j . a . m . k . m . b: "...hey, it's good to be back home again..."

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, October 30, 2008

"...hey, it's good to be back home again..."

It's great to be back home again! It's a remarkably long travel day from New York to San Francisco. My alarm went off at 4:45am ET (let me point out that's 1:15am PT), the shuttle picked me up at 5:15am ET, and luckily I got to the airport with only 2 1/2 hours before my flight (thanks to the shuttle service insisting on morning traffic, which surprisingly was all coming INTO the city, and not OUT of the city to JFK like we were) - whew, barely made it. I flew home with two kids behind me kicking my seat, or actually grabbing the top of my seat and hanging on it, the entire flight home (I don't blame the kids, I blame the rude, ignorant, selfish, former hippy parents who failed to do anything to help their kids not bother others around them). Luckily, I didn't have to worry about eating with my chair rocking back and forth because American Airlines was kind enough to not feed us unless we wanted to pay like $17 for a 3-day old sandwich. And to top it all off, the in-flight movie was - you're going to be jealous - Kit Kittredge, American Girl. WHAT THE...?!

Oh well. The trip to NY was very successful and I'm really glad I went. I got a lot accomplished while working with the team out there, and I feel like it was essential for making progress in our team. I even got to take some time yesterday evening and ride the subway down to Battery Park (very cold!) where I was able to gaze on Lady Liberty for a while. It was actually really neat to contemplate the symbolism of that welcoming statue. I really enjoyed it.

The family just joined me at Google for the annual Googleween celebration. While the rain put a slight damper on the festivities, it's fun to have them come. Micah is really getting to that age where she's not anxious to dress up in public anymore, and I think she was happy to have the rain as an excuse to "not get the my costume wet". Tomorrow will be fun as they have their school costume parade and parties, and then another annual tradition of going with a big group of school friends to the same house and all trick-or-treating together.

Happy Halloween.

j . a . m . k . m . b

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

Thursday, October 30, 2008

"...hey, it's good to be back home again..."

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