LN #6 Tell about proud moments of being a grandmother Part 16!!!!

Paige Christine D'Arbra
April 6, 2015

I'm a little bit behind the times, but here she is!!! Grandbaby #16; Granddaughter #7.

Due April 16th, Brooks got her doctor to agree to induce labor on April 8th so that I could plan my visit to be there with them to take care of the older kids. My work schedule was such that it made the most sense to fly in on April 5th. As soon as I arrived and the family picked me up at the airport, I told Paige that it was okay; I was there and that it was okay to come early. About 1:00 in the morning, Brooks' water broke and Paige was on her way! 

Brookie's easiest delivery by far with probably the most personable OB staff I've ever met.  They monitored her closely and gave tips to help move the baby into the birth canal and before we knew it, we had a new baby! I felt so lucky that Brooks had made arrangements with a woman that Josh works with to come sit with the older kids so that I could be at the hospital with them. I was there when Ethan (oldest brother) was born and Brooks thought it fitting that since I was there for the first, I should be there for the last, and it was wonderful!!!

As per their family tradition, Paige received one of her names just because mom (and dad) liked it; the other with some familial significance. So, they decided on their honeymoon that if they had a second daughter, her name would be Paige. Christine is for Christy Casper, Brooks' elementary/middle school art teacher who encouraged Brooks' artistic nature and gave her the confidence to embrace her abilities. Mrs. Casper passed away several years ago, so she doesn't know about Paige (well, she probably does), but I know Paige will know all about Mrs. Casper. So, that was supposed to be her name until December when Randy's mother passed away. Her name was D'Arbra (a family name) and it almost became Brooks' name. But Brooks decided to honor her grandmother's memory and add one more symbolic name.

A little later in the day, Josh went home to bring back the other kids. The boys were all pros at a new baby since Claire is only two, but the absolute most precious moment had to be when Claire met her baby sister for the first time.

Claire meets baby sister Paige
for the first time! 

Before we knew it, Josh brought Brooks & Paige home from the hospital.

Paige quickly earned another name from her grandmother. She was the squeakiest baby I think I've ever heard. And such cute little squeaks. So.... to me, she will always be my "Li'l Squeak." 

Before long, Paige was deep in the heart of the chaos of her new family and getting to know her brothers and sister... I was surprised Claire shared her daddy quite so willingly, but Brookie did tell me that Claire always seems to be smiling and laughing whenever Paige cries... Hmmmm.....

Sloan, Ethan, Mason, Josh, Paige & Claire
Enjoying some DS and television!

Before I left to come home Grandpa (Randy) Sloan arrived with Pat to meet the newest addition to the family and the next day, I had to bid a tearful good-bye to all! 

Since then, Paige has been introduced to her other grandparents and last Sunday she was blessed at church. (As Mormons, we don't baptize children until the age of eight when they are able to understand the commitment they are making to follow Jesus and always remember Him. So, as babies, Mormon children receive a name and a blessing. The name by which they will be known on the records of the church and a special blessing by their father to help guide their way through this life, until they return home to Heavenly Father.)

Paige wasn't enthused to be in the spotlight.
I think it was the hairbow!
May 3, 2015

And of course Brooks couldn't pass the opportunity to get a shot of all her babies on Paige's special day....

In closing today, as usual, I'm going to share a song that is special to most members of our church. It's called "I am a Child of God." It's a beautiful song with a little extra significance for me as it relates to Brooks. When she was very small, she didn't quite understand the words to the song. Imagine my embarrassment when she belted out in church "I am a child of God and He has sent me here. Has given me an 'awful' home with parents 'kind of' dear..." Have a listen... you'll know where she got it! 

Welcome to our family Li'l Squeak!

We love you!

WC #21: One is the Loneliest...

"One"

So... I was driving home from work tonight and the song I posted on this blog was on the radio. As I was listening and singing along my mind was wandering as it often does; especially thinking of times when a particular song was popular...

