On a Whim

It is a rare occasion that my husband and I find ourselves all alone on a Saturday morning but that is how we found ourselves a week ago. So, on a whim we decided to head to the mountains and play for a little while. After all, we didn't have any children at home with which to experience the "value of work". Scott and I headed to Sundance for breakfast and a mountain hike. Perfect temperature and beautiful scenery gave us a lovely August morning together. It was so refreshing to break out of the Saturday morning routine and be spontaneous.

When we left the lodge after breakfast a dab of bright color caught my eye. I think these little leaves were feeling a little whimsical too, since green is the routine color for summer.

Speaking of Mail

A few months ago I was spending some R & R time in Barnes and Noble Book Store and found a book just calling out to me. The title -"Good Mail Day". Well, anything addressing the topic of good mail or happy mail catches my attention.

I thought I'd track down this book at the library, but it is not at the library. So after months of telling myself I don't need this book, I broke down and bought it online. You know what that means . . . the book was mailed to me. Yea! One day I went to my mailbox and there was this brown paper package (not) tied up with string and it was addressed to me.

This book is about making mail art and sending it. The idea is to make something unique and get it in the mail. There are chapters about making a mail art kit, getting inspiration for your art, refining penmanship & etiquette, etc. This is really a fun book.

"When you write to your friends, make your letters so beautiful in form and text that they will be read, re-read, and cherished a long time after as a fond memory. ~Book of Etiquette, 1922"

Rule #1 - to get a letter, write a letter.

I need to improve on rule #1. I have been rather distracted lately and always feeling too busy to follow through on thoughts of letters to write. So, of course, I am recommitted. My great aunt was a stellar letter writer. Whenever she met someone she asked for their address and said she would write. And write she did. And they wrote back. When she passed away she was corresponding with near 100 people on a regular basis. Wow! Now that's a lot of happy mail.

Happy Mail

I love to get, what I term, "happy mail"

Happy Mail: any piece of mail that is written specifically to me i.e. letters, cards, and the like.

I enjoy emails; they are quick and efficient. I love phone calls especially because I can hear the caller's voice, the inflections, the tone, the mood and I can exchange ideas and thoughts immediately. But I love mail!

I think I love mail because I can make it last. When our oldest 2 sons were serving on their missions they wrote letters. On the day their letter was due I would watch for the mail delivery. I'd walk out to the mailbox, open the door with excitement, sift through the pieces of mail with anticipation and smile when I saw that handwritten envelope from our son. Then I would walk, with a bounce in my step, back to the house, straight to the quiet, sun-filled living room, nestle into a wingback chair and open the envelope. I would stroll through each paragraph, savoring, stopping to sometimes reread or laugh, ponder and always enjoy.

Not long ago I had to forward some mail to our oldest son. I included a handmade card with Disney Princesses on it to our granddaughters. Shortly after the package of mail arrived to our son I was on the webcam with him and our 3 year old granddaughter came into the room.

"Hi Grandma" she said, "when are you going to send me some more mail?"

"Oh", I replied, "you like mail? I'll send you some mail next week."

And so I did.

Loving Happy Mail: something my granddaughter and I have in common.

Love and Marriage

On our refrigerator/bulletin board we have no less than 8 bridal and wedding announcements. I believe that August is the new June.

Yesterday I attended a wedding in the Salt Lake LDS Temple and I was so surprised at the many brides and grooms there. I truly thought that a Tuesday morning in August would find the temple on a quieter schedule, but no. Parking was a 25 minute hunt and we were taking numbers in line to take pictures on the temple steps after the ceremony. Though it sounds like the situation could have been frustrating, it wasn't. The day was beautiful, the feelings joyful, and the celebration grand.

As I sat in the sealing ceremony and listened to wise counsel uttered from the Sealer, my mind reviewed other wisdom heard in recent ceremonies just like this one. I thought I would share.

"You are now leaving the Garden of Eden (the engagement) and entering the lone and dreary world (marriage). This is when true courtship begins."

"From the beginning of eternity until now you have been a single spirit. From this point forward, you are a twosome, in every way, for eternity."

"You are now enrolled in the Fine Art of Marriage. It is a fine art. It requires determination, discipline, and considerable thought to come to a mastery of the skills in the art of marriage."

"I heard this quote given in a sealing session conducted by Pres. Hinckley. He said: Be anxiously engaged in the happiness and well-being of your spouse."

"In the days of Enoch, Enoch led a people to become a great spiritual society in the midst of a wicked world. Your role as the patriarch of your family is the same as Enoch's. You must lead your family in becoming a great spiritual society in the midst of the wickedness today."

"Your role as wife and possibly mother, is to be a homemaker. Many things are required in making a home and it is not casual work. It is the most important work you need to do."

"The covenants you have made in the temple are the tools to creating a celestial marriage."

Even after 30 years of happy marriage, I find great ideas and counsel in how to better my marriage from these kind and sincere Temple Sealers. I love listening to marriage ceremonies.