Really??!!

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the school nurse.  It was a mass e-mail sent out to all families of school children.  It stated that there had been a lot of pink-eye, strep throat, and mono circulating through the valley schools.  I already knew this and had been diligent in washing and sanitizing my hands multiple times daily while at school.  I was taking massive doses of vitamin C and Airborne.  I was getting plenty of sleep and drinking gallons of water.  I was winning!  I was NOT sick!  I had avoided the "plague."  Then last Saturday evening (on the eve of Spring break, when I would have a week off from daily exposure to the germ-fest that is public school), I felt the beginnings of a sore throat!  WHAT??!!  I upped the rigor of my prevention plan, taking even more vitamin C and drinking more water and napping.  I refused to be sick for my spring break trip to Provo.  And even if I was (I'm not admitting anything) I took enough Advil, Tylenol, and Daytime Cold Medicine to be in complete and total denial and have a wonderful time accomplishing my Provo "bucket list."  By Thursday, when I returned home and scaled back on the meds, I had a nice hacking cough which settled in my chest.  I slept sitting up sucking on cough drops.  By yesterday, Friday, I was sure that my sickness was on its way out.  (Only a slight sore throat and slight lingering sinus issues and headache).  However, this morning I woke up with my left eye sealed shut!!  REALLY???!!!  Where are these germs coming from??!! I haven't been to school in 6 days, and I'm just NOW getting pink eye??!!  No one else in my family has it.  So now I'm changing my contacts, washing towels, and sheets, and hoping that maybe I can get into urgent care today.  (I tried to get in on Monday before leaving for Provo, but it was an hour wait, so I just self-treated and hoped my illness was not antibiotic-requiring strep.) 

*Note: I did have an eye-doctor tell me once that all "pink-eye" medicine was was Neosporin in a drop-form.  He said to just rub Neosporin over your infected eyes like you would eye-make-up remover, for the same effect as prescription conjunctivitis meds.  I've already started that.  Happy Easter!

In other news, and quite ironically, I recently read 2 Nephi 31.  I'm usually pretty faithful about reading my scriptures-OK so I'm super faithful, I really NEVER miss.  But it is harder when schedules are crazy, like with spring break.  So the other night, as I was getting ready for bed, I realized that I had not read my scriptures.  I picked up the Book of Mormon that was in the bathroom, and just opened it.  (I know-how cliche-but still, at least I was reading).  I happened to open to 2 Nephi 31, one of the last chapters in 2 Nephi, and some of Nephi's last words.  (I'm always a bit sad when I get to the end of a particular prophet's writings in the scriptures; it's like I'm saying goodbye.) For some reason, while I stood reading this chapter quickly in the bathroom before bed, verse 20 really struck me.  This verse and its predecessor, verse 19 are quite "famous" (meaning they are quoted often) as making the point that we must endure to the end.  I knew this.  I had read it before.  I know that I must endure, that I must feast upon the words of Christ, that I must have charity, but what really hit me this time were the words "having a perfect brightness of hope."  I don't think I've ever given these words or this phrase that much thought.  But for the last few days these words ("a perfect brightness of hope") have been playing over and over in my head.  It's not just enough for me to endure and try to be good.  I have to do so with  hope, and not just with a "shred" or "particle" of hope, but with a "perfect brightness" of hope.  Wow!  That's a huge challenge for me.  Perfect! Part of "enduring to the end," is to do so with optimism, perfect optimism, despite my circumstances (like a sore throat or pink-eye) and the attitudes of those around me.  (Sometimes it seems sooo difficult to maintain a positive attitude when I am bombarded with the frustrations and irritation of those around me.)  But in the end, I have the agency to CHOOSE a "perfect brightness of hope,"  and thanks to the power and gift of the atonement, I know that I CAN do it.  So here's to a future of a "perfect brightness of hope!"

Provo Bucket List

We go to Provo a lot.  We have 2 daughters going to school there.  We take them.  We move them.  We help them buy books, find apartments, and grocery shop.  We have a lot of fun in Provo, but most the time our "fun" revolves around the needs of our BYU students.  So this year, during spring break, Kent and I decided to take a road trip to Provo to do some things WE wanted to do.  (Our daughters had school and work and were busy with their own lives, but joined us for some of our "bucket list" items.)  Our bucket list included:

*Hike the "Y"      
This one was my item-I had never done this-I know-how DID I graduate from BYU without hiking the "Y?!"  My guilt only increased two summers ago, when, as part of a family reunion scavenger hunt in Salt Lake we "hiked" the "U."  (Although "hiked" may be the wrong word-you can basically drive to the "U".  Hmmm....is there some hidden meaning in the fact that the "U" is so easy to get to, but the "Y" requires quite a bit of effort.  Just sayin...)

*Eat curry at the Bombay House
This item was Kent's.  Every time we go to Provo, and we drive by the Bombay House, he wants to eat there.  The curry was great, and our waiter was an Indian from India complete with a full beard, mustache, turban, and the name "Lucky,"  really-it was on his name tag!

*Attend a session at the Provo temple
It's so convenient that they have sessions every 20 minutes.  Can't wait till the new Provo temple is done.  The Provo tabernacle is being converted to a temple.  The whole thing is up on stilts right now while they build a basement underneath.  It's pretty awesome!