Like many of my generation, this was one of my favorite songs in its time. In fact, I liked a lot of Three Dog Night's songs. I liked a fairly wide variety of songs in my youth, although then there weren't as many genre's to choose from as there are now. Typically, though, I liked songs that were happy, had an upbeat tempo and "were easy to dance to," as they always said on American Bandstand.

Knowing that I typically liked happy songs, as my mind was wandering, I thought why on earth did I like this song? It's definitely not a cheerful song. It doesn't bring comfort. If anything, it even makes the number two a downer, saying that you can basically be alone even if you are a couple; a REALLY depressing situation to be in; to still feel alone when you have someone in your life!

And this time of year?!?!?!?!?  Sheesh! Could I get any more singles websites to send me special invitations to join? (Tried some of those and the best it's gotten me is a sure fire way of being able to spot a scammer!) Anyway, this time of year I'm always reminded of my friend Jim. He was one my photo center managers when I was a district manager over the state of Montana. I was talking to Jim before Christmas and asked him if he'd begun working on his 3 month merchandising plan for Valentine's Day. He got pretty upset with me and in no uncertain terms told me that there's nothing worse than being a single man on Valentine's Day and he refused to think of doing anything to promote the holiday. (Obviously, he'd never tried being a single woman on Valentine's Day!) So, I went to work. 

I talked to my counterpart over the Jewelry division, because I knew that she knew a single Jewelry district manager in Idaho who was about Jim's age. As we talked about the two of them, we really thought the two of them would get along well.  So, I gave Jim Kirstie's email address; Belinda gave Kirstie Jim's email address and we both went to work convincing them to give it a shot... Jim & Kirstie have been together now since about 2005! I've managed to bring a couple of other couples together as well, but Jim & Kirstie's story is my favorite!

Anyway, I digress... back to "One."  So, why did I like that song? It's kind of "the chicken or the egg" type thing. I've always hated being alone or doing things alone. At least as long as I can remember, but would I be as bad as I am if it weren't for this song? Most people I know are fine being by themselves. They enjoy going to dinner by themselves. They love going to movies by themselves. I HATE doing anything by myself! I feel like I'm wearing a big neon sign on my forehead that says "Loser! Look who couldn't find anyone to go ____ with her!" Of course, I know no one else probably even notices that I'm alone, let alone CARE about it!

My good friend Barb has always told me that when I'm traveling for work, I need to just go up to a man sitting alone at a table at a restaurant and ask if I can join him! She says that's how I need to find a man! Or, I should go to a movie and scan the seats, find a man sitting alone and go sit by him! Seriously?!?!?!? Who does that? And I'm not even desperate to find a man! Yes, companionship would be nice.  Someone to retire with. Someone to travel with, but seriously? Could you do that? Well, I know Barb could. That's just how she is! She talks to anybody in any place and has no filters. If she wants to know something about someone, she asks. Not me. I play the whole thing out in my head first and if anything leads me to believe I could offend, the conversation is just NOT going to happen! I frequently wish I was as uninhibited as she is!

But, back to the chicken... have I always liked the song because it reflects my feelings? Or do I feel the way I feel because my dislike of being a "1" was reinforced by the song lyrics? Wow! All that just because a song came on the radio on my way home from work! I think I'm disturbed...

Anyway... let's end this with a much happier, enthusiastic, popular hit also performed by Three Dog Night! I always did like frogs... but do I like frogs because.....

Joy to the World

Three Dog Night 1971

WC #20:Happy "Surprise" Birthday to my Buddy!

If we're REALLY lucky in life, we find one really good, true loyal friend. I've been blessed in my life to have found quite a few through high school, college, church and my career. But one stands out above all the rest. She's that one, who even when you haven't seen one another for months or even years, when you do, it's like all of the missing time disappears and it's just the two of you.

Lanie & Me
January 9, 2015

A couple of months ago, Lanie's kids reached out to as many of her friends and family as they could to invite everyone to a surprise birthday party to celebrate her 60th birthday!

