Rehearsal

It was a good feeling to look out at the small audience for our spring concert and see family there to support me.  I was really surprised to see Alyssa and Michelle, as they hadn't mentioned they'd be able to come by after seeing a movie together.  I still have a hard time believing I am beginning to learn to play this wonderful instrument.  Yesterday on two of our numbers at rehearsal (and we are still mostly sight-reading) I was the only cellist.  Fortunately I had practiced at home so I just dug into it and played.  It was fun to hear how both the solo and accompaniment parts blended in to form the whole of the sound.  Afterwards, they cheered for me!  When she had completed putting her music in her folder, Naomi joined in.  She is more advanced, blessedly.  It's easier to have company.  Love this work/play!

"To A Hip Couple"

This is what one of our fun friends wrote on a little card to be put in the guest book at our anniversary party. I guess it's true. We also thought of our old notion that this party gave a whole new meaning to "Hip, Hip, Hooray!" The party was so much better than we even imagined. And it was wonderful to be able to walk around without limping. There was a steady stream of our friends and relatives and everything was taken care of by someone else! We felt so blessed. Once in a while we even caught ourself looking around at what we needed to do but there wasn't anything except to visit and feel grateful. One of the special things for us was getting to see the friends of our children. We realized again that everybody has a special place in our heart. Another thing that struck me was how comfortable people were and how much like a reunion it was. I really enjoyed watching people visit with each other. The thought also kept coming to me that there were those who were not able to come who were sending love our way. It's hard to describe what a good experience we had. Thanks to everyone!

You are Loved

How hard is it for Dorothy to love the Bride of Frankenstein (or was it Dracula)? Not very hard. Sometimes there is a bond between two people and it is not immediately obvious why. That's the way it is with Alyssa and Stephanie. Could it be because these two both have a bit of red in their hair? Or that they are aunt and niece? Or that they both like stories? Or that they feel comfortable with each other? Or is it just one of those indefinable things--something to stop analyzing and just enjoy? Why not? How blessed you are!

PT with Bill

Technically, Bill is a massage therapist, and a good one. And he is so much more. Having physical therapy is not exactly fun. But Bill has a way of showing concern, pushing you to do the work and promoting lots of laughs in the process. I think it is a gift. He looks very serious in this picture. Don't let that fool you. In the next moment, he was probably joking around with me or talking me into a little more effort on the upcoming exercise. Although I am not overly excited about doing physical therapy, I am glad that Art and I had the chance to meet Bill and get to know him.

And even though it is the first of April today, I really mean it!

Good Friday

Today is a good day to think of my life at this time, particularly the past couple of days. Last night I went to Book Club. I love this group. It is eclectic and diverse. We discussed the book The Glass Castle. I loved the exchange of ideas and the respect given to each other. I am so glad that Carol had the idea to start the group and that I can be in it. I say "can" because there will be times when I will have to make a choice. My poetry group meets the same night next book club is scheduled to happen. It will be interesting to see how it will unfold, how I will balance my time with two activities that I enjoy. I will continue to read the assigned book. And then if I can't be there in person, I will make a blog entry about my impressions of the book. For next month we are reading Tisha, "the story of a young teacher in the Alaskan wilderness". That same morning, I went to the temple with Joan. She is a wonderful friend. She inspires me to hang in there and to do good things for others. I love so many things about her that it's hard to name the many ways she helps me. Yesterday, it was a ride, dropping me off at the door, and putting up with slow walking. And, as always, she gives common sense and laughter. Today the Family History Center was the destination. The work of entering names into my computer file was calling. And dear Pat. If family history work had done nothing more than give me Pat as a friend, it would have been worth everything. How do you express adequately the love received from friends? Alice was there too, my friend and traveling companion on the trip to Wales. And the spirit was nourishing, as always. Art, my companion in good times and bad. How blessed I am to still have him in my life. Being 71 and awaiting knee surgery is not so bad when he is here, steady and compassionate beside me. We had lunch today with Heather on her day off. Since this post seems to be about friends, I am so blessed to have our children become my friends, too. I have been observing the loneliness of others who have lost their spouse. I can't really know, but it pains me to see how hard it is for them. Their courage gives me hope that I can face what is before me with a bit more strength and grace. Sometimes because Art and I are somewhat handicapped by his painful hip and my knee, I feel sorry for myself and think I am definitely homebound. But as I write this, I realize that is not true. Thanks to all the people mentioned here, and more, we get out and about. And the future holds hope and promise. After all, our greatest friend, the Savior, offers even greater blessings than these. It is a "good Friday". And may it be an even better Easter.

