Happiness Is…

Give yourself up to this moment. Dare to see it. Now look down at your feet; slip out of those invisible tethers. Then ask: Where would you take yourself right this moment if you walked toward your most heartfelt dream? What would your life look like? What would your body look and feel like? What level of energy would you have? What might be your favorite activity? What would your daily life include? Imagine happiness — the sweet glow of inner contentment, the way it tastes and smells and feels. ~Chris Downie

Happiness danced in my thoughts today. My oldest step-daughter married her sweetheart yesterday in a somewhat secret ceremony, I believe just a few of his family attended. They posted the video on Facebook to share the exciting news.

I sent her a text today to ask her if I could put it on my wall that “my daughter married her sweetheart. I specifically asked about dropping the step that has stared me in the face since I became part of the family nine years ago. I hate that word. When she said I could. I cannot express the joy that brings to my heart.

Though she is an adult and has a “step” of her own now, part of her is still that young girl I met when I married her Dad. I fell in love with her and her sister. I made it clear my intentions were to never ever take the place of their mom who is still living, but that does not diminish the depth of the love that I feel for them. Through the years I developed a mother’s love for them. I ached when they hurt. I worried when they were sick. Frustrated when I saw them making choices that I knew would lead them into pain. I felt hurt when they were away and we did not get to spend the time we could with them. Distance and circumstances sometimes coming between our developing relationships. Each time though, my mother heart, would ache to know how my daughters were and we would find our way back to each other.

So having my daughter allow me to call her what my heart has called her all along is happiness to me. Knowing that she has found the man who will walk the road beside her being her constant and her strength makes this mom very happy.

Family means the world to me. I do not know where I would be without my family. I am so very grateful for the gift that my daughter gave me today to let me call her mine, and yesterday for increasing our family by two.

When Did We Talk About That?

It is so frustrating. My memory was once really good, I would even say above average. My best friends would call me when they needed to recall something from our youth.

Now my memory is awful, honestly to the point that I catch myself believing that others are the ones confused. An example tonight was watching a very funny video on Facebook. My husband rather adamantly says we watched it together, on my Ipad. I call tell you with 100% certainty I did not watch it. He has told me that about several things lately. TV shows and conversations that I have absolutely zero recollection of. It has happened a couple of times with my Mother, but not as severe.

This is not recall problems. I know that I have not seen or done these things, there is no vague remembrance or faint recollection at all.

It made me upset at my husband initially tonight. His memory is not always the greatest, and he was adamant and pointed and my Ipad and remembers it well. He wasn’t rude, but it was so frustrating to me to be told that I did something that I did not remember. Especially when I found the video hysterical, and I was excited to show him.

I am really tired and I am sure I am not making much sense.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Find the Good Friday: A Match Made In Heaven

I love a good romance or friendship story. My heart has a special connection with those  the world sees as disabled or handicapped. I love dogs, and stories of rescues. My Enos was on his way to the pound, a high kill pound when we rescued him.

So you can imagine the feeling in my heart as I read the story of Eve and Dillon this morning in the Huffington Post.

So sweet.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/marleys-mutts-eve-dillon_n_3685072.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news

Wishful Wednesday (A Day Late): Hogwarts Anyone?

My niece posted the neatest thought on her Facebook page. She loves Harry Potter, and like my niece I am a pretty avid fan. I am going to cheat today and use her post as mine, because I love it so much. I wish I could escape to Hogwarts, I know I could take my niece with me.

Silly Saturday: Unko-San -The Lucky Poo Fairy (I did not make this up!)

We have been laughing all morning. When I was looking for something funny to write I came upon several websites that mentioned these:

What in the world you ask?

The Japanese Unko-san Poo Fairy is the an anime cartoon that went viral in 2009 with high school girls in western Japan. “Unko-san is a brown poo fairy who has the special power of being able to bestow good luck upon others less fortunate.”

Where to even begin with this? The family tree maybe?

Cracks me up that this exists, but they made plush pillow like poo fairies that these teenage girls snuggle with is even funnier. I have a soon to be 18-year-old daughter step daughter, and a sixteen year old niece, I cannot image them wanting a poo toy. My nephews maybe, okay no maybe about it, but you get my point. The major viewing audience is teenage girls!

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE…Look at it there is a collection. The Big Poo and three little poos.. Can you imagine the lunch room talk, about getting your Poo collection?! “I am so bummed. I could only buy Big Poo this week. I hope to be able to buy a little turd next week.”

We have some strange things here, but wow. This is just wow! I do not think the words exist.

Something even funnier, and sad at the same time, another nationality threw a fit about the show. No, not because it was poo, but because they felt the skinniest poo was perceived to be their nationality. This short tempered poo is always losing it for no reason on the cartoon. Hmmm…you are not upset that you think you are represented as a poo, but as a short-tempered steamer? I just found that ironically comical!

For your Saturday morning cartoon enjoyment I have attached a YouTube of Unko-San –our poo with super powers! It is only two or three minutes long, and has English subtitles. Hope you enjoy!

Daily Prompt: Morality Play, In A Changing World

Daily Prompt: Morality Play
Where do your morals come from — your family? Your faith? Your philosophical worldview? How do you deal with those who don’t share them, or derive them from a different source?

This is an interesting topic for me to write about. It is one I have lived.

