SMILE

Yesterday was Christmas, so we went to visit all of our nieces and nephews at their homes. When we arrived at my brother's place, my niece declared to us all, "I'm too happy!!!" What a great problem to have, eh? I agree that yesterday was a lovely day. It was a great time to reflect on the plethora of blessings we have, our relationships with family & friends, and of course the birth of our Savior. Hopefully we can all find cause to be "too happy" in our lives!

ZZZ...

Dear Fellow Whom I Went Out With a Handful of Times Last Year,

You seem like a kind soul, but I really don't know you very well from the few times we went out.... which means that you are not entitled to send me text messages in the wee hours of the morning when I am trying to sleep. My lack of response night after night might be a good indicator that I would prefer to get some shut-eye. Thanks!

All the Best,
R

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

I have been beyond lazy today. Lazy to the tenth power..... But it was a highly stressful week at the office, and it has been very nice to unwind/relax today. There were moments when I felt like I wasn't going to make it through this last blasted week, but I finally did... and the relief I felt when I arrived home last night is indescribable. This morning I took the liberty of sleeping in, and when I awoke, there was a beautiful blanket of white snow on the ground. I normally hate the snow, but for some reason today I love it.... maybe because I am not obligated to go anywhere, and so I can just watch it from the window.

I decided to wrap Christmas presents in my pajamas while watching "It's a Wonderful Life." The older I get, the more I love and appreciate that movie. I think it's good to be reminded that human beings are so intertwined, and the way we treat others definitely has an impact on who they (and we) become. "No man is a failure who has friends." Yes, it certainly is a wonderful life.

GOLD STANDARD

On Friday night I enjoyed the most delicious hot chocolate of my life. Picture a cup full of amazing dark melted chocolate and cream. Now imagine it gliding sweetly across your taste buds and falling gently down your throat. Are you blissfully happy? Multiply that experience by a million, and you might have an idea of what I felt. If you want to know the secret destination, just ask...

Yes, on Friday I experienced a gold standard. I can never go back to the ordinary.

P.S. The chocolate-covered cinnamon bears are also a dream.

SUNDAY NIGHT BLUES

Is the weekend seriously over already?!?

LIFE IS SWEET

We're heading on two sappy posts in a row, but tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so making a list of things I appreciate seems like the right thing to do. Following is a hodgepodge of 50 things I am thankful for (in no particular order of merit):

• family
• opportunities to travel
• comfortable bed
• books
• temple
• friendship
• car
• job
• emails
• sunshine
• walks
• prayer
• mountains
• computer
• shoes
• cereal
• telephone
• lip gloss
• hope
• chocolate
• white Christmas lights
• warmth
• mascara
• love
• joy
• listeners
• plans
• good advice
• bubble mint gum
• laughter
• pen & paper
• photographs
• ice cream
• journal
• gospel
• games
• homemade raspberry jam
• light
• vision
• decisions
• tulips
• support
• nieces & nephews
• winter hats
• music
• piano
• solitude (sometimes)
• safety
• guidance
• dreams

This list certainly isn't all-inclusive, but when I look at it, I can't help but think that life is pretty darn sweet...

BOO RADLEY

I have long loved Harper Lee's novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Not only is the story interesting and well-written, but it contains powerful messages about human relationships and strong moral character. Most of you are probably familiar with the part of the story when Jem & Scout receive guns from Atticus. He says, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Scout wonders why, and her neighbor says, "They don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us."

I think these lines parallel the story in multiple ways, but I specifically like how they apply to Scout's severely reclusive neighbor, Boo Radley. Boo keeps to himself, usually, but comes out of his comfort zone to save Scout's life one night.

A couple of weeks ago, we were out raking leaves for 4 hours when I was reminded of this principle of service/compassion.... We had somewhere to be that evening and ran out of time to finish the job, so had to leave all 40+ bags of leaves out on our lawn with the intention of of taking them to the dump the following Monday. We have a neighbor who is semi-reclusive (not to the same extreme as Boo, but who is fairly reserved nonetheless). Although he has always been kind, we have probably not been as friendly to him as we ought. As we were heading out the door, he came over and offered to haul our leaves to the dump for us. We declined, explaining that we felt badly that we couldn't help, so it wouldn't be right for him to do it by himself. We left. When we arrived home, the bags were gone. Despite the fact that we have not been the best of neighbors to this mockingbird, he still made the effort to come out of his comfort zone and help us.

Incidents such as this make me realize that I have a long way to go in learning to truly love and serve others. I need to be a kinder neighbor and friend to all. I was grateful for this life lesson. Perhaps it's time for me to read the novel again....