Lessons Learned and a note on punctuation...

It was another exciting weekend here at the Dyer home and I came away feeling enlightened on more than just a few things.  Curtis surprised me on Friday with a night out, just the two of us. Most would know this as a date...that term is not as familiar to me as it should be!  He arranged for a babysitter(s), and planned to take me to my favorite restaurant and then to see the Hunger Games.  I was beyond excited. In fact, Taylor said to me "mom, you are acting weird. I've never seen you so excited." I told her it wasn't often that I got to go out with Dad all by myself, and she said, "ya, but you get to hang out with us all the time."

Mad Pita, my most favorite place in St. George. So yummy!

I was so excited to see this movie. Curtis and I both read the books and it was actually the first movie we saw without the kids in over 5 years!  Then I remembered why after I sat behind a guy that was reclined the entire movie and left me no wiggle room!

We came home feeling rejuvenated and were welcomed to happy kids, Maddox was tired but needed to make sure we came back to him before going to bed!  My first lesson:  We really must do this more often.  I miss the time one on one with just Curtis and it's good for our kids to be left every now and then!
Saturday, an older boy from our ward and his friends were putting on a day date for prom and invited the little kids to come play on the giant slip 'n slide they had set up! I suited up Maddox, who absolutely loves being outside and put him by the splash pad that was on....Lesson 2: He was not of fan of the water. At All.  He wouldn't even move out of the way of the water, he just stood there and cried. I may have found it humorous. He wasn't a fan of the splash pad either and opted to stand at a distance and just observe the other kids.

The other two; however, loved every minute of it. That is, until the wind picked up and it was too cold to be wet and standing in the wind! It was a nice passing of time while Curtis was at work and wore the kids out for naps.

And now onto my note on punctuation, a final lesson for me.  A little background first: When Curtis accepted his new job last February, we knew he would eventually be made General Manager and have a big pay increase. We even had a number and were told more than likely, that would be his salary.  I knew the pay cut initially would be hard, but in the long run we'd be rewarded.  As time drew closer, I began thinking, "This is it!!!" For so long, I have stressed over money. We always made ends meet but I had always hoped for more wiggle room and to just be able to live comfortably..not rich by any means.  The date was May 1.  There was a light at the end of the tunnel.  I could hardly imagine what life would be like not having to over analyze every purchase I made.  I felt blessed and knew Curtis deserved it especially with the long hours he was putting in.  Then, the date changed to April 15th...even better. The opportunity was so close. And then word of what his actual salary would be came in.  And it wasn't what we had planned on, but lower.  Just to be clear, it was still an increase and a good sized one, but I was broken over it.  I was mad, and hurt and felt misled and wronged.  Curtis was too, at least at first. I could tell he was frustrated, which says a lot since he's pretty laid back about things.  My exclamation of "this is it!!" went to a question of "this is it?"  Why. Why could this good thing just not happen for us. Reliving it now still brings me to tears. I just didn't understand.

We knew taking this job was the right thing for our family when we did it.  I just couldn't get passed how we were told and promised one thing, and now it ended up being different.  In my head, I knew I needed to be grateful, he still had a good job, it was still an increase and more than we've ever had.  But, I honestly, couldn't get over the fact that I'd set myself up to believe one thing, which was probably never the case at all.

Lesson #3 came when the Lord knew He'd have my undivided attention. The kids went down for naps easily after playing outside and I settled down to watch the 2nd session of Conference.  And then. Elder Jeffery R. Holland, the first speaker, began his talk.  I've felt the Spirit in my life many times, but only few times has it pierced me so deep that I knew it was meant for me.   I listened and my heart was softened.  I had much to be grateful for and I needed to show it.  The Lord is merciful and kind. I needed to stop dwelling on the nuisance of something that happened early in the day and focus on the "6 o'clock payday".  My exclamation, that faded to a troubling question, was now a statement "this IS it." Be grateful. I'm happy I was able to listen and feel those words Elder Holland spoke.  I'm humbled knowing the Lord knows whats best for me and my family better than I do.