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What Makes A Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle’s flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it … Dad

~ Author Unknown

Happy Father’s Day to all Fathers!

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All I Could Say Was…”Hello”

I recently watched part of the movie “Sleepless in Seattle”. The line used was a repeat of a line from the movie “An Affair to Remember”: “All I could say was ‘hello.’” “Hello” is one of my favorite words to hear, especially when it comes as a phone call from one of my grandchildren.

My almost three-year-old grandson has a beautiful sing-song voice. He calls from his mother’s cell phone and so I am not sure who I will speak with when I answer the phone. “Hello, Mormor.” My heart melts. No matter what I am doing, I stop and spend a few minutes to find out what is going on in his world. I enjoy conversations with his mother and now his baby brother can listen in and can hear me tell him that I love him.

My almost two-year-old grandson also calls me to talk. Recently, he started saying “hello” when I answer the phone. I repeat and he repeats. We do this several times before moving on to a conversation.

There aren’t a lot of words in our conversations sometimes, but he listens as I sing or tell him about my day or we remember a shared experience. The most important part of the conversation is when I talk to my grandchildren about loving them. I think that the greatest gift we can give our grandchildren is to let them know that we love them.

Yesterday, I spoke with a grandmother who had travelled a long distance to be with her grandson before he serves a mission for his church. I love to visit with Grace. Each time she comes, I get just a small glimpse into the joy she feels of being a mother and grandmother. She is a role model to me. Yesterday, two of her granddaughters came as we were finishing our visit. They love for her to cook for them. They say to her that she is a “good cooker.” Her grandchildren know that she loves them.

We show our love in so many ways. We speak our love, our actions say our love, and most of all we listen to those beautiful words, especially “Hello.” Can you share a story of how you show your love to with your grandchildren?

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Compassion

Today, my husband had a minor surgical procedure. All is well and he is recovering at home. Our grandchildren who live close to us wanted to come by and “check” on their grandfather. They were very quiet as they entered the house and even were tiptoeing into the bedroom. He was awake and showed them the bandage covering his stitches.

I am amazed at how perceptive our grandchildren are. They are so responsive to our requests when someone is sick or recovering. We have dealt with a lot of medical issues in the past few years, and perhaps the experience of dealing with health challenges has helped them to learn how to be kind, considerate and helpful.

Hyrum, our 20 month old grandson, came to the side of the bed to talk to his grandfather. He leaned down to the floor and picked up the bottle of water sitting next to the bed to give it to his grandfather. No one asked him, he just wanted to be helpful.

There are people who don’t understand the compassion that little ones feel. I will never be one of those people ever again. I watch with appreciation the skills of showing love and helpfulness their parents have taught them. No matter how old (or young) we are, we can be kind to those around us.

How will you empower your grandchildren by teaching compassion today?

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Christmas is Coming

“Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
Please to put a penny in the old man’s hat.

If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do.
If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God Bless you!
God Bless you!”

I love that Christmas is this week. Last Saturday, we spent the day with our neice and nephew and their family. What a wonderful day! We sang Christmas carols, we shared past Christmas experiences, and we just enjoyed being together.

Being together is what Christmas is about. My husband and I drove down with our grandchildren in our car. It was delightful. Jakob read to us and I worked on a presentation. We talked and enjoyed the journey together. It was a long drive and at the end, everyone was happy to have arrived.

We shared a meal, swam (the brave ones, but not me. It was too cold for me). When it was time to go, it was hard for the children to say goodbye. But, we know that we will have many more glorious days to spend with them while they live so close.

Christmas is about love. Love from our Heavenly Father to send our Savior. Love from our Savior to make it possible for us to repent and return to live with Heavenly Father. Love from family and friends as we share time, talents and gifts with one another.

Christmas is coming…Are you ready?

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Lifelong Learning

I watched a broadcast of a Christmas program by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the
Bells of Temple Square and I thought, once again, how I always wanted to play the hand bells. As a child, there was not a place to take lessons. As an adult, taking lessons has not been an easy thing to find either. So, I still don’t know how to play hand bells. I love to watch, however, those who do know how to play.

