Weather Conspiracy

Our backyard has been in varying stages of incompletion ever since we built this home nearly 9 years ago. For a few of those years we had grass but after a trying to manage a half-grassed backyard, the ugliness of what was undone took over the grass and the whole thing went back to ugly. So we let the grass die and have started over again, and again and once more. Currently, our plan for the backyard is simple but it requires a large amount of dirt removal. The idea has been that I would work out there for my morning exercise between 5:30 and 6:00 and every other Saturday but it's been raining and cold for the last two weeks so I haven't been able to do anything since wet dirt removal is turbo crappy. So, we wait and watch as the backyard becomes more weed overtaken and we have longer to think and rethink what we want to do back there.

When we finish this thing, we're going to have a major party - with fireworks.

Last Day of School

Our whole household is excited to celebrate the last day of school this year for Ethan and Emily. They are excited to have some time off. Alicia is thrilled to not have to shuttle kids in the van until August. And I'm excited to not have to coerce, threaten, and plead with Ethan to get ready for school in the morning.

I think for the most part, summer has the appeal of an easier life with fewer responsibilities. But if we're not careful, that appeal will be offset by idleness, boredom and lots of blahs.

I think we should plan a vacation.

Kindergarten Graduation

I don't remember Kindergarten ever having graduation ceremonies when I was growing up. In fact, I think this is a new thing at the school because Emily didn't have one when she graduated either. But today, Ethan donned a cap (a dixie bowl glued to a piece of poster board and yarn) and sat with the other morning Kindergarten class to hear a short speech (3 minutes), walk up and get his certificate and then do a dance with his classmates to "You've Got a Friend In Me" from Toy Story.

That had to be the best graduation ceremony ever. Adults should have that experience too, 20 minutes maximum - complete with a class song and dance. I love it!

Ethan started kindergarten this year with what Alicia and I believed were deficiencies in numbers, letters, reading, and speech. He has emerged as a good reader. His numbers and letters are awesome and he's showing tremendous 6 year old potential in math. Perhaps these accomplishments were part of what made today's graduation so cool.

He's an awesome kid.

Unexpected Knowledge

A few months ago I was about to meet with someone in their office when I recognized a book on his desk. He saw my glance and asked me if I knew the book.

"That was one of my Mom's favorite books" I answered. "I've never read it but she read it loads of times."

"Why don't you take it?" David suggested. I accepted the offer and it sat in my bag for weeks as I travelled to and from work. I read a few chapters - mostly to be able to report that I had been reading it when David asked. But it's never really fit into my daily pattern to read the book.

As I returned to work from Ethan's graduation, I found my usual pattern disrupted as was on the train and had no Internet connection with which to study the online materials I usually read and memorize in the mornings. So, instead I took the book, Return from Tomorrow out of my bag and began reading.

The book tells the story of a young man who died and saw elements of the life after this one. I am sort of numb to life after death stories after my Mom talked about it all the time. I believe in life after death. I also believe that our spirits separate from our bodies at death and continue to live on this earth. But I wasn't interested in reading a book about it. But my Mom's death softened me a bit on this - she was such a fan of this book that I felt it was likely that what she read here was likely going through her mind when she passed. So I read it thinking of her.

It was a typical life after death story. Man dies, sees his body, travels the world in spirit form getting used to his new predicament, questions his death, comes to acceptance of it. All very interesting stuff but then the story went in a direction that I didn't anticipate. At a point when the man had come to acceptance and was sitting next to his hollow body, the room lightened and he found himself In the presence of Jesus Christ.

From this point on, I was no longer simply reading a book or consuming a story. In some ways, it didn't even feel like I was on the train anymore. It's difficult to write about the experience. I had heard, studied and believed in Christ, His love and power. I have even felt his love on one notable occassion as I served a mission for the LDS Church in Texas almost 15 years ago. Today I felt it again strongly. It was as if I too were experiencing what this man did as he saw the Savior and a felt his overpowering love for him. I felt like I had to pull out of the experience to try to compose myself since I was in public spaces. Had I been alone, I probably would. Have wept openly. I kept reading of how the Savior escorted the man through various places in the spirit world and then I decided it was probably time to get to work. I had already missed my stop and the train had reversed directions - going southbound again. I got off the train and began walking through downtown Salt Lake pondering on what I felt.

