54 - The New Thirty

Turning 30 was pretty traumatic. That's why I say I'm 29...in fact I've said it so often I've started to believe it! Or maybe I AM getting old and I can't remember my real age. Who would have thought it would come to this?

• 18 - Married
• 19 - 1st child
• 24 - Last child
• 30 - Children all in school
• 40 - 1st Child married
• 42 - Last child leaves for college
• 43 - 1st grandchild
• 45 - Last child married
• 45 - Leave for mission
• 48 - Return from mission
• 53 - All children have children - 12 grandchildren ages 7mo. to 10 years

Being a mother was consuming physically and emotionally. It was a time of great focus and purpose that sometimes seems lacking in my life now. The rewards of motherhood far outweigh the sacrifice, especially now that it is in the past to a large degree. The distance from those day to day pressures have given increased understanding to what eternal joy really means.

As parents, the goal of raising responsible, righteous, intelligent and independent children is an intense time of life. Dan and I were very blessed to have children with strong spirits talented in those (and many other) areas. There is a great sense of joy that for our feeble efforts the Lord rewarded us with remarkable children. If I can boast of any "accomplishment" in life it is them. They have been my education and my career. They now nurture their own children who are so precious and dear to me that words cannot express my love for them.

So now, at 54, where does that leave me? Sometimes I feel I need more purpose, more feeling of accomplishment doing something important. I hope that my "education" and "work experience" can have value. Then I realize, it does.

• 54 - Wife. Mother. Grandmother. Daughter of God.

I still have my whole life ahead of me.

Snow Dance 2009 Meets With 100% Success

Oh Yeah! We did it kids! The snow dance worked. From Dallas to St. George, Boise and Vancouver who can doubt the power of the snow dance?

Thanksgiving Family Reunion

http://www.tmcustomportraits.com/proofs/Jensen

We had such a wonderful time being together and the days went by way too fast. The kids played together amazingly well and stayed in the basement which was very convenient for us adults! Eat, talk, eat, talk, repeat. The food was plentiful and we have much to be thankful for. We watched BYU win in overtime over Utah - life just doesn't get better than that!

Family pictures came together relatively easily, special thanks to those who planned the clothing.

We are just so blessed as a family! Here are words to a song by Michael McLean that came to my mind as it all drew to a close...

Well, it's hard to say goodbye and let go.
And it's hard to see it end.
When the memories we've just made may never happen again.
But it's harder for time to ever erase,
The together times we've shared.
So, when we're apart remember
All the love we've shared together;
And for all that love,
Thank the Lord above who showed us the way
That we can be together forever someday.
We can be together forever someday.

Barbeque Slug Fest

I'm not sure how it started, but for the family reunion we had a talent show where the subject was "Barbecue Slugs". Each family developed an act for the subject. All of them turned out imaginative and we had lots of fun watching the acts and laughing our heads off. Raps, rock and primary songs were great - but I have to share the words for this one Angel & Brad came up with. It is set to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies...

Let me tell you a story about a man named Dan
In a "Micky Dee's" is where it all began
He had mad skills cookin' on the "Bar-bee"
And that's how he won the heart of Beverly!

Church that is...

Well they got hitched and had a family
Money was tight and they were hungry
So off Dan went to hunt 'em some food
When up from the ground come a slitherin' crude.

Slugs that is..."Washington Prime"...

Well home he came with 'em all in his hat
Beverly said "What the Heck is that?"
He said "Not sure, but I think it's food,
So grab some buns an' fire up the Bar-B-Que!"

Don't forget the Salt!

So now each year the story's told
To all our kin both young and old
How Bar-B-Que Slugs came to be-e-e-e...
The best tradition of the Jensen Family!

Then they danced a hoe-down and played air ukulele. It was great!
You all come back now, ya-hear?

Flash Forward

What if we could see into the future?
What might we do different?
If we saw today, in the past, how might that have affected our choices?

The death of a friend and a new series on television has sparked some thoughts on this subject...

I have tried in the past to claim I am 29, but when 7-year-old grandchildren scoff, "Oh Nonna, you are 50 something" the gig is up. As 100 years (with the millennium) is a best case scenario it is clear that my life is at least half over.
Recently a friend in our ward passed away unexpectedly. He died on a Sunday evening, having been in perfect health and attending church that morning. He was 10 years older than Dan. Although we feel we are young and have many more years together, our friend's passing reminds us that each day is a gift. We've always hoped that the millennium would come before we had to face the reality of mortality.
The passing of our friend has changed how I see my life. The current "holding pattern" of health, security and companionship will someday come to an end. To consider if I had only 10 more years to be together with my husband would be frightening, but to naively think that life will never change is unwise.
What if we could see into the future?
I think that my entire life I have looked to the future as the cure all for unhappiness, stress and frustrations. Whether it was finding the perfect husband, getting the kids out of diapers or serving a mission with my husband - the future always held the promise of happiness. My perspective is changing now. Although I don't want to be that grandma that sits on the couch and talks about the past, the future will have a hard time beating it. Now more than ever I want to treasure the time that is now.

In my deep thinking mode a few nights ago, it was almost as if I was transported back in time. Remembering myself in our first apartment, sleeping on our hand-me-down bed, eating on a garage sale table and sitting on a D.I. reject couch. I was so happy to have found the perfect man, my new life was just beginning. I had lofty dreams and goals, but never would I have imagined the journey ahead. The places I've been, homes I've lived in, the things I've owned - all beyond my wildest dreams. But they are not what I remember, what I cherish. Not even a Sleep Number bed and two dressers can compare with the love of my life, Daniel and our children. Life brings us amazing experiences, many more than we imagined at 18 and 21 when we began our journey together.
Reflecting on the past, then flash forward to now - I realize that life moves quickly in retrospect, while crawling slowly, tentatively, in the present. Although some of the "experiences" are ones we wish didn't happen, they have all worked together to create the reality of today.
Today is wonderful!

Ode to Drixoral

Oh! Drixoral, Drixoral. Wherefore art thou Drixoral?

'Ere once I openly met thee at the drugstores,

silently thou didst creep behind the counter.

Doest thou lay in slumber whilst I lay in agony?

Oh, my little green m&m pill!

Thou hast brought me relief in my youth when

I took thee into mine abode and cherished thee within my closet.

Never didst I abuse thee.

Ever did I beg thee to keep the formulation of thy youth.

I need thee!

My nose drips, my head throbs, there is no other who can take thy place.

Care ye not for my suffering? Is my searching to be in vain?

No more in the cold & allergy rack.

Not to be found behind the counter.

I journey the land seeking to find your hiding place,

Willing to sacrifice identity and gold to again possess thee, yet I depart empty handed.

I plea to the powers of the FDA and pharmaceuticals!

Enduring commercials for diseases previously unknown are but a minor irritation.

Gladly will I seek my medical professionals advice.

Please tell me where I can find thee once again, Drixoral.

Drixoral. Thy name is hope to me.

It is air in my nostrils, clearness of head and mind.

Drixoral, Drixoral! Please return to me, thy truest friend.

A Blessed Event

Here is a picture of Ellie.

She is a smiler!

On August 2, 2009 our son, Brian gave a name and blessing to our precious grandchild. She was given the name Aelizia Laralei. What a wonderful event for our family. We gathered at our house afterwards to celebrate with lasagna and lots of baby holding. Ellie wore Laralei's blessing gown and is so beautiful we can never get enough of her!