I love that it takes so many people to work together to play a song, unlike the piano, which can be played alone. Don’t get me wrong, I love that I can sit down at the piano and play when I am happy or sad or excited or mad and do something constructive with my anger or express my joy or sorrow.

But, there is more to this blog than just talking about the beautiful team of music of hand bells. There is a message here somewhere, it may not be easy to find, so here goes: Don’t wait to do the things you want to do, do them now. Otherwise, you may end up a grandmother and not know how to play hand bells. There is no better time.

We feel so busy. Life has many things that keep our time occupied. Learning is something we need to continue to do for a lifetime. Learning keeps our brain active and can slow the progression of degenerative diseases. Learning keeps life exciting. We can share our love of learning with our family and friends. We can take classes together (our family took a sign language class together recently). Our goals may have to change, but learning is always is important.

Because of illness, my hands don’t work as they once did. I do not have the strength or the coordination to play the hand bells (there may be some who would question that I ever had the coordination). Learning, however, is an important aspect of my life. I am learning to write blogs and write courses and I am learning to be consistently learning. I even toy with the idea of going back to school. My Aunt Gwen went back to school and earned her degree after all her children were raised. Perhaps, when my youngest goes away to college, I will go back to college too. Who knows?

What have you learned today? And what will you learn tomorrow?

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Grandparents to All

There is a wonderful gift given to grandparents. We love all grandchildren, whether they belong to us or not. Let me share an experience.

Last night, we attended the Kindergarten and Preschool Holiday Program for the school where our daughter teaches. I didn’t know any of the children, but loved watching them perform for their parents and grandparents. They were precious. (At one point, my husband leaned over to me and asked if I could tell which children were kinesthetic learners. It was obvious by the movement.) They were happy. They were dressed in their best holiday clothes. There was a 4 year old who played the violin. I loved it when he called out to his mom, “How does it start?” Then, his mom called out: “bom, bom, bom, bom.” He started immediately. He knew the code she had given him. She was important to him, not only as nurturer, clothier, feeder, but also as teacher. He recognized that she could help him get where he needed to go.

One child cried. His mom encouraged, even putting him on the stage, but in the end, she sat in his chair and held him. He wasn’t ready to be on that scary stage yet.

And, there was the mother who ran to the stage as she recognized the sign that her daughter needed a quick trip to the ladies’ room.

Some children sang, some danced, some did the hand motions, some did not do any of these things. But, they were there. They were loved by their families and their teachers, which included students learning to be teachers. The children were tall and short, big and small, of many cultures and all were precious souls sent to earth for us to love.

We were proud of the children. We were proud of our daughter, who was very much in the background, letting the children shine. At the end of the program, she was presented with red roses. It was a great experience for all of us!

There is a wonderful gift given to grandparents. We are able to love the whole world. Isn’t that a
great thing? Love is an empowering gift from God. How will you use this gift of love today?

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Blissful Days

This morning, I spent some time with my daughter and grandson. My daughter let me take my twenty month old grandson for a walk. We walked past some fountains and he was so excited! I took him out of the stroller and we climbed down the steps to be closer to the fountain.

The water was going spraying up in an arch. He wanted to touch it, but I told him that was not a good idea. We climbed up the steps and sat on a park bench. He stood and held the back of the bench for support. He walked down the bench and then walked back to me. He was smiling and happy.

A lady walked past and he waved to her. She didn’t notice him and kept walking. His face dropped. I called to her, but she was captured by her thoughts. I called again and he waved again. She kept walking. I called even louder and she turned. He waved and I explained that he wanted to wave at her. She just continued on her journey.

I have thought about how important it is to acknowledge one another. Sure, he’s just a baby, but it was so important to him to share his happiness with her. How often do we get caught up in our thoughts and forget to pay attention to others and the little things in life?

