Sunday, March 14th we held another family meeting. We used to hold these meetings on Zoom, but we changed our platform to google meet (much better!)
Each month, we meet and each member of the family tells something they have learned about their parents. This month we each told about an experience one of our parents had that taught them a lesson. It could be either good or bad. Here are the results:
Gabbi told about how her mom was taking the kids up to Logan for a dental appointment with Blake. But when they started out, the windshield wiper was not working and it was snowing. Brian was at work. So she drove to Brian's parents' house. Gary stopped what he was doing. He went to the store to get a new wiper and bought Wendy's hamburgers for everyone while he was out. They ate while he fixed the wiper and then they were on their way. Gary's Christlike example taught her the lesson to be willing to sacrifice for others.
Jaron's story happened when Gabbi was a baby when they were living in Virginia. His dad had a strange episode (it turned out to be very unusual symptoms of a migraine) and was in the hospital. When Emily, Michelle's friend, heard about it, she called and asked if she could bring dinner. Michelle said no, but she brought dinner anyway. Then she tended Gabbi the next day so Michelle could go and visit Brian. Gabbi was not fond of being left and screamed the whole time. The lesson Michelle learned was to be kind.
Kenny told a story about when Michelle was in Folk Dance at BYU. She came to class one day, forgetting it was picture day. She was supposed to be in Sunday clothes, but was just wearing her rehearsal clothes. Her sweet friend, Becca, whose position for the picture was on the back row quickly took off her skirt and traded with her, saving the day, as Michelle's position was on the front row.. The lesson learned by Michelle is to be kind and selfless.
Nathan went next. He told about a time when he and Brielle were little and the family was living in Idaho Falls. They were walking somewhere and Jared was pushing Brielle in one stroller and Kristen was pushing Nathan in another. They started to race. Jared got ahead and Kristen's competitive spirit kicked in. She got going really fast. But then her stroller hit something causing little Nathan to fly out of the stroller. He wasn't badly hurt, but it taught Kristen not to be so competitive.
Hannah started out "When my dad was a young man he came home late one night after being out with his friends. His dad was laying on their green couch, waiting for him to get home." She then went on to tell that her dad told his dad that one of the boys was being really mean to him. He and his dad had a good talk where his dad counseled him to learn from this to put yourself in others' shoes and treat them kindly. He never forgot that lesson. Oh, she told it cute!
Caleb also told a story about his dad. When his dad was a teenager, he read a book that greatly inspired him, "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers." Though no one in his family had ever gone to college as a youth, he decided he was going to and he was going to go to BYU. He worked hard, saved money for both his mission and college, got a scholarship and went to BYU. He learned that by setting goals and working hard, you can achieve great things.
Audrey was so dang cute telling about a lesson Kristen learned. She was from St. George and didn't know about ice. We went to visit family in Idaho. She stepped out of the car onto ice and slipped to the ground on her very first step out of the car. She learned, the hard way, to be careful on ice.
Jacob told about a very scary story that happened to his mom when they lived in Wisconsin. She was driving on the freeway a few days after a very big snowstorm. The storm was over and the roads were clear. She was driving behind a Swift semi truck when all of a sudden, a huge amount of snow came off of the truck and landed on her windshield, breaking the windshield and completely blocking her vision. But she was protected and didn't wreck. She learned not to drive behind a Swift semi truck. (Swift did pay for the damages.)
Bria also told about a lesson her mom learned. As Kristen's twenty first birthday approached she prayed mightily to know if she should go on a mission. She prayed for four months, but didn't get an answer. So she continued her schooling at BYU. She moved into the Riviera apartments. Seven months later, she prayed again and felt it was time for her to go on a mission and sent in her papers. (She entered the MTC on her 22nd birthday.) When she got home from her mission, she went back to live at the Riviera to continue her schooling. In the meantime, Jared had also completed his mission and moved into the Riviera. If she had gone on the mission when she was twenty- one, she probably would have never met Jared. She learned to trust in the Lord's timing.
