A Week of Thanks

 Our dear prophet,  Russell M Nelson, recently asked us to post what we are thankful for and why on social media (hash tag givethanks). I think it is a wonderful idea. I am preferring to use this location to express my thanks. 

It is interesting how easy and yet how difficult it is for me to choose only seven separate posts. 

My first being sunshine and blue skies, because I am down in Arizona,  not missing the cold deary yuck of the onset of winter at my home. I am able to praise my God;  with a small and yet marvelous moment, I get to experience this joy. 

Gardening is a major draw for my soul, so when winter sets in with its ferocity,  it tends to bring me down.  I am enthralled with my plants and any success I have,  because I have many many unsuccessful attempts (weather,  mice,  dirt, cats, disease,  deer).

I crave being alone,  away from the noise and throttle of society.  My favorite times are when there are no people (besides family), no dogs,  no music,  no silence tainted by cars or airplanes.  Just nothing.  I can feel God in those moments. I can find beauty easier without those distractions.

.....

My second post was entirely cliché.  

My family. 

"I'm thankful for this crazy,  weird, wacky family of mine. 

One of my favorite things is when we gather for scriptures then hang out afterward.  There are so many jokes and so much laughter.  I cherish those times."

Yes. I am thankful for my family.  Specifically,  I was referring to them as a whole.  There is something different when we are together,  all six of us.  I tend to be the Debbie Downer of the group.  They can unwind and make jokes.  I like to plan,  get things lined up; have serious,  meaningful moments.  But when I can pull back and let that go,  I can see the beauty of this little family Heavenly Father blessed me with. How our personalities are vastly different but so glaringly similar.  

I pray my children will be good supports for each other as they make their own families. 

.....

I'm thankful for the Holy Ghost.  

More specifically,  how I know I belong to the correct church.  I know it in my heart.  I know it in my intellect. Do I have doubts?  Yes,  but I know that I am happy where I am.  That if I die,  and all was for naught,  at least I gave it my all, nothing wavering.  

I am learning more all the time,  my appreciation for The Book of Mormon.  For Joseph Smith.  For the sacrament.  For inspired leaders.  For tender mercies.  For miracles. 

I am an infant in my knowledge but I see progress. I see doors and windows open in my mind as I ponder and study the scriptures,  listen to podcasts and General Conference.  My eyes and spirit are opening to the wonders of the gospel. Which yes,  does bring me happiness. It is so easy for me to see the path to happiness.  I wonder how anyone cannot accept it, but realize we are all on our own journey.  We all need to find our way through this mess of a world we are in right now. 

I believe we are all trying to do our best. 

.....

Employment. 

Our family has always had enough.  Even in times when there wasn't much,  it was enough.  We have been watched over by many people.  

After moving from a ten year stretch in Minnesota,  we took a transfer to Utah to be near family.  After one year,  Justin got a new boss who in turn fired several employees and hired his own guys.  

Devastating.  

Justin,  the most loyal,  likeable employee at Raleigh was fired.  Unbelievable.  Such a slap to the face.  

Justin spent many many hours working on his resume,  going to support groups at LDS unemployment,  filing out applications,  and staring off into the void.  This was a broken man.  I have never seen him as down as this dark time. 

He eventually took a job at Rico, a printer company with an office in SLC, a seedy part of town near the homeless shelters.  He spent several weeks sitting through hours, day after day of online classes.  

He started hitting the streets. Entering every business,  hawking something he had zero interest in.  

He was miserable.  And he didn't make much money. 

Six months later,  Raleigh,  out of the blue,  hired him back.  We were overjoyed.  Even though this company had a reputation for firing people,  this was a known comfortable position Justin could make a living at,  and one he enjoyed. 

This lasted less than a year.  Raleigh decided to terminate the entire outside sales force. 

Justin,  wanting to stay in the same line of work,  decided to start up his own independent gig.  He got several companies and maybe could have made it work,  although it looked scary!  

One day,  he was in The Bike Peddler.  The owner had been there,  left,  then felt impressed to go back.  He met with Justin and offered him a job at Lizard Skins.  

This was a moment of tremendous prayer. It felt handed to him by God. Justin took the job, I believe he has been there four years December 1.  He makes quite a bit less money than before and it has been so hard to make ends meet.  But they meet with interventions of God's angels!

We don't know how long he'll work there,  but he is fairly happy. 

In the mean time,  I was feeling some pressure to get a job now that Ammon was in full time school and with Justin's stints of no income or not enough income.  I interviewed with JetBlue. I prayed about it. My prayer was answered the same day as the interview,  when I read an email for the Elders Qorum upcoming Sunday lesson. A talk by Elder Boyd K. Packer ... I felt immediate peace reading this quote, knowing I should not take this job,  or any other for now. 

