Parks (and kids from 1 to 92)

I just realized that it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything.  Much has transpired in those two weeks which I will tell about at a future date.

However, right now I wanted to blog about parks.  I have alot of great memories of parks and will post a few of those here.  My first memory of a park comes from when I was 3 years old.  My Dad was stationed at Hill Air Force Base n Utah and we lived in Clearfield.  Right behind our home was a park.  I still remember my Mom taking my through the gate in our back fence to go to the park.  While I don't remember alot of playtime at the park what I do remember is my kind Mother taking me to the park.

In time we moved into base housing at Hill and there were two awesome parks there (gone now due to newer housing being built and the old neighborhood being demolished).  One of the parks was right along the fence on the east side of the runway.  I remember being at the park and watching the jets come and go (I'm fascinated with airplanes for those that don't know).  The other park was in the middle of our housing area and I remember playing there one day and coming home to find my Mom and brother gone.  I remember that the t.v. was on and MASH was playing, but my Mom was nowhere to be found.  I still remember as a 5 year old just crying because my Mom was gone.  When she came home I remember her telling me that she was on one side of the park watching me and calling to me as I started to leave for home but I didn't hear her.  (Wow, maybe I should have called this post Parks and my Mom - she is one of my best friends).

I remember also going to a park with my Mom and my Aunt Linda and my aunt would push me on the swing and when she would push me she would run under the swing.  I thought that was the coolest thing.

The next memory I have of a park is going to the Payson City parks.  I remember going there often with my Mom and Aunt Karen and my siblings and cousins.  The old equipment has been replaced with this modern plastic stuff but the old park had this cool candy-cane colored metal slide that was of a corkscrew fashion.  I remember years later trying to go down that slide and wondered how I was every small enough to fit down in. 

Santaquin City park on the west end of Santaquin brings another historical snapshot of being a Cub Scout and having a homemade kite flying contest.  I built a box kite like the book showed but I don't think it flew.  Oh well, as painful as that was, it was a growing experience.

While this next clip doesn't take place in a park it does pertain to a swing set which you find in parks.  A block from the home where my family lived in Delta was the South Elementary.  They had some swings there that even fit high school sized kids.  I dated a very nice girl in Delta and we used to walk over there and just talk and swing back and forth for hours. 

Time marches on and it has been my privilege to take my own children to different parks.  There is a really nice park in South Ogden where I took my children just last Friday afternoon.  I was excited by the the joy in my children's faces as they enjoyed the park.  I remember taking my oldest, Alma, there when he was younger and somehow it has been nicknamed "Alma's Park" by my children.  We all had so much fun.  The girls were pretending that the playground equipment was some sort of ocean area.  I think was supposed to be a dolphin but I'm not sure I did a very good job.  But it was the time spent there with my children that mattered. 

So, you might be asking why the title addition "and kids from 1 to 92".  Well, parks hold a place for all of us.  I look forward to finding some swings big enough for adults and jumping on and talking with my special someone.  And as our hair turns to silver and the skin starts to wrinkle I hope to go for walks through the park, holding hands, talking, and maybe enjoying an ice-cream all while knowing "This Is Our Time....Liv(ing) every moment, leaving nothing to chance."

Lessons from a pile of snow!

Ever experienced having to shovel the pile of snow left in the driveway entrance by the snow plows?  It's enormous.  It's heavy.  It's wet.  When there are 4 inches of light stuff on the walks there are 12 inches in the entrance.  You can't just shove it aside.  This has happened twice in the last week and I've learned a valuable lesson from these piles of snow.  It's the lesson of eating an elephant.  When faced with what appears to be a daunting task, like that of eating an elephant, my Dad would ask me how to go about it.  The answer is, "One bite at a time."  The same with shoveling the snow from the plows, one shovel at a time. 

Many times life is like that.  There are daunting tasks.  The way to tackle it is one step at a time.  I love it.  I actually loved shoveling all of that snow left by the plow.  I cleared it one shovelfull at a time.  And even when I was just a quarter of the way through the task I was able to look back at all I had accomplished thus far and it was an exhilarating feeling to know that step by step I was conquering.  When the task was complete it was such a fulfilling feeling.  Each day of life is like that.  So to speak, sometimes there is little snow to shovel and other days there are piles of it.  The key is to find joy in the journey.  I love the lesson of the elephant and the snow plow and the happiness I'm finding in my journey.  Truly, THIS IS MY TIME!!!!

Valentine's Day

Sigh....Valentine's Day.  I'm not sure what to think of it anymore.  It's been years and years since I've felt the excitement of the holiday.  I really wanted to feel special this day and I set off on a quest.

So, first off, here's a link to the origination of Valentine's Day  http://www.essortment.com/valentines-day-origin-65103.html  Well, after reading that it originated as a pagan holiday worshipping the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses I sort of felt better about not feeling special on this day. 

Next I found interesting the comments from several of my facebook friends.  One said that Valentines was a holiday to get people to buy cards and candy, another said they didn't celebrate it, and still others offered encouragement that I would one day enjoy the holiday again.  What I didn't realize is how many people's lives I had touched in a positive loving way.  It was those comments that really put a spring in my step.

