Story Prompt - Life Mottos

Oh, this is a tough one - something we often think about, but we don't always put in writing. What are some thoughts and phrases, that have molded you or directed your life's path?

Mine? At 19, and newly married, I was asked to teach a Relief Society class for the women's group in our church. I don't remember the lesson, but I ran across a phrase that I typed up, drew a flower around, and made copies of an a Xerox hand-copier to give to the women. It rang true to me, and has guided me.

"Sometimes we're so busy existing we forget to live."

When I think about turning down something, I often ask myself - am I doing so to exist or to live? In times of trials when I just want to push through the day, I ask myself the same; and days when I worry about the past or get anxious about the future, I remind myself that I've chosen to Live this life rather than Exist, and I get back to present, where anxiety and worry cannot exist.

Upon moving to Alabama with a young family, we were asked by my husband's boss, while we were showing him the small town we lived in, what our 5-year goals were. This happened to coincide with the time when Mission Statements were the big thing - "What is your family's/business's mission statement," was a hot question. We'd accomplished our goal - moving from our small northern Utah community clear across the US to Alabama to experience a world that was brand new. I wanted to enjoy this time, to live, rather than worry about what was next.

But he got me thinking. What was my mission statement? What was my 5-year goal? And mine became this, and has stayed with me ever since. I wake up trying to do this, go to bed at night evaluating my day based on this. This is a reflection of who I try to be every single day -

"Be Fair, Be True, Do No Harm."

And lastly, I love traveling, and on my first visit to another country, Holland, I found this post-card, "When I grow up I want to be a tourist." This reminds me that every where I go I can see the world, even my every day world, through the fresh eyes of a tourist. The view out my dining room window every morning and most evenings, of an ever-changing Mount Timpanogos, is a reminder that I have "tourist-worthy" views right here at home.

Personal Growth During the Time of CoVid -

Are you learning? Growing? Being receptive and introspective?

Please take a look at this image and listen to this 28 minute (halfway down the page) visit with Michael Singer, who I've written about and referenced several times.

Thank you.

Story Prompt - Food

Do you have a favorite food? A least favorite? What's the strangest food you've eaten? Are there foods you refuse to eat for one reason or another? Do you have a comfort food? How about road trip foods? When you travel, do you try out the foods from the area? Do you cook/bake? Do you have something you like to make or always make? What are your go-to breakfast, lunch, dinner foods? Do you have a treat you love? Favorite places to eat?

Favorite food - Anything Mexican, particularly if there's great salsa. I love the many dishes that can be concocted from beans, rice, fresh veggies, some great salsa, and a tortilla. I love the textures and flavor combinations. I enjoy eating at Joe Bandido's in Springville, Cafe Rio, and when Scott and I travel (and I have Jenna now involved) we try to find a Mexican restaurant to eat at at least once on our trip. The interpretation of Mexican food in Edinburgh, Amsterdam, London, even Hawaii and Alaska differ.

Least favorite food - meat. I haven't eaten red meat in about 35 years, and it's only been in the past 7 years that I have begun eating chicken, turkey, and fish, all minimally. I do not like cooked eggs, I don't really care for cheese, and my body does not handle milk-anything.

And I don't like bouncy foods - hamburger, eggs, gummies, jelly beans, cheese curds, jello, macaroni; I have a long list of bouncies I cannot handle, and those who love me love to tease me about this, but keep the foods away from me!

Strangest food - I'll eat anything that comes from a plant; I find great joy in discovering new fruits and vegetables. However, the strangest food I have ever eaten was a soft shell crab sandwich in Seattle, WA, with my friend, Debra Hanks. We were at this swanky restaurant overlooking the bay, at lunch time. The menu was strictly seafood, fresh, and I followed her when she ordered the sandwich. I thought it would be a patty of crab, but no, it was the entire crab, deep fried, on a sesame seed bun, with legs hanging out around the bun. I had no idea what to do, so I politely picked at it, then turned to Debra and laughingly told her I had no idea how to eat the sandwich, and I wasn't sure I could, regardless. She laughed and said the same thing. Whew!

Comfort foods - home canned raspberries, Thom Ka soup from Bangkok Grill, popcorn, halibut and fries from Arctic Circle.

Road trip foods - Diet Pepsi and salted pumpkin seeds!

I do cook and bake - I enjoy cooking lots of fresh veggies, an occasional piece of meat. I don't make lots of saucy stuff, and I'm not a fan of casseroles. I enjoy baking and experimenting with baking, but I cannot, for the life of me, make a traditional loaf of bread. Go figure.

Traditional meals:
Breakfast - muffin, yogurt, fruit.
Lunch - 1/3 cup mixed nuts, apple, Diet Pepsi.
Dinner - fresh veggies - either baked, stir-fried, grilled, or salad, with beans, rice, potatoes, and a piece of chicken of some sort.

For treats I love Dark Chocolate Almonds from Sprouts, Almond Joys, York Peppermint patties, fresh baked cookies, good dark chocolate, Kettle Corn, Caramel Popcorn, anything salty.

Favorite places to eat include Thai, Asian, Mexican, Indian, and good old Art City Trolley.

The best meal I've ever had was at a Moroccan restaurant in Amsterdam, on Albert Cuyp Market, Albert Cuypstraat, 2 years ago. Incredible. I didn't want the meal to end.

