{ on being happy }

{ thankful }

 Last night I took dinner in to a dear friend who is just beginning the fight for her life against breast cancer and who had just returned home after a double mastectomy.

It surely makes all of the 'Black Friday'

hype seem downright silly.

I think tomorrow I will hug my grandchildren a little longer, call my dear dad,

kiss my sweet husband, express thanks for my four children and their great spouses and let someone else get the deal of the season.

I already have the gold.

{my bank}

I'm not sure BUT I think if you're wearing a ski mask 
AND entering a bank . . . 
it's not good!
(and I don't think you're reading the signs on the door . . . )

{ wisdom }

Maybe it's the shorter days and longer nights,

or maybe it's the lengthened streams of sunlight

in the late afternoon

or the quietness that comes

with children back in school

and frost on the grass

but whatever brings it on,

I find myself more reflective in the fall

as I think about my life,

my struggles, my triumphs,

my life lessons learned.

I gained empathy while experiencing loss,

freedom while breaking crippling bonds,

gratitude while holding my children,

reverence while honoring my mother's life,

testimony while applying the Atonement,

healing while seeking forgiveness

and laughter while remembering to look up.

I heard this song and was a little taken aback

by the term 'beautiful heartbreak' but

as I listened and thought of my own journey

I was grateful again for lessons learned,

testimony deepened,

understanding broadened

and the healing balm

of my Savior, Jesus Christ.