To Eternity and Beyond

This Memorial day weekend was extremely memorable. I had the gift of being with tons of my Pratt relatives for the whole weekend. We drove 3 hours to my aunt and uncles’ (Melinda and Jace) who live in Pima. I’d never been there before, and I highly doubt that many have….it was smack dab in the middle of no where…let’s call it MNW. But some how we managed to cram oodles of fun stuff into our schedule to create the perfect weekend; who knew there was so much to do in MNW?! We started it off by swimming in an abandoned rock quarry (they called it the pond, but it was really a football field in length), which looked a little iffy at first, but it turned out to be crocodile free. : ) There was an old crane that had a rope swing, which was a blast to fling ourselves off of. I felt like a little kid on an adventure. We finished it off like every swimming occasion should end: with watermelon, dripping down our elbows and stamping our cheeks with the infamous watermelon juice.

We then cleaned up in a jiffy, so that the older kids could go to the new Pima temple for baptisms. It was beautiful: the temple, the Spirit I felt, my family that was with me, the whole experience…it was all beautiful. The temple workers said that by the time we were done, they had done 1,000 baptisms for the dead that day—AMAZING, for a place the size of MNW. It was so special because you could just feel how much they cherished their new temple, dedicated last year. They even had us put on ridiculous plastic booties to protect the floor from our harmless shoes. We were walking around like we had just stepped into large marshmallows. But you know what? I didn’t feel ridiculous at all; instead, I felt very humbled as I entered the Lord’s house, surrounded by people who truly knew the sacred ground on which they stood.

Next day was the Sabbath and church was light-years away at the 1:00 time, so I got to play the piano for awhile at my aunt’s request, taught my cousin Kali how to braid, got my hair done semi-resembling a braid, played with little cousins, and visited with aunts and uncles. Then we all went down to their unfinished basement, piled on top of a few blow up mattresses, and watched a short video on John Tanner, who we are all related to through my grandpa Pratt. He was an inspiring man during the restoration of the church who helped the church in many ways, but mainly financially: donating over 250 million dollars to the church (in today’s terms). At one point he gave away so much of his extreme wealth that he only had $7.50 left for his family of nine kids. The prophet Joseph Smith said to him at one point, “God bless you, Father Tanner, your children shall never beg bread.” This promise from a prophet has held true to the generations of John Tanner; we visit some of his posterity, John and Bobby Tanner, every now and then and they serve us delicious desserts in their immaculate mansion. The Tanner generations have truly not had to ‘beg bread’ again. This is just a trailer, but it’s enough to make your heart swell in gratitude for those who came before us with such great faith and selflessness.

Treasure in Heaven—John Tanner Story

We then went on a little Sunday walk around MNW:

OH! and throughout this whole weekend, I was constantly stuffing my face with loads of delectable foods. My cousin Peri and I kept saying as we lay in a food coma, “oh my gosh, I never want to eat again”……and then 2 hours later we stuff our bellies past their capacity and follow the same routine. It. Was. Great. (but highly disturbing).

I also got to surprise a few family members, my Grandpa Pratt and Louise in particular, because they didn’t know that I was staying in Arizona for the summer. It was so great to see everyone again.

Melinda and Jaces’ family is adorable. I want mine to be just like theirs. After every family prayer they all huddle together, put their hands in the middle and say, “To Eternity and Beyond!!!” It’s one of the cutest and most powerful things I’ve heard exclaimed from tons of little kids. I determined then and there that I’d do that with my family. Another thing that just sums up how their family runs is this insert in their hand soap bottles:

They truly live this to a T.

Then came Memorial day. I woke up to my 4 year old cousin Hyrum standing next to my bed staring at me. He then just came into my arms and snuggled; it was so precious! Then I had another really special moment as I watched and photographed my cousin Trae putting up the flag and our family’s tradition of putting up our copies of our ancestor Parley P. Pratt’s liberty flag. While innocently in jail at one point, Parley made a makeshift flag (from a shirt) on Independence day and put it out the jail window. Each of our families all have made our own and let it’s bold message fly alongside the American flag.

It was also Kali’s birthday and baptism. Peri and I decided to sticky note her door with love notes. And we saw later that her brother Trae had added his own sweet note.

Kali’s baptism was so special. There’s something about baptisms, just going back to the basics; it’s really powerful. My favorite part is always when all the little kids squish together to see the baptism up close to the font. It’s a good thing they had glass there, cause I’m sure a few kids would’ve fallen in because they wanted to be so close to the action. I have a strong testimony that we are to be like little children. They are so pure, so sweet, so loving, so forgiving, so Christ-like. It was a beautiful experience.

