As I prepare to give a talk next week, I share with you an excerpt from one of my favorite articles by President Thomas S. Monson (of which I am basing my discussion on):
"If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.
If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.
Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, 'They do not love that do not show their love.' We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.
Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say 'I love you' more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of 'what if' and 'if only'. Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, 'The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone'."
In the latter part of the article, he states,
"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."
Speaking of great memories....after we were done with Pink Lady soccer, we went to the Pendleton Round Up. We did not go to the rodeo, we just walked around the Indian Tee-Pee's, ate fry bread and walked through all the vendors. We also took them (Ryan's favorite buddy Patrick was with us) to ride the mechanical bull and amusement park rides. We finished the evening off with a great steak dinner at Stetsons. Everyone was so tired from the night (or should I say that morning) before - the kids all fell fast asleep on the car ride home - - - Alex, Greg, Patrick and I were running on 3 hours sleep. Despite the fatigue, we had fun "people watching" and looking at all of the things in Pendleton. The streets were full of free shows. My favorite: the Round-Up Cloggers. Those ladies could dance!!! We also enjoyed all of the free concerts in the streets. Everywhere you looked, people were singing and dancing! We even took in a free Illusionist show at the amusement park.
This week brings Alex's 16th birthday (it's going soooooo fast)! Greg will be down in Salem for 3 days, and tomorrow we will work in Pendleton, then La Grande, then Milton Freewater ('tis the political season!). We will finish the day off with a JV game in Athena. On Tuesday, I will go and see Matt at OSU and make sure he's completely "settled" in. They have a parade where all new Freshman walk the streets of Corvallis - I just couldn't miss it! Hopefully my sweet sister-in-law will go with me (that's right Heath, I'm calling you in a few minutes to plan our Mom's get-away).
Have a wonderful week!
"If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.
If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.
Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, 'They do not love that do not show their love.' We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.
Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say 'I love you' more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of 'what if' and 'if only'. Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, 'The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone'."
In the latter part of the article, he states,
"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."
Speaking of great memories....after we were done with Pink Lady soccer, we went to the Pendleton Round Up. We did not go to the rodeo, we just walked around the Indian Tee-Pee's, ate fry bread and walked through all the vendors. We also took them (Ryan's favorite buddy Patrick was with us) to ride the mechanical bull and amusement park rides. We finished the evening off with a great steak dinner at Stetsons. Everyone was so tired from the night (or should I say that morning) before - the kids all fell fast asleep on the car ride home - - - Alex, Greg, Patrick and I were running on 3 hours sleep. Despite the fatigue, we had fun "people watching" and looking at all of the things in Pendleton. The streets were full of free shows. My favorite: the Round-Up Cloggers. Those ladies could dance!!! We also enjoyed all of the free concerts in the streets. Everywhere you looked, people were singing and dancing! We even took in a free Illusionist show at the amusement park.
This week brings Alex's 16th birthday (it's going soooooo fast)! Greg will be down in Salem for 3 days, and tomorrow we will work in Pendleton, then La Grande, then Milton Freewater ('tis the political season!). We will finish the day off with a JV game in Athena. On Tuesday, I will go and see Matt at OSU and make sure he's completely "settled" in. They have a parade where all new Freshman walk the streets of Corvallis - I just couldn't miss it! Hopefully my sweet sister-in-law will go with me (that's right Heath, I'm calling you in a few minutes to plan our Mom's get-away).
Have a wonderful week!
RSS Feed