On Being Flexible

I've got lots of assignments right now. My days and nights are full of thoughts and ideas for fulfilling them. I plan my days carefully to make sure all my bases are covered. But plans are meant to be altered. I rarely get through a planned day uninterrupted. But I believe I am learning not to fret over this. I am proud to say that I think I am getting much better at flexibility. I was put to the test this week.

My daughter-in-law Dorothy has been babysitting Ben and Jessica's five children this past week while B & J were in Europe. Dorothy is amazing with children. She handled all those babes very well. Reed, who is looking for a job, stayed home with their four boys during this time. On Monday Dorothy called to see if she could bring the BJ kids over for a visit. It was a holiday, you see. "Of course" I told her, and meant it. She mentioned that Reed was also coming with the four boys. So I dropped my plans for the day and embraced our sweet invasion. Happily the children romped, played and ate until we needed to leave for a Monday night Family Home Evening at a friend's house. So family left for family night. That just doesn't seem right, does it? It was a full but happy day with none of my goals for the day being met.

We went to the temple on Wednesday, always a sweet treat. Being there is so good for my soul. But we come home exhausted and usually take a nap to perk up for the rest of the day. Just as I was drifting off I heard a happy little voice at the front door exclaim, "Hi, we're here to spend the night with you!" It turns out that we wound up in the middle of a little Palo Alto adventure. Sometime that morning a private plane crashed, bringing down some electrical wires that caused a black-out in the surrounding Palo Alto area. Our BJ home was affected. To add to that, Dorothy awoke that morning feeling absolutely terrible. The loss of power in the house was the last straw for her. She bundled the kids up and brought them to our house, then went home and to bed!

You can see two of our little invaders above: B&J's Zachary and William.

So, for another day, we were happily entertained by busy little ones. We played with them, fed them, bathed them and put them to bed. Shortly after that Ben and Jes' flight arrived from Europe. They checked for power at home, then drove over to get the kids. They visited for awhile, packed up their sleeping babes, and went home. And so, by 10:30 PM it was as if nothing had happened.

I am amazed at how things come together. I have been able to prepare myself for all that I'm responsible for, even with all the interruptions. The Lord compensates when we look out for the people in our lives first. I've experienced this before too. So why do I doubt? Why do I fret? Why don't I remember this principle? The people versus stuff war is alive and well in our household. I'm happy to say that the people won this week. Now if I can just remember this.

Our granddaughter, Carmen, died one year ago on Thursday the 18th. Time passes quickly now, whether in celebration or in mourning. It seems like she just left. I was determined to visit her grave on this day and talked Layne into it. We loaded Mom in the car, bought some flowers, and headed out. We didn't do much at her grave, but it was important to me to be there; to think of her, to thank God for her and to never forget her. I reviewed her face, the sound of her voice, her laugh. I reviewed it all at her graveside. She is gone, but I am grateful that she once was here.