We all enjoyed a fun lunch together and then had to pile up in the car to go home…and finished it off perfectly by watching Tangled on the way. It was really a perfect weekend. It felt so surreal, so perfect. It felt like I had truly tasted a bit of what Heaven is like: surrounded by loving family “To Eternity and Beyond”.

farewell to the teens

I feel old. It’s partly because I’m turning the big 2-0 this September. It's partly because my back aches and my ankles pop every time I go down stairs. It’s partly because I’m completely independent of my parents. Aaannndd, it’s partly because I just spent the day crocheting, playing Rummikub and Yahtzee, watching Oprah and Family Feud, and waiting in two doctors’ offices for appointments. I didn’t quite realize that this would be my riveting summer schedule until I took the full-time job as a caretaker of my Grandma Doyle for the next few months in Arizona. Yes, it has a few social downsides…but, I’ve decided that there are priceless lessons that I believe everyone should learn through taking care of and spending time with people on the upper side of the age spectrum.

The elderly can be entertaining believe it or not. And dang! they can sure put you in your place when they slaughter you at Rummikub. We played for at least 3 hours…while other people my age could’ve watched two short movies, gone to two college courses, or visited every store in the mall…but, oh no, not me—I enjoy living on the edge. My grandma and I walked to her friend Jackie’s house to play games. She’s one of those people who slightly resembles her dog—a pug. : ] Don’t get me wrong, she doesn’t exactly look like she just ran into a wall, she’s just a cute, spunky little lady, who quickly demonstrated her hostess skills as she put out some orange slices and cherries to eat as we played. She hobbled back and forth to get things situated for our intense gaming. Here’s some snippets of conversation that went on:

Jackie:

“And he said to me, ‘well, didn’t you expect to feel that way when you were 75?’”

[during Rummikub] “Is that black or blue over there…well, that one’s a no-goer.”

[talking to my gma] “Oh, honey I wish I could do something for that cough—here, suck on this tootsie pop.”

“Man, I have a sweet tooth a mile long!!” [as she’s dumping chocolate covered peanuts on a plate]

“Either this darn chair is sinking or I’m shrinking!”

“Here, eat another orange, they’re sooo sweet!”

[talking on the phone] “You can’t put pressure on your foot for 7 weeks??? You better take my power chair—IT’S FAST!!!” : ]

“Come on, come on, give me a 5….well, that’s not a cool 5.” [during Yahtzee as she rolled a 2]

** “Maurine [Gma D.] saved me. Six months after I moved here my husband died, and then Maurine and I became great friends. She saved me.” **

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I learned a lot today. Most of what I learned can’t exactly be expressed in words. I became 10,000 times more grateful for my body and it’s abilities. I thanked God for a chance to hear treasured and genuine stories. I learned how to truly enjoy spending time with wonderful women although they may be decades ahead of me. I learned how to not look at the clock and agonize over how long I’d been playing “an old person game”. I cherished the time I spent with them. I cherished my precious time and life ahead of me. Although I may think sprouting grey hair on my next birthday is a depressing and disturbing thought, I have a deeper appreciation for those spectacular “silver-haired” women.

Swinging

There's something so soothing and mind-numbing

about the wind pushing your hair back

and then letting it go wild,

the chink of the chains

that smell like

old pennies,

and

strange feelings

in your stomach as it begins

to protest to the unnatural movement:

back and forth...back and forth--higher--even higher--too high...

and you lower, back and forth. The whoosh of the wind whispering in your ear

a secret only you can know if you take a ride on the old plastic swing. You can see only forward, but you tilt your head back as your eyelids lose strength and you swing.

As your arms pull the chains for momentum, your legs propel beneath you--

swimming through air pushing--pleading to go higher...please.

Your neck lulls back, sighing to the lullaby

of Mother Nature's breath,

just like a cradle.

Maybe that's why it's so calming--

it takes you back to your younger years when swinging was second nature,

and recess was centered around a set of chains and a plastic seat--a portal to the good days--days when all you had to worry about was the fight for the last blue otter-pop;

those were always the favorite.

That's why swinging is ten times more enjoyable now--

you can let your worries leak out of your ears and just swing--

leave the world behind, or just stop it for a while--and listen to the lullaby

as you gaze into Mother Nature's big blue eyes...

back and forth...higher, higher...

so monotonous,

but sometimes monotony

isn't as bad as people always claim him to be--

at least he's predictable...back and forth...

I like the feeling

as my navel is pulled

by an invisible string--up--

then pulled again in the opposite direction--

down--back and forth...whoosh, but always gentle, smooth.

I like this feeling,

swinging,

I jump on my time portal,

and let Mother Nature tuck me into my cradle

as she sings that all-too-familiar lullaby,

and I drift off

into somewhat of a dream

as I let my cares dissipate into space

and let my mind focus on the sweet flavor

of the blue otter-pop

on my tongue.