The Trial of Accepting Service

After a big start, this week has kept us hopping. By the end of today, the girls will have had three play dates with people in the ward - two involving swimming pools.

Also, our big overgrown back yard was the site of the Young Men service project. One of the leaders has a little tractor with a brush hog on the back, and as with any expensive toy he is always looking for an excuse to use it. Alyssa got to ride on his lap for a few turns. She had a great time.

It's always hard for me to be the subject of a service project. It's not so much the help I mind, but being in a position to need the help. Last summer before we moved, the ward came over to clean the house and yard. There were easily 100 people, half outside ripping weeds and cutting grass, and the other half inside cleaning everything in sight.

While the help was greatly appreciated, I'm still not sure how I got through that episode without a nervous breakdown. I sure felt close several times.

There was no danger of that on Wednesday, though. Having young men cutting our grass/weeds is a lot easier to accept than having the Relief Society scrubbing out our toilets.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Canoe-Paddling Polynesian Guys

Image
We have finally hung a picture on the wall here in our house. The fact that this is a blog-worthy event eighteen months after moving in is, I admit, rather pathetic. But it is also very exciting. I finally feel like we are really moving in. Slowly but surely we're picking away at the projects that need to be done, and (for now) avoiding the temptation to take on any new ones. This picture is called Hoe Kama Kani , which means "paddle with the wind." We found this picture at a home show in Honolulu while we were students, and I just fell in love with it. I stood there and stared at the picture for quite some time, but I simply couldn't justify the $140 price. The salesman told us that they had a smaller print available for much less, but they had sold out at the show. We could look at it if we came by the studio the next week. Unfortunately, the little 8x10 just didn't have the same effect as the full size print. So as you can see, we bit the bullet, got the big on
Read more

Lyme Disease Awareness: Kara's Story

Image
With May being Lyme Disease Awareness Month, I want to share my “story” in hopes that someone will benefit from it – either by letting you know you are not alone or by helping you or someone you love receive a correct diagnosis. I have divided it into chapters so if you need to take a break, you can easily find where you left off. Truthfully, this is only a small snapshot of what I went through.    Chapter 1: The Beginning Up until 1999, I was an active, busy young woman. I was happily married and had a beautiful daughter and another baby on th e wa y. I loved being a mother. I also liked gardening, enjoyed nature and had fun inventing new recipes in the kitchen. Italian food was my favorite thing to make and, above all, eat! Well, that and sushi.   In December 1998 while I was pregnant with daughter #2, I caught some kind of virus or bacterial infection that was going around which turned into bronchitis. I went on antibiotics for it and afterward, never really felt like “m
Read more

Guavalicious Contest Rules

As many of you know, I grew up in Hawaii, in the quaint little village of Laie . Many of you also know that I have been working away at my version of the Great American Novel for the last little while. Due to a bout of homesickness brought on by a cruel Utah winter, my story is set in (surprise) Laie. It was also in Laie that I learned to love the great taste of guava - the same taste I am about to share with a few lucky people in the form of my Guavalicious apple butter. To enter the contest, simply add a comment to this post that completes the following sentence: "A story set in Hawaii simply has to include _____." There are no right or wrong answers. I'm just curious to see what everyone has to say, both "insiders and outsiders". I also think it could be fun to try and use as many of these suggestions as possible. You can make as many as you want, but your name only goes in the hat once. I will add a jar of Guavalicious to the prize pool for every four entr
Read more