I am Blessed and I am Grateful that I am Blessed!

The other day my friend, Shirley, told me that other people were concerned about me and asking how I was doing?

Shirley has been going through a rough patch herself because of her mother's recent passing. She was my focus when she "willy nilly" let me know that I was the focus of friends concern. My immediate response was "Me? Why would anyone be worried about me." She calmly said "Oh, maybe it could be that you are still going through the aftermath of a divorce. Maybe it's because you just got out of the hospital with heart issues, or maybe it's because your hours at work were almost cut in half." I was taken aback. Surprised really when it was put that way. My reply was "Well no wonder they are worried about me. I would be worried about that person too."

To be honest there are other things to throw in the mix too. Other adversities I am dealing with, but I guess I don't look at them all in a list like that. I just do the best I can to take a look at each issue individually. Then I make a decision about whether there is anything I can do about it, if there isn't then I try to move on. Not that it doesn't take time to move on, but if that's all I can do, that's all I can do. If there is something I can do then I try to make a plan on how to proceed to make a change. Then there are those things that I can't decide if I should just "Let go, and Let God" take care of, or if I should have a more active role in resolving.

I am not a person who is in the habit of saying "poor me" or "Why me God?" I know that I signed on for this earth life experience. I am aware that the purpose is to be faced with challenges, and the result of those challenges is growth. We each have a choice. Sometimes other people's choices affect us. Then we don't have a choice, except in how we choose to respond to where their choice leads or leaves us. That's probably been the toughest thing for me to grasp.

I will admit to being very hurt when my employers chose to cut my hours while leaving my fellow employees untouched. I know they can't say it is because of age, but I wondered if there was some "age discrimination" involved. Even then, was it because I am not functioning as well as I did when I was younger....probably. My little pity party was short lived because I got a very nice sense of 'well being'. The worry and concern over how I would survive just evaporated. Perhaps in part because I went to worse scenario and imagined myself thrust out of my home living on social security (which isn't much). I realized I have 3 sons and 3 beautiful daughters in law who each have an extra room and alot of love for their mom. None of them would let me be homeless. I am too young and too independent to want that, but it is so comforting to relax in the shelter of that love. But, I think mostly the Lord whispered in my ear that things would work out. I have recognized and been a recipient of his care so I knew that I could trust Him. I didn't know how, but it didn't matter.

Shortly after I came to peace about it my bank called saying they would modify my loan. I had been trying to work with them and there wasn't much relief promised. With the new information that my salary was cut they recalculated and offered a deal that I can't possibly refuse. It hasn't totally come through yet, but I trust that I will be able to live in my home for a long time. What a relief, what a blessing.

This morning I was able to cuddle back into my covers which is a nice side blessing of not working every day. But as I was laying there I was feeling at peace. At this moment I feel healthy, financially blessed, and loved by my family, friends, and the Lord. See how lucky I am! I am blessed and I am grateful that I am blessed.

Hopefully I can pass some of this good news on to those I care about so they will feel loved and blessed too.

My New Calling.

A month ago I got a new calling as a counselor in the Relief Society. I was kind of sad about the new calling because I have absolutely loved teaching in Relief Society once a month. The sisters are so willing to participate and I learned so much from them and from preparing the lessons. But, this is one of the nice things about our church, being a lay church, we are all participants and we receive callings all of the time that we don't think we are capable of doing. Then we do them!

God knows us so much better than we know ourselves. He knows us as we have the potential of becoming, so our job is to live into that potential. I honestly would have found it much easier to be the Education Counselor over the teachers and music. I would have even found it simpler to be the Relief Society President. Well, maybe that's not true. I said it would be easier because I have been RS President two times before, so I know what to do, and even a few things NOT to do. But, I am older now, so it certainly wouldn't be easy. But I am in a fog about this counselor. I don't even know for sure what it is called now...."Meeting Counselor"? It used to be Homemaking Counselor, and boy am I glad it's not called that anymore. Even though I am a girlie girl I am not a "Molly Mormon girlie girl". I have done sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and even tying quilts in my past, but not in a LONG time. In one season of my life (when my kids were young) I even decorated cakes pretty darn well, but I do not love to be in the kitchen cooking, canning, or baking. I'm thinking one reason I don't love it, is that I don't love messes. There is no way to make a dress without having pattern pieces, pins, scissors, and a sewing machine up for a period of time that is way too long for me. Same with baking a cake, or canning. Too much of a mess! At any rate it isn't called Homemaking anymore. It isn't called "Home, Family and Personal Enrichment" either. Just when I finally remembered how to say it and what order it came in. Now we just call them meetings....so that makes me the Counselor over the Meetings. What I need to do is do things that will meet the desires, and needs of the sisters in my ward.

