Lessons from Idaho - October 2010

So today, I am going to take it back to 10 years ago, to a trip that my family took to Idaho to visit relatives. Have you ever sat back and looked at how life has changed so much or even how meaningful some of the small moments you experience become later on? How often do you look at the lessons or the importance of the small moments?... sometimes it isn't until they are over where you can see their impact.

This at that time was just another trip visiting relatives, but when you break apart the small moments we had these have become some of my favorite memories...

Let me take you down memory lane and we can revel in some of the small moments that in the eternal spectrum that were important.

Singing Around the Piano

I love music, my dad taught us to love music... music communicates to our very souls. When my family is happy or when we have been in mourning, music has been our outlet. I love that with my dad and uncle we got to sing one of my favorite hymns... Such a small moment here, but even hearing how beautiful my sister Sarah's voice is, is a gift. She has the voice of an angel.

Steve & Dad Telling Stories

In looking back on things this is probably one of those times my family and I took for granted because it felt like it happened a lot. Anytime you got my dad with his siblings, stories of the past would be told. But.. when you got him with Uncle Steven stories became the thing of legends and they could and would talk for hours, telling the moments of their lives. As a genealogist these kind of moments are pure gold, I would give anything to have the two of them together in a room talking and telling stories and making each other laugh. The lesson is to listen and love your elders, they have so much wisdom and even family humor. You can never get those kind of moments back once they are gone. Also, it is a lesson to record the stories, they may seem trivial but capture those stories.. I have them on video, but since they are personal family stories I will keep those within the family.

Dad Playing the Piano

Now, my dad always told the story of piano lessons daily as a child, but we never saw him play, we never saw him show it off. This is the only time I can attest that I saw him do so. Now it isn't perfect, believe me I used to play and can't tickle the ivories as well either, but this was capturing a moment I never saw again, a connection to his youth and to his love of music.

Old Arm Chair

This song is huge amongst the family and it comes through my grandmother's side. I can't recall many large family gatherings when this song was not sung. This video just captures the fun of the song, also one of the only times I ever got him singing it on video. It feels special to me.

Serving Others

Although this seems simple, the concept of us helping finish pick and clean out a garden emphasized the lesson of service. Just this simple act is a way of showing love, showing kindness, bringing the family together, working towards a goal. All those elements are great lessons and my dad always taught me the lesson of service and it has always been a way I show love. When you serve others around you, you forget yourself and your own worries and do what really matters.

Cora Meets her Great Grandmother

Honestly, I am glad I captured this small moment. My Grandmother would be with us only for 3 more years after that and this was the only time she met Cora. Also my brother's family would move after that making this a precious moment. You never know when these small moments become important or when our last moments with each other are.

Singing with Aunt Barbara & Larry

This is probably one of the most tender times I captured on video. We went over to my Great Aunt Barbara's house to help her clean it out and a few of the adults sat around and talked and sang. In the video they sing the Old Arm Chair, but also the song Goin' Home. Goin Home was such an important song, especially in that side of the family. It was said my Great Grandfather Hanks was asked to sing that at hundreds of funerals during his lifetime.

In this moment of video, there are 2 people from it who would be called home to Heaven afterward at different times; my dad and Larry. It goes to show that you truly never know when a person's time is up or when they will be called to return home. I found that the song Goin' Home in this moment had even more of an impact. It connected for a short moment our ancestors to us at that time... heaven was and is so close.

Now these moments may seem trivial, or even small in the tapestry of time, but finding gratitude, joy and the lessons in the small threads of time can have an impact on reminding us to love those around us and share and embrace one another, never taking a moment for granted.