j . a . m . k . m . b: Dublin and family update

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."

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Dublin and family update

First of all, I really miss the family! Angela has been very busy...frequently still awake at home working on projects or reading when I wake up the next morning here in Dublin. She's so great with the kids, and they probably don't even know somebody from the family is missing. It's hard for me to be away for a whole week. I enjoy traveling very infrequently, and I've really enjoyed myself here, but I keep lamenting to myself about what I'm missing at home.

Brig has been picking up a lot of new sounds and words lately. He also likes to mimic movements, and Angela's been telling me they both love to play that game together. His favorite book is his animal book, which he will sometimes insist on taking to bed with him. He's teething again with some of his big teeth, and that's never fun for him or us. But he's still our happy little guy, and I can't wait to see him again.

Morgan has a lot of good friends, with a play date today, and is loving kindergarten. She is amazing with her reading and sight reading on her self-imposed list of "sight words". We're really proud of her, and we have heard from her friends moms that their kids want to read like Morgan.

Kennan has been a little sick this week, even coming home from school early yesterday. We knew she wasn't faking it because she really likes school. She is currently reading an abridged version of "Little Women" and loving it. She also really likes soccer and is exhibiting a lot of good skill (I hear, I haven't been to any games yet this year...good coach, huh?).

Micah continues to keep herself super busy with meeting high piano standards, assisting with the piano teaching once a week, assistant directing Kennan's school play, rehearsing for her own school play, doing homework, trying to squeeze in a play date every now and then, and who knows what else. Luckily she's very responsible and gets things done without too much prodding and poking, and she's of course a good girl and always fun to have around.

As for me, I'm having a good time in Dublin. London included: Wicked, Buckingham Palace, the Tate Modern Art Museum, a great walking tour of London with Karen and Joe, and I can't even list all the things we saw on our adventure. Dublin has been a little more centralized as it's been very busy with our work meetings and activities. I enjoy the people on the team, and apart from the meetings, we've had a fun dinner and cultural show at a pub, a great team building event at a castle that consisted of "Irish olympics", and many relaxed interactions. I was glad to get my presentation out of the way on the first day so I could relax after that - it went pretty well. I decided to not run at all this week so as to rest my injured foot that's been bothering me for weeks now.

Well, despite bringing my digital camera, it never crosses my mind to take it with me until a couple days later when I think "that would have been a good picture..." I have a few, which I'll put up when I get home, but not as many as you'd think. Sorry.

Really looking forward to the journey home tomorrow because that means I'm just hours away from the family!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: You know you are the father of three girls when you take a trip to London and the first thing you do is go to a musical about the Wizard of Oz. Would you like some shoes with that skirt Nancy?

:); September 20, 2007 at 5:08 PM

j . a . m . k . m . b

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Dublin and family update

1 comment:

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