Lily got the biggest laugh as she told about an experience her dad had as a kid. His family vacationed every summer at Lake Powell with cousins. He was out swimming in the lake one day and got too far from the boat and got into trouble. His family noticed he was struggling and were able to get to him and save him. In his hand was a super soaker gun. It was heavy and was weighing him down. When they asked him why he didn't just let the super soaker go, he replied that he didn't want to be the only kid without a super soaker. His lesson was that sometimes you need to just let things go. We all laughed at the absurdity of holding on to that super soaker at the peril of losing his life.
Gabe told about when Shonna was a little girl and first learning to ride a bike. She mastered the skill late one evening. Her dad was in meetings that evening, so early the next morning, she wanted to show him her new skill. She got on her bike at the top of our driveway and built up speed as she went down the hill, across the street and into the driveway of our across the street neighbor. It was then that she realized that she had learned to ride the bike, but had neglected to learn how to use the brakes. She crashed into the neighbor's garage with a loud bang. The neighbor came out wondering what that loud noise was. She learned that learning to use the brakes was just as important as learning to ride a bike.
Samuel pretty much chattered through the whole meeting while sitting on his mom's lap. He was loving this family meeting idea and thought everyone was listening to him the whole time. Kristen had to keep her mike muted. But when it actually was his turn, he told about when his mom was a little girl in grade school. Her parents asked her to stop doing cherry drops on the bars at school because it was not safe. She obeyed for awhile, but then one day, she did one. The bell rang right when she was supposed to catch the bar, which confused her and she fell to the ground, breaking her arm. She learned that she should always listen to her mom and dad and obey.
Kristen told about when her dad ran for student body vice president in high school. He had been junior class president and felt hopeful he would win. But he didn't. When he got back to the school after an out of town trip from participating in a model United Nations club convention in SLC, he checked the post on the high school door and found he had lost. He was devastated. That was Friday evening. The next Sunday he was called in and called to be the Seminary President for the next year. They had been awaiting the election results as students could not do both. He realized later that things had happened just as they were supposed to. The training he received as Seminary president helped prepare him for leadership roles on his mission, as Dixie College institute (LDSSA) president and later as bishop and in the stake presidency. He learned to trust the Lord.
Michelle told about when her mom was a freshman at Ricks College. She had Mrs. Marjorie Bennion for freshman English. Early in the semester, Mrs. Bennion gave the students a large writing assignment. She taught them how to approach the assignment: write down ideas, create an outline, then write the paper. She gave them the due date- about three weeks from then. The assignment was not mentioned again after that. Kay began the assignment. She loved to write and was excited about it.
Then, one Wednesday, she went to class. Mrs. Bennion told everyone to put their papers out on their desks and she would come and collect them. Kay's heart sank. She had not realized this was the day it was due. When Mrs. Bennion got to her she said, "Kay, where is your paper?" "I , uh, I, can I come and talk to you?" "Coming to talk to me will do no good. You are in college now. You need to be responsible." As she walked away, she said, "Meet me in my office after class." Kay was utterly humiliated and embarrassed. When she sat across the desk from Mrs. Bennion she did not lie or make up excuses. She just told the truth. "Have you started the paper?" "Yes, I have. I am excited to write it." "Okay, if you will have your paper under my office door by 8:00 am on Friday, I will accept it." Kay worked all that day and the next and finished the paper. She took it up to campus and put it under Mrs. Bennion's door on Thursday evening. She got a good grade on it. She learned to be organized and responsible and to be merciful- everyone deserves a second chance.
Shonna told about when Grandma Kay was in first grade. At her school, they had a separate little white building where the special education kids went to school. Those children came out for recess at the same time. Older children told the first graders that Cynthia, a little girl with Down syndrome would chase you and if she caught you, she would hug you and hug out all of your breath and you would die. Grandma Kay believed them. So she would scream and run from Cynthia. She was afraid she would hug out all of her breath. It makes Grandma Kay sad now. She wishes they would have taught them about handicapped children. Education is the key to acceptance. It was a huge lack of education. She learned that all people have great value.
Blake told about when his dad was on a mission in Spain, he had a very difficult companion. He was a big know-it-all and hard to get along with. But he remembered what his mom had taught him: Be kind and look for the good in others. By doing that, he was able to make friends with this guy. After they got home from their missions, this guy introduced Blake's dad to his future wife. He learned that it is worth it to be kind.