It felt like I had been given a gift. I knew better now of the reality of Jesus than I ever had before. After 36 years and various depths of hearing and studing His words, it felt like all fo that came together today with a feeling that it was all real. The very next thought was what that I should do something with this knowledge but I didn't know how. In the book the man found his purpose to be looking for and encouraging Christliake attributes in others. That might be me too.

But one thing is for certain. I know better today then I did yesterday that Jesus is real and his love for me is personal and profound. I need to remember this and find a way to share it with others.

Father and Sons Hotel Trip

Much like many of the local LDS church groups in this area, our local Church congregation goes on a Father and Son Campout every year. I remember attending such things with my Dad when I was a boy and young man. I remember going up into the mountains loaded up with doritoes and KFC for an overnight camping experience in our beat up camper. I loved those times. But I remember them being warmer than the ones we have in our current congregation.

For the past several years, we've camped in May when it's been just barely warm enough in the mountains to not have snow on the ground. A few years ago, Ethan and I were miserable there. Since then we've taken this weekend when the rest of the congregation went into the mountains and we went the opposite direction to an overnighter at a hotel. It's not exactly the most social thing to do but we have a good time.

Tonight we drove to Layton where we were able to get a great deal on a hotel stay. The boys and I got dinner, brought it back to the room, called Alicia, Emily and Claire over video phone and then stayed up late watching cartoons. The boys loved it.

Third Grade Business School

In her third grade class Emily has been working on a final project for the past several months. The project was to interview someone of a different generation and contrast that person's life with their own. The final product of this assignment was a PowerPoint presentation, which Emily shared with her class today.

I was able to attend as she stood in front of the class and presented a slideshow about her grandpa. She did a great job with her presentation - especially for a first timer. She even felt confident enough up there to throw in a little joke in the midst of her 6 slide show, which got a good response from the other kids.

I'm amazed at where Elementary education is going. My 9-year old daughter created a PowerPoint and presented at a SmartBoard (a whiteboard that receives a projection and acts like a touch-screen when you touch the surface). That seems so business-like. I love that she's learning this but I didn't really expect it to happen this early.

The Prodigal Organizer

I was reading in the Bible the other day the story of the prodigal son and I caught something I've never understood before.

The story tells of two sons who are given an inheritance. One wastes his inheritance and sinks to despair while the other takes good care of his inheritance. The wayward son returns to his father and the father rejoices in the returned son and celebrates in his return while the other son feels jealous because he took good care of the inheritance the whole time and didn't get this type of treatment.

So the part that I missed was when the prodigal son returned, he returned expecting no royal treatment at all - in fact he returned with this statement to his father: "I am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants" (Luke 15:19). He knew he had made mistakes and he returned in an attitude of complete humility. Only then was the celebration fitting. Perhaps a lack of this same humility was the reason the brother didn't receive such royal treatment.

This was inspiring to me. The getting done of keeping commandments, serving, performing in a Church calling, donating to the save Japan fund, and whatever else may be needed is not as important as the doing of these things. In other words, if the heart isn't in it, doing all this other stuff is good but just a completed checklist in the end. I believe that what's really important is the state of our hearts, not how much stuff we got done.

So I went about my day trying to keep an attitude like the prodigal son - being a servant. As a result, I worked hard in the day trying to improve things at work, help people, and reflect on how I can really serve better. By days end, my checklist of very good things (like obtaining a list of volunteers to clean the Church this weekend, setting appointments to visit neighbors, helping organize project approvals, resolve conflict on the team, hiring new people, and completing a report to upper management) wasn't all checked off. But I knew I had served from dawn until dusk - trying hard to not think about my own interests as I went. I also believed that God would make up the difference in what I lacked. That felt really good - much better than the geeky thrill I sometimes get from having a checked off list.