Virginia's Answer

I didn't write my blog on Tuesday because I was struggling on what to say.  I, like many of us, have had the tragedy of Newton, Connecticut on my mind.  I cried that day and have been contemplative on the whole subject ever since.  I decided that since there is such extensive reporting on the subject that I would blog about something else. 

 

Christmas is five days away.  Has it snuck up on anyone this year?  Okay, not just me?  I'm glad I'm not alone!  Although I am prepared with presents wrapped and sent, just knowing  that it is less than one week away is crazy to me!  Remember in my last post when I mentioned my Christmas traditions?  I forgot one, and it is one of my very favorites.  I read the old article, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" every single year, and  I also post the link on my Facebook page.  It is touching, lovely, and warms my heart.  I never post anything on our bulletin board at my work, but yesterday, I just couldn't help myself.  I printed it out and put it up.  Will anyone notice?  Who knows... but it is something that makes my heart smile whenever I think of it or read it.  I will share it with you now...

 

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? "VIRGINIA O'HANLON. "115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET." VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.     My mom recently told me that when she reads this (she, too, reads it every year), she pays attention to something new each  time So do I (I am so my mothers daughter, aren't I?).  I look forward to each year when something new jumps off the page at me.  What part of this article jumps off the page at you?  This year, for me, it's when he talks about the baby's rattle, "...there is a veil covering the unseen world... only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside the curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond.  Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding."  I love how he capitalizes all the letters in her name in this part.  Can you remember when your parents or teachers said your name with emphasis?  I'm not talking about when you were in trouble and got yelled out.  I'm talking about when they really wanted you to retain what they were saying because it was that important.  I feel like that is exactly why he capitalized all the letters in her name.   I'll make one last reference to the tragedy that happened.  It's hard because I just don't know what to say.  When there is such sadness and sorrow, I feel like I want to spread some light and happiness when I can (and when appropriate).  Maybe that's why I felt inspired to post this letter to Virginia.  Here was a girl who was sad and discouraged, and one man responded and lifted her spirits (and millions of others for many years to come).  Let us all remember that our acts of kindness and compassion towards others can make a bigger imprint than we can even imagine.  Do you think this editor thought his words would be remembered into the year 2012 and beyond?  I doubt it.  His inspiriation to bless this child with hope and happiness has permeated generations.  What a wonderful legacy.   Happy Thursday to you and yours...

Tis the Season to be Jolly...

fa la la la la, la la la la......

 

The Christmas tree is up and decorated... check.

The Christmas decorations are out... check.

The Christmas lights are up on the outside of our place... check.

 

Are you seeing a pattern here?

 

It's Christmas time!  The most wonderful time of year!

 

Okay, I know a lot of folks out there get very stressed and grumpy this time of year, but not me!  I can't get enough of it!  It is such a great excuse to be a part of such beauty.  Soon, my husband and I will drive around and look at Christmas lights.  Sure, they're the same every year, but nevertheless, still wonderful. 

 

When I was a little girl, there was a house in the neighboring town who would decorate their entire front yard and driveway (along with the house) and it would extend all the way out to the road.  They invited people to park and walk around their front yard.  Every single year we would drive to this house.  It was only one year where we actually got out and walked around.  Just about a week ago, I was visiting family in my home town.  I drove out to this house at night to see the lights.  They had a sign out saying the decorations would be completed that coming Saturday, but I still got to see part of it.  It gave me a warm feeling just being there.  It is such a special experience when people's traditions (perfect strangers!) become the community's tradition.  My goodness!  I live over two hours away, and it's STILL my tradition!

 

Last night was what gets me geared up for the holiday season.  The "Community Sing" in my town.  This is a very special event (I've never heard of anything else like it), where about five churches in our area get together, and each church sing a couple of songs.  In between each church's performance, the entire room sings a very well known Christmas carol (such as, O Come, all ye Faithful, Joy to the World, The First Noel, and Hark! The Hearld Angels Sing).  Our church sang "Who is this Child?" and "Silent Night".  I have never heard of "Who is this Child?" before practicing it, and it is such a beautiful piece.  There is a strong feeling of togetherness when all these churches gather and celebrate the Christmas season and spirit.  I feel like I sing better that night than any other night of the year.

 

This has me wondering lately... does anyone go "Christmas Carolling" anymore?  I remember being little and strangers would be in front of our house and sing Christmas Carols, and sometimes we would go outside and listen to them... and sometimes we would just hear them from our house.  This is something I would love to see happen. 

 

My head is still bouncing back and forth with the idea of traditions.  What are your Christmas traditions? What do you look forward to each year?  I know I mentioned something about this in my last years post, but some other traditions my husband and I do are go to our church's temple and walk around outside and look at the lights.  They are beautiful!  We also make cookies and pass them out to our neighbors.  This is a tradition he had with his family, and I'm so happy that we do it.  I'm thankful because it was this tradition which gave us the great opportunity to get to know some of our neighbors, and now we know them all.  This reminds me of a scripture:

 

Luke 2: 13-14

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

Hmmm... "Good will toward men".  I want to carry this phrase with me, always...