So, after all of this I'm still not sure what to think of it but here is my hope for the future:  to have someone that enjoys being treated like a queen and looks upon me as her knight in shining armor, not just on Valentine's Day but everyday.  I truly don't think this is a fairytale hope of mine.  I believe it is reality and the very essence of an eternal relationship.  Scrooge said in Dickens' timely classic "A Christmas Carol" I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  May I apply that to love, that if there is a special someone in my future, to them I promise the same, that I will keep the spirit of love in my heart and keep it all the year.

A Heaven of Diamonds

This Is Your Time music video

A couple of nights ago while taking my dogs for a walk I took time to look up and admire the Heaven of Diamonds that God has created.  I love to watch the stars and have many fond memories of them. 

I really think the first memory I have of stars is sitting around a campfire at Palisades State Park and hearing my grandfather naming the constellations.  Their names seemed so strange to me:  Cygnus, Ursa Major, the Seven Sisters.  I remember asking Grandpa to show me where they were at.  I'm not sure I was ever able to put them together but the memory remains of a campfire and a starlit sky. 

Next I remember sleeping out on the back lawn and my Dad laying out there pointing out the constellations.  Again, the names of Leo and Draco seemed odd but I was finally able to put them together into a shape with Dad's patient help. 

A couple of summers ago I went to Scout Camp with my son.  He had signed up for the Astronomy Merit Badge.  The clouds didn't cooperate with us the first few nights but finally on the last night we were able to see the stars.  The camp counselors didn't really know their constellations very well (it was only their second week in camp so I give them a pass).  However, upon returning home my son and I worked together to identify the constellations and major stars that he needed to pass off.  It was a fun time and once again rekindled my interest in the stars.

And then, as I mentioned, as I was out walking my dogs I took a This Is My Time moment and despite the cold I stood out and gazed at the heavens.  (I have to admit that my winter constellation knowledge is VERY limited because I don't like standing out in the cold.).  But it was a moment to be lived.

I really look forward to the summer when the nights are warmer and I can sit out, perhaps around a campfire, and watch the stars, find the constellations, ponder on God's majesty, and live the moment perhaps adding another fond memory of a starry sky.

Cold Weather and Hot Showers...moments to be lived!

O.K., I lived a moment today that I want to share.  First, check out this view from my office.  Looks nice and clear and sunny right?  It was.  It was a gorgeous day.  However, it didn't translate to warmth (it was 10 degrees) which I long for.  Anyway, I had some errands to run during my lunch hour so out I went.  Following my errands as I was walking back into the hospital I decided to live the moment.  So I pulled off my hood and turned my face toward the sun and took a deep breath and allowed the cold air to touch my face.  It was a wonderful moment!

Now, onto warmer thoughts.  Yesterday after my workout I was in the shower and loved feeling the water course over me.  I love HOT SHOWERS!  So, I've decided that every hot shower is going to be a moment to live and here are a couple of hot shower, or not so hot shower memories to explain why.  First, I served a mission in the Philippines and only had a hot shower a handful of times while I was there.  They were mostly bucket showers with cold water.  It was a shower for which I was thankful but still not a HOT SHOWER.  This past summer I decided to take a swim in Yellowstone Lake which has a water temp of around 40 degrees.  I remember following the swim that I went over to the showers at Fishing Bridge and had a nice long HOT SHOWER trying to restore my core temperature.  It was an awesome moment.  Did I mention that I love HOT SHOWERS!!!!!

My first post

I've wanted to blog for some time now and had a good friend show me how to get started.  Sooo....here goes.

I've decided to call my blog "This Is My Time".  I've taken the title from a song titled "This Is Your Time" written by Michael W. Smith from the album by the same title.  This song was inspired by the Columbine High School shootings.  I saw Michael perform this song in the Grand Ole Opry at the Dove Awards during Gospel Music Week in Nashville, TN, in 2000.  The words to the song are amazing and the performance left an indelible impression on me when the bagpipe players marched down the aisle at the end of the song.  Here is the link to the official music video:  This Is Your Time music video

Here are the lyrics:

"It was a test we could all hope to pass
But none of us would want to take.
Faced with the choice to deny God to live,
For her, there was one choice to make.

This was her time. This was her dance.
She lived every moment; left nothing to chance.
She swam in the sea; drank of the deep;
Embraced the mystery of all she could be.
This was her time...

Though you are mourning and grieving with us,
Death died a long time ago;
Swallowed in life so that life carries on.
Still it’s so hard to let go.

This was her time. this was her dance.
She lived every moment; left nothing to chance.
She swam in the sea; drank of the deep;
Embraced the mystery of all she could be.

What if tomorrow, and what if today,
Faced with the question,
Oh what would you say?

This is your time. this is your dance.
Live every moment. leave nothing to chance.
Swim in the sea. drink of the deep.
Follow the mercy and hear yourself praying.

Won’t you save me?
Won’t you save me?

This is your time. this is your dance.
Live every moment. leave nothing to chance.
Swim in the sea. drink of the deep.
Embrace the mystery of all you can be.

This is your time. this is your dance.
Live every moment. leave nothing to chance.
Swim in the sea. drink of the deep.
Embrace the mystery of all you can be.

This is your time...
(won’t you save me? )
(this is your time)
(won’t you save me? )"

I just love the chorus.  This truly is my time.  This truly is my dance.  I want to live every moment and leave nothing to chance.  I want to swim in the sea and drink of the deep.  I want embrace the mystery of all I can be. 

In coming posts I hope to share some the things I've done to live this way.