Felicitaciones, Elder Savage!

Josh's photo submitted with his papers...

Dani's photo to be submitted with her papers....

Today is March 17th, 2011. (Happy St. Patty's Day, everyone!) More importantly...HAPPY JOSH GETS HIS MISSION CALL, BATMAN! So today started out a good day: there was an assembly at school, which REALLY means nobody has to show up until it's over. Naturally, that means brings friends home and have a good breakfast! (Thank you Mom.) It was fun, and I'm pretty sure Elise, Glen and Tanner have never seen fights that intense for shotgun. ANYWAY. We started talking about missions, seeing as Tanner just submitted his papers, Dani's filling out hers, and we knew Josh was EXPECTING his today. Something to the effect of we can't wait to see where everybody goes. Tanner's going to go to Canada, Dani's going to go to...Norway. I still want someone to go to Norway, and Josh (I was guessing) would go to China. MISSIONS MISSIONS MISSIONS! Later, in track my cousin Seth pulled me out to go skype Josh and see him open his call. Josh isn't patient, so we knew it would be opened in the hour. Everyone got a guess, one state side and one foreign: Rebekah- Chile, or California Mom- China, or Texas Me- Norway, or Mass Seth- Mexico, or Arizona Auuunt Shauna- Costa Rica, or Anchorage, Alaska, Spanish speaking (Specific...) Kyle- Sweden, or Colorado Luke (with help from Aunt Shauna)-Tahiti, or Minnesota And finally, the only guess that was EXACTLY RIGHT, in his own words: Josh: "WHEREVER THE LORD FREAKING WANTS ME TO GO." Ding ding ding!! I swear, it's like they make the beginning of that letter long on purpose! Elder Savage will be heading to the Provo MTC on August 3rd, before going to the PERU, LIMA WEST, Spanish speaking mission. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Good call, Josh. Within three weeks we should have Dani's call in as well....AHHH! I'm stealing Josh's guess this time: My prediction is she goes WHEREVER THE LORD FREAKING WANTS HER TO. I've gotta feeling I'm right. (Norway...)

Gallantry is Alive and Well

I am at the University Community Hospital near Tampa, Florida, where my uncle, David, is a patient. Rusty, my aunt and his wife, had been caring for him for a long time. He began losing the ability to use his legs while enduring intense pain that is generated from his back, as well as other issues. He has made some serious progress in the past 24 hours, now being able to sit up, and use the walker for very small distances, as well as getting some relief from the terrible pain he has had to endure. This is significant. Rusty has not had any real sleep in weeks, and watches him like a hawk. She is exhausted, but vigilant. Just try telling her to leave long enough to get a good night's sleep. She won't leave his side to take care of herself, just to do things she needs to for him. I get to stay here and help so she can at least sleep on the pull-out chair for a while, and she actually is home taking a short nap. She threatens to be back after just an hour of sleep. I am betting she'll follow through, though I have told her I'm fine, she should sleep. David keeps asking for her, however. He just needs to know she's near, and that's why she does it.

On a different note, on the way here, after finding a seat in the Las Vegas airport without slot machines nearby, I met an incredibly nice young man. He was traveling home after business in Vegas, and struck up a conversation. He felt that he had been born in the wrong time. The 50's would have suited him better, he said, with the decade's old fashioned values. He was in the first group to board, and I was going to be dead-last in the B group. He offered to save me a seat and I gratefully accepted. When we got off in Tampa, an airport I was not familiar with, he made sure I got to the baggage area which was in another terminal (I was clueless and would have definitely had a hard time finding it). He then waited until my ride came before leaving, even though it was about midnight. He was truly a gentleman to a complete stranger, and since I'm probably old enough to be his mother, it was just because he was a gentleman. He is single, ladies! And waiting for a true lady who's values match his own. I am confident that she will be worth the wait, because this young man is a catch--mid-twenties, educated, professional, likable, creative--girls, the good ones are still out there. Tony, I hope you find your true lady. She will be worth the wait. I know you will be worth HER wait.

Tuff Stuff.

Today's been a hard day.

This Friday was the 7 month mark from the day Dad died. I was mostly fine (I didn't break down crying in public, at least). But it wasn't until about last night, Saturday, that I started to struggle. Backstory time!
My Aunt Shauna somehow found out a long time ago that I'd never seen Fiddler on the Roof. Criminal! ...The funny part is, this was discovered some time last year...and I finally saw it last night. Anyway, in the song If I were a Rich Man, Reptevye (sp?) says/sings "Would it spoil some vast eternal plan, if I were a rich man?" My dad used this line in a blog post, and rephrased it to say "Would it spoil some vast eternal plan, if I were to beat this cancer?" It wasn't a line they really lingered on, but it still hurt to hear and to be reminded of. But I let it go pretty quick, because I was occupied with trying to dance like Reptevye. All was well, I was enjoying the movie.
However, another scene much later on made me also very sad. It was the scene where the middle girl, Hotal, was saying a goodbye to her father, not knowing if they would ever see each other again. Not to mention she was leaving a home she had lived in her whole life. Sheesh, everything I see or hear targets me lately! (Not to put a knock on Fiddler, it was great and I loved it. Especially the dancing and the fact that I got to randomly shout "Mazzletaff!") Not fair, right?

Today is Sunday, and what did we have a lesson on in Young Women's class? Eternal Families.

WHAT THE HECK!!!!!!!!!

I've just been thinking about Dad and missing him, but I wanted to share a poem that President Bryson Cook wrote and shared at my Dad's funeral:

When in my moment of great despair,

I saw a rainbow in the sky.

The light, the color, the beauty

All helped me say goodbye.

The bow, a token of covenants past

Reminds me that my love can last

Not only for this brief moment

In the eternal scheme,

But forever.

As a family, with my Eternal King.

No matter how much I miss Dad....I know I'll see him again. And that he's watching what I'm doing now...so I better be a good kid and not mess up, and not wallow in self pity lots, right? Right. And ya know what? Apparently it would spoil some vast eternal plan for Dad to survive his cancer, or else he would have. Heavenly Father knows exactly what he's doing and he knows exactly why Dad had to be taken from the earth and given so much pain right at the time it did. So all I can do now is to have trust in Heavenly Father, and know that I'll find out why this happened later. When I can ask Dad why it happened. Until that moment, I'll have to be patient.

...MAZZLETAFF!

-Alexis