Today, I have felt the love of my Heavenly Father abundantly. I want to pay attention to all those who need my smile and my “hi”. I want to share the love that Heavenly Father gives to us with others. This is one way I can show my love for Him.

We are empowered when we share our love, good wishes and support for our families and friends.

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I Need More Christmas Than Just This

Today, we were at our daughter’s home. We were visiting and some of the children were across the street at a neighbor’s house. The children came back and forth. We watched one come in to take off her shoes. Our twin girl was upset and her dad took her to the garage and they brought out the wreath to put on the door. Eventually, she fell into the pool when she was trying to get a ball and needed a shower. Then, our six year old grandson came running to the door. As he entered the door, he called out, “I need more Christmas than just this!”

How profound! I thought about how I felt. This year, it seems we all need a little Christmas. Even before Thanksgiving, we had neighbors who had put up their Christmas lights. It was hard, but I waited until the traditional Friday after Thanksgiving to turn ours on even though they have been on the house and bushes since last week.

I love driving into our neighborhood where the Christmas lights greet us. Yesterday afternoon, I went back to the office to help my husband with a project and we left after dark. I was in my car. I turned on the radio to the station I knew was playing Christmas carols (they started before Thanksgiving as did DishNetwork radio). I was tired and contemplative as I listened. Then, I noticed as I do each year, how the “street lights, even stop lights blink a bright red and green”* and I thought “It feels like Christmas time.”

Then, I noticed the lights, just a hint from the road, but as I got closer to the turn, I saw them all. They are simple yet elegant, and they brought peace to me.

How many times I think about how we are connected. Just as the lights are connected to one another on each string, we are connected to one another. There are many colors of lights, just as each of us has our own unique characteristics. One light alone is pretty, but when they work together, they are magnificent; when we work together, we are powerful. We bring calm to the chaos going on in the world. We bring peace to one another. And isn’t that what Christmas is all about…”peace, goodwill toward men*”? I hope you have peace in your life.

*song: Silver Bells by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans; scripture is found in Kings James version of the Holy Bible, Luke 2:14

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Stitches!

Recently, our family and Karin’s family were helping to clean the church. Our four year old granddaughter tripped as she was running and was bleeding as she came down the hall toward the kitchen where we were putting away the cleaning supplies and getting ready to leave. Her head hit the chair rail and she was required to have stitches and has a nasty bruise on her cheek.

I immediately called her doctor’s office and the doctor stitched her wound. He was so good with her. He covered her eye with a guaze pad so that she would not see him stitching her eyebrow. He talked her through the whole procedure.

I came in part way through and she was so brave. She hardly flinched as he anesthetized the skin.

I am amazed. Her mother and I were more anxious. We winced. I left before the procedure was completed and prayed for my daughter to have the strength that she needed.

I was surprised, when I first became a grandparent, how connected I am with my grandchildren. I knew I would love them, but was not prepared for the intensity of the feelings for the child of my child. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father wants us to be connected as families. I love being with my family!

Connecting with our grandchildren is an important part of being a grandparent. There is a feeling of safety from having grandparents who love you and take time to listen.

What can you do today to connect with one of your grandchildren?

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Taking Classes

A couple of months ago, our family signed up for a sign language class. This last week, our class focused on the vocabulary we should have learned during our beginning and intermediate classes. The teacher, Karen, is sending an email for us to practice and giving us a website so that we can practice over the holidays.

I have enjoyed our sign language classes. My family practices with me and I can teach my grandchildren. The four year old twins are most anxious to learn the signs. We can talk together.

I have been sick and it hurts to talk. My daughter suggested that I sign to communicate. This has been an exercise which has taught me that I really need to work on learning the signs so that I am prepared.

We are never too old to learn. I have been surprised by what I can understand. And you never know when you will need to use the knowledge you gain. I would not have guessed that the class we took would allow me to heal and still be able to communicate. Mostly, I have to fingerspell (spelling out words using the signing letters). And often, I give up and speak. Tomorrow I am going to be more diligent to use sign language. This is an opportunity for me to grow.