The other night my mom opened a calendar she got for Christmas. She looked at the date. "2013?!?!! And I'm still around? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Good Lord! 2013! I should be dead! This means I must be 80 or something. 2013???!!?! Where did all the rest of the years go? I had no idea. I think I should have known but [sigh] -- 2013."
I have a bit of that same reaction. No, I'm not in my 80s and I only feel mostly dead once in a while but it seems the years pass so quickly! In 1999 we had just moved to Utah a few months before the big Y2K scare with possible computer meltdowns and people hoarding food, just in case. We had good friends staying at our house - lots of good friends. We decided that wearing the color orange would ward off any Y2K problems (not sure how that came about) so we headed to Old Navy to buy orange shirts. The clerk asked why we were getting a boat load of orange shirts and we told her our theory. She looked a little puzzled but I think she quietly went home with an orange shirt that night. That was 1999 turning into 2000. And here we are 13 years later!! Good grief - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
It's been a good ride, the past 13 years and this past year. Sure there are ups and downs, there always are - that's life. But I always say, and believe, the good outweighs the bad. Even in the hardest moments when you are cleaning up the most horrible messes or are at the end of someone's wagging finger of criticism or losing your job or facing a health problem or a financial challenge or a dented bumper or whatever, the good far outweighs the bad. Some might say it's all in your attitude, how you handle those challenges. Or your amount of faith, which is crucial in all those cases. But I think the good outweighing the bad is regular life for many. Sure, there are some out there whose challenges are horrific, whose day-to-day living teeters precariously on the edge of disaster or even death. But I think for most people, life is good. Because God gives us blessings.
My blessings for 2012 were topped by the entry of a little dark haired, sweet faced, bright eyed baby who has herself wrapped firmly around my heart - my little granddaughter Artemis Valborg Nelson. That is a big name for one so tiny but she will live up to and glorify that name by her mere existence and thirst for knowledge of the world around her. She's already shown she loves sand, trees, string, birds, cats, food, books, hugs, her parents and laughter. She has explored only a fraction of what's out there and her inquisitive nature says she will keep exploring and loving all that's good in the world.
She arrived on my birthday, the most precious gift I'll ever receive (you can go ahead and try to top that if you want, I'm a willing recipient ...). And I got to meet her at two days old. How something so tiny can upend someone's world in the best of ways, I'll never know. She is awe inspiring. She lives in Phoenix and she is 8 months old. I've seen her nine times for as few as four days, as many as 10. I keep a little calendar in my scripture bag and I circle all the days I've gotten to be with Artemis in person. It's a reminder of her in my life. Just like the 5,000 or so pictures I've taken of her.
Other blessings of 2012. I love life with my husband. He is my best friend, my go-to person, my helper, my sweetheart. He and I have carved out a comfortable life. He knows me. He gives me advice which I would sometimes rather not take, but I know he's right. He guides but supports my own decisions. He's a soft shoulder when I'm distraught. He prays for me and with me. I love him.
My kids are healthy and happy. We taught them to be strong, independent, hard working, loving people and they are. The hopes I have for them are my hopes. I have to be strong enough to let them live their own hopes and dreams.
Another amazing thing happened in 2012. My best friend Jera Parker moved to Utah!! Our families were close friends in Texas for about six years - our kids were interchangeable. Our vacations and Sundays were spent together. The many memories we made stuff the scrapbooks of our minds. We love each other. The day the Parkers moved from Texas to Colorado I wandered around in a bathrobe and cried all day. We still saw each other for the next 16 years, even more so when we moved to Utah and we were only eight hours away. But now we are 22 MINUTES FROM EACH OTHER!! And we continue to fill the scrapbooks of our minds by making new memories. (There is a whole story of the perfect timing, the tender mercy of the Lord putting us back into each other's lives. I'll have to blog about that too, I think.)
There really are too many blessings to list - family, friends, callings in our church, being able to go to the temple, chocolate, good cars that run, a warm home we love to be in, watching movies together on our big screen TV in our matching recliners, traveling to Phoenix, healthy bodies, sunshine, sunsets, snow - the list goes on and on.
And I really don't like making resolutions but I will set some goals I think are achievable:
1) attend the temple at least twice a month, hopefully weekly.
2) work in the temple as a temple worker
3) do family history (there's a Poulson ancestor knocking me upside my head to get his work done ...)
4) eat healthier (I started in November and I'll just keep it up!)
5) do more random acts of kindness
6) look at Facebook less
That's enough. I don't want to overwhelm myself.
Oh, and I will blog more. I like writing down my thoughts and I like going back to read them. So if you are reading this, thanks, and tune in for more in 2013. There might even be some pictures to look at!!