Not long after,  Jacob texted me he was contemplating suicide.  We brought him home from Job Corps where I spent many hours a week driving him to appointments.  If I had a job,  I wouldn't have been home to be with him. 

And this same story has happened to me TWICE.

When things had settled and life was back to as normal as it ever gets, I again prayed about getting a job. Again I knew this wasn't right.  Again Jacob needed me home.  It is astounding how much Heavenly Father is in the details of our lives when we look for them.  Miracles are all around us,  but we need to have faith to see them.  

So,  back to employment.  I feel safe and secure.  Occasionally I have a moment of fear that joblessness will approach our family with its garish black cloud and I can feel the anxiety creep into my chest and lay hold on my breathing.

Then I try to relax and appreciate that we are so blessed.  I have an incredible home.  I have more than enough food in our pantry. We have an abundance of clothing.  We pay a full tithing and we are blessed. 

..... 

Games

They have been a fundamental part of my entire life.  I remember playing Mastermind, Checkers, with my dad.  I played so many with my grandma Thomson,  Racko, On Our Way, Stadium Checkers, Pick Up Sticks, Yahtzee, House a Fire, Skip Bo. 

I'm so glad Justin likes to play games with me.  We have an abundance of them in our basement. I need to count but I'm sure there are over 200.  I scour thrift stores for unique and especially vintage games or vintage editions (Clue, Uno, They're so much better! )

There aren't many weeks that go by that we don't play at least one.  Our kids aren't overly huge fans,  most of them preferring video games (rolls eyes). Some of my/our favorites are:

Dominion, Settlers with their extentions,  Lost Cities, Spice Road, Splendor, Nertz, The Great Dalmuti, Seven Wonders, Five Crowns. 

I guess I'm a kid at heart. 

.....

Traveling

My parents ruined me with miles upon miles of traveling, starting from my infancy.  As I got older, there was always a camping trip planned, or my dad had a trip for his job. 

Those trips my dad had were a catalyst in part for my wondering soul.  He has always taken amazing photos and back then, they were slides.  That is one of my favorite things: having the hum of the slide projector along with the slides being placed in the wrong orientation so having to fix them.  Oh,  but if you were chosen to push the button!  My dad is also an amazing story teller.    He is great at meeting people and finding himself in unique, often unbelievable situations. Combine these things and you have magic.

I was able to go with him on some of these trips. At eight years old,  our family (minus Shawn on his mission,  and Bruce at college)  lived in Auckland New Zealand.  Then when I was 15, there was another sabbatical to Geneva New York for six months finishing up in New Zealand for another six. Twice in my lifetime I lived in NEW ZEALAND!!! 

Since I've been married,  I've been on many more trips including: Tulum and Half Moon Bay, Mexico (for two weeks with a Thomson reunion) Chile (with my dad for two weeks), Sweden and Norway (with my parents for four weeks), South Africa (for three weeks with my parents and Allison).

With Justin,  we've been to: Yellowstone, Playa del Carmen, Fort Walton Beach, Florida (FOUR times,  staying at a home near the beach), Southern California (Disneyland,  Universal Studios...), Washington coast (backpacking to Shyshy beach), New Zealand and Cook Islands, Oahu Hawaii (with the family and my parents), and dozens of camping trips.

How do we do it with meager funds?  I get asked this on occasion and I'm always happy to explain.

The easy ones to explain involve my parents paying for it.  Others involve us choosing where we use our money.  We are very frugal with what we buy.  We also travel extremely low budget.   Our trip to Hawaii,  for example.  We were there 3.5 weeks.  We traded houses,  including cars,  with another family so all we had to buy were plane tickets and food.  We rent the grossest hotels,  sleep in free camping areas,  rarely eat out, and avoid touristy attractions when possible.  

This sounds like I'm bragging,  and I probably am in a way.  But I feel proud of what we've accomplished.  I always need to have a trip planned in my back pocket.  The pandemic has put a rock in the works but we did a few camping trips this summer and we are planning to visit my parents over Christmas and get our teeth fixed in Algedones, Mexico. 

I am so thankful for diversity.  The world is truly magnification.  I love meeting new people and trying to understand their cultures.  

.....

French Fries

These have kept me alive in rural or foreign countries.  Ketchup is used sparingly,  if at all.  I don't like to mask the potato essence.  My favorite part is licking the salt off my fingers at the end.