I Call That an Insult

Sadness and a smidgen of guilt engulfed me

   as I packed a box of summer clothes

      to store on the top shelf of our closet.

Clothes that are too small - -

   A full 4” from snapping, to be truthful.

Foolishly, we have spent over $20,000

   in the past few years

      in our quest to lose weight.

Not fad diets; but professional dieticians and experts,

      (Who  happened to sell  guaranteed health products.)

We’ve always raised a garden and eaten wholesomely.

   I exercise excessively;

      Not vigorously but consistently.

STILL I GAIN WEIGHT.

   “You’ve not just fat,” my doctor* says bluntly,

      as she checks the chart.

“You’re obese.”

   “I call that an insult,” I thought. 

      (One of Ed’s favorite  sayings.)

I still blame my thyroid or lack thereof,

   but a skinny doctor doesn’t buy that.

Maybe it’s my grandmother’s fault.

 
She died before I was one-year-old
   but from photos, I can see that she was hefty.

  Cheerful, hopeful, hospitable; playful; appreciative of the

      finer things of life, both materially and spiritually.

Even though I don’t remember her,

   I knew most of her sisters who were petite and delicate.

 Grandma, center back, inserted.

If past history prevails,

   next year I’ll donate to D.I. all the clothes

      I packed in the box and stored

         in the top of my closet.

Nearly new clothes too.

   (“Nearly new” to me, is anything

      five years or less or possibly anything
      since Junior High.)

*She also wanted me to take

   Metaforen

   Fosamax &

   Lipitor

I said NO to those too.

One More Day Part II

   Smack-dab in the middle of my sincere quest to clean up, we attended our grandson, Isaak’s, Eagle Court of Honor.

 The Eagles' Nest.  Proud Papa on left.

Grandpa furnished the pizza on the day they planted trees for the big Eagle Project.

That was on Sunday.

   Monday evening, a cloudburst with strong winds, hail, and torrents of rain  pounded us soundly.

   We marveled at the rainbow afterwards.

 According to Genesis, after Noah's flood God put the rainbow in the sky as the sign of His promise that He would never again destroy the earth with flood (Genesis 9:13–17):

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

 Did you know that Joseph Smith promised that the second coming of the Christ would not occur in any year in which a rainbow is seen?

   Until Amy sounded the alarm again, we did not know that muddy water was gushing into the basement from the window well.  At least it was clean water last time.  We didn’t quite have the carpet squares re-laid from our last flood.  Oh, about two weeks ago.

  Before going to bed, we watch the news:

May 20 2013 02:24 pm

MOORE, Okla. • A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 51 people were killed, including at least 20 children, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise.

The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, a community of 41,000 people about 10 miles south of the city. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside. The National Weather Service issued an initial finding that the tornado was an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale, the second most-powerful type of twister.

Tuesday update:

May 21 2013 06:15 am • Updated 2 hours ago

Moore, Okla. • Helmeted rescue workers raced Tuesday to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tornado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of nine children.

Scientists concluded the storm was a rare and extraordinarily powerful type of twister known as an EF5, ranking it at the top of the scale used to measure tornado strength. Those twisters are capable of lifting reinforced buildings off the ground, hurling cars like missiles and stripping trees completely free of bark.

The death toll was revised downward from 51 after the state medical examiner said some victims may have been counted twice in the confusion.

   Our triumphs and troubles suddenly seemed insignificant.

One More Day

After all these years, I’ve never forgotten the quote by President Harold B. Lee: “Thank God for one more day to prepare to meet God.”

That too.

And I don’t mean to be blasphemous,

but I thank God every day I have one more day to get this house organized.

Every since I was inspired by our last renters who left our St. George house so amazingly organized and delightful,

I have been cleaning –

One drawer or shelf or closet a day.

The desk Grandpa Pope crafted.

All the kitchen cabinets, drawers & shelves. . .

The pantry (i.e. shelves on stairs down). .

 Some things got messed up before I thought to take pictures.

Some members of my family seem to specialize in sabotaging me--

not putting spices back alphabetically;

filling empty space w/non-related items--

I wouldn't want to mention any names.

Just know that it's 3 against 1.

The coat closet. . .

The utility closet. . .

Forgive the flaws

for I am not obsessive compulsive,

even though I yearn to be.

The linen closet. . .

 The closet in the spare bedroom. . .

This might not look like much to you.

You should have seen it before.

Window air-conditioning units have to be stored somewhere

in close proximity to the windows--not two floors down.

Desk and nightstand drawers. . .

The shelves at the head of our bed. . .

My dresser. . .

 Jewelry was a jumbled mess before.

Granddaughters get to choose from the surplus,

some dating back to my high school years.

Remember rhinestones?

 

My 92-year-old friend, Sylvia, taught me to roll.  Cool.

DeRay's dresser, which by the way, wins 1st prize for Most Improved. . .

The drawers were stuffed before and now he has an empty one.

Not for long, of course.

The Cedar Chest. . .

The biggest challenge so far:

The Fruit Room. . . . . .

A formidable task.

  Old fruit.  Old dried food. Old cans.

  Old clothes.   Old projects. 

  Old text books; assignments, newspapers.

  Ski clothes, boots, goggles, gloves.

  Empty jugs.  Boxes.  Stuff.

  Records.  Tapes.  VCR’s.  Albums.

Actually, if I could bring myself to throw away the empty boxes,

the room would be half empty.

I can't do it - yet.

What if we were to need them?

Half trash.  Half D.I.able.

I’m glad I didn’t die when I had the bowel blockage

  Or during surgery

  Or fall when I hiked to Angels Landing

  Or down the stairs laden with heavy boxes

  Or get killed in an auto accident

  Or drown or have a stroke or heart attack

  Or wasn’t hit by a car while riding my bike.

Thank God I have one more day to clean this house; and that I’m fit enough to do it.

I’m so thankful it’s not left for someone else to do.

One more day. . .

Afterthought:

The trouble with cleaning up is that you can’t ever find anything.

..I can’t find my cache of  pills for bladder infection.

..When the Scouts came around to sell tickets to the Dutch oven dinner I couldn’t find $16.  There’s always before been money lying all over the house in every drawer and cubbyhole.
..We haven't had hand towels on the back of kitchen chairs to serve as napkins because they are folded so nicely I don't want to mess them up.
..I go into the fruitroom with everything in plain sight and labeled and can’t find what I’m looking for because it’s been moved and categorized.

Hmmmmmmm.