Matters of Pandemic

 Here we are starting the third year of the COVID19 pandemic! Unbelievable. We just finished our own bout with the virus (omicron variant) following a week in DisneyWorld and Harry Potter World. It was very warm and wonderful in Florida, and we had a super reunion with Sean’s family. I didn’t feel great on the Tuesday we left, but had no idea that I might have contracted the virus—after-all, we had all been triple-vaxed, healthy, and masked. The amusement parks were crowded, even stuffed, with holiday celebrants. New Year’s Eve in Epcot Center was crazy, and we had to fight our way through the crowds. That was probably the infection point, though we were outdoors the whole time, watching fireworks and eating fish and chips. 

Many flights had been delayed and canceled because of the virus and holiday’s end, and Tuesday, January fourth, the Orlando airport was filled to the max with tired, frustrated fliers. Our flight was delayed for a little less than an hour, but we were in the airport—not able to even get near our gate—for six hours. We were ready to be HOME! By Wednesday night I was quite ill with a headache, runny nose, and exhaustion. Cameron’s red, runny nose showed he was also infected. Thursday we spent over three hours in the car, in line at the fitness center, waiting for our “tests.” Cameron and I were positive. Jim got sick a week later and is on treatment to protect him from getting worse, since he is in high-risk categories. It was hard to get the medications, too! Blood tests (kidneys) across town, waiting for approval and virtual appointments, and picking up meds at yet another location.

We are all on the mend ❤️‍🩹! Julia’s farewell was yesterday, and we had had to cancel our flights and rental car because of the COVID. It was a blessing, though to be able to zoom in! Zoom!

Choices Matter

Choices Matter

 

Last Sunday I watched an interview with Carmen Rasmussen Herbert, a former finalist on the second season of American Idol. When she talked about the decisions she eventually made that took her from the “top of the charts” kind of fame she thought she wanted, it reminded me of some of the choices I made when my own “two roads diverged.” I wasn’t on the road to fame and fortune, but, like everyone, I had to make a choice that determined a set path for the rest of my life. 

 

I was eighteen and ready to graduate at the top of my class from Idaho Falls High School. Some of my teachers and counselors were pushing me to go East. They wanted me to apply at the big Ivy-League schools or fancy women’s colleges. My decision was to go instead to Ricks College, 30 miles from home. I had a very prestigious scholarship that I could use anywhere I chose to go. It seemed like everyone but my family was horrified that I did not want to “go big.” 

 

So, I went off to Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho), “and that has made all the difference.” My mother died that next year, succumbing to heart disease complicated by the Hong-Kong flu. I was so thankful for the weekends spent at home over that first year of college. Who knows what the other road might have been like? Wherever that road would have taken me, I am happy in the life journey taken. 

  

Matters of Gathering

 Matters of Gathering Blog 8.10.21

 

Sunday I taught the Young-Women’s lesson for our ward combined with the Pheasant Brook Ward. The lesson was on the gathering of Israel, and we talked a lot about President and Sister Nelson’s message to the youth in April, 2018, “Hope of Israel.” I LOVE that talk. I think it is exciting! I encourage everyone to read or re-read it (or watch the video version). It was fabulous to meet with the girls and discuss the gathering of Israel, which President Nelson calls “the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty.” I noticed that the young women needed more instruction than the time allowed on “Israel,” the covenant path, and the gathering of the ten tribes, but they are spectacular and will rise to the challenge.

 

This morning our family study was in Jacob 5, again focusing on the gathering of Israel. We watched the old seminary video on YouTube, “The Allegory of the Olive Tree.” I almost wanted to sign up for another mission!

I don’t know how many times I have read, studied, and taught Jacob 5, but this morning it took on new understanding, purpose, and motivation after Sunday’s lesson and study of D&C 86. I absolutely love studying and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ!

 

And speaking of gathering the world into covenant Israel, Sean was made the new branch president in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  He will serve until they move in May, and his calling will be to prepare the branch to become a ward, part of a new stake. In this Muslim country. Zion, expanding. Nothing can stop the work from progressing. We live in scary, but exciting times. We are the gatherers for the final time In the Lord’s vineyard.

 

Matters of Grandmothering

 Three of my grandchildren are graduating from high school—and two of them are the babies of their families! Congratulations Julia, Carson, and Haylee! It seems impossible that you are so grown-up.

Kara, Alisha, Colton, Kelsey, and Victoria are my married grandchildren. Autumn is getting married in September. Victoria got married on December 5 in the Raleigh, NC, Temple. Getting married in a pandemic is a challenging proposition, but Vika’s had the added roadblock of her family’s being stuck in Malaysia and not able to attend—wait! Like so many meetings and celebrations during COVID, the only way the family could gather was by Zoom. Though they could not attend the sealing, they tuned in for the hand-fasting ceremony and ring exchange. Thanks to the Anderson grandparents, the ring ceremony and drive-by reception was a splendid success. Beautifully decorated in true Norwegian tradition with beautiful flowers and ribbons, an event tent welcomed in-person and zooming-in family and friends from all over the world! A food truck served beignets and hot chocolate. Jim officiated in the hand-fasting/ring ceremony. It was so amazing—I am grateful that we got to be part of it all. In the endowment session at the temple family gathered the night before the sealing and shared a unique and spiritual experience. 

