I'm glad I Did

I Am Glad I Did…&  I Wish I Would Have….

A few on the Andersen grand kids with me on a hike

Looking back over my life of 60 + years, I see things I wish I would of done. But to be fair, and since I am an optimistic person, I have to include the things I am glad I did.

I’m glad I had a large family (7).  It was hard and challenging at times but I am glad I did.  I would not trade one of my children for anyone else in the world.  They are special, unique and so very individual and I love them so much.

 I am also glad I took them to church.  Sometimes that was the hardest day of the week.  Many times I wondered “What am I doing here”  trying to get them to sit still, and not bother the other families around us, while trying to catch a word or two of hope and encouragement for myself.  Something inside of me always said “ You may not be learning anything, but you are setting a good foundation and these children are learning something every time they are here, important things that will help them throughout their lives to be good, decent  people." So I kept going and struggling week after week.  Oh, I forgot to say that most of those years my husband was on the stand or on the high council so he was attending other wards, so I was always out numbered. 

I’m glad I was able to be a stay- at- home Mom most of the time.  Everything in our home ran smoother because of that.  Yes, we went without a lot of things, but not the important things.  We always had food to eat and shelter over our heads, we didn’t have name brand clothing, desserts, or yearly vacations (unless camping counts.) 

I’m glad we had as many  family home evenings as we did.  Not consistent, but we were persistent, not always on Monday but we did our best.  I don’t remember too many lessons that were given but I do remember feeling extra love at having everyone in the same room for a uplifting thought, song, game and family prayer.

I wish I would have……

I wish I would have given more service to others or families at least once a month, in secret if possible.  Service to others is so important, mostly to those rendering the service.  I wish I had the children looking all month long for the “perfect service project."  To be a more service oriented family would have been great for all of us, not just cookies to neighbors and friends on the Holidays, but those who really need it.

I wish we would have worked with the children when they were told to do chores rather than just telling them over and over to do it.  It’s fun working together, not alone, whether  it's dishes, or pulling weeds, or  cleaning their rooms.

I wish  every day would have been a family home evening.  Not a lesson out of a book but a principle, as to why we do what we do.   Teaching "why" solidifies beliefs.  Why should we pay tithing, not just because we are told to, but we would not have a building to meet in for church and activities.  Same with fast offerings, why? Because there are families, even little children in our area that have no food.  I wish we would have taken them to the church store house to see  people getting food off the shelves and how happy they were because it was free, all because a lot of kind people paid a little fast offerings.  

I wish we would have played more games together, indoors and especially outdoors.  Instead of always sending the kids outside to play, I wish we would have gone out there too and had fun, then they would have been much more willing to help us afterwards.  

I wish I knew how valuable vegetables were in our diet, I would have served   4 servings of vegetables at each meal.  They are the most reasonable food.  I wish we had a garden and we all worked in it together, not just mom and dad and we grew all the vegetables we ate.

I wish we taught more about the real meaning of Christmas from the start and left out all the commercialism.  It’s hard to change once the children are use to what the world dictates.

I am sure this list will grow as I grow, but for now I am glad I did the things I did do.

Abraham Lincoln
I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday