Easter

What a gorgeous day! I have had a couple of great weekends lately and am totally rejuvenated by the social experiences I have enjoyed. A couple weeks ago, I met with my "polly" (Polynesian) friends and had a great day. I went to Aloha fest in Tempe and just enjoyed the culture and experiences that were an integral part of my mission. Last weekend I went to an old High School Friend's wedding reception and met a couple of other friends there as well. It was great to rehash the old days. I am overwhelmed by the concept of your inner perception of yourself in the past does not necessarily meet up with other's perceptions of you. This weekend, I went out to dinner last night with my great friend Alishia, lunch today with my good friend George and dinner tonight with my sister Becky and her family. GREAT TIMES!

Isn't it Ironic?

As an English teacher, I am always looking for examples of irony to explain the concept to my students. This weekend was a whopper of an example! My cousin's husband died last week of pancreatic cancer. He had been fighting the good fight for the past two years, and looked great a month ago at the holiday celebrations we had; however, he went downhill really quickly and succumbed on Wednesday morning. His funeral service was held on Saturday afternoon. I am never comfortable at funerals. I prefer the LDS version where the service is littered with humor and memories. This was a Southern Baptist/Catholic version of fear and a spiritual version of "You better be good for goodness sakes!" kinda funeral. Also, because her husband was Hispanic, over half the service was in Spanish. (I think those were the Catholic parts!) Anyhow, after several songs, homilies, prayers, etc. were spoken, the minister began his sermon. The topic? YOU BETTER BE READY(HALLELUJAH) TO MEET YOUR MAKER(HALLELUJAH) CUZ HE CAN (HALLELUJAH) TAKE YOU (HALLELUJAH) WHENEVER HE WANTS (HALLELUJAH)!!! To prove his point, he remarked that the Lord was not ready for him yet, because he had suffered two strokes and he was still around. (BTW: My mother and I were counting how many times he could say HALLELUJAH in one minute: an impressive 27 times!) NOW LET US BOW OUR HEADS (HALLELUJAH) AND PRAY FOR JULIAN'S SOUL! I bowed my head and strained to listen, thinking that he was speaking softly because he was praying. I then heard people rushing to the front of the chapel (WOW...Lots of people wanna get saved today!) and then looked up....the minister had fallen down. Here is the irony...He had a stroke! This time, the Lord wanted him home. My mom says that the minister reminded God that he was still here...It is sad, but definitely ironic. (I also felt like I was on an episode of Six Feet Under!) The funeral ended abruptly. One I will not forget!

Mover and Shaker

The last two weeks of Winter break have gone by way too quickly! I can't believe it is over and school starts back on Monday. I have not accomplished as much as I needed to, but that is always the case. This week has been a concentration on preparing mom and dad for their move when they get their foreclosure notice. It has been a balancing act of getting it done and making sure that I don't traumatize my mother in the process. If there is ever an argument against saving stuff, it would be a visit to her home. She had a room full of material (cloth) that she was saving for her quilting. How many quilts has she made in her life? ZERO! I convinced her to throw out all but one bin of material...How many VCR, DVD, etc. movies? 3 bookcases full!!!! It boggles my mind that one person has so much...stuff. Then, I go outside and see the demons my father is fighting. His horde makes my mother's look like daycamp. The notice that their property is up for sale went out last week for an auction on Jan 15. So, we probably have 3 more months. Next Saturday, their ward is organizing to come help. THAT should be interesting. I am now home with a sore back, strained neck and a bit of panic at the prospect of school starting on Monday....