*Take pics at our daughters' apartments
Both our daughters live in apartments that I lived in while at BYU.  Kaylee lives in Heritage Halls-Young Hall to be exact.  She lives with Mady, who is the daughter of my freshman year roommate Corinne-How cool is that?!  Analise lives in Chatham on 9th East.  I lived there spring term 1988.  I was looking for a place to stay for spring term that year, and a young man by the name of Kent Barlow suggested that I move into Chatham where he lived.  I was interested in this boy, and decided that it would either be a very good move or a very bad one-depending on how things went with Mr. Barlow.  I finally decided that even if it turned out to be bad, it would only be for the 8 weeks of spring term, and I could endure anything for 8 weeks.  25 years and 6 kids later-I'd say it turned out to be a GRAND idea :)

Other fun things we did in Provo, not necessarily on the list:  Eat at Molly's-Yum!  Saw the Rembrandt exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art, Easter shopping, dinner at Red Lobster (Someday I AM going to save room for the delicious looking chocolate-filled dessert cookie they have there.) and sleeping, exercising, and relaxing at the Marriott.  Happy Spring break to us.  (For more info on the rest of our spring break activities see this post from last year-it was basically a "ditto" this year.  AND I uploaded some of this year's spring break activities photos to facebook-pretty amazing for me since I never post pics on fb)

Kay, Analise, and Kaylee ready to hike the "Y"

Kay and Kent ready to hike the "Y"
 (Not sure how excited Kent is about this bucket-list item.  To be fair, even though neither of us ever HIKED the "Y,"  we did four-wheel all over and around "Y" mountain in Kent's black Ford Ranger while we were dating.)

The Barlows at the top-gotta love Analise's sweatshirt-At least I wore a BYU shirt for the occasion :)

The girls at the top of the "Y"

At the Bombay House-Kent is much happier about this bucket-list item

Kaylee and Kay- Young Hall

Analise and Kay-Chatham on 9th East

Provo Temple
The best I could do-I got an eye-roll for even wanting a picture.  Forget about asking a complete stranger to take a picture with Kent and me IN it.  (Although I'm sure a nice missionary would have obliged right?)

New Provo temple aka old Provo tabernacle on stilts
For more photos and also cool updates on the building process, see this site
http://newtempleinprovo.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html

Happy Birthday-46 and 1

Yesterday I turned 46 and today this blog turned 1.  Happy birthday to both of us!

We went to the temple for my birthday. 
(Lynae and Trent did baptisms while Kent and I did initiatories-Luke sat in the foyer and read.)

Supermom

Ok, so you know how superman changes with lightening speed in a phone booth, and rushes in the and saves the day and then returns to his regular "life" without anyone really noticing.  Well, I can relate.  A bit about my morning this morning: So it's 7:30.  I'm trying to get all my "before 8" (see this post) items done, and I'm not doing too well.  I've run, done breakfast, scriptures and prayers (both mine and the family's), and cleaned the kitchen, but I still have not showered since I am trying to clean the entire house (I've been trying to do a few things each morning.) in preparation for Analise bringing home 10 friends this weekend.  (My house has been in serious need of help since I have not had a complete "Saturday work crew" for over 6 weeks.) It was about this time that I noticed a text from Trent saying that he needed an algebra assignment that he left at home by first period. (I live a good 15 minutes away from the middle school.) Kent said he would take it down, but he didn't want to go in.  I tried to call Trent to see if he could meet Kent in front of the school, but no luck.  I was running out of time.  Enter "Supermom."  "Supermom" showers, dresses, does her hair and make-up, and is out the door by 7:45 (I'm really not sure this is/was even possible, but something about offspring and and missing homework conjures up previously unknown strength and speed.)  "Supermom's" alter ego HAD to be to work by 8:15 for a meeting, and trying to get ANYTHING to ANYONE at the middle school is like trying to get security clearance at the Pentagon.  Ok, maybe not quite, but every gate is always locked, and the office staff won't ever let anyone deliver anything personally, but instead requires that "delivery-people" wait while they call for the student, or else they give the item to be delivered to a student-aid for delivery.  Neither option was acceptable; there was no time and the item HAD to be to Trent before first period ended.  (A bad grade in the one MS class which he is taking for HS credit is NOT acceptable. And I have my doubts about the timeliness and competence of student-aid deliveries.  This isn't my "first rodeo"- I've done middle school "deliveries" before.)  Again, enter "Supermom." "Supermom" drives into the back parking lot, and finds the maintenance yard gate unlocked.  She slips through this gate, and begins walking with purpose towards said student's algebra class (Of course, because she is "Supermom," she knows exactly in which room the said algebra class meets. Would you expect anything less from "Supermom"? )  She meets the groundsman, but smiles says hello, and acts like she is supposed to be there. She confidently walks right into the classroom, as the teacher is writing on the board, hands the missing assignment to her son, who holds it up and announces, "Here is my assignment."  The teacher turns and takes it, while "Supermom" quietly slips relatively unnoticed out of the classroom, quickly makes her way back through the maintenance yard and the maze of parked school buses, and drives off to work, driving just under the speed limit and walking into  her meeting one minute early. And no one is the wiser.  (Except maybe Trent-cause now he has his algebra assignment.) 

Yes, usually dressed as a mild-mannered housewife or school teacher, "Supermom" once again swoops in to save the day.