Once the moral shrew. Looking down on others who did not walk the perfect moral line that I did, ostracized even my very best friends for their choices in life, perceiving their choices which were different from my “pristine” life as offenses against me and our friendship. I suppose I developed my morals from both church and family, but taking it to the extreme was all my doing.

It is amazing how the holier than thou can be knocked of their high horses, and learn humility. Falling off is not the funnest thing, but you can meet some of the most interesting people on your way off. Realizing also that you can still maintain, or reclaim your morality through repentance without being condescending or self-righteous. Shew that horse on along.

I heard a quote by Dieter F Uchtdorf in the last year or so that really stuck with me, “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.” I believe he had read it on a bumper sticker.

I know several people who are extremely homophobic. Do I “agree” or “understand” that lifestyle, simply put no. I will always believe marriage should be between a man and a woman, but some of my dearest friends are homosexual. I would give my life for them and they for me. I sat and talked with one the other day, he had me rolling laughing because he talked about how he cannot stand the gay community. I had to double take, and wanted to remind him how long he has been with his partner. He is against gay rights and gay adoption. He mentioned that those who speak out and making “such a ruckus” are making it difficult on those who just want to live their lives. I had never thought about that. He is a great man, and I love him like a brother.

I remember the first time I found out someone I knew drank and had premarital sex. I was crushed. How would I ever look them in the eyes again, how could they ever look me in the eyes again. I realize now that aside from my family those that have had these bumps or even made these as their choices, but fought family and friends for the right to make their choices have been some of my greatest confidants and cheerleaders. Recognizing the hurt of letting those you love down, whether by their choice to be let down or something you actually did, or even your feeling of letting them down. That’s a lot of letting down.

I was 31 when I got married, though I never crossed that line completely before marriage, but it became blurry many times. Often too close for comfort, definitely too close to judge anyone else.

Alcohol and drugs, I have never tried either. There are several reasons behind this. Addiction runs in my family. I have an uncle and a cousin that are/were addicts. I know I have an addictive personality, and seeing what those substances have done to our family, I could not do that to my parents, siblings, husband, or my niece and nephews.

All in all, the covenants I have made with Heavenly Father help me to stay moral. Whether it is chastity or refraining from alcohol and drugs, those are things I made covenants to do, if you have not, that is your choice. My friendship does not depend on it, though I might not choose to be around when you are drinking heavily or smoking (being around smoke gets me physically sick).

We all have our agency.

Related articles

• Daily Prompt: Morality Play (dailypost.wordpress.com)

 

30 Day Blog Challenge Day 2 – Current Relationship

Today’s task is to write about my current relationship.

I have mentioned before that we met online. We met on a website called LDSMingle. I went on the site as a dare from a friend that had met someone on it. I told her that her situation of meeting a nice guy online was rare, and I would get online for 3 months just to prove to her that hers was the exception to the rule. This was the first week January 2005.

I had done the singles scene, even attended singles only congregations. I just did not find the right person. When I attended the singles functions I always put “Mahana” as my name on my name tag. ..referring to the Legend of Jonnny Lingo, where Mahana was the most homely girl in the Hawaiian village, but Johnny Lingo loved her and he bartered her father 8 cows for her hand in marriage, more than any other woman’s dowry. As a result, her self esteem blossomed and she became the most beautiful woman on the island. (I love the movie, it is 23 minutes long, I have attached it.)

So, here I am on LDSMingle, and I see a post that says, “Mahana, Are You Out There”? he did not go by Johnny, but rather Cleatus, but I decided to send him an email. He teases me to this day about the picture that I had as my profile, perfect for Mahana, pre-Johnny days. Either way, we started chatting online and sending emails, constantly. This was only January 13th, far from my 3 month trial.

Eventually he called, and we talked, and talked, and talked. We talked more than we ever would have if we had lived in the same area. He lived across the country. In Febraury we decided that he would come out here for Easter. He landed in Jacksonville Friday evening, we had our first date and our first kiss.

Saturday, he sat my parents down at the table with a duffle bag full of stuffed animals. This would be my dowry. There were cows, horses, lambs, pigs, and I can’t remember what else. Mahana did not have anything on me. He then knelt down and asked me to marry him. I said yes. I often tease him that it was the painkillers talking because I had surgery two days before he arrived.

We were married in June of that year. Keeping with the Johnny Lingo theme, our reception was a luau. It was so much fun.

We have been married eight years. They have not all been easy, some have been down right hard, but we made covenants with each other and with Heavenly Father to see it through. I love him, and I know he loves me.

He supports our family as the sole bread winner. I know that is hard on him, but I am so grateful for his devotion and willingness to work, even through the stresses and frustration.

He has a hearty infectious laugh, one of the things I wrote about in my journal when we first met. He loves to serve others. My Daddy adores him, and he can fix anything. He is absolutely brillant.

We have two daughters from his first marriage some days they are the greatest blessings, sometimes the greatest trials, but I guess that it what being a parent is about. I wish I could see them more, and really have a true relationship with them. It is hard across the country, sometimes distance other times raw emotion often gets in the way. I love them and look forward to seeing them both realize their dreams.

Some of our greatest joys are our four legged babies that we share our home with. They love us unconditionally. They ground us. Each has a unique personaility.

One of our songs as always been The Broken Road..

This is the Johnny Lingo Video. Hope You Enjoy!