 

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

I've Been Missing in Action.... but I'm back!

Hello One and All!

 

I have been thinking about my blog for a LONG time now, but did not take the time to write in it.  It has been almost nine... NINE months since I have posted anything!  Is anyone even interested in it anymore?  We shall see.....

 

A lot has happened since my last post.  Mainly, I got a promotion at my job.  It has been keeping me busy, and I am learning a LOT!  The learning is not only about work stuff, but also learning about myself.  

Well.... onto what I feel like writing about.......

 

I have been thinking a lot about prayer lately.  I feel so good knowing that when I pray, I am being heard.  Answers to my prayers may not come right away (or at all, if they are not meant to), but I have a feeling in my heart that they are being listened to.  My grandmother taught me at a young age about the power of prayer.  I'm very grateful for her teaching me this.  In recent times in my life, I have been praying more (especially for specific things), and it brings me such peace.  I don't want to sound preachy to anyone (pardon the pun...), but I would like to recommend to everyone to try it sometime, especially if you haven't in a long time (or ever).  I think some people feel like God doesn't know them very well.... but He really does.  He is there to help us with our challenges.  I read a wonderful article in the beginning of the year that changed my perspective for the better.  I am going to paraphrase and try to explain it to where everyone can hopefully relate.

 

This article talks about how it is very common for people to get in very difficult situations, and in the deepest most trying times, we pray to God and say, "Please help me out of this mess now!"  There are many examples in scriptures where when people pray, they aren't praying for God to change their circumstances, they are praying for God to give them strength so they can change their own circumstances.  This was a huge eye opener for me.  This is something I have kept in my mind ever since I came across it.  If anyone wants to read it, here it is:

 

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/04/the-atonement-and-the-journey-of-mortality?lang=eng

 

Please don't let the "LDS" scare you off if you are not a member of mycChurch.  It is still a very nice article, if you'd like to read it.

 

So, I hope people will tune in to my blog again.  I forgot how much I enjoy writing in it, but I still feel rusty! 

 

 

Happy Tuesday to you and yours....

A Very Rewarding Experience

I donated my hair last Friday.  It was a long time coming, and this is the story...

When I was in high school, I remember watching the Today Show.  Ann Curry had a segment of how she and her daughter (and her daughters friends) donated their hair to Locks of Love.  It left me feeling that I wish I could do that.  The hair donated goes to make wigs for children who lose their hair due to cancer treatments and other children who have alopecia.  As the years went by, I either couldn't do it because I died my hair, or my hair wasn't long enough, and I was afraid to have my hair short.  When I was in the fifth grade, I had my hair cut short, and there were really little children who asked, "Are you a boy or a girl?"  This was horrifying for a young girl!

Well, I have been thinking again on the matter of donating my hair, and there was a news article from the Today Show congratulating Ann Curry for her fifteen years on the show.  They showed fifteen clips of her throughout the years.  One of them was when she donated her hair...  I took this as a sign because I have been thinking so much about that particular clip for the past few weeks.  I made the appointment for last Friday.  I walked in, and the hair dresser got me all ready for it, and cut off ten inches of my hair.  I was very prepared, and it felt wonderful!  She also cut and styled my hair in a way that I LOVE.  That was just a bonus.  

I never intended on posting  picture of myself on my blog, but I am going to post a picture of my hair. :)  I feel like if anyone comes across this blog and reads about my story and sees my donated hair, it may hopefully motivate them to do it as well.

I also must admit that I loved playing with my hair, but once I made the decision to donate it, I couldn't wait to get rid of it because I knew there were children out there who could possible benefit from it, and feel the confidence that may be lacking.

If you are interested, you can visit:  www.locksoflove.org
 

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

Letter to me...

I am sitting at my desk, and I am listening to a Brad Paisley song.  I complete forgot about it, and how much I loved it.  It's called, "Letter to me".  In this song, he writes to himself when he was 17.  He gives advice on school, girls, and family.  It is really sweet.  You all should youtube it if you've never heard it.  Me being 17 years old was only ten years ago, but even now, I feel like I can relate to the lyrics.

If I could write a letter to myself back then, what would I say?  What wisdom would I impart?  I think I would say something like this:

* Don't worry so much about what your peers think of you.

*When people aren't nice, don't let it hurt you so badly.  You will be so much happier sooner that you can   

  imagine.

* Yes, you will marry the man of your dreams, so don't worry 

   about that. :)

* Keep writing.  It will help you more than you know.

* Ask Grandpa Lester as many questions as you can, and 

   write down all of his stories and advice.

* It's not the end of the world if you get a bad grade.  Just do 

   the best you can.

* Don't worry about disappointing others.  

* It's okay if you make mistakes and people call you on it.  If 

   anything, it will help you learn more about yourself.

* Don't be so quiet your Senior year.  At the end of the year, 

   you will have realized that there were some great people 

  you missed out on knowing.  Keep this advice your whole 

  life.

* Pay attention to your sisters advice about the clothes you 

   should/shouldn't wear.  They really know what's best.

