a tall personality

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The last summer!

March 25, 2011

My mom said she thought this picture of me was symbolic of my life. If I ascend the stairs, surely something greater than what I have now is waiting. Training. Education. Structure. Meaningful contributions. The things expected of an adult. Or I can go my own way by jumping out the window into the sunlight! I don't know where I'd land, or even where I would want to land... Ok so she didn't exactly say that, but she gave me the idea! I realized today that this is sort of my last summer before I grow up. I'll be in grad school next summer, and after that I'll hopefully have a 'real job' where you don't get summers off. Am I happy about that? I don't know. It's inevitable. But a big part of me...or maybe it's just a very vocal part doesn't want to leave this foot-loose and fancy free stage of life behind. Another part knows I cannot get where I want to go by keeping things just the way they are. No...

Lessons on Happiness

March 03, 2011

I have been making this list in my mind and I wanted to share it before I forget! Lesson 1: Enjoy the weather, whatever it may be I checked the weather this morning and whined through the wall to Aleena, "Aww it's supposed to rain today!" She immediately responded with absolute sincerity "YES! I love the rain!" It changed my whole day. Lesson 1a: You can change someone's whole day with one positive response. Lesson 2: Embrace the happiness that is affixed to the atonement. 2 Nephi 2:10 "which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer to ends of the atonement. It's affixed. Why let it become like forgotten chocolate in the back of the cupboard, and only bring it out for special occasions? Lesson 3: Every time a good thing happens, there is something to be happy about, no matter who the good thing happens to. Thanks for that, Matt Hopkins. Lesson 4: Sometimes we reje...

Roots

January 10, 2011

Picture courtesy of the late and dearly missed Joe Leahy My Mom used to pay us a dime for each dandelion we kids could uproot in our yard. She explained that you have to follow the root deep into the soil to get every little bit out, or else they sprout again. More often than not, the stubborn roots stretched further into the soil than I could dig, so I ripped out all I could and tried to fulfill Mom's directions by chopping at the remaining strands of root clinging to the depths of the soil. When roots are deep enough, they have to break when it comes time to dig them out. There's no way to remove the plant from its roots AND keep it whole. That's how I feel now. I just arrived in Provo from what may be my last trip to my roots, Valdez, for quite some time. I took advantage of all the time I had on the plane ride back to the "Lower 48", as we semi-affectionately call it, to write my feelings. Here are a few snippets. A lot of them are about ...