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| U of C Law Students with Dallin H. Oaks |
A law school friend (Andrea Tucker) shared these pictures on her blog, and I didn't think I had them anywhere, so I downloaded them and looked up my journal entry (a written journal entry before I blogged) and included it here:
"From May 2007 -
Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was visiting the University of Chicago Law School for a reunion. He attended law school there, then later filled in as Associate Dean for a time. We were thrilled that he wanted to meet with the current LDS students and their wives.
As he shared his experiences of his time in law school, I was impressed with his dedication and the time he devoted to studying - no wonder he graduated at the top of his class.
His main piece of advice to law students was that the key to finding joy and happiness and peace in life was to avoid the 4 P's: Property, Position/Prominance, Power, Pride. This was great advice that I don't want to ever forget."
Seeing these pictures reminded me of the wonderful friends we made in Chicago (and at this time of year, we get lots of Christmas cards from them and love to see their growing families). I have such warm fuzzy feelings about all of them and the good times we had. This might seem silly, but I sometimes wonder if I have lost my ability to have & make good friends since having children. In recent years, I have found it more challenging to get to know other women and have in depth conversations and develop close friendships. Maybe I haven't necessarily lost the ability, but have just become preoccupied with the task at hand (raising kids), and am still adjusting to the type of relationships that moms have with one another while juggling children and many other responsibilities. Just a thought, I'll have to keep thinking on it.
As of late, we've also had a Chicago family on our mind. On Thanksgiving Day, our Chicago Bishop, Joe Cannon (currently serving in the Stake Presidency), had a serious bike accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. After emergency surgery, a long hospital stay, and now therapy, he is making great progress, but still has a long way to go. They are an amazing family, and I know that they will persevere in this most difficult situation. They are the type of family who has always put others above themselves and have given countless hours of service. We have been keeping them in our thoughts and prayers, and we wish them the best as he begins his long therapy process to regain much of his memory and re-learn many things. The whole thing really broke my heart, but I have faith that everything happens for a reason and that they will be able to face this adversity in their life. Much love to the Cannon family!
Seeing these pictures reminded me of the wonderful friends we made in Chicago (and at this time of year, we get lots of Christmas cards from them and love to see their growing families). I have such warm fuzzy feelings about all of them and the good times we had. This might seem silly, but I sometimes wonder if I have lost my ability to have & make good friends since having children. In recent years, I have found it more challenging to get to know other women and have in depth conversations and develop close friendships. Maybe I haven't necessarily lost the ability, but have just become preoccupied with the task at hand (raising kids), and am still adjusting to the type of relationships that moms have with one another while juggling children and many other responsibilities. Just a thought, I'll have to keep thinking on it.
As of late, we've also had a Chicago family on our mind. On Thanksgiving Day, our Chicago Bishop, Joe Cannon (currently serving in the Stake Presidency), had a serious bike accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. After emergency surgery, a long hospital stay, and now therapy, he is making great progress, but still has a long way to go. They are an amazing family, and I know that they will persevere in this most difficult situation. They are the type of family who has always put others above themselves and have given countless hours of service. We have been keeping them in our thoughts and prayers, and we wish them the best as he begins his long therapy process to regain much of his memory and re-learn many things. The whole thing really broke my heart, but I have faith that everything happens for a reason and that they will be able to face this adversity in their life. Much love to the Cannon family!
4 comments:
I totally understand your thoughts here. I feel like I go weeks without spending time with the friends I feel the closest to. I do think it really is a focus on the task at hand and we all have to give something up to make our homes what we want them to be.
I remember when I was in high school I wondered why my mom never went out with friends. She chatted at RS activities and went visiting teaching but never just hung out with friends. I asked her about this and she said she doesn't have time to hang out. She did love talking on the phone to her sisters, which I imagine is what kept her sane.
I miss what we had in Chicago too. But, if we moved back, it wouldn't be the same. There is just something about having so much in common with so many people.
Oh, how I miss those days. We had such a good thing going and the best part is that we knew it and soaked every minute of it up. I, too, have warm fuzzies about every person in that picture as well as many others from that ward.
I'm lucky enough right now to be in a similar situation- one where there's bazillion others in my ward/neighborhood in my same boat and we have a blast being together- play group, book group, running together, babysitting swaps, spending holidays together. Being so far away from family, close friends are like gold. Greg and I often compare this ward to that one and realize how lucky we are to have it so good. Again.
But life gets busy. And I hope that someday my kids will be my friends. I mean, they are now, but that's only until I make them eat vegetables...
I am so sad to hear about your old Bishop. I will pray for him too. And I love those pictures with Elder Oaks, what an opportunity! I like his advice about the 4 p's.
That's such a great picture to have! We really loved that ward and all the people we met. We knew some pretty amazing people! Josh and I often reflect back to our Chicago days as some of the best years we've had!
I agree that having kids does change how we develop relationships. In some ways it makes it easier for me, because my kids give me an excuse to get together with people, but at the same time there isn't as much time to develop deeper relationships. I also think it really helps to be surrounded by people in a similar situation as us. There are several other residents in our ward here and it's been great. But, I really worry about what type of friends I'll make once we move back to AZ. I try not to dwell on it, but I know things will probably never be the same in terms of friends as they have been for us. I guess there's a season for everything. We'll have to be sure to get together once we move there!
And we were also so sad to hear about Joe Cannon. The same thing happened to a guy in our ward here a few years ago. He had to take a year off of work, but he's recovered well since (with only minor side effects leftover). We hope Joe also makes a good recovery!!
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