swimming every Wednesday.

We went once.

I'm joining the "feeling jipped" members of my family now.

Matt & I even missed our August date....and we were doing SO WELL - DANG!  But, we're in San Diego together right now, just the two of us, does THAT count?!?  ;)


Instead of the "Lazy Days of Summer" we've:

• Sold our home -- TWICE!  (The first people cancelled after a couple of weeks)

• Signed, dated, scanned, and emailed back and forth 14 addendums for the sell of our home.  (Our realtor joked with us that he should start taking a higher commission on offers that go past five!)

• Which also meant I had a continual stream of phone calls and texts from the Realtor

• AND we kept showing our home until we past the "Due Diligence" period with the buyers.

• Built a new home

• Made 1,000 decisions on brick, paint, tile, floorboards, door knobs, driveway and walkway shapes, trex decking color, lights, woods, closet layouts, faucets, stucco, windows, trim, size of patio, banisters, patterns, doors on the left or on the right?, plug outlets down low or up high or somewhere in the middle?, If I should UP my anxiety meds or keep them the same.....

• AND then made many of these decisions AGAIN when the bids came back TOO HIGH or TOO LOW (who am I kidding?  THAT never happened!), or my selections were OUT OF STOCK, or the granite slabs I had picked out BROKE the day before they were to be delivered & installed.

• Called the builder way too many times MORE than he wanted me to.

• Babysat the builder.

• Made the builder fix way too many MORE mistakes than he wanted to.

• Fought with the builder.

• Started the loan process with a lender for our new home.

• Completed tons of paperwork and scrounged up all kinds of info they wanted about past names, drugs taken, jobs, income, marital status, insurance, residences, driving record, credit scores, best recipe for chocolate chip cookies, etc.

• And then the underwriters came back with a list a "conditions" and we had to send them a butt load of other things; copies of account statements and down payment checks and employment verification and my mammogram results....(just wondering if you're still paying attention!)

• All the while fielding 10 calls/texts (minimum) a day from the lender with updates and requests -- one of which I was not able to take because I had just gotten rear ended on my way back from picking out my granite the second time at the warehouse too far away from my home! 

• Closed on our home - and became renters of our own [well now THEIR] home.  We paid more in rent than we did our mortgage pymt - so sad!

• Packing up our home

• Gathering boxes from all sources:  KSL.com, Walmart, friends & family, the Liquor store (it's TRUE - they're great for our canned foods/food storage)

• Packing up

• Packing

• Packed some more  - it just grew!  When I thought we had done a ton - there was still a ton to do!

• Moved the majority of our things into THE GARAGE of the new house (we hadn't officially closed & it wasn't ready yet) because our buyers were taking possession of ours SOON!

• Shop for and buy beds & bedroom sets for the kids who were changing their sleeping situation (going from a shared room to an own room, going from a toddler bed to a "big girl" bed, etc.)

• Packed up the "essentials" we had kept with us at our home, including my work office stuff because I worked up until the last day we lived in that home.

• Moved the rest into the garage 

• Cleaned & did paint touch ups at the old  [empty] home -- thanks to my VT, brother's family, and MIL for helping us with this trying-to-beat-the-5PM-deadline-to-be-out-EFFORT!

• Signed closing papers on the new house

• Got frequent phone call updates from the lender who "camped out" at the title company for two days making sure that our case was getting worked and pushed it through.(thanks to him!)

• Then when we got word that the house was officially ours, we moved AGAIN.  We could move the things from the garage into the new house.  Word came in the late afternoon, so we didn't have anything set up to sleep, so we stayed at our brother & sister-in-law's house that night.(thanks to them!)

• Unpack the new house

• Move things in from the garage to the house

• Put everything away

• Forgot where I put it away

• Unpack some more

• Put together beds

• Unpack

• Hang butcher paper in the windows (after I got tired of crawling around on the floor below window level) so the neighbors don't "get more than they bargained for."

• Unpack

• Called all the Utility companies to stop service at our old home and start at the new one.

• No one knows our address exists, so make several other phones calls to resolve this....still not sure if it's totally "resolved."

• Call for Internet

• Comcast won't serve my "area" - yet the homes on all the streets surrounding me have it - am I not in their same "neighborhood?" 

• So desperate for internet use, set up an "Internet Cafe" on my in-laws porch and "tapped into" their wireless internet.

• Call another company for Internet - they can't come out for another week.

• Begged and bargained with my co-workers to cover my shifts since I didn't have the capability to work from home without internet

• The internet co. came out and couldn't find a ground wire --then they do -- but the main cable has been spliced (inadvertently?) and they can't get anyone out for 4-5 days to fix it. 

• Went over to my neighbor's to use her internet --Since when did we become so dependent on The Internet????

• Had to drive out to the [way too far away] JetBlue office to work (due to no internet and phone at home) when I couldn't get shifts covered at 2:45 in the morning - yep, just me and one semi on the road at that time!

• Unpack

• Meanwhile, we haven't received mail for 10 days - after 3 trips to the post office, we start getting our current mail, but no one knows what happened to all the mail BEFORE she "found" us!