 At first I thought that there was no way in the world I'd be able to go! I had a vacation planned over Christmas to spend with Meg, Sami and their families and I knew I had a new class beginning on December 29th! No way could I take time off! But, I remembered how much fun it was when I planned and carried out her surprise party on her 17th birthday and REALLY wanted to be there. Could I make it work?

Sweet City Woman by The Stampeders

One of Lanie's favorites from our high school days!

Then I realized that it was already going to be my one long weekend off that we have during each class! I could fly into Milwaukee, see Bart, see my brother Al and maybe even get him to drive to Aurora with me for the party!

"Country Roads" by John Denver

It couldn't have turned out better! Well, except for the fact that Bart's wife was stuck in Salt Lake and he had to work and the temps were sub-zero and I had to drive through a white-out to get to Al's in Watertown and Al and I passed at least ten cars in the ditch and a jack-knifed truck and we beat Lanie and Lisa back from their massages.... but somehow, Lanie didn't have a clue that anything was happening!

"What are YOU doing here?!?!?!?"
I ask you, is that any way to greet your best friend?

After the initial shock, came the tears and the hugs... and Lanie's photographer daughter, Lisa, caught it all on camera!

Going in for the hug!

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

Hugs for Al... not quite as long!

Lisa's boys were so excited about Grandma's birthday, they couldn't wait to give Lanie her special birthday sign!

Between conversations with Lanie through the afternoon, we still needed to work out how we were going to accomplish getting her to the party that night! She thought I was her big surprise!

"Midnight Confessions" was the first Christmas 

present Lanie gave me. We liked The Grass Roots!

Over my cousin, Norm's (also Lanie's husband) objections, I promised Lisa that her mother would come to "dinner" blindfolded. She was very trusting with him to lead her and me not far away. She thought she was going to end up at a family dinner.

Lanie and I are both so blessed to have children and grandchildren who are happy, healthy and love us! Here are hers! (Oh, and Norm too...)

L-R: Part of Lisa's family, part of Michael's family, Brian's family,

Lanie with Lisa's oldest daughter & son, Laura, 2 of Michael's sons & Norm!

In spite of the freezing temperatures and the hazardous roads 72 people showed up to celebrate Lanie's  birthday (2 days early)!

An added blessing for me was an opportunity to spend more time with my brother, a chance to see my niece Gail with her husband, Rick, and an opportunity to visit with our old high school friend (and my college roommate) Maria and her husband, Terry!

Rick, Gail, Al & Me
Behind us: Terry & Maria

Through this post, I've not only shared some of Lisa's pictures of that FUN evening, but I've also shared several music videos. They may seem random to you, but each of them has a special memory connected with Lanie to it for me! Bear with me through a few more....

The Pushbike Song by The Mixtures

It was a great evening that came to an end much too quickly, but not before Lanie and I had yet another opportunity to stay up 'til 3:00 AM with chatter, laughter and tears. Norm has long given up on trying to get us to go to bed when we get together... but like I said at the beginning of this post... She's that one, who even when you haven't seen one another for months or even years, when you do, it's like all of the missing time disappears and it's just the two of you. 

Happy Birthday, Buddy! I love you!

"I remember when rock was young... me and Lanie 

had so much fun...."

(And a special thank you to Lisa, Brian, Michael, Laura & Norm for including me on the plans as well as a BIG thank you to Al for being my weekend chauffeur!)

WC #19:Renewing my Relationship with Richard!

I just completed my second workout in as many days with Richard Simmons! Now, I know that's absolutely nothing to brag about. But for me to exercise at all, let alone two days in a row... that IS something to brag about.

And most of you would probably say "Richard Simmons?!?!? Really?!?" I know. He's crazy and he's obnoxious and he really doesn't look good in his little out-dated gym shorts and tank top, but for some reason, his is the ONLY exercise program that works for me. (Well, water aerobics does too, but you kinda have to have a swimming pool to pull that off...)

