Ribs, Razors, and Stitches

When my dad decided that Jared and I were close to marriage, he sat us down and gave us the "Marriage Talk".  (Notice that I said, "when my dad decided"....Jared and I had not even mentioned the word marriage yet.)  Anyhow, he gave us one piece of advice that I have to repeat to myself, it seems several times a day lately.  He told us that when we started to have children, finances would probably become a concern.  But he cautioned, "Never try to plan out children on a ledger sheet."  Financially, it will never make sense.  "Work hard, be careful, Pay Your Tithing.....THINGS WILL WORK OUT!" 

And what have we found in the first 10 years of marriage and 5 children....Things have worked out! 
Yet there I was again repeating that advice to myself yesterday as I sat in the emergency room.  You see, I believe that when a family is blessed with 5 BOYS (4 being little and 1 being big), the Lord must reserve extra financial blessing, simply to cover the price of STITCHES.

Yesterday Sam "decided" to fall from a 4 foot high beam onto a piece of metal, hitting JAW first.  We thought it was bad, but when the doctor opened the wound up for us and revealed over an inch of his jawbone....I had to sit down.   Three layers of stitches later, we knew that the tithing blessings had kicked in as there were no broken bones or teeth!  Sam was a TROOPER!  He sat very still for 30 minutes as the doctor sewed it up.  On the way home I asked Sam what he thought of the day.  He said, "It's been pretty good." :)

There has been a lot of moaning and groaning over pain in our house the past few weeks.  You see, Jared decided to break a few ribs playing basketball.  Then, he decided to ride the kid's Razor 360 and CRASH, giving his back a great deal of road rash!  I said to him, "Jared, tell me honestly, was your first reaction embarrassment as all the neighborhood kids were looking on....Because it should have been, the Razor is a 4 year old's toy!"  After these experiences, I guess he shouldn't be surprised when I call him at work and say, "Go get Sam (Gary, Joe, Daniel...pick a name), we are headed for the EMERGENCY ROOM!"

We have been Cursed!

So I have a funny story to tell you.  Last summer we went to Jared's home ward in Bluebell, Utah.  After Sacrament meeting I sent my kids to primary PRAYING that they would behave, just once.  After the meetings were complete I started to gather kids.  At this point I see Sam walking down the hall, a woman walking close by, LAUGHING.  As Sam approaches I realize that he is holding his socks, shoes, sweater, and tie...left only wearing a shirt and pants.  That was NOT the funny part.  His teacher proceeds to tell me why she is laughing.  It seems that many years ago when Jared was a teenager, he sat behind her irreverent children in Sacrament Meeting.  At the end he very FOOLISHLY made this comment, "my kids won't do that, they will sit still."  HENCE, WE WERE CURSED FROM THE BEGINNING!  And believe me when I say cursed.  Each of my children have been "kicked out" of Primary (and more than once),  each of my kids DESERVED to be "kicked out" of Primary (and more than once.)
It started with Ally.  Jared and I TRIED really hard to help her be reverent.  It was a constant concern to me. After a particularly hard Sunday I had a knock on my door.  A sister in the ward brought me 3 Parenting Books.  I took them, smiling, and waited just until the door was shut to begin sobbing.  I continued sobbing as I told Jared and called my mother....Her intentions were pure, but I was hurt.  At that point I made this decision - I will always assume that every parent is trying their VERY HARDEST before I make any judgement calls.  I wish I could say that I have always chosen that path.   I have not, but I have renewed my decision.  I will assume the best.
 I have also resolved myself to think very little about what people think of me, and very MUCH about what the Lord thinks.

A few years ago I read this poem....it has stuck with me ever since.  I hope that you enjoy it.

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.