A Geno Wha?

I didn't know and, quite frankly, I didn't care about what a genogram was before this assignment. I always left the family history to my grandparents and thought, "Well, until they are gone or no longer capable of doing it, I might as well leave it to them! After all, they've got all of the time in the world." But as I've been completing this assignment, I've been calling family. I have found out some very interesting things about my family. It really gives me something to think about. In fact, it got me thinking so much that I went so far as to ask my grandmas, as far as they had seen in their own marriages and in that of their children's, what makes a successful marriage successful and vice versa? Both of them said "communication", imagine that. It's sad and ironic how everybody says that but so many marriages fail because of a lack of communication. This project has renewed my determination to be the best wife I can be, be honest and open with my husband, and to treat him the way a loving and loved husband should be.

We're Only a Child Once

During this past week we've talked about different social classes and the functions of family withing those classes. For one of the assignments, we were required to watch a couple of movies. One of these movies was about a woman named Tammy. Tammy was extremely near the bottom of the social food chain (so to speak) if not at the very bottom, she had no car so she walked the ten miles to Burger King where she worked, and that was her only income. She wasn't able to be home with her children, and when she was home she was performing the basic responsibilities because that was all she had time for.
It touched my heart when she was talking about how she still dreamed of being a teacher. This woman didn't have the best grammar, nor did she have the resources to get the schooling for a teaching license. But I admire so much her ability to continue dreaming regardless of her meager circumstances. And it was so sad that her sons not only didn't respect her or thank her for the things she sacrifices for them, but they their future prospects for education and a middle-class lifestyle because of their limited opportunities. So, although he was disrespectful, rude, and judgmental, I also admire her older son's ambition in his goals to graduate from college. I can't imagine how that would be! It's things like this that remind me how incredibly blessed I am and I'm so so grateful.

Things Are Just Things

This week in class we were talking about the different reactions of parents when kids spilled or broke things. I'm not proud of this but I have to admit that I used to be the type of person who, when my younger siblings would make a mess, would yell and get angry. I always always ALWAYS felt terrible afterwards and then would do it again the next time my siblings misbehaved. I hate to think that I used to do that but what's the good in regretting? One day, however, when I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting, my bishop was talking about his grandchildren. While reflecting back on a time when they broke something in his house that was very valuable he said, "When you have grandchildren, you realize that things are just things." I realized just then the truth of his words and that happiness for everyone resulted only when I held my temper and made the best out of the situation. I'm proud to say now that I can't remember the last time I yelled at one of my siblings and our relationships have gotten so much stronger than they were before. I'm so grateful for that! It was an epiphany and I felt like the Lord was talking right to me and referring to my short temper with His children. I'm especially grateful to have learned this now because I'll have mastered it just a little more by the time they come around.