Mom's obituary

My mother's obituary.

Laugh When You Feel Like Crying

I was challenged to provide a spiritual thought the other night for a meeting I had to attend at church. I chose the following from the book Small and Simple Things by Marjorie Pay Hinckley:

Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, "We are here in mortality, and the only way to go is through; there isn't any any around!" (Ensign, May 1998, 9). 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.

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

Weep, and you weep alone;

For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,

But has trouble enough of its own.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "Solitude," st. 1

Hinckley, M.P. (2003). Small and simple things (p. 126). Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book

I am trying to remember this as I face the reality that my mother's days on earth are few and only God in Heaven knows how long she has here with us. Trying to remember the happy times and the realization that life on earth is but a moment in the scope of eternity. Love you mom!

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

1. Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?

Is that what you do? So do I!

2. Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool, or swing in a tree up high?

Is that what you do? So do I!

3. O, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades, or count all the stars in the sky?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Words and music: Dorothy S. Anderson b. 1927

(C) 1964 by Dorothy S. Anderson

Now that grad school is finished for the summer, we've been trying to make the most of this week before we travel off to Ohio. We had hoped to spend as much time in the pool as possible but thunderstorms moving through the area have limited that. The kids don't seem to mind all the mindless TV watching but I do worry about their eyeballs falling out.

We are travelling up to Ohio/West Virginia to see my mom while she is in the hospital at WVU. You can get the updates on a blog we set up for her updates at hopeformargie.blogspot.com. My aunt and uncle in Danville have graciously offered to hold summer camp for the kids so they can get to know their cousins for a few days. I am grateful for this because my mom is in ICU and the children would not be able to go into visit her, nor do I want them to see her in her current condition. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.