Sunday, February 8, 2009

#4 Service

On my blog where I mentioned the 5 things I like, #5 was Family History, and #4 was doing service. I have enjoyed doing things for other people since I was just a little girl. I was always trying to help my little brother Robby and my friends as well.

I was about 4 or 5 years old, when our neighbor, Mrs Busbee,in Provo asked me if I would help her while she went to the store. Her four children had the chicken pox and she didn't want them to get out of bed. So she asked me if I would stay at their house while she left on her errand. They were all older than me. Her daughter, Donna,who was my friend, was only a few years older, but Donna had three older brothers.

They were very poor. As I recall their house, it was only a three room wooden house with an outhouse for their toilet. I think they even had a pump in the back yard to get their water from.

Well, I thought I was pretty big to be baby sitting kids older than myself. And I see now that they thought it was pretty cute to have a little girl waiting on them hand and foot. They kept asking for water, so I'd have to run out to the pump to get water for them. Then they would say they were too hot, or too cold. I think I was constantly running around whenever they would ask for something or another.

I didn't realize that I must have been Mrs. Busbee's method of keeping the kids from fighting one another and keeping them in bed. They were kept plenty busy just finding things for me to do. As I had already had the chickenpox when I was about 2 years old,I wouldn't catch it from them.

I guess that incident was my first nursing job.

I grew up always wanting to be a nurse because I knew I would enjoy helping other people.

In 1982, the year Christie was in first grade, I got involved with her classroom as a room mother. Her teacher, Mrs Cook, used me almost every day in listening to the various kids read. She, herself, had two first graders at home, and she said that after listening to her class read the same stories over and over, that she had a hard time going home and hearing those same stories all over again with her children. So, I listened to the kids read, ran papers off on the copier, helped the students with their projects, almost every morning.

That spring, I was nominated by the PTA to be the president-elect of MarLon Hills Elementary. However, before school started in the fall, the president bowed out as she was expecting a baby, and I became the PTA president without ever having any experience with PTA other than volunteering in a classroom.

From there, I was involved with PTA for about 10 years until I started watching Mackenzie, Marissa and Gavin and it was too difficult to take them all to the meetings with me.

One time, Christie said to me,"Mom, you are so popular!" I asked her why she thought that and she replied, "Because you are president of so many things." (I had been a Primary president twice, DUP Camp and Company President, and PTA president at MarLon, South Jr, and Council President) I laughed and responded, "No Christie, I'm not popular, I'm just someone they know will accept a job that no one else wants to do."

I really enjoy sharing my time and my talents helping others. For some time I have been involved with humanitarian projects for the LDS Church. I enjoy looming hats, making stuffed bears, crocheting leper bandages, and making and tieing quilts for the project.

Recently I started to index census and vital statistic records for the FamilySearch indexing project. Knowing that it will help others with their family history, makes my efforts all the more rewarding.

On the Humanitarian web site there is a quotation from President Gordon B Hinckley which says: “All about us there are many who are in need of help and who are deserving of rescue. Our mission in life, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, must be a mission of saving. There are the homeless, the hungry, the destitute.”

I have been blessed in my life with so many good things. I have a wonderful husband, great children and great in-law children, and exceptionally wonderful grandchildren. I had a good education. I have a very nice home. I have all that I need. With that said, I know it is my obligation to give and share with others so they may feel the blessings I have. I would like it if my posterity will feel the same way about the good things they will have and will have a desire to share theirs with those less fortunate.