Memo from Mom: October

Hey there amazing family!

 

I am so very blessed to have each of you in my life!  You are the best part of every day, and I am grateful for your influence.

 

Recently there has been a commercial on TV that I have really loved.  I think it's for insurance or something like that - but you've probably seen it.  There is a man in a restaurant who looks out the window and sees a woman sitting on the subway.  Time goes by in his mind at high speed and he sees the future with marriage and a child who goes on to become the president.  He drops everything and runs like crazy to catch the subway and sit next to this woman so he won't miss his chance with her.

 

As much as we would love it, we can't see the future.  We can't see what will happen next year or even in five minutes.  What we can do is run like crazy and influence our future.  If you could see what's ahead and know what it's like to have a spouse and children and love them more than life itself, your life might change right now.  Maybe you would put a bit more effort into your studies.  Maybe you would try harder to make the most of the free time you have.  Maybe you would study the scriptures with more depth, and live the gospel with greater determination.  Maybe you would go to the temple more often.  The future children who are born into your homes may not be the leaders of our country, but maybe they will.  Maybe they will be influential in ways we can't even imagine right now, and you will need to be prepared to teach them at just the right time.  When each of you were born, it was easy to love you, but Dad and I felt a huge responsibility to care for you and teach you in just the right way.  We continue to try to say just the right things and help where we can, but there are definitely things I wish I had done better when I was younger so that I would have been more prepared when you came to our family.  

 

Actually, we don't just improve ourselves for our children.  We also work to be ready for what the Lord has in store for us, and for what we choose to do with our future.  There is so much more choice available for one who makes the most of each day.  Each of you is talented, strong, capable, young, and filled with testimony.  There is nothing holding you back except you. 

 

Think now about what the remarkable possibilities are.  Your potential is endless!  You are children of God, and thus, Gods in embryo.  That is who you will be raising.  May you prepare for the responsibility.

 

Love you forever!

Mom

Another Ben Moment

Hello dear family,

I believe that over the years you have all become accustomed to what we might term "Ben moments". If this term confuses you, I might associate it with other words like microwave, directions, emergency brake, etc. I recognize that I am not the only one in the family having these unique moments (recall Matt's interpretation of Napalm and Mom's late night show), but they are quite funny when they happen. So, here is another.

Anne's visit was great this weekend. We had a wonderful time together and it was hard to take her to the airport at the end of the visit. It was hard to say good-bye and I wondered how long our farewell would be once we got to the airport... it was thirty seconds. We left for the airport two-and-a-half hours early. We got stuck in traffic on the freeway as everyone was apparently going to an NFL game. I began to worry that we would get there too late. We kept going and I worried also about the gas light that had been on since we had been in traffic. Well, we cleared the traffic with an hour and fifteen minutes before Anne's flight and were back on our way when my car stopped accelerating and starting coasting... We got off at the next exit on the momentum from the freeway and Anne used the GPS to find the nearest gas station... one mile away. We kept coasting until we got within 0.5 miles of the gas station. I got out, put the car in neutral, and asked Anne to take the wheel while I pushed. After pushing the car ten feet up a hill, I realized it would not work. So we put on the emergency brake and I sprinted toward the gas station with my thumb out to possibly get a ride. After covering half the distance, a car pulled over and a nice man offered me a ride to the gas station. He took me back to my car as close as he could (it was on an exit) and wished me luck. I sprinted back to the car where Anne was ready with the gas tank open. We filled it, got in, and were back on the way and we arrived thirty minutes before her flight was supposed to leave.

I know Dad will appreciate hearing that there were two cars that passed me before Craig pulled-over. Craig was a nice black man with glasses and a stutter. He offered to take me and Anne all the way to the airport but when I declined, he dropped me as close to my car as possible, wishing he could do more. He was a good Samaritan for me and Anne yesterday.

So I suppose the moral of the story is that we should fill our gas tanks on Saturday night. And we should always be willing to help someone who forgot this simple concept.

Much love to you all,

Benson