So, I figured if I blogged about it, maybe that would make me more committed and I would actually keep it up, because I can make any excuse to not exercise work for me. Why now? I guess just because it's time. I'm tired of being out of breath when I climb a flight of stairs. I'm tired of wondering if I'll need an extender to the seat belt on an airplane. And I have 15 1/2 (grandbaby #16 is due in April!) adorable reasons to want to stick around a bit longer. Now that all of my kids have completed their educational goals and have families of their own, I want to be around to see my grandbabies graduate from high school & college, go on missions and begin families of their own.

Me with Grandbabies 1-15
May, 2014

I was never a "skinny" kid; solid, I guess, would be the word to describe me when I was little. I was also pretty popular; as much as a first/second-grader could be. 

My mom had always been involved at the school with my older brothers, so all the teachers and principal knew who I was. I would get the "lead" in the little class plays we did; I had the only solo when our class went Christmas caroling to the other classes; I had a best friend and several other friends in the neighborhood and at school recess, AND all through first and second grade, I had at least one boyfriend all the time. (One used to get other boys to let him sit by me during story time so he could put his arm around me and rub my back! Scandalous!)

Then, at the end of second grade, we moved to the farm. As much as I loved the farm, I was lonely with no neighbors. At school, I was the new kid and not only did no one know me, no one knew my mom. The school bus was terrifying and I developed a severe case of separation anxiety (aka school phobia---it's real; it's in my psychology books). The panic attacks, throwing up and diarrhea from the nerves all gave me plenty of excuses to not go to school, but then I would find myself alone in the house as my mom would be in the barn or the fields helping my dad with chores. I began to find solace in food and by fifth grade was horrified to be weighed in at school at 120 pounds. I learned to ridicule and make fun of myself so it didn't hurt so much when the kids at school did it.

Thus began my life-long struggle with my weight. There have only been two periods of time in my life when I felt acceptable with my weight. The first was in high school when I lost weight only because of the emotional stress of watching my mother die of cancer. The sad thing was, at the time, I didn't KNOW I had even lost weight... I still thought I was fat even though I was thirty pounds lighter than I'd been in sixth grade! Fortunately, swimming/water skiing in the summer and mandatory gym classes with weight training and tennis helped me to maintain my weight through the rest of high school although I still saw myself as fat.

That's me in the swimsuit
cover-up!

My weight fluctuated by 10-15 pounds through college, but I was always able to take it off until after I had my first daughter. From that time, extra pounds just seemed to be my constant companion. In fact, when I was concerned about the fact that I had gained no weight at all by the end of my sixth month of pregnancy with my twins and I asked the doctor if I should be worried, his response was "No. The babies are getting all the nutrition they need from your diet. You're living off your fat." As rude as that sounds, he was absolutely right and after my boys were born, I weighed forty pounds less than I did before I got pregnant with them! 

With my 5 babies!
November, 1984

My weight was always a concern for my husband who used such endearing terms as "Blubber Buns" or "Thunder Thighs" when addressing me. In an attempt to make him happy and save myself some emotional abuse, I put myself on a strict program of  "Sweatin' to the Oldies" and following the "Deal-a-Meal" program with Richard Simmons. That was 1991. I lost eighty pounds and learned to maintain it for over four years until I broke my ankle and could no longer exercise. I gained a little weight during that time, but the pounds didn't come on full force until Randy decided to leave and said he wanted a divorce. 

My "reason" to care about my weight or how I looked was gone and now I needed to worry about supporting my family on my own. Let's face it, it's much quicker, easier and cheaper to cook unhealthy, fattening meals than it is to eat healthy... plus I craved all those comfort foods from my childhood. That was 1996, so now I've hated myself and made excuses for myself for eighteen years. I have at least a hundred pounds to lose and that scares me too! What happens to all that skin if I manage to lose the fat that's had it stretched for so long? That's been an excuse as well...

Anyway, so now I'm turning back to "Richard." My relationship with him worked well in the past... in fact, that's the only thing that HAS worked... so please don't roll your eyes at me. Don't make fun of it. Just support me and be glad that I still like my "oldies" music and as jiggly and uncoordinated as I may be, I still like to dance.

