Families are the Greatest

Last night I was supposed to study for a test I was going to take today.  That didn't happen, and honestly, I'm not even a little upset about it.  I managed to get the day off from work yesterday (miracles people), so the plan was to work on homework all day and go to bed early.

Well, that plan came to a screeching halt when the first little pitter patter came running through the door accompanied by "Meggy! Meggy!"  Obviously I couldn't ignore a 2 year old who came in the door saying my name!  So I played with her and her sister for about an hour before another pitter patter came running through the door.  Jayden came and started playing with us and we all had dinner together.  

After dinner, I started playing with these touchable bubble things we have.  Guys, they are seriously so fun! It was pretty easy to blow them up for 2, sometimes 3 depending on attention level, little kids.  But then the little pitter patter came running in the door again.  All of the nieces and nephews over at once?!  Ya right I'm actually going to do homework.  I was definitely the favorite, until I popped one of the bubbles while I was blowing it up of course. 

Once all of the kids had gone home, I realized homework wasn't going to happen.  So what did I do?  Played the piano and watched the new episode of Grey's Anatomy.  So, the test taking didn't happen today.  It will on Monday, accompanied with a $5 late test fee.  Should I care about that?  Probably.  Do I?  Not at all.  Because I love my family, and seeing them makes my day so much better.  They will always be there to support and love me, and I know that if I ever need anything from any of them they will gladly drop what they are doing to come help me.  Families are forever, and I definitely couldn't be any more grateful for that.

(First of all, Shawn's face is the cutest thing to ever exist.  Second, considering the fact we are missing 4 children we should probably get new family pictures Mom). ;)

Grandma

My Grandma Malan was the most amazing person.  I constantly hear stories about her church callings, her kindness, and her love for everyone around her.  I have been at the temple countless times and have people recognize my name and tell me about how my Grandma affected them.  I have always looked up to her even though I never really had the privilege of knowing her.  

My sweet Grandma passed away about 2 1/2 years ago.  Even though I grew up with her around me, I never truly knew my Grandma because she was diagnosed with Dementia when I little.  I grew up knowing my Grandma was a great person, but unfortunately only seeing little glimpses of her personality.  

When my Grandma passed away, it was very bittersweet for me.  I was so happy that she was finally able to be free from her body and able to go live with Heavenly Father, but it was really hard for me to hear my family reminisce and tell all of these stories from Grandma Malan while I didn't have a single one.  I almost felt guilty participating in her funeral when there were so many other people who loved her so much.

My participation in her funeral involved playing the piano for a musical number.  My dad chose an arrangement of If You Could Hie to Kolob by Marshall McDonald that I had been playing for a while.  As I was practicing for the funeral, I questioned if that was really the right song to play.  It was one of my dad's least favorite hymns and it didn't really have any meaning to any of us, but my dad chose it so I finished preparing it for the funeral.

Grandma's funeral was amazing.  It was incredible to see how many people loved my Grandma.  Of course, at the same time, that was terrifying for me.  I am a very shy person who really doesn't like to be the center of attention.  So ya know,,, piano solos were not terrifying at all.  Oh wait...  Once I started playing the song, it was like I was in my own little world and there was no one else around.  I was so relieved when I made it through the song.  

Because my Grandma was in the General Young Women's Presidency, Sister Elaine Dalton was one of the speakers at her funeral.  When she got up to speak, she read a verse of the hymn I played on the piano.

There is no end to glory;

There is no end to love;

There is no end to being;

There is no death above.

There is no end to glory;

There is no end to love;

There is no end to being;

There is no death above.

All of the sudden, everything made sense.  I knew why I played that song for the musical number, and I was so happy I did.  When these lyrics were read, a peace came over me.  Listening to those lyrics made me realize that even though I didn't have the chance to really get to know my Grandma in this life, I will have plenty of time in the next.  Until then, I will always think of the amazing example she is to me when I hear If You Could Hie to Kolob or see a little lamb with a black nose. 

I love you Grandma, thanks for watching over me and teaching me how to be an example to everyone around me.

Decisions are the Worst

To anyone bugged by run on sentences, excessive use of commas, and sentences that start with so, I apologize in advance.  I'm not a writer, and I definitely am not the type to usually do something like this.  But I decided I wanted to try something new and starting a blog is what won.  Who knows, maybe I will give up on the whole thing in a week ;)

I am a musician.  I always have been, and I always will be.  I don't know why I am so drawn to music, but I definitely am.  Here's the problem... I am drawn to so many other things as well.  I love math and science.  Politics is ridiculously interesting to me.  I love doing people's hair.  I was that weird kid who watched cake decorating shows on food network when I was 12 years old.  All of these interests have made me think they will eventually be a career at one point or another in my life.  Math teacher, hair stylist, cake decorator, chemistry teacher, politician, choir teacher, biochemist.  When the time came to start applying for college, I realized I had to actually choose a career.  Not cool!  I hate decisions, especially when it is something I am going to have to live with my entire life.  When those final college applications were sent in, I was all over the idea of biochemistry.  Until one day in seminary when everything changed and I realized I needed to go into music education so I could teach choir instead.  You are probably thinking that is a pretty big change.  No worries, I did too.  Anyway, I decided I was going to BYU and started setting up my path in order to be accepted into the music education program.

Then, over the summer, I started working in the Education department at Thanksgiving Point.  It was perfect!  I had a job that gave me experience in Education, and had so much fun doing it!  Things were going great, and I felt so good about my decision.

But... you guessed it.  That great feeling started to go away.  What was I thinking?!  Music is slowly being taken out of school.  By the time I graduate, am I even going to have a job?  Am I even good enough to be accepted into the Music Education program?  I said so many prayers asking if I had made the right decision, and the answer was always yes.  So, I pushed the thoughts away and continued to be excited for my new adventure.

Unfortunately, my new adventure came to a screeching halt when previous wrist injuries came back with a vengeance.  I quickly realized that no matter how much I wanted to, my wrists were not going to allow for me to play the piano all day.  In translation, there was no way Music Education was going to happen anymore.

So, I was back at square one.  I needed a new major, but which one?  Nothing felt right.  Then one day it clicked.  I loved my job.  I loved everything I got to do at work every single day.  I loved being able to see a child's face light up when they looked at skull with me and figured out which animal it came from.  I realized that I wanted to teach these things to kids every single day.

Now, my major is Elementary Education.  I don't know if I will actually end up graduating with that degree.  Heaven knows I have changed majors a ridiculous amount of times.  What I do know is I am happy.  I love my job.  I love my ward.  I love college.  I love where I am at in my life right now.  Most of all, I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is always willing to answer our prayers, even if it is about changing majors 18,000 times.