Holiday Illness

Have you ever been sick on a significant holiday?  Have you had to change your plans in celebrating a holiday because of illness or because of an injury?

Today is Christmas.  I think I caught a head cold, and I was really congested and miserable this morning.  I could hardly speak, and I didn't feel much like eating.  I had been invited to dinner at a friend's house.  I told her I didn't feel like going out in the cold, and I really did not have much of an appetite.  She said she would bring dinner over to me, which she did.  The mashed potatoes were so good, but I'm saving the rest of the dinner for tomorrow when I hope to feel much better.  Another friend upon hearing I was sick brought over a couple of cans of chicken noodle soup and some crackers.  Usually at Christmas I get caught up in doing things for other people, but this year I have had to stop doing and accept the small kindnesses of others.  I also was given a couple of large money gifts which amazes me that people care so much.  My brother told me his bishop had counseled him when he was struggling financially that not everyone can be the giver, someone has to be the receiver.  Although we all want to be the giver which is following the example of Jesus, we must remember it is important that we receive the Savior's gift into our lives.

Because of feeling tired and not having much energy, I watched this Christmas video which teaches this principle.  Maybe it can change you perspective on life too.

“Relative Finder” now certified with FamilySearch

“Relative Finder” now certified with FamilySearch Finding out who you are related to can increase your sense of connectivity.  Twenty eight years ago when I moved to the town I live in now I didn't know any one in the town.  I didn't even know where the town was.  I hadn't even heard of it.  My husband applied for a job and got it, so we moved to this town.  My husband was doing some work for a family to earn some extra money to help with our move.  My maiden name was the same as the family's last name only it was spelled differently.  Because of the difference in spelling, I didn't think we would be related.  But after sharing who our ancestors were we found that our grandfathers were brothers and that we had the same great grandfather and great grandmother.  Since then I have discovered other relatives when someone shares something about one of their ancestors and I have the same ancestor.  Even today one of the speakers at church shared a story about one of his ancestors who is a brother to one of my great great grandfathers so I just found another cousin.

With Relative Finder you can see if you are related to Presidents of the United States, European Royalty, Classical Composers, Famous Writers, Catholic Popes & Saints, Reformers, Famous Americans and many more or you can join a group and find out who you are related to in that group.  After you join Relative Finder you will feel like it really is a small world after all.

National Weather Service - Reno, NV

National Weather Service - Reno, NV

Here are the official details of the tornado in Hawthorne on Friday, June 5.

Nevada tornado damages 6 homes, 5 businesses in Hawthorne (see videos,photos)

Nevada tornado damages 6 homes, 5 businesses in Hawthorne (see videos,photos)



 Yesterday a tornado struck the little town I live in.  It significantly damaged homes and businesses lifting off the ground about a tenth of a mile from where I work.  Having lived my life in the western part of the United States, I have never experienced a tornado.  Strong winds blow through the town sometimes gusting over 100 mph and blowing over semi trucks, uprooting trees, and taking off roofing material, but a tornado is different.  Tornadoes rarely happen in mountainous areas in the west.  If they do, they are usually short-lived; and, with so much open space around us, it would be unlikely to touch down where people live.  Though I said I haven't experienced a tornado, something did damage my home's roof about ten years ago.  When I came home from work, I saw the shingles in the center of my garage roof had been pulled up and twisted around in a spiral.  I looked at the shingles and wondered what could have happened.  I might have never guessed what had happened if it hadn't been for the custodians at the high school across the street from my home.  They told me they watched as what looked like a mini tornado touched down on my garage roof.  They said it came down from the clouds, not up from the ground as most whirlwinds or dust devils do here.  That cost me a little bit of money to replace the shingles, but the structure of the roof was okay.



Unfortunately several people in our community had their homes and businesses damaged by the tornado yesterday.  The tornado that struck here was at the bottom of the scale as a F 0-1 tornado, but it still did some significant damage leaving some people without a home to live in.  I am so grateful the tornado didn't turn towards where I was working or towards my home.  I am grateful that it only stayed on the ground for about half a mile through our town.  I am grateful I do not have damage to my property to deal with. I do feel bad for those whose homes and businesses were damaged.



When you write your story include weather events that impacted you or your family.  Such events change the way you look at things.  It is a reminder that things can happen suddenly and unexpectedly.  It increases your compassion for others who have been harmed and increases your gratitude for the protection you received.   

Here it is the end of a school year and graduation time.  What memories do you have of graduations?  Did you graduate from high school?  Did you receive any honors such as scholarships, being the Valedictorian or the Salutatorian?  Did you speak, pray or sing at the graduation?  Were there any special parties or dances held?  What did you wear for your graduation?  Who attended your graduation?  If you didn't graduate from high school, why didn't you?  There can be both positive and negative memories of graduation. 

I don't remember a lot about my graduation.  Our whole class sang the song "The Impossible Dream". I received a full tuition scholarship to a community college fifteen miles from my home.  My father and my brother attended my graduation.  My mother had passed away about a year earlier, so she was not there.  I didn't attend any parties in connection with the graduation.

When I finished Kindergarten which was about a two month program during the summer before I went to first grade, we had a little graduation ceremony with diplomas and hats.  I love my diploma and would take it out every so often to look at it.  I think it had nursery rhyme characters around the border of it.  When my brother finished Kindergarten three years later, he didn't get a diploma.  He was jealous of my diploma and he took it outside and buried it.  I only learned about this after we were both adults when he confessed what he had done. 

Write about any graduation experiences you have had.  Perhaps you had a Kindergarten or Nursery School graduation.  Maybe there was a graduation or promotion ceremony when you finished middle, elementary or junior high school.  If you graduated from high school write about your experiences then.  If you graduated from college or a trade school, record what that graduation was like.  Write about any awards or gifts that you received.  Graduations are special occasions and should be recorded in your life story.

Sharing family stories can enrich your life and others lives.  A couple of days ago I was visiting with a friend.  She grew up in France, and she was very upset by the terrorist attack in Paris.  She wished that there could be peace--that people wouldn't hurt each other.  As we talked she shared with me her father's story.  He was a cop in France.  When Germany conquered France during World War II, the police in France were given orders from the Germans.  They were told to round up all the Jews and send the father of a family to one place, the mother of the family to another place, and the children to another place.  Her father refused to follow the orders that would hurt so many people, so he went into hiding.  He helped many Jews to escape.  Then he was captured.  He was tortured but he refused to reveal any information.  Finally he was killed just a few months before the end of the war.  He was only 31 years old and he left a young family behind.  It was a sad time for his family, but what a legacy he left behind.  Although the family moved from the community, what her father had done was never forgotten.  When the family returned for a visit they were treated with great honor.

Although I have been friends with this woman for several years, she had never told me this story.  The terrorist attack in France caused her to think about what had happened to her family.  When something happens that reminds you of events from your past, take time to write them down.  We don't know when an event will trigger a memory, but that is a great time to record your story.