My ward, the Sun City Ward, is very awesome. For almost the whole time I have been in the ward (8 years) I have been focused on Bud and saving my marriage, so I hadn't had a lot of time to really get to know the sisters individually. But I felt loved by the ward as a whole. I couldn't believe how the ward had such a wonderful personality all together. It was remarkable and a comfortable place to be when my world was topsy turvy. They never wanted me to feel alone for one moment, and when Bud and I actually did separate I was embraced even more. Many single women have spoken to me about feeling "different" in this family focused church, but I felt loved as an individual. I continue to feel that way. Now it's my turn to serve them.

When I started going to the Sun City Ward I expected it to be mostly silver haired people, but was surprised about how many young people we have....and so many cute babies, children, and teens. We have two young elders serving as missionaries and one senior couple. It's a nice spread, but we have to meet all their needs, so that will be fun and challenging.

I am just starting to work on our first planned get together. It will be a breakfast before the Stake Women's Conference, just a short time, but hopefully it will bring us even more in sync.

Our Bishop calls us the Super Sun City Sisters, so I will do a theme based around that. It will be fun.

Why Don't We Just Dance?

I love dancing! This is probably too much information but I have always said that to me "Dancing is the best kind of foreplay." Dancing=Romance=Love, It is probably one of the things I knew I would miss the most in the divorce process.

When I was a child I loved watching my parents dance, which they did at every opportunity. The way my dad looked at my mom when he was swinging her around with a song on his lips and a twinkle in his eye was pure magic. It wasn't just my wee romantic fairytale, everyone felt it. People would stop dancing to watch them. There was dancing in our house too. I remember small parties of friends rolling up the rug in our family room and twirling their partners. I would sometimes get to join them with curlers in my hair and wearing a bathrobe. Climbing on my daddy's feet to be eased through the crowd was one of my greatest memories. My folks also did square dancing when we were youngsters. Though we were usually left at home we got to watch them prepare to go out. Mom wore a sunshine yellow dress with black piping and buttons. Of course she wore petticoats which she would twirl for us before she left. I do remember going to watch them a couple times, and I thought they were the handsomest couple on the dance floor.

It's no wonder that dancing was a requirement in a life partner. Bud and I spent many evenings going dancing with my parents early in our marriage. We danced in large ballrooms to big band names, and we danced in small intimate spaces. Sometimes we danced at the back of an auditorium, and if we couldn't do that we danced in our seats. I'm grateful for all the memories Bud and I shared dancing. I was always his girl and he was my guy when I was locked in his arms. But we loved to swing too...and to disco. Bud was even pretty good at doing the Milli Vanilli, LOL. I hope my kids remember fondly dancing in our house too. I love it when Jimmy will run through the crowd to grab me to do a swing number, or when Scott or Marque will ask their Mom to dance just cuz they know how important it is to me, and how much I miss it.

Josh Turner sings a song that is called "Why Don't We Just Dance" and I LOVE it! It kind of just says we just need to turn the bad news off once in awhile and just dance. The beat is excellent and makes me just rock in my seat....and absolutely agree 100 per cent that the woes of the world would be solved if we just dance.

"Baby why don't we just turn that tv off

Three hundred fifteen channels of nothing but bad news on

Well it might be me but the way I see it

the whole world has gone crazy

So baby why don't we just dance"

Maybe that's why I love Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" too. A totally different beat, but gives me the same feeling that if we dance we will be okay.

"Just dance. Gonna be okay.

Da-doo-doo-doo

Just dance. Spin that record babe.

Da-doo-doo-doo

Just dance. Gonna be okay.

Duh-duh-duh-duh

Dance. Dance. Dance. Just dance."

Tonight I am going to a singles gathering with a bunch of single women. Many of us love the opportunity to dance and whether we are asked by the guys or not we will take to the floor and have a blast. Until I have another guy to hold me in the crook of his arm, I will keep on dancin'.

So.......................When the world gets tough.........Why don't we just dance???!!!