One Memory At A Time

Dear Kids,

I have been going back to the old habit of trying to write about everything that is going on... and so actually never write because I get so far behind and nothing comes out the way I want it to.

So I have to go back to the advice your Aunt Kalea told me, "Just choose one thing that you remember about the day and write about that."

Following that advice has made journal writing so much easier over the last couple of years, and I have to remember to just record one memory at a time.

There is power in this because I can choose something and be very specific about it, capture the emotions of it, and remember it for the rest of our lives. I have been told in many blessings that I must keep a record of what I do with my family because in future times "multitudes will learn from what you have written."

So I am repenting, and coming back to writing.

My one memory today is about wrinkles.

Recently, Gabe, you found a bunch of pictures that I had printed a while ago. There are all kinds of pictures in this pile, and you insisted that we hang them up all over the house. There are pictures from 10 years ago through now that are taped up and down our hallways.

As I was walking down the hall the other day I stopped dead in my tracks. I saw a picture of me that was taped to the mirror. It was one that was 10 years old. I looked at the pictures, then looked at my reflection, and it was the FIRST moment I have had in my whole life that I looked at my reflection and thought, "You are aging! People don't look at you like you are young anymore... you are growing older!"

It was a bit of a shock and relief at the same time. You can imagine me, getting close to the mirror, and examining my wrinkles, my grey hairs, age spots... then I looked at my hands and they look exactly like my mom's hands did when she was 40 years old.

I started to cry... it wasn't a sad cry or a happy cry... it was just a cry of realization of everything that life has taught me up to this point. I feel like I have a lot to offer those around me, I have a lot to teach my kids, I have so many experiences that I can share and uplift those around me with. But I also cried because I know that life truly has just begun.

Winston Churchill said, "Life really begins at 40, up until then, you are only doing research." TRUTH. I can truly say that is truth. I am grateful to know that God is a very old man, for He will always lead me the right way with His wisdom.

And so kids, remember as you grow older, that capturing one moment at a time is worth something. One moment at a time is how the Spirit talks to us. One moment at a time is really how we truly live a miraculous life.

I love you,

Your Mom