Zoom! A headache and a blessing. During this last year we were able to zoom into church meetings where our Colorado grandchildren sang at Christmas time (Kara, Alisha, Julia, Savanna). We zoomed in to hear Julia speak. We zoomed in to listen to Savanna talk. We zoomed in to Julia’s seminary graduation and “be there” for her talk. It was not ideal to have Sean and Shawna be a half-world away for their daughter’s wedding, but it WAS a blessing that they could gather their family in Malaysia and zoom in.

The pandemic was a challenge for missionaries, too. Our grandson Bryce, called to serve in Rancagua, Chile, held his MTC experience online and with zoom from the office in our house. He spent several months in Louisiana  waiting for Chile to open up. During that time he and his companions contracted COVID and were in deep quarantine. Once he finally got to Chile, he spent several more weeks in lockdown, doing his missionary work through social media and zoom.

We are grateful for vaccinations, which now give us confidence to hug and kiss all our grandkids, 26 counting our precious great-grandsons. 

Pandemic Routine Matters

 It is true that my routine is pretty boring these days. To rev up my interest and put a spark in my week, I try to find an adventure walk or a project that is different. I journal every day in the scriptures or in conference talks. I love this task more every day, and it gets the creative juices flowing. I play the piano and the ukulele or guitar—mostly because if it’s not on my daily checklist, it won’t get done! I study Spanish for an hour or two every day. Checklist. There is something therapeutic about checking off what I have accomplished. I walk. I read. (Right now I’ve tackled THE WAY OF KINGS and ANXIOUS PEOPLE.) I try to lift or minister. I always have a sewing project going. As a family we read and study the scriptures along with family prayer twice a day. And then there is my blog!

 

It has been a weird ten months since we returned from our mission at the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, but it has also presented opportunities for learning and growth. I count my blessings. 

Pictures:

1. One of our study projects is with DON”T MISS THIS.

         

2. Another great study is with Tyler & Taylor at Book of Mormon Central—Come, Follow Me Insights.

 

3. Calendaring

	4.

Cameron’ Christmas Miracle Matters

 Matters of Light This Christmas, A Cameron Story

I was feeling very Christmasy. I was completely immersed in “Christmas with the Chosen” and had just watched an episode of Studio 5 called “End 2020 on a Positive Note” with Dr. Liz Patel and Brooke Walker when Jim called with this Christmas-miracle story: He had taken Cameron to buy a suit for Christmas. This is because Cam has lost about 90 pounds, and his suit from many years ago literally hangs on him. They went shopping at Mr. Mac. Cameron was bubbling over with excitement and thrilled to find out that he could get a $300 suit AND a second one for $1 more. Cam loves to shop! As Jim went to the counter to pay for TWO suits, the miracles began. Two free ties! Then, the unexpected. Another customer in the store, a kind and generous soul, had already paid $200 on our bill! The tears began to flow—from both of my guys. A Christmas pay-it-forward. Cameron had been shopping for a week for co-workers and family, but this. . .! What a little miracle! It changed Christmas for us forever.

 

So, Dr. Liz’s list of ways to end 2020 on a positive note should include just one more thing:

#1. Look for the cosmic Christmas miracle in the SW sky, beginning Dec. 21 just after sundown when Jupiter and Saturn align!

#2. Look for the joy that doesn’t meet the circumstance!

#3. Look for the needs and causes close to you!

#4. Look at Christmas through the eyes of a child!

#5. Look for ways to spread warm “hugs” of emotion!

AND bonus #6. Look around for good, generous people sharing what they have with someone who needs to know that they matter.

 

Watch the segment on Studio 5, and then add your mental image of a kind person at Mr. Mac’s, who made a young man with Down Syndrome feel like the most important and loved person today!

 We have two Christmas trees this year. It’s a long story, and it happened through a series of unfortunate events, but it’s the end of the story that I love. 

 

It is not easy at our age to set up and decorate a nine-foot tree and a seven-foot tree. A visit from my brother and his wife prompted us to push ourselves through the mess and the stress to finish it all. The old tree is one we call  our Santa-travel-family tree. We collect ornaments as we travel the world, and they are beautiful remembrances of people and places we love. This is also where we put our ornament gifts, received from students and families through the years. We have collected beautiful, whimsical, and homemade Santas, too. A few years ago we found little frame ornaments and added family pictures. We love this tree—even though we had to string lights this year.

 

The living-room tree is completely covered with all references to the Savior and the humble Nativity. I think that all the disasters that led us to the purchase and work of this tree were all worth it. It sits next to the piano where I play the old carols of the season. The lights and décor inspire me to play. It is another way for us to be reminded every day that our Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

 

My cousin Susan sent this message from Elder Christofferson (“Why We Need Jesus Christ”) in her Christmas card this year: “As Christmas approaches…dial down the ‘noise’, and take some time this Christmas season to reflect on the wonder and the majesty of the Son of God. . . to relax, be at peace, and see this little child in your mind. Do not be concerned. . .with what [may be] coming up in His life or in yours. Instead, take a peaceful moment to contemplate perhaps the most serene moment in the history of the world—when all of heaven rejoiced with the message ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men’ (Luke 2:14).” 

 

Amen!