This Guy

 

When people ask where we met, we can say with all honesty, that we met in the nursery of the Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, Utah, on December 31, 1953.  We don’t remember that, but we know with surety that it is true.

 

Back in those days, mothers stayed in the hospital for 10 days after having a baby.  Gary was born on December 27 and I on December 31.   There is even a great likelihood that we were right next to each other if they placed us alphabetically.

 

Then we met up again in Mrs. Roberts 5^th grade class at Wasatch Elementary.   And Look at that, we were right next to each other then.  Wow, I see so many of my friends in this class picture!

 

We were friends within a group of boys and girls for several years, but I distinctly remember being at the 4^th of July Carnival in Provo, in the summer of 1967, and making a decision.  I decided that I was going to make Gary #1 on my “list,” because “he was cute and didn’t drink and smoke.” 

 

On October 31 of that year, as we were out trick or treating with a group, he ripped off a part of the grocery sack he was carrying his candy in, made it into a ring shape, and asked me to “go with him.”

 

We had some on and off moments.  And, after reading through some of the hilarious diary entries from those Jr. High years to Gary last night, there were quite a few “off” moments where I said “he made me so mad” and he was “ignorant.”  

Our 2 Year Halloween Anniversary 1969 (16)

We dated almost exclusively through high school, with a few break-ups here and there (Probably because he was being “ignorant.”) 

 

But he is the only one I’ve ever had eyes for,

and that hasn’t changed to this day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Good Perfect Storm "of Sorts"

Lately I have been following and reading much information about documenting.  Documenting my life and the lives of those I love.  I’ve done some of that – diaries, journals, a blog, some history.  But the nudge has been for me to do something more.

 I ran across Becky Higgins #mymodernstory on Instagram.  She makes it easy with a template. Write a few feelings, add some photos. It doesn’t have to be perfect.  So, a week ago I tried it and wrote about my experience with hearing.  I shared it with Gary and with our daughters.

When I heard that President Nelson was giving a devotional at 11 am Thursday, I really wanted to listen.  So, I set an alarm to remind me to tune in. 

 

Yesterday, after dropping my grandson and his wife off at the airport, I stopped by my favorite store to visit when I am in Salt Lake.  Orson Gygi’s.  For me that is like being a kid in a candy store.  (All those kitchen gadgets, and baking supplies, and cute décor, well what can be better?)

So that was where I was when my alarm went off.  I quickly made my way to the checkout so I could listen in the car.  There in the parking lot, I listened to this inspired man, with tears streaming down my face.  And then I listened again, with resolve.

 

So why is this a “Perfect Storm” (of sorts). 

1) Because, here was a man, who I know to be a Prophet, and who I am so grateful for, asking us to flood social media for 7 days about feelings of gratitude. 

2) I had the #mymodernstory about my hearing right there on my phone, and it was about gratitude.  So I took courage and posted it on Facebook and Instagram.

Now, I am not diligent at doing all the good things I should be doing.  But this is something I could so.  I could continue to respond to the nudge with #mymodernstory, and I could follow the President Nelson’s suggestion to flood social media with gratitude for 7 days.

Another little side blessing. This morning Gary looked at my receipt from Orson Gygi’s and asked, so how much did you spend there? I didn’t tell Gary this, but he, too, needs to be grateful to President Nelson for cutting my shopping time in half. 

 

 

Of Great Value to You

 At physical therapy (for my broken arm) I was on the exam table, with my feet facing the wall, doing my arm exercises.  I heard my therapist from somewhere behind me in the large room say, “Are you doing Ok, Annette.”  I replied “Yes” and then had a thought pop into my mind. I was amazed.  I could not see him, read his lips (which I can’t do right now with facemasks, anyway), and was not anticipating being spoken to.  Yet I heard him! 

That may not seem strange to most people, but to me it is a part of a miracle.  I have always had hearing loss.   

In kindergarten or 1^st grade the whole class would sit in a circle while an audiologist would call us to the middle one at a time to take a hearing test.  I recall my deep embarrassment when I didn’t raise my hand when I should have because I couldn’t hear the sounds.  

I was pulled out of class once in Jr. High to meet with the audiologist.  In an effort to convince me to try a hearing aid, he said, “Don’t you want to be able to hear the sweet nothings a boy will whisper in your ear.”  I remember thinking, “Yeah, who wants to whisper sweet nothings into a hearing aid.”  You have to realize that hearing aids in the 1950’s and 60’s were not as sleek as those we have now.  But it really had more to do with not wanting to be “different” than other people.  And of course, pride.

I got my patriarchal blessing my Junior year of high school.   I must have mentioned to the patriarch in my interview beforehand that I had a hearing problem and to speak loudly.  One line of the blessing is interesting.  It says, “He will bless you richly with physical heath and mental health and spiritual health, and even increase your hearing to be of great value to you.”   

It was later that year that I decided I would get a hearing aid.   For years I’ve looked at the blessing as being the nudge I needed to finally have the confidence to get a hearing aid.  And what a blessing hearing aids have been.  But since getting a cochlear implant a few years ago, and then getting a new hearing aid in my other ear, I have noticed that my hearing truly has “increased to be of great value to me.”  Especially with the Bluetooth capabilities that go directly into my devices, I am able to listen to music and programs, which I've never been able to do that.  At this point in my life, without the implant and hearing aid, Gary can’t speak loud enough directly into my ear for me to hear.

 Not perfect hearing by any means.  But definitely a MIRACLE.