Gratitude is Happiness Doubled by Wonder

Today I #GiveThanks that every now and then, Bonnie thinks to take a photo of me! This event with our grandchildren occurred this morning, and I am so grateful to have a memory of it. Since I'm the photography fan, the vast majority of our family photos over the years do NOT include me... so it's great to have one (unsolicited) now and then. We are so fortunate how easy it is to document our lives these days. We all carry a camera with us wherever we go, and thousands of photos are taken where 50 years ago we were lucky to get a few - and today's quality is remarkably better than very expensive cameras of the past. Memories are truly precious, but photographs are so powerful in preserving them!

This was me, earlier this week. I was having a pretty good day, but in the late afternoon, I suddenly had incredible chills. In the photo I was wearing a sweater and a coat, a heavy wool hat, and huddling under a thick blanket, trying to get the chills under control. My fever gradually climbed through the evening. About 24 hours earlier, I had received the first COVID vaccination. This was my confirmation that my body had noticed, and was working to respond! Since I already had antibodies from having been exposed to COVID last November, that may have contributed to how I reacted. Fortunately, after sleeping 9 hours through the night, I felt great the next day. There are plenty of things in this scenario to #GiveThanks for. Aren't our bodies remarkable creations? They have the ability to react to microscopic changes, and in MOST cases, are able to create an appropriate response to return to a normal state. Isn't medical science impressive, in their ability to develop effective ...

  My mother was a fascinating woman, with a broad exposure to the world resulting from extensive and frequent travel. She knew all about various cultures, cuisines, and delicacies. In her later years, she had a series of strokes that made it difficult to remember and communicate. Her world shrank dramatically. I don't recall when she developed a liking for "jelly bellies" - those small, flavorful jelly beans. At some point, I started bringing them to her regularly, usually in the bag of multi-flavor assortments. If her supply ran low, she would remind me, "I need more of those - what are they? - bellies." That was all she remembered. So I would bring her more. She quickly developed a favorite, though. She was always delighted to come across the light green ones with dark green spots among the assortment. I had already developed a preference for the "juicy pear" variety myself, so it was interesting that both of us discovered that liking separately! I ...

One year ago today, most of us were pretty blissfully ignorant of the almost unprecedented crisis we were about to embark on. We all had begun to hear some of the concerns. It would be the next day, March 11, that WHO would declare COVID-19 a pandemic. But almost all of us underestimated the impact on us individually and collectively. One year ago today Bonnie and I were in southeastern Paraguay, doing interviews with wheelchair recipients. This was one of our favorite assignments. These people had all come into contact with us because of challenges resulting from disease, accidents, birth defects, or age. Many had experienced suffering that most of us can barely imagine. Our assignment was to conduct a short interview about the process that our in-country partners followed in sharing the chair, to ensure that the policies established by the Church and WHO for wheelchair donations were followed; and to evaluate the condition and performance of the chair and make sure it is still servi...

I don't particularly love having a needle jabbed in my arm. But I try to donate blood as frequently as possible, because I know how much good it does. Over 33 years ago I was the recipient of donated blood when I was going through some serious surgery. I've never forgotten the gratitude I felt to the anonymous donor(s) who made a difference for me. So I suppose I am "paying it back" in a sense. For years, I didn't qualify to donate; once enough time had passed after my cancer, it was very nice to be permitted to contribute. Now I have COVID antibodies, so it's especially nice to share! Today I received a notification that my most recent donation had been sent to a hospital in Puerto Rico. (I love that Red Cross allows you to track your "blood journey.") For some reason, this struck me particularly strong. Four years ago we had the chance to visit Puerto Rico; it was a beautiful and fascinating area. Six months after we were there, hurricane Maria dev...

My #GiveThanks post today is obviously in honor of International Women's Day. I have been profoundly blessed by the women in my life, many of whom filled in through my youth when no male counterpart was available: my mother, my two grandmothers, my four sisters. Add to that my wife and my daughter, each of whom has been an immeasurable joy and blessing to me. I am a fortunate man who would not be who I am, where I am, today without the influence of these nine good women! And now, the trend continues with five of our seven grandchildren (counting the one we'll meet in about five weeks) being granddaughters...

Inca, my sweet border doodle, frequently comes to where I am sitting and puts her head on my leg, looking up at me with those warm brown eyes, wagging her tail like crazy. She wants me to pet her, to scratch behind her ears. It seems to bring her immeasurable joy. Such a simple gesture for me, that seems to matter so much to her! How important is it to be acknowledged, recognized, appreciated? It means a lot to my dog. It also means a lot to people. We like to be seen and noticed, to feel we matter. I love this insight from a former church leader: "I find myself hungering and thirsting for just a word of appreciation or of honest evaluation from my superiors and my peers. I want no praise; I want no flattery; I am seeking only to know if what I gave was acceptable." (Spencer W. Kimball, "Evaluate Your Performance," Improvement Era Nov 1969, p. 27; TSWK 489) It's not about praise and flattery, building the ego - at least, it shouldn't be. It's about want...