• Unpack

• It takes a couple of phone calls to get new garbage cans delivered, so we have tons of garbage bags piling up.  THEN once they'res delivered, the garbage man passes us by - he can't find us either?!?  This warrants a trip down to city hall myself to get this straightened out.  WHEN YOU'VE JUST MOVED, YOU HAVE TONS OF GARBAGE and we can't be skipped!

• Hire someone to install cold storage shelving

• Get a water softener guy to our new house -- hard water and oil-rubbed bronze faucets and fixtures DO NOT GO TOGETHER!

• Go up and down the stairs 25+ times a day - needing a shower by the end of the day from all the sweating I'm doing.  I've lost 5 lbs. in the last three weeks.  It's called the packing-moving-unpacking diet!

• And I managed to get Ryan registered for High School (his Junior year!) and Kyle registered for Jr. High (an 8th Grader!)  WHAT?! 

• And we went school shopping - four different days for four different children.  I realized, girls are FUN to shop with - BOYS are not.

So, ALL of THAT dominated our whole entire summer!  But, we're in our new home (pictures coming sometime!)  not totally MOVED IN, but we are sleeping there now.  There are still unpacked boxes and things in the garage that need to be put away, but we're working on it EVERY DAY - some project or another.

Next up:
Window coverings
couches
Bonus room organizational system - I don't know what to do!  Suggestions?
yard
other furniture
TV(s) (that's only on Matt's list)  :)

So, we're FAR from done.  WAAAAAAAHH!

BUT, to make up for everyone's "LOST SUMMER" we've got a Fall Family Vacation coming up that we have been saving for and planning for years......

 

It will be a nice break from all the selling/buying/moving WORK we've spent the summer doing.  :)

Something to Aspire To

Friday my boys had their Spring Piano Recital.
It's always been held at the library, which our piano teacher schedules and reserves before lessons even start at Back to School time, so, at least 9 months in advance.
We arrive at the library on Friday, and a lot of our students & families are standing around out in the foyer, some are looking into the recital room.
I wondered why no one was going in.
I soon found out.
The library had double-booked their room.
Now, I don't know how or who decides which booking of the double-booking gets to stay, but it was not us!
The word out in the foyer was that we were going to move it to Mrs. Green's house, a lady who was there to attend our recital, and had volunteered. I didn't know her, I'd never met her before this day, but I will not soon forget her.
Now, to volunteer such a thing - that was oh, so generous. And helpful. And thoughtful. And very Save-the-Day-ish, but my first thought was,

Who can do that?

Who can have 50+ people just come to their house with absolutely NO notice and host a piano recital?
Is she always ready for that sort of thing at any given moment? Or did we just catch her at a good time? Really, who can do that?

NOT ME!

And it wasn't just her piano room that looked nice and prepared. Her front yard was FINE, that we all walked by. Her kitchen was clean and counters cleared that the much-anticipated (at least by my kids) Post-Recital refreshments, Dick's Bakery doughnuts, were set out on. And the "over-flow" Family Room was in order and able to house attendees. Not to mention, she produced much seating for everyone in a short period of time, just using her own resources. Sometimes, I might have ONE area in my home that is presentable, but all of it?
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
I was so impressed with her.
And at the same time I was in horror at any such occasions of me being forced to do the same thing. Not that I can think of a situation where I'd have to do that against my will, but if I did...OH, I shudder at the very thought!

But, ONE DAY (in another life) I would like to be able to be like HER!

And the fine examples don't stop with just Mrs. Green.
Take our dear piano teacher, Janene Mann, for another illustration. I have known her for the last 9 years we have lived in Farmington. I have looked up to her for various reasons over the years, but I don't think I will ever forget her on this piano recital day.
She walked around with the same bounce in her step as always.
The same smile on her face that is a part of her.
I heard no arguing between her and the "other double-bookee."
I did not see her at the circulation desk at the library chewing someone out.
She stood in front of our group at the new venue and welcomed us warmly just the same as she's done at all previous recitals we've experienced with her over the last 5 1/2 years.
She was very gracious to Mrs. Green.
I did not see her sitting in the corner with a scowl on her face, arms folded across her chest, grunting, with smoke coming out of her ears.
She thought of ME and MY FAMILY as she invited us to "make sure and get some doughnuts before you leave" even though we had to go early.
She sent us (& all her students' family) an email the next day thanking us for being flexible, calling it "an adventure" and pouring out words of compliments about the performances and the recital. All positive messages.
And again my thought was,

Who can do that?

Who can stay calm, cool, and collected when a HUGE thing goes awry? And especially when you've been WRONGED? Who can NOT worry about, "Where's the justice?" No anger? No frustration? No resentment? No bad-mouthing? Not provoked? No letting-it-ruin-your-whole-day-ness? Only Charity. Really, Who can do that?

NOT ME!

I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E.

It touched me strongly.

And at the same time, I am frightened to think how I would act in the same situation. Not that I am ever planning on becoming a piano teacher, but if I did....Oh, just get out of the way - it would not be pretty! (much to my mortification)

ONE DAY (hopefully in this life) I would like to be able to be like HER!