Adele's 'Talk Story'

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

My New NYC BFFs

For youth conference, my girls and I stayed at the Orton's house up north in Inwood (close to the Bronx). They were so kind and very hospitable, especially considering that each night we arrived late and left early the next morning.

The first night we arrived, 3 of the Orton children greeted us as we exited the elevator on their floor and wanted to know everything about us. Sister O (who, btw, is 3 years older than I am...again, feeling old!) met us with Lily, their young daughter with Down syndrome, and welcomed us into their home. And guess who became my first best friend forever (BFF) in that house? Yep. Lily! She sat on my lap, tugged on my hand to follow her to play in her room, got angry when any of the other children started to talk to me, and so on. I was enamored with her, and she with me.

Later, however, I had another new BFF in SJ, a bright, talented, 10-yr-old girl with lots of energy. She sat next to me at the table during a brief time when Lily had wandered off. SJ saw my claddagh ring and asked if it was a different kind of CTR ring. I told her about the symbols of the claddagh and what it meant worn on the right hand versus the left. When I mentioned it being worn on the left hand and that someday when I get married I would like to have that as my wedding ring, she asked me seriously, "But aren't you too young to get married?" Her comment made my day! I laughed and told her that it was very sweet of her to think that I was one of the youth, but that I was actually their leader and was her mom's age. SJ told me I didn't "look as old as a mom" (LOL). How old are moms supposed to look?, I wonder.

SJ then asked if I'd like to see the drawings in the room she shares with her siblings. Wow! That little girl is very talented! What impressed me more than even her drawings (which were awesome) was what she had on her wall: pictures from The Friend magazine, sayings from inspiring leaders, and short paragraphs of stories she read in The Friend that she rereads to herself every day so she can remember to be kind to her siblings and other people. And this girl is only 10 years old!

The last night we stayed with the Orton family, we arrived too late and left too early the next morning to see the kids (they'd already gone to bed), so we didn't get to say goodbye. But SJ left us a drawing! Isn't it great?

SJ's picture for us

Monday, July 2, 2012

The Fountain of Youth

I spent most of last week as the "ma" (i.e., female leader) of a group of about 7 young people who attended the New York LDS stake's youth conference.

Youth conference was awesome. And exhausting. And fun. And did I mention tiring? I don't have the stamina of teenagers: all of the late nights, VERY early mornings, and lots of trekking all over Manhattan is too much for an old person like me. Yet, I was blessed with the strength to keep going...until I could stop. And then I slept for a LONG time.

There were about 70 young people who attended, split into 10 "families" each with a female leader (aka "ma") and a male leader (aka "pa"). Except for Friday night when we camped out at Inwood Hills park, we stayed over at other homes--all the boys going with the "pa" to one apartment, and all the girls in the family going with the "ma" to another place. I'll share with you in another post some of my experiences staying with my girls at the Orton family's apartment in Inwood.

Me with David (my 1st partner) and all the "kids"

Some interesting bits from the past week ('cuz there is too much, lemme sum up):

Being around all of the youth (ages 13 to 17) made me feel young again. And as I focused on serving them, I forgot about my problems. What job search? What diminishing bank account?
Seeing so much of Manhattan! Roosevelt Island, Times Square, Union Station, Central Park, Inwood Hills park (the place where the Hudson and the East rivers meet--which looks like it should be in upstate New York, not in Manhattan), Grand Central Station, Wall Street, and so on.
Assisting the youth in my family as we did baptisms for the dead in the Manhattan temple. I got to be the towel girl and provide towels to each of the youth as they exited the font--and I received quite a few wet hugs. Very special.
Providing the content for genealogy classes (including the handouts and Power Point presentations) and then seeing the 5 youth facilitators teach the others about how to research their ancestors. Incredible!
Helping my group register to use new.FamilySearch.org...and noticing that most of them were born the year I graduated from high school. (That made me feel VERY old!)
Associating with the other leaders and finding some kindred spirits and other quirky people like me.
Dancing on a boat cruise around the East River. 'Nuff said.

Sunset from the deck of the boat. You can see the Statue of Liberty and other boats in the river. Pic taken by Christian, one of my "kids."

When Things Don't Go As You Planned

When things you've been planning for ages don't go as you planned, how do you act / react? How do you feel about yourself?

Does it make you want to run and hide (like Moss tries to do)? To where do you run when you feel like this? What or who can help you stop hiding / running?