* There will be a boy who kicks the chair out from  

   underneath  you in front of the whole class.  Instead of 

   hitting him (it was a girly hit, not a punch), think of a really 

   good zinger, and let it go.

* Don't worry about the friends who stopped talking to you 

   your freshmen year because of one mean girl.  You will  

   make  the best friends of your life very soon afterwards and 

   be so much happier.

* Remain positive and continue to stay true to yourself.  

* Practice standing up for yourself.

* Don't be discouraged when people tell you that high school 

   are the best years of your life.  You will have an 

   okay time in high school, but your life afterwards will be 

   filled with a lot of great experiences and happiness.

What would you say if you could write a letter to yourself?  To be honest, I don't dwell on these things, but after listening to that song, it really made me wonder on the subject.  Even though that time of my life was only about ten years ago, there has been a lot that's happened in that time frame.  I look forward to what the following years have in store for me.

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

Being a Kid Again

I completely missed last weeks post (did anyone miss me?).  I had a very busy week, and it completely slipped my mind...

Not much to report this week.  I can't think of anything too earth shattering, but I do want to share about an experience I had yesterday.

At my church, I teach in the Sunday school for the eight year olds.  Since this is a relatively new class and age group for me, I was suggested to have them over to my house so as to bond with them outside of church.  I had a lot of fun preparing, but I also did a lot of the preparations last minute (why do I do that?).  By the time they showed up, there were snacks on the table, balloons on the walls and on our door, fun paper plates, cups and napkins, and a festive red table cloth (made of plastic).  They came and we did an activity with construction paper, then when they all showed up, we played six games.  At the end of each game, they got to read a clue, and the clue led them to a piece of paper.  This piece of paper was a part of a puzzle I made which had a message.  I think they really loved that.  The message said that we were going to take a trip to a yogurt shop, which is a couple blocks from my doorstep.  I wanted them to play all the games I remember playing when I was a kid.  Some of the games we played were: pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, duck-duck-goose, and I had them race with lemons on a big spoon (and they could only keep running if the lemon was on the spoon.  This is a lot harder than it looks!).

They were only here for about two hours.  It was a lot of fun.  They're all good kids.  Watching them have fun reminded me of how much fun I had when I was little playing these types of games.  They all laughed a lot.  There is one girl who is very sweet, and she is just a little shy.  I cannot tell you how excited I was when I heard them all laughing, and there were a couple times when I could hear her laughter above everyone else.  

I remember being little, and seeing my mom watching me play something or opening presents on Christmas, and thinking, "She must be so bored!"  I remember her commenting how much she likes to watch us enjoy ourselves.  To be honest, I just couldn't believe it.  Now that I'm older, I know exactly what she's talking about.  There is something very special about doing fun things for children you love (even if they aren't your own), and watching them enjoy it.  

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

Making a Difference

I was at church this last Sunday, and a young man gave a talk about "looking up".  He talked about how important it is to "look up" to heaven for answers.  He is a convert to my church, and he talked about how his becoming a member came to be.  The thing that stuck out most was how he said that we (as a group and individually) made him feel so good.  He also mentioned the way we live our lives and treat others had set a good example for him.  He quoted scripture from Matthew:

Matthew 5:14-16

14  Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

This made me ponder... a lot.  I have heard this scripture before, but it really touched me on Sunday.  To be good and honest people, it is our responsibility, our duty, to rise above and be the ones setting the good example for others.  You can take this and apply it in so many contexts.  I am thinking of our youth right now.  How difficult it must be to be a young person these days.  There are so many influences that are being hammered into their young, impressionable brains and hearts.  We are so lucky to have so many opportunities and conveniences today, yet there are so many poor examples and influences penetrating the minds and spirits of people today.  How hard it must be to try and set a good example for others and be a young person in today's world?  I was in the parking lot at our local grocery store, and I heard some young men (high school age) saying the foulest things.  Now... I do remember being that age and saying these types of things just because I could... but I see it in a different light now.  I am not saying to myself, "They need to shut their mouths!"  I'm thinking, "Oh boy... how many people... how many children are hearing them right now and thinking it is 'cool'?"  I look at what is on our televisions, on the internet, and how easy it is to access EVERYTHING on our cell phones, iPods or iPads etc....  This makes me uncomfortable sometimes.  

This young man giving his talk on Sunday said (I'm paraphrasing), that if we ever feel like we aren't giving service to others, that he wants us to think of him, and how by us being ourselves (being kind and good) helped him find peace.  

This message can be for anyone.  By being good and honest people, and by helping others, we are making an impression on them.  Even if we think it's small or not at all, it could mean the world to them.  I think of the scriptures and how amazing Jesus is, and how he served others.  If we all could follow suit (and I know many of us do), but if everyone did... how amazing would this world be?

Happy Tuesday to you and yours..

P.S.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  

Happy Birthday, Dad! (on Saturday)

Happy Birthday to my father-in-law! (also on Saturday)

Happy Birthday to my aunt this week! (on Thursday? Ahh! I can't remember... some niece I am!)

Yes, that's right, my dad and father-in-law share the same birthday.  Doesn't that make it so easy for me and my husband?