WC #18:Pardon me while I vent!

Do ya ever just have one of those days... or even just a few hours that just make you want to pull your hair out... or scream???

I can't say my whole day was bad. It just turned bad after I got off work at 7:30 tonight. First of all, why was I working 'til 7:30 on a Saturday night? You'd think after 22 years I could work a Monday-Friday 8-5 job, wouldn't you? Yeah. Well, I'm a dedicated glutton for punishment. Every time I'm lucky enough to take a position that lets me work that shift, they change the job requirement or I decide to go for something new and exciting that puts me right back on evenings/nights and weekends! What a shmuck I am!

When I took my facilitator position in Seattle, it was indeed Mon-Fri, 8-5 with overtime pay for anything I worked over that and premium pay if I worked on a Sunday. Nice! Then I was part of a pilot program to train assistant managers in the REAL world of Walmart. Back I go to some weekend days, one second shift and a couple overnights in an 8 week training class.

Now that I work at the Talent Center and we run two classes of 30 at a time, we work opposite shifts so we aren't doing the same activities at the same time. Since my first class (May-June) was first shift, starting at 8 AM every day, this class (June-July) is second shift, starting at 10 every day. (Except of course our 2nd shift day and our overnight). Anyway today was a "host store" day when the trainees had to work in the host stores shadowing associates on the front end. They have to spend time at the service desk, following customer service managers, working with cashiers, pushing shopping carts out of the parking lot, cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors with maintenance, etc. I always enjoy this day, because at least for that one day, they all know what it feels like to be those associates and gain more appreciation for them. In Seattle, every time we did this, they were all pushing carts on windy, cold, rainy days. Today it was 96 degrees and HUMID!!! (Sorry if I'm sounding a bit sadistic right now... but I do enjoy seeing them really working beside the associates.)

Anyway... It was a really good, productive day. They were working; they were smiling; and they were learning. When I got off work tonight, I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was actually working IN a store. I miss that at the Talent Center... most of our boxes are empty shells for training purposes and our coolers don't work, so we certainly don't have milk and eggs!
So, I begin leisurely shopping. No reason to hurry home; no one was here, so I took my time. When I was done, I headed to the registers... that's when the day went downhill...

I chose a lane with one woman with the cashier and a man with half a basket he was unloading. It was the shortest and didn't look too bad. Then I realized the woman was ad matching EVERY SINGLE ITEM in her basket! She had a notebook with a list and every competitor's price in the ads and read the price of every item to him. Then I realized the man was with her... so now her order was a cart and a half full! Did I mention that I was REALLY shopping for the first time since moving into my new apartment in Texas? REALLY shopping for me includes some Stouffers dinners, some lean cuisine, frozen hamburger patties and so I can have an occasional Saturday night date, Ben & Jerry were there too! So with each ad match, I'm thinking... my food is melting! Then I'm thinking of the irony of it all... I spent most of last week teaching food related processes to the trainees, more specifically "cold chain" and the fact that cold/frozen food couldn't be out of the cooler for more than 20 minutes!

Then I realize that NOT A SOUL anywhere near me spoke English as a first language. Now I'm not a snob. I enjoy learning about other cultures and respect their languages; even admire their ability to speak their native language and English. A few months before I left Seattle, I had even purchased a conversational Spanish course so that I could learn basic phrases to be able to communicate with customers and some of my trainees better. I didn't feel DRIVEN to learn it, just thought it would be a good idea since I was having more trainees from southern California who spoke Spanish. In Seattle, I was surrounded by people who spoke different languages; especially Filipino dialects, Samoan & Russian. When I found out I was moving to Texas, I thought "Good thing I bought that Spanish course... I better get to work..."

Anyway, so I was standing in this line FOR-EVVVVV-ERRRR, and realized that the family in front of me with the ad matches was speaking Spanish (except for the prices on each item... she could say those well enough in English). Then I looked at the family in line behind me and realized they were speaking Chinese. And when it was finally my turn to check out, my cashier had such a thick Arabic accent (his name was Allaudin, by the way), I had to keep saying "What?" or just nodding my head and smiling like an idiot whenever he said anything to me! I'm beginning to think that I won't be able to communicate verbally with anyone by the time I die!

