#givethanks - Saturday, November 26, 2022 I’m Thankful For My Children

 

#givethanks - Saturday, November 26, 2022         I’m Thankful For My Children

 

 I intended to post this on Saturday 11/26, but we got so busy today that I wasn’t able to sit down at the computer until late in the day.  I had to get my Friday post out before I could start my Saturday post.  I began the post I planned for Saturday, but it is past midnight and is now Sunday 11/27 and my post for Saturday is still just thoughts in my head and needs to be written.  I’m tired and I’m going to bed.  So, to be fully aboveboard, most of my Saturday post was written on Sunday (just for the record, you understand).

I am thankful for my children and grandchildren…  They are my pride and joy and my best hopes for carrying my name and legacy into the future.  I think about these things more often these days, this being my 70^th year of life.  Pat bore two children into our family:  Our son, Jesse, our oldest child came to us after years of trying to conceive.  We had the help of Pat’s OBGYN, who encouraged us that conception was indeed possible.  We have videos of Jesse when he was just a tadpole.  Christie came a little over 4 years later, and with her arrival our conception days were over.  There were other pregnancies, but they all ended abnormally.

But we went on with our lives with our two perfect children.  I am thankful for the "father" experience and all the things I learned from being "Dad".  I am thankful for the soccer games, little league practices, school plays, band concerts, singing events, parent – teacher conferences and report card signings.  I’m glad I didn’t miss the high school graduations and the first dates and teaching how to drive, to shave, to ride the bike, to swim, how to save money and how to be a responsible paper deliverer.  Pat and I taught the kids how to be truthful, courteous, helpful and kind and the value that those things add to any relationship the kids may have.  We were their tutors in so many ways that it boggles my mind…  It’s a wonder that the government doesn’t require a teaching license before a person can start a family.

The interesting thing about all this is that we see our kids doing many of the same things we did on their children. There is no sweeter sound than hearing a grown son or daughter say “I like the way you and [Mom|Dad] did this” …

Well, this post has gone on long enough.  I love my wife and kids and I thank the Lord above and my lucky stars for the chance to be Dad.  It’s the best job I ever had…  I hope I didn’t screw it up!

This post makes a total of a week’s worth of thankful posts.  I could go on for 365 days because I have so many things to be thankful for.  One last thing I can add:  Pat and I just learned of a dear friend we knew in New Jersey who passed away today from her battle with cancer.  She has fought the good fight for many years and now it has taken her.  We are heartbroken and feel heartsick for her kids, but we know this life is just a temporary sojourn, a proving ground and a chance to obtain our mortal bodies. Our friend knew this to be true and I look forward to seeing her, along with my beloved mother, father, 4 brothers and 3 sisters and a myriad of friends who have gone before me when it’s my turn.  I thank God for his Plan of Happiness and I thank Him for good friends and family that I have.  May His love bless you and keep you is my prayer, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Keep in touch!

Don 

 

#givethanks - Friday, November 25, 2022, and Saturday, November 26, 2022 – A Twofer      I’m Thankful for Jesus Christ

 

I messed up and didn’t get a post out yesterday, Friday 25, 2022, so I’m doing a twofer on Saturday 11/26.  I hope they make sense; I hope they are interesting to you, dear Reader.  I appreciate any feedback you would care to give.

Pat and I went to see the next installment of “The Chosen”, a series about Jesus’s Ministry and the role the apostles played.  The theater showed the first two episodes of the 3^rd season.  The episodes were great!  There is no other way to put it.  The director, Dallas Jenkins, has done a remarkable job of steering the series to his vision of how it should be done.  The man who plays Jesus is mesmerizing.  The men who play the apostles are no less captivating.  The two episodes were over before we realized how much time had passed.  I am thankful to the director for his marvelous talent and for his view of the story of Jesus and His apostle’s stories. 

I am thankful for my testimony of Jesus the Christ, which is this:  Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind.  To be this, He was born to a mortal woman and was the son of God the Father.  The angels heralded His birth; the shepherds bear witness to their joyful sounds on the night of His birth.  The ancient prophets of the Old Testament predicted His coming and testified of His mission.  Today, people of all lands throughout the world attest to His successful sojourn on this world and worship Him as the Living Son of God, for His teachings, for the life He lived, and for His great sacrifice and victory over the grave.  I have studied Jesus Christ and I bear witness that the accounts we read in the New Testament are true.  He really did live on this earth.  He really did preach profound principles that changed the world and continue to change men’s hearts for the good.  I also testify that if each member of the human race wants to better their lives, they should study His life through the New Testament and through teachings of Christian teachers of the past and present, and especially by praying earnestly for a testimony of His perfect life.  I bear this witness in His name, even the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

#givethanks - Thursday, November 24, 2022 Thanksgiving Day I’m Thankful For Holidays Traditions

 

#givethanks - Thursday, November 24, 2022 Thanksgiving Day      
I’m Thankful For Holidays Traditions

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!  I hope you had a tasty meal and a good and uplifting day today.  Thanksgiving is a day to reconnect with lost or wayward family members and friends.  It is a day to offer our thanks to those we love and rely on.  It is a day to offer thanks to the Lord God of Hosts for His influence in our lives.  We had dinner with our son and his family.  I spent the morning and early afternoon trying to be a help to my wife as she prepared dishes of food for our meal.  We had what I would call a typical fare for the holiday.  My son prepared the turkey.  We had mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, candied yams, cranberry and jello salad, string bean casserole, rolls, shrimp, baked sausage and mushroom hors d'oeuvres and crackers with cream cheese and pepper jelly as an appetizer.   Later we had pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, lemon meringue pie and pumpkin/cranberry crème brûlée.    I offered the thanksgiving prayer to bless the food and give thanks for it; during the prayer I asked God to bless the people of the world to seek for peace and asked God to have patience with us.  Afterward we played Wii bowling and chatted about many things.

I enjoyed the day, having traditional food, following the tradition of family time together, offering our thanks to the Lord and relaxing together.  We’ve followed this tradition each year and I love doing it this way…  it is a tranquil tradition that I feel brings normalcy to my life.  I am thankful to my wife for all she does to make it happen.  I am thankful for my son and daughter-in-law for the similar efforts they made to make our day a success.  I miss having our daughter and her family with us at these times, but we understand their need to be where they are.

Family traditions can be motivators to a family to keep in touch with each other, to put themselves out there for the good of family unity and harmony.  I pray that everyone can have the experience of family love, acceptance, unity and harmony while in this earthly state.

#givethanks - Wednesday, November 23, 2022 I’m Thankful For My Life

 

#givethanks - Wednesday, November 23, 2022        I’m Thankful For My Life

 

Thank you, dear readers, for following my musings…  I’m humbled by the friends I have made through the years.  Know this: You are not forgotten!  I still remember the experiences we’ve had together in whatever venue they occurred.  Thank you for sharing that part of my life with me.

I guess that’s a good foreword to what I want to say in this thankful post.  I’ve had a good life with many fine experiences under my belt (oh, wait…that’s just my belly).  I’ve been writing my personal history this past year, a daunting job at the least.  I have a framework to work on and now I’m trying to fill in details with stories from my lifetime.  My memory has cooperated so far, and I’ve recalled some pretty old events from long, long ago.  The hard part is that I don’t have any older siblings to consult for factual clarity, so whatever I can recall is what happened

But in general, I am satisfied with the course my life has taken, and I’ve done things I may have missed had I taken another road.  I will try to relate a couple of events that were humorous (or at least I think so) …  Let me be clear though…  these are my memories and may be subject to unattainable verification.

We lived on the outskirts of the town of Lehi.  We were surrounded by fields with cattle or sheep in them as well as lots of Russian olive trees, which seemed to attract the birds.  My friend Krag Parker and I developed a science of hunting birds and small game using our specially made slingshots (which were made with surgical tubing for powerful slinging).  One day we were leaving his place planning to see what we could find to shoot at, and his mother said, “Don’t kill any birds.”  We rode bikes down to the dirt lane that bordered Mr. Mercer’s fields, not far from my house.  After riding down the lane a way, we stopped by the dry creek bed and walked along the creek to where a bunch of birds had nested.  We took turns shooting BBs and small rocks at the birds, who were getting agitated.  One of the birds left the tree and landed on the ground, where it ran round and round the tree with Krag chasing it while trying to shoot it with his slingshot.  It was hysterically funny to me, and I laughed at the scene:  the bird running and squawking; Krag running and trying to reload and laughing hard about the situation.  I don’t recall what the outcome was, if the bird got away or met its demise.  I think it got back up in the tree and hid among the leaves.  Anyway eventually we circled the various trees in the field and then gave up for the day.  Back at Krag’s house, his Mom asked “Did you kill any birds?  What did you shoot at?” Krag replied “Just some Batmans and robins”.  Funny, right?

We lived in a house that my Dad built on a 2 ½ acre piece of property next to my Mom’s sister, Aunt Meda and Uncle Harold and their family.  Their oldest was my brother Lee’s age and their next two were my age and 1 year younger.  Naturally, my cousins were major play partners as we were so close in ages.  Uncle Harold built the house that they lived in next door to us.  Many times in the summers we would play together outdoors playing games, setting up army men for dirt clod battles, baseball, kickball and so on..  One of our favorite games was “Inny-Eye-Over” where we would divide into two teams, stand on either side of the house with the roof slanting down from the high point to each team’s side.  The team with the ball would yell “Inny-Eye-Over” and throw the ball over the house where the other team would try to catch it.  If the ball was caught, the whole receiving team would run to the other side of the house and try to hit a player with the ball.  If the player was hit, they would have to go to the thrower’s team then the other team would get a chance.  It was pretty fun!

One summer a big storm came up with very high winds; not a tornado but straight-line winds.  It was so powerful that it picked up the roof off of Aunt Meda’s house, landing about 20-30 yards south right onto the garden, flattening the crops growing there.  It was a traumatic site for a young boy like me and I always kept an eye on storms after that.

 

Well, I’ve gone on too long…  I am thankful for my growing up days and the comfortable safety and love I felt from my family, my cousins, my friends, and the safety of the area.  These things are part of what shaped me as a person and have driven me to try to be there for others throughout my life.

Don  

#givethanks - Tuesday, November 22, 2022 I’m thankful for Technology

 

#givethanks - Tuesday, November 22, 2022        I’m thankful for Technology

 

This post is going to be late, since it is now 12:02 AM on Wednesday 11/23/2002.  But since I’ve got an idea of what I’m going to write about each day during #givethanks week (a.k.a. Thanksgiving week), I’ll keep this entry as Tuesday.

OK, let me admit it up front…  I love technology; I am a techno-nerd.  That isn’t a derogatory appellation, in fact it is like a badge of honor…  I am trying to maintain my nerd status now that I’m in retirement (these past 3 years).  It’s not easy doing so, since I don’t have hands on much, but I still try to get exposed to new things regularly.  Thank goodness for the internet, even though you have to take what you learn there with a grain of salt.  Anyway, I love my computer with two monitors, graphics card, and sufficient memory.  It is like driving a sports car in the etherworld of networks and computers!

There have been so many technology advances in my lifetime.  As a boy, we had a party-line telephone.  We had to listen for our ring to answer a call that was for our family.  If you needed to make a phone call, you had to pick up the handset receiver and listen to see if the party line was being used by a neighbor.  If not, the operator came on and asked, “What number, please”.  Now we don’t have a landline phone, we carry our own cell phones and phone calls are now mostly text messages.  The communication used otherwise usually is email, which we also get on our cell phones.  And if you want to talk to someone face-to -face, you set up a facetime, Zoom, or other video conferencing app on your phone. 

Cars have changed drastically through advances in technology.  Every car now has multiple computer processers on-board, monitoring fuel/air mixtures, tire pressure, and a myriad of other stats in the vehicle.  Cars can now stay in the lane themselves – the driver has the option of letting the car do the tedious work of steering at times and if the drive wants to change lanes, the driver has to wrest the control back to do it!  In my youth, I could change the fuel pump, replace spark plugs, even replaced the clutch on a car.  Nowadays if you don’t have the computer that talks to the car you’re out of luck.  But all these technology changes have made driving less of a chore or challenge and easier to do (and more expensive to fix).

Computers have changed a lot too…  more memory, more disk space, faster processors, more compact.  In my college days my notetaking was all by hand, but today I take my laptop so I can keep notes online.  Registration for school used to be a hassle…  go to each professor or teacher and get a card from them.  Now everything is done online.  In the old days if you took math, geometry, algebra, and other advanced math classes you were weird.  Now to get a decent job in technology roles, all these classes are essential.

I guess I’m becoming an old guy – the guy who reminisces about the old days and tries to look cool while setting up a home storage area network…  Yep, that’s me!

#givethanks - Sunday, November 20, 2022 On Being Thankful

 

#givethanks - Sunday, November 20, 2022              On Being Thankful

This is the third year I have written what I’m thankful for and why each thing I talk about is meaningful.  It is a cathartic exercise for me; it helps me focus on what I should really appreciate and why.  It helps me realign my focus on things that matter. 

The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:7).  

The words “Thou shalt…” indicate that what follows is not a request.  It is not an “ought to do” or a mere suggestion; it is a commandment from the Lord.  That makes it very important, right? In my opinion, if the Lord said it, then it is important…  It is likely one of the commandments that is used as a measure of our devotion to Him.   What do I thank Him for in my prayers?  He has given us all things; as King Benjamin said in the Book of Mormon:

“…render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another...

(Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2:20 – 21)

The Lord said to be thankful in all things.  Should we be thankful for bad things that happen, like accidents, sickness, poverty or other mishaps?  Why give thanks for these things?  This is a hard question; perhaps we each need to answer this question for ourselves.  Here is my finest 2 cents opinion...  I do know that hardship, although hard on a person or a family, is a learning experience if we humbly look for God’s will.  They can be the “School of Hard Knocks "that teaches us what we otherwise would have missed.  This is a hard concept to accept for some.

Now think about how much courtesy improves a person’s life.  Thanking others is a courteous thing to do.  When we thank someone for a thing they did that was beneficial, helpful, or kind to us, it is only right to thank the giver.  When you thank someone who has benefitted you in some way, both the giver and the thanker are blessed with good feelings for each other.  For one small moment, the world is a happier place.

There are many more things that could be said about expressing thanks to our God and to each other, take this as a challenge:  Seek out what the Lord says about being thankful, and if there is something that you are doing that the Lord should be thanked, go get on your knees and tell Him.

Don

#givethanks - Monday, November 21, 2022 I’m thankful for my Wife

 

#givethanks - Monday, November 21, 2022        I’m thankful for my Wife

I can’t believe that it is Thanksgiving week again already.  The year 2022 is fast moving for sure!  It is time to list   what I am thankful for again.  Please indulge me as I do so.

I am truly thankful for my angel companion Patricia – Pat to all who know her.  This year has been a year of doctors, tests, treatments, appointments, office visits, more tests and, above all, taking pills.  I have been diagnosed as having Celiac disease, a problem with the lining of my upper intestine.  This was discovered when I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy in July.  The effects of this disease is potentially wide reaching, setting off a myriad of other maladies that old guys can get.  Mine has chiefly affected my intestinal tract.  To make a long story somewhat shorter, the treatment is to eat only gluten free foods.  What a pain!  While most grocery stores carry things that are gluten-free, most day-to-day meals, for us at least, had to change. 

Pat has been my guiding star in this process.  She has single-handedly researched Gluten-free products in search of dinner menus for us.  She went through all of our food storage and separated those items that contained gluten; now she prepares foods suitable for both of us (she can eat gluten-laden foods), and she has compiled a remarkable menu selection of gluten-free dishes.  Pat knows which of the local restaurants offer gluten-free menu selections.  She has read all she could find on the internet about the disease, and shares with me all the good and bad news she reads.  I feel well prepared to face and hopefully defeat this disease because of Pat’s dedication and perseverance and the loving, tender care she gives me.

Of course, Pat has many other wonderful traits that make me remember how lucky I am to have been her partner and husband for these past (almost) 48 years.  It’s no small wonder why I love her.  It is a miracle she has kept me all this time.  Here’s to us achieving 50+ years together!

(Pat, I love you my Sweetie, my Nosie, my darling wife!)

 

My Dream - Easter 2022

 Originally posted on Facebook, April 18, 2022

Re-posted on Blogger.com, October 14, 2022

My Dream… Easter Sunday,

By Don Bahr 17 April 2022

I just read President Russell M. Nelson’s Easter Morning post about the Savior, and it put my mind in thought of my experience with Jesus Christ…

It happened several years ago, when our family still lived in New Jersey. I believe it was while I was serving as bishop of the Princeton, NJ 1st ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so it would have been in the 1999 – 2004 range of time. Silly of me for not recording it sooner or, better yet, right after having the dream. “Better never late” my brother Marv used to say whenever I would say “better late than never”. Well, I should have listened to my brother more.

My dreams are seldom stories; they are usually cut and dried situations, much like a painting depicts a situation with a story behind it. That’s a good way to put it for my dreams. This dream was a snapshot – or a painting – of me being in a room with the Savior Jesus Christ. I had dreamed of something else entirely beforehand, but I don’t remember what it was. This dream had me stepping into a medium-sized room with chairs and a desk. Seated on the chair was a man with somewhat middle eastern features. From looking at him, I felt I knew him. The feeling he stirred in me was undeniable: He was Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God the Father.

A feeling of exquisite joy coursed through my body and centered in my heart, yet he did not speak a word. I was mesmerized by the situation. Who would ever think a man could meet Jesus just by stepping into a room? The pure joy I felt was like electricity and as the dream ended and I began to awaken, the feeling of joy did not dissipate, at least not at first. I opened my eyes, and it took a moment to realize I had dreamed of seeing Christ. In a minute or so I recognized I was in my bed and my wife asleep next to me. All during that time, though, the joy did not leave me. Now fully awake, I pondered the gift I had just been given. After a couple of minutes, I started getting sleepy again (it was the wee hours of the morning, after all) and as sleep began to fill my eyes, the Joy began to fade. I understand now that it could fade at that time because it had done its job: It was the Holy Spirit, testifying that what I had seen was a gift from God the Father and from Jesus Christ.

I know that what we celebrate on Easter – the resurrection of Jesus the Christ – is a reality, and that we are blessed because He lives. He Lives! He has paid the price required for our sins and we are redeemed by His sacrifice. He only asks us to follow Him, keep His commandments and to love and forgive one another. He asks us to follow His example. May we each have a snapshot with Jesus that will change our lives and put us on the road to follow our Savior.

I testify that what I have written is true. I am trying and sometimes succeeding in learning and doing His will, and I am grateful for the support and encouragement of you all.

With Brotherly Love, and in the name of Jesus Christ I testify.

Don Bahr

South Jordan, UT

Family Relationships

 

I just celebrated my 69^th birthday, now I’m on the long road to 70.  Thank you to all those who expressed birthday wishes to me… what a treasure-trove of loving friends and family I have!  If I haven’t responded to you yet, I am working on a long list! 

 

As I reflected on the volume of birthday wishes It occurred to me that many of the people who texted me are nieces and nephews, or children of nieces and nephews.  Having 8 siblings in my family has yielded a sizable number of close family members.  I took an unofficial count the other day; between my sibs, their spouses, and their kids, my close family member tally is a small crowd of 50+ people.  My nieces and nephews all have children, and some of them have kids of their own (yes, my brothers and sisters are all grandparents, and some are even great-grandma and grandpa.  This group adds to the tally at least another 50 souls.  I should know each of them and know what’s going on in their lives, but sadly I don’t.  This gives me an opportunity to get to know my grandnephews and nieces and their families.  This is something I will commit to doing before my turn in life is completed.

 

Thinking about my siblings’ children and my relationship with them.   Being at the end of the line of Mom and Dad’s children, I am not much older than many of my nieces and nephews.  It is almost like I have these brothers and sisters, then I have these "bonus" brothers and sisters.  To some of them we have a growing up commonality because Mom helped take care of her grand kids at times, and they would come over to our house and stay the night or two…   Not that I was always nice to them, but the interaction was there…  I vow to be more communicative with my “bonus” brothers and sisters in the future.

 

I hope this piece has made you think about your families and the relationship with your nephews and nieces, your cousins, aunts and uncles, and especially your siblings and parents.  Treasure the common history you share with them.  Seek out memorabilia from your growing up period.  Write down your memories of your early years and share them with your family members…  they can help correct memories and provide details that perhaps you never knew.  DON’T WAIT!  I did and now any details of my early childhood or of the early years of my Mom and Dad’s family are lost.  I know you will be better for the effort.  The love for your family will make it a grand adventure!

 

Love to all!

 

Don Bahr

September 11, 2022 

Brahms Memory

I will soon be 69 years old.  This is a respectable number of years… a lot of water under the bridge, so to speak.  I’ve done a lot of things and have bushels of memories to show for it.  If only I could use my invention of a neural recorder instead of doing this bulky typing thing.  

As I continue living on, I find things in my early life getting harder and harder to recall, but sometimes I am given a gift…  a word, a smell, a sound will spark a memory from long ago.  I should write these memories down as soon as possible when they come, but sometimes I don’t do it right away and the memory soon becomes as smoke.  I hope that those memories are not lost but will present themselves again to me to record.

Today I was on Spotify, listening to my new play list, which is called “(A Few of) Don’s Classic Classicals”.  It’s a collection of classical music that I’ve listened to and loved throughout my days.  Right now, the list is at 32 works of art…. About 2 ½ hours of ear candy.  I believe most people would recognize, if not love most of them.  Anyway, the last song on the list is (perhaps appropriately) Brahms’ Lullaby, simply and masterfully played on a piano, as it was written (I think).   

As the lovely strain got underway, I felt that an old but familiar friend was here with me.  My mind was transported to a time when, as a child, I listened to this very tune while going to sleep.  I was at my sister Wilma’s house, staying overnight, for what reason I don’t recall.  As I listened (as a child) the song moved my young self immensely. I lay there listening to the lullaby and my emotions were being played by the music, much as the music was being played by the pianist.  My eyes welled with tears, and I quickly went from drifting off to nightly slumber to sobbing in my temporary bed.  Pretty soon my sister came in and comforted me, I recall.  

As the 69-year-old me sat here thinking about this moving emotional experience, the phenomenon began all over again.  My eyes welled with tears, and I had to fight to keep from sobbing like a 4-year-old.  

Emotions are powerful things, especially when enhanced by artistic beauty, especially (for me at least) beautiful music.  I’ll always be grateful for this wonderful blessing, as I am grateful for whatever brought this memory back to me.  A word of counsel from this 69-year-old music lover: Embrace memories when they come. They are treasures from heaven.  Write them down to be easily recalled.  

Don