Story Prompt - Pets

Speaking of names - did/do you have pets? I was speaking with my friend, Robbin, today about her 2 cats that are named after Junie B. Jones characters. And it got me thinking about animals I know and love.
What about you? Pets? Their stories? I have a friend who recently lost her dog - a member of the family for years, and for her this was a cause to mourn the loss of a family member. Do you feel similarly?

I'm not a "pet friendly" person. Mostly it's because I have terrible animal allergies, anything with fur or feathers gives me terrible sneezes, rashes, and itchy eyes. And, well, I like to pick up and go, and the thought of having to find a home for a pet, doesn't suit me. But it's mostly the allergy part that separates me from most animals.

But, there are a few pets in my life - Casey was the name of the dog we had when I was growing up. I don't remember what breed she was, but I'm thinking Cocker Spaniel. She was a good dog, playful, but I didn't interact much with her. However, I do remember getting a call when I was in about 5th grade, that my mom was coming to get me from school. Casey was giving birth, and I was able to watch her give birth to several puppies. I don't remember much about her after that, except that she was hit by a car on our road and killed.
We also had a Siamese cat that we kept in our unfinished basement while we were away on vacation (my memory is sketchy here) and when we came home she was "gone."
And I can't forget Grandpa Jensen's horses - Boots, Charlie (Brown), and the Dinsdale's, Zangie.

As an adult the Knudsen family owned a beautiful black Lab we named "Paige." Our neighbors had a black lab named "Satchel," and this was our nod to their friendship. Paige was a great puppy - she was about 6 weeks when we got her. I remember taking her for a walk one summer evening and she left a trail of bloody footsteps. We thought she'd stepped in something, but upon picking her up the pads of her feet were bleeding - the path was so hot and her feet were so young and new. Another time there was a tornado in our town, Sheffield, Alabama. We had been keeping Paige, at nights, in the shed/garage. When we went to check on her she was gone. We were so worried she'd been lost in the storm. We searched and searched, finding her at our across-the-street neighbors, where they had found her and sheltered her. She loved playing in the pool with the kids - and the vet said that was just fine, a good way to keep the ticks off her (burning them off her skin was terrible). Tyler or Jenna would jump in the pool, and Paige would jump in right after her. We have family videos of this, they are a treasure.
When we moved from Alabama back to Utah, we had to leave her there rather than bring her here in the cold winter. We left her with friends, where she lived a happy and long life hunting snakes, playing in the pond, and being spoiled by her new family. We did visit once, and she remembered us, what a treat that was.

These days Scott and I are grandparents to Jax, a Golden Labradoodle, and Truth-dagger, a calico cat. Jax loves Scott, Truthie tolerates us!

Writing Our Stories - Your Name Story -

Have you written or recorded your story?

Beginning today, I am going to post a daily "I remember" question. You can write about this, use it as a conversation piece, or even record it on your phone (voice to type or strictly voice) and download and save it.

After nearly 20 years of teaching at UVU and years of writing, one of the things I learned is if we have a specific assignment rather than a general topic, we're much better at coming up with thoughts. So, rather than "Tell me about growing up," a more specific question, "What was your first pet?" Is easier to talk about.

I hope you'll enjoy these prompts, even if all they do is cause you to remember.

Writing prompt #1:

What is the story of your name? Consider this - you may have to do some research to get the story - and if your name givers are no longer with us, what is your perceived story of your name? What does your name mean to you? And - if you have children, please record/write down the stories behind their names.

I'm Ronda Lyn Walker Weaver, and I don't know the story of my name. I do know that all 7 of us children have 5 letters in our name, we all have middle names, and the only times are middle names were ever used by our parents was when they were super proud of us or very upset with us! I carry the Walker name proudly, and I am grateful for the Idaho Mormon heritage that comes along with that name.
My "story" about my name is that I was named after my aunt, Vonda Lue, whom I loved dearly and who died about 22 years ago. She was my role-model, in good and bad, and I miss her like crazy.
My children, Tyler Knudsen and Jenna Knudsen Holm, have their name stories written down for them.

Have fun!

Social Distancing is for Introverts -

Yes, this time of distancing is not hurting me one bit. I LOVE being alone. I love having an excuse to not be social, to be in my head, to work on something all alone.

And yet, I have a husband who cannot even fathom how to social distance. He's such an extrovert, and I've had to have a couple of Come to Jesus  talks with him - he cannot go on drives with buddies, go to AA meetings, go to the store, meet someone for coffee. A world without going is unknown and foreign to him. Not having other people in his life is taxing for him, and then - for me. There has been several times this weekend when I've wanted to suggest he go so . . . 

To make matters worse, I'm stuck in the house with him :), and right now, I'm terribly dependent on him for shuttling me hither and yon. So I don't get all the distancing I need, and he gets extra time with me! (More on that and Hawaii later.)

This so important to me - not only for my introvert-selfishness, but as a chaplain and hospital employee, social distancing is imperative. 

I will keep my 6-feet separation, to stay healthy and to keep those I love healthy. The time is coming, soon, when we will see a huge explosion in those diagnosed with CoVid19 (available testing is a huge reason), and I really want to see those I love make it through these next months unscathed, because this quiet one who has no need to be in a crowd, wants to throw a huge Mormon pot-luck, with ALL my loved ones. I want to be able to hug all my patients, sit with my grandchildren crawling all over me, and see Scott drive off in his car to meet some buddies at Joe's for coffee. 

Here's to washing your hands, coughing in your elbow, and minding that 6-foot mandate. 

Hiatus Continues -

Take care my friends. I care.