We've been very pleased with the girls' school. They pride themselves on providing a well-rounded, multi-faceted educational experience for the kids, and they do a great job. Micah and all the other 4th graders left this morning for a two-day field trip up to "Gold Country" near Sacramento. They will sleep in tents tonight and hopefully have a wonderful, safe experience. I don't remember having those opportunities in my elementary school...
Angela and I are having a date night tomorrow night and we'll be seeing the movie Spiderman 3. My company has purchased something like 30 theaters worth of tickets throughout the day tomorrow, so we're going to enjoy a date night with our late-evening tickets. I was also pleased yesterday to receive a complementary earthquake/emergency kit from the company (for all employees) that is very well stocked and nicely supplements our own 72-hour kits. Oh yeah, and besides all the perks, I really enjoy my work. I'm really starting to "get it" now with some of my big projects, and I feel like I'm adding value ahead of schedule.
Big playoff games tonight - Jazz trying to stay alive and Warriors trying to knock off the giants. Thank goodness for DVR as I'm doing EQ visits tonight and wouldn't want to miss the games. It's also fun to have a bunch of buddies trickling into town for this weekend's collegiate rugby Final Four and National Championships where BYU starts out by playing Penn State tomorrow and then hopefully Cal on Saturday.
Ang went to her Boot Camp workout twice this week, and I have to admit is complaining a little bit about being sore. For Christmas I gave her a workout with a trainer as part of a group that meets early in the morning at a local high school. She really enjoys it and looks great.
That's about it.
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Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008
"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.
... Professor Harold Hill, one of the principal characters in [The Music Man], voices a caution that I share with you. Says he, “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”
f you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.
Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”3 We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.
Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”
In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”
Said one well-known author: “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”
Said the Lord in a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, “In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”10 May we be found among those who give our thanks to our Heavenly Father. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.
Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey."
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1 comment:
How bout them Jazz and Warriors. Wouldn't that be a sweet match up . . . we can only hope at this point.
So, an update on my training since John is giving us his. Well, let's see . . . hmmm . . . oh yeah, I jogged into the bathroom the other night around 3 am. Who knew it was so far away and that I'd get winded. At least once I got there I could sit down and take a breather. Wish me luck on my next training adventure.
Spencer
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