End of the Grants

In our little town, and our little school, there is only one Grant family. It is us. In 2007 Collin entered the doors or good old South Fremont High as th first and only Grant to attend and this last week, the twins, Adri and Katy walked out the doors as the last of our family to graduate. (I was once told that no other Grant family has ever gone to school here but I don't know if that is true.) South Fremont has been a good place for the kids. They have had good friends, lots of fun, opportunities to be involved and lead, and have become well educated. I'm grateful for the wonderful place it has been for our family. However, I am also sad that it is over. No longer am I obligated to attend games, concerts, graduations, plays, or other activities. That seems a little weird. There were times when I felt I lived there. 

Congratulations to all four of these great South Fremont grads. I love them all!

Life is good - and new adventures are just around the corner.

Eighteen Years Old

This is a special day. Today the twins turned 18. The big 1 and 8. I can't believe it. So many changes will come in the next year for them and us. They will graduate from high school on May 25th. Whoa!!!! So excited for them but also excited for me because I will not be helping to write papers, or at least feeling the pressure of getting them to write papers. Then, two days later, the twins move out and into a house in West Yellowstone with their friends and will work for five months. I don't know what I will do without their laughing and quoting television shows at every meal. What will I trip over as I walk in the door? Their shoes will not be there. The very long hair will not be woven through the fibers of every shirt I pull out of the dryer. I'm going to miss them. 

When their work is completed in West they will both head to college and will find new adventures and opportunities. Their will build new friendships and relationships. They won't need me as much then. That is exactly as it should be but I would be lying if I didn't say that hurts my heart a lot. After a semester of college they will be off on their missions which will bring a whole new element to everything. Actually, as I write this I realize this is my last month to enjoy the twinners just as I always have - close beside me.

I have told people that I am so excited for these girls to go, to move out, leave me as an empty nester. All the quarrels and messes leave with them. But that isn't true. I'm not one bit happy for them to go. I'm not ready. But, they are. That's what is important and what we have been preparing them for. I'm so proud of them. 

So, happy birthday Adri and Katy, Twin A and Twin B, or my Twinners. I love you more than you will ever know!

Life is good - 18 years of looking at these beautiful miracles has helped make it so.

Being Better

I have sat quietly tonight, after watching a movie that got me to thinking, contemplating the current status of my existence. I don't say too much about my thoughts and what I think because they usually aren't that valid and I never want to be judged by others for the things I think. (That is stupid, I know.) But, recent world events, political strife, and general uncertainty have made me decide to write a few things in the blog that no one reads (I read it and so I can go back and read it again and again if I need a reminder).

First, I have been so overwhelmed because of frustration, discouragement, rejection, roadblocks, and hurdles that my children face. There was a time, when the kids were younger and I thought life could not get more difficult, that I actually wished their childhood away and hoped for adulthood. How stupid was that? I would give anything to go back to the days when the twins were uncontrollable, band-aids were put on every three seconds, kids squabbled over everything, homework was always needing to be checked, someone had to be run somewhere, the house was a disaster, and someone hated every meal that was fixed. But, I could hug my kids every single day. I could sit with them at the table and help with homework. I could rock them in the chair and read them stories. I could listen to them read to me. Those times were so much easier than the pains that are felt as children are hurting. Man I love these kids. I wish I could help them escape the trials that help them grow. But where would they be then? They have to experience all of them to make them strong enough to face the future. I just don't like it. And I miss them terribly. (Okay the twins are still here but only for a couple months more.)

Next, my life is not charmed. It is difficult, at best, some days. There are weeks that nothing seems to go right. We don't have all the things we want, heck, we can't always even have all the things we need. However, I am so blessed. Today while watching a move, The Butler, I realized that I am totally free. I make the choices I want. Do what I want. See what I want. And I can be what I want. There is nothing, save it be myself, to hold me back. I have become the person I have wanted to be. I am happy with who I am. No one has ever told me I can't do something because of the color of my skin, because of my religion, or because of my situation. I am so grateful for that. I don't understand people that hold others back. Why should I care where another person is from or what they look like or what God they pray to, or if they don't believe in a god at all. I am here to find joy in this life and bring joy to others. I don't want to be a roadblock in another's life and progress. I truly believe that we should all be free to find joy. I am blessed! What a wonderful life I have.

And last, after learning of bombings, verbal and physical fights among candidates running for President (are these people seven years old? I deal with this stuff on the playground daily.) and a general disregard for other humans, I decided to take a stand where I am. I am going to be a bigger person. I don't want to add one more second of negativity to this world. Martin Luther King Jr. said something about dark can not get rid of darkness. Only light has the ability to rid the world of darkness. I am going to be a light. One little light doesn't do much but if I can influence another someone to be a light and that influence inspires another light and it continues then I have made a difference. We can all make a difference. We have got to stop hating and stop all the ugliness. We can be better than this. I'm going to be better, starting right now. 

Life is good - and I am going to help make it better.

Heart Full of Thanks Day #4

I'm thankful that the weatherman can be wrong. I fully expected to wake up to three inches of snow on the ground. But when I peered through the window, early this morning, I saw green grass and heard rustling leaves. Yay for the wrong forecast! Makes me happy.

A Heart Full of Thanks Day #3

I'm thankful for my good husband who is so wonderful and supportive. He makes dinner when I'm not going to be home early. He supports me in my wild hair-brained ideas like taking a second job and then happily he does the dishes when I have to go back to my first job to finish up some things for the next day. He is so awesome. Love you, Trent!

A Heart Full of Thanks Day 2

Today I am thankful for opportunities to learn new things, meet new people, and take steps into the unknown. It isn't easy, mostly terrifying, but it is good for me. I have an additional job. It is very little. I am a therapist that helps with reading problems in an optometrist office. I've known nothing about vision therapy until I started - at least I thought I didn't. Turns out I knew more than I thinking. I do a lot of the therapy procedures in my class but I just did it to help readers. Each job is teaching me something new to use in the other job. I've met some great people and work with marvelous patients. It is a nice new challenge.

A Heart Full of Thanks Day 1

Today I am thankful for Primary music and children that sing them. I have been the chorister in our Primary for two and a half years. I love it there. I love all the songs. I sing them while I'm falling asleep (in my head, of course). I sing them when I wake up and can't fall asleep. I sing them out loud as I walk to school and when I come home. I just love them.