Making and Recording Memories

When I think about how my time is spent, it is amazing to me how little of it remains after personal and family interests and needs are addressed.  It is a good thing that there is such a thing as eternity; for there seems to be too little time to pursue all the interests that fill the imagination in one short mortal lifetime.  My ambitions speed far ahead of my actual performance.  One of my ambitions, which I have had for many years now, is to organize childhood pictures and memories for each of our five children.  It looms large in my mind, which may explain why I've not yet done it.  Well, not completed it at any rate.  Once again I am plunging into an effort to actually accomplish this labor of love.  Son Ben is now my focus.  Piecing together his childhood brings to my mind a rush of memories.  If I am not careful, a little melancholy can also slip in as I acknowledge that those precious years of his childhood are forever over.  Never again will I feel his little-boy arms around my neck or feel his childish concern for my welfare.  I make my mind focus on what he has become.  That also is pleasing to me.  And so my efforts at completing this memory trip continue; hopefully this time they will reach a point that I can call finished.

We celebrated March family birthdays this past Sunday.  Our goal is to make of our monthly local family get-togethers a time of celebration and also a time of learning together and growing in unity.  We organized a more structured family Sunday this time, which included a Family Home Evening lesson, birthday celebration, songs, a game and scripture chase for the kiddos.  I'm hoping that we can make our time together memorable for the children.  I wish we were a family that expressed more outward emotion and feeling, but, to a person, we seem not to be.  I don't know how to create more openness since I'm not good at it either.  But there is plenty of love to share, and good times.

I went to a luncheon with fellow high school girls yesterday.  It is surprising to me how many of them I don't know.  We had a big class.  But it was fun to visit and get acquainted with girls that I went to school with but didn't know well at the time.  Seeing them brings to mind how quickly a lifetime passes by.  It seems such a short time ago that we were girls with big dreams for the future.  Isn't it interesting how often dreams must be altered as we go along.  If nothing else, life on earth teaches the value of being adaptable and light on our feet.  I think of that more often now that we are giving up our dream house and moving, once again, into the unknown.  Of course I am also keeping in mind that this change may take awhile...

Daughter Jessica turned 43 March 6th.

My March birthday boys:  James turns 14 on the 28th;
 Ben will be 35 on the 24th.  

Here I am with the train monument unveiled on Mission Ave.
in Fremont.  It was created and paid for by friend Lila Bringhurst.

Since late December I have embarked upon a regular, more vigorous, exercise program.  I took my weight and measurements at the beginning, planning on rechecking both each month.  Of course I am hoping for measurable improvement.  So I re-measured last week.  Guess what.  Nothing has changed!  Same weight. Same measurements.  I find that just a bit discouraging.  But I plan to persist in my efforts awhile longer.  Maybe next month will bring a better result.  Here's hoping.

Our week was filled with other activities as well; dinner for missionaries, dinner with neighbors and friends Ernie and Bev Trutner, another trip to Ben and Jessica's to help organize their new home, an unveiling of a train monument, placed in Fremont by friend Lila Bringhurst, hiking and tennis with daughter Audrey...and so it goes.  Minutes, hours and days are filled with a collection of activities and events that are mostly pleasing and mind-expanding.  I'm grateful for that.