So, I finally got checked out, got my groceries into the car and headed for home. Have  GPS will Travel! Yeah... I'm still learning my way around and it was only the second time I'd been to this store. Anyway... so I was driving home, in the "slow" lane since I didn't know where I was going, but I was still going 10mph OVER the speed limit and this jackass decides to ride my bumper. Two open lanes to my left and he has to ride my bumper in the right lane!!!! I have developed a new philosophy for driving in Texas. If you're going to be a jackass and ride my bumper in the right lane, when I'm going the speed limit or faster and you have PLENTY of room to go around me, I'm going to PURPOSELY go 10 mph BELOW the speed limit just to piss you off!!! And that's exactly what I did! Odd thing was, when I slowed down to 50, he backed off! Say what?!?!?!?! Yep. He stayed behind me for at least 2 miles at 50 mph before he finally pulled into the other lane and zoomed past me! I think he had issues. Course, maybe I did too... road rage Carol style!

I finally got home, unloaded my groceries and put my floppy frozen pizza in the freezer, my warm gallon of milk in the fridge and dished up a bowl full of mint chocolate chip soup. As I sat down at my computer, with soup in hand, a thought popped into my head and now all is right with the world!

EY #8: Tell About Your Mom (Revised)

Okay... I know it's been way too long since I've written a post... and here it is, the wonderful, crazy, dreaded month of May again! But, on this May Day, I feel a need to add a revision to the post I wrote one year ago today, thanks to the detective work of Josh & Brooks!

I'm pretty sure that I mentioned the fact that they gave me information about my mother's birth parents for Christmas. So, here I'd like to share a little bit of what we do know from their findings.

First of all, it's been verified that Mom was actually born May 1, 1921 rather than 1922. That was verified through Illinois vital records. Her sealed adoption record was opened and her original birth certificate was copied and authenticated:

Certified statement that this is a copy

of the birth record in Mary Ellen Hill's

sealed adoption files.

I know it's impossible to read here, but from the birth certificate, we know that she was born in Chicago at Cook County Hospital to Ted Voorhees (deceased) and Alice Gustafson. She was the second twin born and therefore the fifth of Alice's living children. We know that Alice was 27 years old and lived at 2753 Osgood Street in Chicago (with her parents), that she was born in Chicago and that she was a telegraph operator.

This is all exciting, but the plot thickens with the birth certificate proclamation that her father, Ted Voorhees is deceased. Josh and Brooks found a marriage record for a Ted Voorhees and Alice Gustafson on Nov. 21, 1914. He also appeared on 1920 census records as married, while Alice appears as a widow! There have been no death records or divorce records found for Ted or Alice yet...

1925 census records show Ted to be in New York with a new wife and a new daughter AND a new occupation! (Previously listed as a cost accountant, he's now a minister... which coincides with the story Mom was told...) A little research leads me to believe that he was a unique minister, with a particular desire to teach children about Jesus, the purpose of a book written by a Methodist minister: Ted V. Voorhees. Coincidence?

And, those who know of my love for psychology may find it of interest that Ted also studied psychology and often worked with the courts in cases involving children. At any rate, he seems to have been a unique man. I believe I found his obituary today; if this is the right Ted V Voorhees, he died December 1, 1968 near Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.

So, am I any closer to finding the birth family my mom always wondered about? A bit. Have my questions been answered? Some... but now there are more questions than there were before. But, I can't help but feel that we're on the verge of finding answers and being able to put together the pieces. We may never have the whole story, but hopefully we'll have true pieces, rather than the the speculation we have now.

At any rate... it's May Day. Pick some flowers. Take them to a friend and leave them at the door. Ring the bell and run away. And say "Happy Birthday" to my mom!

