I love the scenes in "The Singles Ward" where the cute little preemie played by Kirby Heyborne is relating his favorite Mormon Myths--who is, who isn't a member, did Elvis take the discussions, Steve Martin's CTR ring, all that dumb stuff. Now, some celebrities really are LDS, though it seems to be a good Mormon, and an entertainer, you pretty much have to be a convert (Aaron Eckhart v Rick Schroeder, Kathryn Heigl v Gladys Knight). If you google "mormon" you'll get lots of hits, most of which make me want to throw things. Antis, ex-mos, polygamists, crazies....it's disheartening to say the least. But not today. Today if you google "mormon" you'll find Torah Bright. Torah won the Olympic gold medal in women's snowboarding last night. She's not LDS the way Eliza Dushku and Amy Adams are LDS--she's LDS the way you are. In this interview with an Australian media outlet, she does a fantastic job sharing her love of her sport and truths about her faith. Today, I'm proud to have someone in the spotlight who represents us well.
Torah, Torah, Torah, indeed!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Um, service hurts sometimes
As promised, here is the full story of my daily act of service: volunteering in Jake's kindergarten class.
I had arranged a babysitter for this morning a week ago--or so I thought. After a morning full of phone calls (no less than 4 plus a text message) and never getting in contact with my friend, I took my chances and just showed up at her house.
No one there.
So, I started going through my address book, looking for someone to take my littles at the last minute. I got lucky, and Brittany changed her plans for me (THANK YOU BOWENS!) I hurried over to their house, dropped my kids off and ran out the door. As I was running, I remembered a valuable lesson--in the winter, its best to assume there is ice under the snow. I remembered this as I was momentarily airborne, suspended in dread and disbelief in the air outside the Bowen home. When I hit the ground with my back, and followed that up with a resounding WHACK on the back of my head, all I could think of came out my mouth, "auauaghghh (groan) I'm thirty!" I picked myself off, and hobbled to my car to continue on my breathless journey to the elementary school.
At the school, I realized that my whole backside was wet. I hadn't noticed before cause of the pain. Oh well, too late now. I proceeded to help with the class, sitting on the floor for an hour. Not smart. My hips are not all they should be, and they hurt a lot by the end of the hour.
Service is good, and seeing how happy Jake was to see me in his class made it all worth it--but my elbow hurts, and my hips hurt and I have a severely sprained dignity. Thankfully, all my service endeavors for tomorrow are indoors. I'll probably burn myself instead.
I had arranged a babysitter for this morning a week ago--or so I thought. After a morning full of phone calls (no less than 4 plus a text message) and never getting in contact with my friend, I took my chances and just showed up at her house.
No one there.
So, I started going through my address book, looking for someone to take my littles at the last minute. I got lucky, and Brittany changed her plans for me (THANK YOU BOWENS!) I hurried over to their house, dropped my kids off and ran out the door. As I was running, I remembered a valuable lesson--in the winter, its best to assume there is ice under the snow. I remembered this as I was momentarily airborne, suspended in dread and disbelief in the air outside the Bowen home. When I hit the ground with my back, and followed that up with a resounding WHACK on the back of my head, all I could think of came out my mouth, "auauaghghh (groan) I'm thirty!" I picked myself off, and hobbled to my car to continue on my breathless journey to the elementary school.
At the school, I realized that my whole backside was wet. I hadn't noticed before cause of the pain. Oh well, too late now. I proceeded to help with the class, sitting on the floor for an hour. Not smart. My hips are not all they should be, and they hurt a lot by the end of the hour.
Service is good, and seeing how happy Jake was to see me in his class made it all worth it--but my elbow hurts, and my hips hurt and I have a severely sprained dignity. Thankfully, all my service endeavors for tomorrow are indoors. I'll probably burn myself instead.
Month of service, week one
A good friend committed to doing a month of service in January, and when she wrote her last post on her project, she challenged her readers to do the same in February. Well, I love a challenge, so I have taken on this project for myself!
Monday: A friend in the ward is battling cancer right now, and I didn't see her in church on Sunday. I gave her a call to check on her and see if she was feeling alright or needed any help. We had a good chat. She amazes me with her attitude and her faith.
