j . a . m . k . m . b

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."

Monday, May 18, 2009

To start off with, I'll tell you it's been almost 100 degrees the last couple of days. Every once in a while we have these hot spells that seem to only stay for a short time but they really throw everyone for a loop. Should be a little cooler this week. My allergies have also been unusually bad this last week - probably because I've spent a lot of time outdoors recently - and I'm hoping that goes away as well.

Last week was a fun one for me. I got to play golf twice - once with a couple of good friends at a nice country club, and once in a work golf tournament up in Napa. Thursday and Friday we had a work offsite where the whole Finance org went up to Napa for some fun and out-of-office bonding. The golf was fun (there were other activities for non-golfers) - my team won the scramble tourney - and we had a really nice stay at the Westin. It was very fun to hang out with friends and coworkers in a relaxed setting.

Ang has been ultra busy with her PTA stuff. If I haven't mentioned it, she's currently the Vice President of the PTA for her school, and will be El Presidente next year. So every singly night she has loads of work to do as she works through the transition from the old board to the new board, etc. The amount of time she's working, I can't help thinking she might as well just get a job and get paid for it!

Micah tried out for another PYT play this weekend. The play is Aladdin, but I understand it's different from the Disney production, so I'm not too sure what to expect. She did well in the auditions and got call backs for all the important things she wanted. It's a summer play, so it would be something to keep her busy when she doesn't have school.

I played basketball a couple of times last week and had a great time. It had been months since I last played, and sometimes when you take a break and then start up again, there's something fresh about it and everything seems to click. Very fun! I can also use the exercise as I've been taking it pretty easy since the triathlon.

We can't wait to have my parents out visiting us this weekend. They're traveling a lot these couple of weeks because of Dan's graduation from Wharton this past weekend, and then I think they're going somewhere else the week after they come here. We're glad we get them to ourselves when they come here. The kids especially will really enjoy the time.

We finally caught up to the end of LOST this weekend and were surprised by the ending. For some reason we thought this was the last season, but we now know there is one more season next year. There were great episodes this year - completely unpredictable - already can't wait for next year. We were bummed though because we realized as we ran out of space on our DVR, it just continues to record stuff and deletes the oldest things on there to make room. We didn't realize it, but we lost about 3 old episodes of 24, so now we're not going to be able to finish the season. I was sort of losing interest anyway, so not really a big deal, but I'm sure we would've gotten around to it sometime.

1 comment:

Matt and Becca said...: You haven't missed much in 24...I lost interest too, and the 2-hour season finale didn't add much to the season. We're jealous the parents get to come see you guys!; May 19, 2009 at 8:03 AM

j . a . m . k . m . b

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

Monday, May 18, 2009

1 comment:

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