WHERE TO TURN FOR HELP

After 40+ years of marriage I can truly say Kent and I have very few times when everything isn’t meshing. We laugh at each others jokes. Our home is one where you can feel peace when you enter the door. We enjoy talking and never seem to run out of topics. We both love learning, travel and friends. BUT…every so often our children with get a call. "Help! Our marriage is in crisis." When we need to put something together all communication breaks down in our loving home. There is tension and frustration. Because we love each other so much we stop talking for fear of hurting each other. Last night was one or those nights. I purchased a bookshelf for the office. It really should have been easy to put together - but not for us. After a couple of hour we stopped and went in and watched a movie together, expressed love and forgiveness (I really needed that). Today we have parts all over the office. Tonight we will have our bookcase together. Thank goodness for loving children with a sense of humor.

JANUARY THAW

What a beautiful week. The sun is out and January thaw has returned. I know its 73 degrees in southern California and summer in the southern hemisphere. But here we are having a break from winter. I don’t really mind winter with all that it brings. I have quite gotten used to my 60 year old joints complaining when it’s cold outside. My car needs to have the salt washed off, carpets need cleaning, extra rugs are needed in the hall and soups and stews are my culinary delights. And today I just am thankful that the predictable thaw has arrived.

CHRISTMAS

This Christmas we went to Nauvoo. We didn’t take toys or gifts. We had a quite, old fashioned Christmas. It was a wonderful time to remember that simple is better. Grandchildren sang songs they remembered and learned new ones. There was a beautiful snow storm that was delightful to see in the early morning. Most of all we enjoyed the Joseph Smith story.

Once back home we found there was a chaos that was familiar. Everyone add to the madness with schedules, foods, and things. There was a time when communication wasn’t perfect. We were all trying hard to do and say everything perfectly. By working at communication too hard it broke down. After a couple of days the communication was perfect because it was accented with loving and forgiving. Time spent together was precious in spite of the pandemonium.