The age of books is quickly being replaced by electronic toys. From reading off Kindles to listening to audio versions on an Ipod, stories are continuing to be shared but sadly the physical connection is becoming obsolete.

As a young girl, I loved to pick out a new adventure from the city library. I would find a comfortable spot under a willow tree or the mouth of a cave and explore a new life story. Having the book physically in my hands gave me the feeling of belonging. Smelling the pages and feeling the coarse paper kept me connected. I felt I had every right to be involved in the story and the lives of the characters.

As a young girl I spent the summer with my ‘Honey’ grandma. The day I left to go back home, she slipped the following note into my hand as we hugged goodbye.

In her honor I created the following scrapbook page. She always dreamed of being part of the stories in far away adventures. So in this page I have put her literally into the pages of her favorite book.

 

Honey Grandma's House

Spending time at my grandma Honey’s house as a child, still brings a smile to my face. Honey never ‘went all out’ to entertain my sister and I, she just let us live her day.

We lingered in to morning over breakfast and crossword puzzles. The foods Honey made were always delicious, and I have never been able to duplicate them. For example, for breakfast she served chocolate waffle cookies with sprinkled powdered sugar. It was years later, I learned that her handmade mix was from true cocoa, wheat and applesauce—a very hearty breakfast. What a tricky grandma.

We ate strawberries from her garden, while she selected her daily dining room table flowers. From iris and hollyhocks to pansies and roses, Honey had a beautiful garden in full bloom all summer long.

Walks took us to the corner store for popsicles and fresh fruit. Honey knew everyone in her neighborhood and a cheerful chat would inevitably interrupt our walk.

After lunch and a game of Chinese Checkers, we shared with Honey her favorite daytime show — “The Edge of Night”. This activity brought my grandmother into a new light for me. For that hour she was not our grandma, but a girlfriend enjoy a soap opera.

Honey made quilting, tatting, and embroidery work pleasurable and praised the projects we worked on. She included us in the projects she was working on and patiently worked our stitches into the designs as if they belonged.

After dinner, we would sit on her porch and look out over the city. The bustling people and speeding cars had no idea the peaceful day these two little girls had — living a day with Honey.

Tucked into bed, we whispered excitedly about what to expect the next day — living a day with Honey Grandma.

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day this year is on Sunday. I’m going to celebrate proactively.  I don’t mean literally spend the night on the street to secure a good seat for the Parade. I mean study the trek itself. Instead of feeling sorry for the hardships the Saints went through, I choose to learn from their struggles and achievements. Though I don’t have to “trek” across the country, I see and encounter many of the same situations they experienced. How did they cope with loss, fatigue, hunger? What gave them the strength to walk all day and still be able to dance at night? How were they able to get along with their travel companions, especially knowing that once they arrive in the Valley these same people will be their neighbors.

Empowered through their trek experience, I choose to travel through hardship dancing. I choose to get along with my travel companions and be excited knowing they will still be with me after I arrive at my destination. With this attitude I see why this particular parade is a huge celebration of accomplishment. But it has been a trial to even keep the parade going.

Brigham Young led the first company of pioneers into the Great Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847. In 1849, they commemorated their arrival at the site of a future temple. Brigham Young led a procession from his home to Temple Square. Under the bowery, Young presided over a devotional full of both religious reverence and zeal. The celebration ended with a thanksgiving feast for a bountiful harvest and the blessings of a merciful God.


From these obscure but auspicious beginnings, Pioneer Day has grown into one of the largest regional celebrations in the United States. Pioneer Day was celebrated as a birthday, an independence day, and a thanksgiving day for the Latter-day Saint people. Celebrations include parades, devotionals, sporting events, feasts, dances, excursions, and reunions. The following historical vignettes define the varied meanings of Pioneer Day.


In 1857:

Several thousand Mormons gathered in the mountains east of Salt Lake City for the 10th anniversary of their arrival. What started as the largest and most exuberant public displays of Mormonism to date ended when the celebrants became aware of the approach of Johnston's Army, which initiated the tense but essentially non-violent Utah War.


During the subsequent "federal occupation" of Utah, Pioneer Day was celebrated little, if at all. Once the tension had subsided, however, the Mormons renewed celebrating their heritage. The observance of Pioneer Day expanded as the Mormon Culture Region filled the Intermountain West.

1880:

Mormons commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Church’s formal organization. Tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints in hundreds of communities participated in this jubilee, which was as enthusiastic a celebration as the Mormons had ever created.

 

1886:
The following years saw anti-polygamy persecutions. Pioneer Day celebrations were subdued during this period. The 1886 celebration was particularly poignant. The tabernacle on Temple Square was draped in black, as for a funeral, and pioneers and church leaders who were in hiding or prison for "unlawful cohabitation" were eulogized for their devotion to the cause.

1897:
Jubilantly, the Mormons celebrated not only the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers, but also the completion of the Salt Lake Temple, Utah statehood, and the end of anti-polygamy persecutions.

Pioneer Days 1946

29 Palms, CA

In the twentieth century, Pioneer Day increasingly reflected the growing cultural diversity. To Mormons, the celebration brings to mind the pioneers of 1847. To the society as a whole, the day honors the building of the society by “pioneers” of many eras and backgrounds.

 1966 - Murray, UT

1969 - Mapleton, UT

 1977 - Spokane, WA

 

Thanks mom, for keeping us involved in this event every year. Now I understand that the Day’s of ’47 Parade is more than a walk downtown in pioneer clothes surrounded by bands. I cherish the celebration and sharing with others the gratitude for strong determination.

Who Am I?

With my youngest daughter starting college and my other daughters married, I have involuntarily been pushed into a new stage of life. Over the past months, I have mourned the absence of having my little ones around, as they bustled from jobs to school and dates to friends. I found myself consumed with their lives, hoping for a return to the family life I remember. With the birth of my first grandbaby and preparations for another daughter getting married, I found myself hurting and mourning realizing that I am no longer the center of their world.

So, I threw myself into my occupation to boost my self-esteem and give me something to talk about with friends and family. It didn’t take long to realize this was a shallow, fleeting attempt at finding self-worth.

Having experienced being a daughter, sister, wife, ex-wife, mother, mother-in-law, stepmother, grandmother, student, teacher, coach, homemaker, breadwinner, employee, employer, friend, neighbor, confident, leader, follower, journalist, author, genealogist . . . I have been defined by many people to be many things. Now I face the hardest stage for me — defining who I am now?

Finally, I have accepted the fact that life is:

• too short to live in the past

• too precious to live precociously

• too freeing to let work define me

As I define this new stage of my life, I choose to give up the responsibilities that are no longer mine, turn the sadness of loss into the joy of beginning anew and enjoy the fruits of earlier labors by empowering those in my current circle of influence.

So, here’s to life all over again!

Feel free to drop me a line on where you are in your life cycle. Are you in the middle of juggling responsibilities with no end in sight? feeling the pressure of having to climb an impossible mountain with college, divorce, abandonment, or completely smothered as life passes you by?

Write your personal mission statement for where you are in life today. Feel free to download the “Who?” graphic to write your statement on. Place it somewhere you will see it every day.

Let’s chat next week about empowerment, giving our mission statements strength.