WC #17:Mama's Pride

Most of you have probably figured out by now that I'm a quite proud mother. Every one of them does something every day that makes me proud of the women and men they've grown up to become. They try to trick me into "admitting" that one or the other is my "favorite child" regularly. The truth is, every one of them is my favorite for different reasons, because each of them has unique skills, talents, strengths and personalities and I've learned to reach out to each one for different reasons and, at that moment, that child is my favorite for that moment.

Beyond all that, twice a year I have a special pride in each of my sons, and they're my favorites at that time. Last night was one of those times. Let me give you a little background....

As Randy was not active in our faith for most of my children's lives, they all learned to turn to other men at church to be their male role models. Men like Greg Gorrell, Tom Spellman, Mark Rice, Barry Blum and so many others provided blessings, performed baptisms and set the example my children could look up to. They filled in areas that were empty in my children's lives.

Twice each year, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints holds General Conference. Conference is held in Salt Lake City, but is broadcast by satellite to chapels all over the world as well as being televised on BYU-TV and on the Internet on LDS.org. There are four sessions of conference: a morning and an afternoon session each on the first weekend (Sat & Sun) every April & October. About a week before General Conference, there is a General Women's Conference broadcast to the chapels for all women of the church ages 8 and above. The Saturday evening during General Conference weekend, there is a priesthood session for all men of the church, ages 12 & above.

While I always made sure that my children watched at least part of the General Conference each time, we relied upon those various male role models to make sure Brandon & Barton made it to priesthood while we lived in Ohio. After we made the move to Utah in 1997, Amy's husband, Tim, made sure the boys made it to priesthood, along with his elder son, Bryan who is eight months older than my boys. 

That worked out well, until Tim passed away from pancreatic cancer. I made the mistake of assuming some of the men from church, at least the young men's leaders, would make sure these young men had a way to priesthood. Imagine my surprise when I realized the boys took it upon themselves to get to the chapel themselves to attend priesthood by themselves, since no one bothered to invite them or arrange to pick them up! Needless to say, I wasn't pleased.

I was still upset a month later and I found myself walking to the pulpit during Fast & Testimony meeting. (The first Sunday of every month, Latter Day Saints fast for 2 meals and then have an opportunity to bear testimony to those in the congregation, rather than having scheduled speakers and assigned talks.) As I approached the pulpit, it was my intention to merely state my pride in my sons and my nephew; three young men who were strong enough and dedicated enough to do what they knew was right to attend priesthood by themselves, while most young men try to find ways out of attending with their fathers. After expressing my pride in the boys, however, I'm afraid I found myself blasting the men of our ward and expressing my disappointment that there wasn't a man among them who thought to reach out to these fine young men. 

As I returned to my seat and my children praised my embarrassing behavior, I realized that there was a lesson to be learned here. I made my sons promise me that when they grew up, whenever conference time rolled around, they would look for at least one young man who didn't have an active father in the church and give that young man the opportunity to attend priesthood with them.

Which brings me to the topic of this post.... Since they've grown up, as soon as my boys leave priesthood session, they've made a habit of calling me to report on the meeting. Who spoke?; What were their favorite talks?; What were the talks about? And, they always know that I'm going to ask if they took a young man with them. While living in Kentucky, Bart was the Young Men's President, meaning he was the adult male in charge of the young men from 12-18, so he was always accompanied by at least one young man. I was always so proud of all the things he did with "his" young men and that he was taking time to be a good example for all those young men.

It's been a little harder for Brandon, since he hasn't been involved in the young men program yet,  but last night when he called he sounded very excited and proud to tell me that he would have called sooner, but he needed to take the missionaries AND a young man home first! This young man began coming to church on his own, took missionary discussions and was baptized, and Banny gave him the opportunity to attend priesthood with him! And he was so pumped when he reported on the talks and the speakers they had. 

Like I said, I'm always very proud of ALL my kids. But, I'm especially proud twice each year as I recognize that there is a single mom out there who can rest assured that there are other men who will set the example for her son; or as I realize that there is a young man who's trying to do what's right by himself who can gain a little bit of support from one of my boys.