Tuesday: I had planned to watch a friend's kids today, but that fell through. Instead, I took a look at how long my kids watch tv every day, and decided that I was missing oppurtunities to spend time with them. Jake will be in First Grade next year, which means he'll get on the bus at seven and come home at four. I'll be with him only four of his waking hours! My boy is starting to slip away from me, and I'll feel awful if I waste the time I have with him. So, we colored, and played with clay, and made cookies.
Wednesday: I play with a group of ladies known as "Little Monkey Mamas." We hadn't had an activity in months, and I figured everyone else was a stir crazy as me, so I planned and carried out an acitivity. It was a huge success, and we had a lot of fun!
Thursday: Yesterday was lame. I had intended to count my girls' night out with a couple of friends for my service, but I don't know if that counts. I guess it does, if offering your love and support and friendship while eating high-calorie food counts as service. I hope it does.
Friday: Today I'm going to help with a party in Jake's class. I'll let you know how that goes.
Saturday: Big cooking day! One of my girls on my VT beat is having a baby on Monday (at the latest!) so I'm making some meatballs and chili to freeze and take over to her so she can use them at her pleasure!
I like helping others. I really want to live a life that matters. Serving others is the best way I can think of to do that!
Monday: A friend in the ward is battling cancer right now, and I didn't see her in church on Sunday. I gave her a call to check on her and see if she was feeling alright or needed any help. We had a good chat. She amazes me with her attitude and her faith.
Tuesday: I had planned to watch a friend's kids today, but that fell through. Instead, I took a look at how long my kids watch tv every day, and decided that I was missing oppurtunities to spend time with them. Jake will be in First Grade next year, which means he'll get on the bus at seven and come home at four. I'll be with him only four of his waking hours! My boy is starting to slip away from me, and I'll feel awful if I waste the time I have with him. So, we colored, and played with clay, and made cookies.
Wednesday: I play with a group of ladies known as "Little Monkey Mamas." We hadn't had an activity in months, and I figured everyone else was a stir crazy as me, so I planned and carried out an acitivity. It was a huge success, and we had a lot of fun!
Thursday: Yesterday was lame. I had intended to count my girls' night out with a couple of friends for my service, but I don't know if that counts. I guess it does, if offering your love and support and friendship while eating high-calorie food counts as service. I hope it does.
Friday: Today I'm going to help with a party in Jake's class. I'll let you know how that goes.
Saturday: Big cooking day! One of my girls on my VT beat is having a baby on Monday (at the latest!) so I'm making some meatballs and chili to freeze and take over to her so she can use them at her pleasure!
I like helping others. I really want to live a life that matters. Serving others is the best way I can think of to do that!
Of history and priorities
I've been meaning to post this for forever, and just haven't gotten around to doing it. But, now I will delight you with the story I've been keeping to myself.
For the Martin Luther King holiday, Jake did a project at school that involved listening to a brief history of MLK's life and accomplishments and coloring a small booklet about him. When Jake gets home from school, I go through the contents of his backpack with him and talk about his day. When I pulled out the book o' King, I asked Jake, "Who is this?"
"I don't know. Some brown guy my teacher was talking about."
"Oh. *giggling quietly* What did you learn about him?"
"Well, my teacher said he had a dream, but it wasn't about dinosaurs. I asked."
I had to leave the room, I was laughing so hard.
"I have a dream, sometimes when I've had a rough day, that a T-Rex chases me over the green fields of Mississippi. I catch him and ride him all the way to Mobile, Alabama, where he can really do some damage."
How white are we?
For the Martin Luther King holiday, Jake did a project at school that involved listening to a brief history of MLK's life and accomplishments and coloring a small booklet about him. When Jake gets home from school, I go through the contents of his backpack with him and talk about his day. When I pulled out the book o' King, I asked Jake, "Who is this?"
"I don't know. Some brown guy my teacher was talking about."
"Oh. *giggling quietly* What did you learn about him?"
"Well, my teacher said he had a dream, but it wasn't about dinosaurs. I asked."
I had to leave the room, I was laughing so hard.
"I have a dream, sometimes when I've had a rough day, that a T-Rex chases me over the green fields of Mississippi. I catch him and ride him all the way to Mobile, Alabama, where he can really do some damage."
How white are we?
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