I told two stories. The first about my mother:
She and my dad would golf every Wednesday afternoon, as it was my dad's afternoon off. Especially in the summer, they would take cold drinks. One day, they had canned pop. Mom had opened hers and then came back to it later. She took a drink and got stung by a bee! A bee had flown into her can and when she drank, it stung her. She learned to look into a can before you drink from it. (And taught that to me!)
The second story is about my Grandpa Gabrielsen. In August, 1959, we went to Yellowstone with my Grandpa Gabrielsen. He was a widower, having lost his wife the previous year and was pretty lonely. We spent several days camping and fishing with him. We went home, but Grandpa was planning to stay a few more days, camping and fishing. That Monday night we were in bed. It is one of my earliest memories (I was only three years old) We were asleep in bed when we felt the ground shaking. I can remember my dad jumping out of bed and the whole household waking up.
When he found out that it was in Yellowstone, he frantically called my Grandpa and found him home. Grandpa had planned to stay longer, but after we left, he felt lonely and said he just felt he should pack up and go home. So that is what he did. Thank goodness! He was spared because he followed a prompting. He learned to follow the still, small voice.
Jared told a great story about his parents. They were living in Rodesia, what is now Zimbabwe. His dad was in the military. Missionaries from the Jehovah's Witness church would frequently go door to door, seeking investigators. They made Jared's mom angry because her husband was serving in the military, but because Jehovah's Witness didn't believe in fighting, they declared they were conscientious objectors and so didn't have to serve in the military.
One day, two missionaries knocked on their door. His mom assumed they were Jehovah's witness and planned a trap for them. She opened the door and they gave her their door approach. In reply, she asked them what they thought about military service. One of them, who was from the United States, said "I am a lieutenant in the United State Air Force." "You are?" That is NOT what she expected. It softened her heart and made her willing to listen to their message. When they first came, she had told them her husband wasn't home, but he was. He was just hiding in the other room because he knew his wife's plan, and didn't want to be part of the conflict. They came back later and taught both of them. They joined the church and have been faithful members ever since. She learned that the Lord knows us and loves us. Of all the missionaries that could have gone to that door, He sent the one who was serving in the military, knowing that is exactly what his mom would need.
Grandpa Ken told two stories: one about his mom and one about his dad.
Mom: Leora had a sister named Jennie. When they were little they had a pair of roller skates they were supposed to share. Leora was hogging them, and their dad was called in to solve the conflict. He told the girls that they would need to take turns. He told Leora she could skate for ten more minutes, then she would need to take them off and let Jennie have a turn. When the ten minutes was up, Leora just kept skating and skating. She would not give up the skates. Their dad was called in. He told her to take them off right now. She got very angry and threw the skates. She got a spanking. She learned to share and not to sass her parents.
Dad: Lavar had a favorite cousin named Marion who lived across town. The family rule in their home was to be home by sunset. One evening, he got playing at Marion's house and didn't notice the sun had gone down. When he realized it, he ran all the way home. On the way inside, he went to the shed and found a board. He slipped the board into his pants so that when he got a spanking, he wouldn't feel it. But, to his surprise, his family hadn't even noticed his tardiness. That spanking never happened! He finally realized he was safe, and snuck back out to put the board back in the shed. He still learned to be more observant and to obey his parents.
That's lots of great lessons and lots of great stories!
Notice that this meeting was held on March 14th- Pi Day. 3.14. Our Brielle is a math genius. For years, she has pi memorized out to about the 75th decimal. So Pi Day is an important holiday to her. For breakfast that day, they had a quiche pie, for dinner, they had meat pie, and for dessert, they had several different homemade pies: including apple, cherry, cheesecake, etc.
All during the meeting, some of the cousins were chatting back and forth on the chat. One would say, it's spelled pi, then another would say, it's spelled pie. Pi,pi,pi,pi . . .. No, pie, pie, pie, pie, . . .. It went on and on. So, after everyone shared, and it was time to close the meeting, I said, "I noticed you arguing about the spelling of pi. You are all right." Then I explained. Just then, Brielle jumped in and said, "and it is 3:14 right now!" It was so funny! Everyone cracked up! So, our meeting ended at 3:14 on 3.14. Happy Pi Day!
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