Thursday, July 9, 2009

Writer's Workshop



1.) Tell us about a "dirt cheap" you've taken this summer.
Well, our “dirt cheap” has been dirt nothing!! Now, I know that everyone thinks: Arizona…Hot hot hot, and so it is, here in Phoenix. It will get up to 114 this weekend. (They say “it’s a dry heat” and that does make it a little more tolerable, but when the temperatures at 4:30 A.M. are 92 degrees, it really doesn’t matter, dry or wet!) However, few know the reality that, within 1 -2 hours, you can drive to places, in Arizona, that are 20 to 30 degrees cooler. One of these places is our favorite: Woods Canyon Lake, outside of Payson, Arizona on the Mogollon Rim. It is about 2 hours North and East. We planned on camping, hiking and fishing at there. There are great campgrounds, we can ride our bikes or walk to the lake, where trout fishing is king. (and when the kids get tired of not catching anything on day 1, they spend the rest of the time catching crawdads.), where we hike everyday around the lake, where it rains-just enough to cool the warmer afternoon, and were you wake up freezing. That was the plan. Then, Nathan’s football coach changed their week off to last week. Dad had meetings galore already scheduled at work, and India doesn’t understand the vacation concept. To complicate things even further, our air conditioning, 25 years old, and a must for Phoenix, decided to die last week. It still is working (our house is at 85 degrees), as long as we keep all doors to periphery rooms shut, don’t do anything warm (cooking) inside, and stay dark till the sun goes down. We get a new unit, ducts, and the works installed today. So, bye bye Woods Canyon Lake, again for another year.

2.) When I grow up I want to be like …Marjorie Pay Hinckley. She passed away a few years ago. She lovingly served as the wife of our church President, Gordon B. Hinckley for many years. She always had a happy face. She always looked for the good. She always saw things in a positive way. She once said, “Elder Neil A. Maxwell once said,’ We are here in mortality, and the only way to go is through; there isn’t any around!’ I would add, the only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.
Another one that touched me…especially since I will turn 50 in a year, “Fifty was my favorite age. It takes about that long to learn to quit competing-to be yourself and settle down to living. It is the age I would like to be through all eternity!”
And, my favorite quote: “I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor’s children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden. I want to be there with children’s sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”
She truly exemplified what it means to be a Christian, and that is what I would like to be when I grow up.



3.) Describe a difficult moment that you survived.
Oh, boy…I dearly, dearly love my sons. I love them more each day. And, because of the challenges I have faced with them, I love them unconditionally. Difficult moments come when your “plan” doesn’t work the way you think it should. My two sons served honorable church missions. However, one became ill on that mission, and served nine honorable months. The other became terribly discouraged and served twenty one honorable months. When the phone calls came, informing me that they would need to come home, I, for a brief moment, thought I was going to die. But, mom love immediately flooded my inner being, and from the time I saw my babies get off that plane, my heart melted and all I wanted was to hug them. They may still feel like they let me down, but nothing could be further from the truth!! They are honorable, good men, great husbands, and-hopefully someday-tremendous daddies.
Another difficult moment that I survived, was when I received a call from high school, telling me that another son had been caught in possession of a substance that was not allowed at school. I was flabbergasted, stunned, and totally shocked. I wanted to die, but mom love, again, immediately took over. We stood by him, through school expulsion hearings, through college and dropping that, through dui’s, and we still are there to support, though not so much financially. I never thought it would happen…he had been taught…the example had been set…but we love him, and I survived.


4.) List 5 things you like to do while camping...Well, when it comes to camping, I have 29 years of experience. That is the ONLY hotel I have been in...a tent! What do I like to do? The most wonderful thing we do at Woods Canyon Lake is to hike around it every day. It takes about an hour. You are surrounded by forest on one side, lake on the other. There are wild strawberries growing. There are places to sit on a rock and put your feet in the cool water. It is just wonderful. Another thing I like to do while camping...and this may seem strange...is to do the dishes! I get to put my hands in warm, soapy water and, for once in a day, I feel clean! I like to paint my Christmas ornaments while camping. I take my wood, my paints, and all my stuff, including brush bin and water bottle, sit down on a rock while my hubby fishes, and paint. It brings back such memories every time I hang them on my Christmas tree. I also like to go bike riding on our camping trips. We can ride on the great trails and you can end up on the edge of the Mogollon Rim and see the entire Verde Valley...pine trees as far as you can see! Finally, I just love to have my grandbabies on our campouts. Now, this has not been able to happen for a few years...they live far from our camping area...but I remember taking my grandson for a walk through the campground. He just loved cars, and he knew every make and model, at the age of 2! We would walk by a campsite and he would say, "What kind of car is that, Grammy?" and I would repeat (if I could read off the side of the car. If I could not, he would not be satisfied until we went up into the campsite and saw the true make and model).Then we would go to the next campsite and this would repeat. It was soooo fun! He would put on his helmet and ride his bike. It was just the best time. Maybe someday, a few years from now, we can do that again. Camping is fun. Food is great (especially Nate's blueberry cobbler!) and the COOL weather is the best!

5.) What are you paranoid about? I am not a paranoid person, per se, however, I really like things to be as planned as they can be. I get really out of step when I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants, so to speak! If I get that out of control feeling, that is when I feel the most paranoid. I do try to plan for everything, though...and when things change, I pray and breathe....a lot (for both!)

4 comments:

Casey said...

Mrs. Hinckley sounds like an inspiration. Good job, I enjoyed that.

Superstar said...

Here from Mama Kat! Loved your post. You sound like a GREAT MOM!

For the future, I had my A/C go out and found one of those portable units really helpful! I mean at least I could sleep.

Kiki said...

Enjoyed your entry. What a wonderful woman to be inspired by. I went the celeb route. I should have put more thought into it. I would love to visit Arizona. Friends and family have been to Sedona. The pictures are stunning. A girl can dream....

Have a wonderful day and take care.
-Kiki

Farmers Wifey said...

I really enjoyed your prompts this week, I love Arizona, I visited there several years ago. IN fact I love all of your country.lol