Leap Year

For me, leap year meant there was an extra day in my birth month. I was always a little jealous of people who were born on the 29th. It seemed like they got a lot of attention when I was a kid in school. I thought it would be neat to only have to count once every four years when adding up my age. Now I’m not so sure. I think I’ve earned all of the years I’ve lived, not just 1/4th of them. I also like the idea of listing those things I wish I had been able to leap over rather than experience. Here are a few of them:

* Being thought I was older because I was tall for my age.
* Walking out of my Algebra class because "everybody" else did.
* Having to apologize to the teacher the next day.
* Being afraid to tryout for parts in plays.
* Stopping piano lessons.
* Eating ravioli before hiking, having heat stroke, and avoiding ravioli for years after.
* Backing out of a girl’s choice dance after the guy said "yes".
* Not getting to the bathroom in time in kindergarten.
* Getting teased in a mean way in sixth grade.
* Feeling guilty for the mean things I also said and did.
* Wearing a mustard plaster when I had a chest cold.
* Being raised as an "only child".
* Landing on my knee three times when I fell down. (Three different occasions.)

But I guess, when I think about it, I really wouldn’t pass up very many of the experiences of life because they are a part of who I am today. Hopefully by next leap year I will have leapt into, instead of over, some new exciting times.
(Many thanks to Charnae for the idea. This is a take off from her wonderful post.)

Good Books

" Read good books. They can be your best friends." Jessica’s father

Jessica is new in our ward. She is married to sandy-haired Joel Hoffman. She is a beautiful young woman. I like her a lot. She is embarrassed about her English but I understand her very well, on many levels. (She does not need to apologize, she speaks 5 languages. Spanish, Portuguese, English, Mayan, and I think another Indian dialect.) When she has a comment to make, I listen carefully because she is very insightful. A week ago she shared her feelings about the Book of Mormon. When I joined Art for Sunday School after Relief Society I was still feeling tender about her testimony. He asked me if something was wrong. I tried to explain but it wasn’t until she was asked to share her story again in Sunday School that he understood and there were tears in his eyes, too. Jessica was born in Guatemala–her father an attorney, her mother a stay-at-home mom. Because her father was a reader, books meant a lot to her. When she was 17, she was given a Book of Mormon. At that time she was living with her grandmother. She was afraid to have it known that she was reading this book. Still, it drew her. She tried to put it down but couldn’t stop reading, finishing the book in one day. There was power in that book for her. That power radiates from her to this day. I believe her father’s words about books. I am glad that they led to her knowing the Book of Mormon to be true. When she was a little girl she always wondered why Jesus couldn’t have been in Guatemala instead of Palestine. Now she knows that he was in both places. I am glad she is in our ward and feel blessed I am getting to know her a little better.

Tagging Anyone?

Being tagged is not the same in blogger world as it is in graffiti-dom. But it sure can be fun. You get a new suggestion as to what to write about and you get to pass it on. According to Nae I am supposed to tell seven random and/or weird facts about myself. Here goes:

1. I can’t follow all the rules of tagging because I don’t yet know how to make links. I’m still a novice!
2. I can’t leave Moab without visiting the Christian Thrift Store. It is in a dark warehouse building west of town–just off the road that goes to the hospital. (Fortunately, I haven’t needed the services of the hospital.) I found some of my neatest T-shirts there. But they are false advertising. Usually they say something like: "Moab, Utah 5k race 2001 or something. I don’t run anymore and never did do races. But often people think I do.
3. Professional Bull Riding on TV is my latest craze. It is very exciting, dangerous and I get to feel lots of sympathy/admiration for the boys rather than concentrate on my own aches and pains.
4. I learned how to crochet this past year.
5. Many of my favorite books are written for young people. I don’t know what that says about my chronological age vs. my real stage of development.
6. I eat three Spiral Pops after lunch every day.
7. One of my favorite things is to sit back and listen to children play. When they forget you are there, you hear the most interesting and/or funny things.
This is a fun assignment! Anyone else want to give it a try?