Merry Christmas

It's always fun to run into or get in touch with old "characters" from ones past. Blogging was honestly something I had no knowledge about nor would have cared about, until a year ago when the sis-in-law, of a guy I was friends with, introduced me to this pop culture phenom. She showed me her blog and some others, and so I used her blog as a go-to, to check out others blogs. Wow! .... and then an idea! ...but how long it did take me from one link to another, to see if there might be someone I knew somehow from the past. Voila! I found Kristen via the cousin of the before mentioned sis-in-law. That was fun contacting Kristen and catching up on her vibrant collage of noteworthy life adventures. Kristen, who by the time we made it to high school had fallen into the WHERE HAVE THEY GONE category of people who you go to school with for years and then when summers faded away, and school starts again, their gone too! ...and when you've noticed their absense, ya kinda wondered what exciting place did they get to run away to, 'cuz you're stuck in class next to the smelly guy at math period.

So again, link to link checking some more, I had one person in my mind and I kept searching. Then I found a common blog that so many seem to read. I found my next door neighbors blog, her friends blog, this and that blog, my old gymnastic instructors daughter's blog and so forth. Wow, this blog world was a ride down memory lane..though we moved away from the real Memory lane in Holiday in '01. (ha ha) I saw her name, and I swear I checked it and it wasn't her. But "goofer" that I am,(heh I'm loaded down with too much info 'cuz of school and mommy dome), I really must not have actually looked at the name link as I thought I had. And to add insult to my distractability, she has an uncommon name, so that gave me a huge chance that if her name was on someone's name list, that it would be her. Plus one always runs a good bet of having that 6 degree of separation due to the small circles of the "mormon" world. I noticed that Kristen lived in the northwest part of the world, and again knowing how small "mormon" circles are, I asked her if she knew Vanessa. Yep, she did. My friend Vanessa. Vanessa and I were always trying to cause mischief @ university and when she took off on a mission, she used to love it when I would call her in the middle of the night (right!-ha ha) "Hi Vanessa". "KATHERINE!!!!"

So the world just got a little smaller and we get to exchange Christmas cards again! Yipee, since the last card I sent came back. So kudos to Karen for introductions to her blogging list. Which begat my blog entrance, which begat my introduction to Andrea's cute blog and her list(V. and Andrea know each other too). From which begat Kristen's, to where that blog begat my finding someone else's pedestal blog and begat the last piece of the puzzle, a significant find, my friend Vanessa. It's Christmas time, so the biblical timeline seems applicable

Now on to my next reflection. For years I have thought about getting in contact with those who had been highly influencial on me as a youngster...whether it be school, extra-curricular etc. I wanted to write them a letter letting them know. I think it is important to let people know that you appreciate what they did for you in your life. I ran into my old English teacher@ the gym a few years ago, Mrs Bester, I told her. My conversations with V. thus far have hopefully been a reality of what our friendship meant to me and hopefully will continue to get stronger and expand over the years even while our fam's right now are priorities.

Then there was Shayne. She was my gymnastic coach. I saw her several times a week for 4 to 5 years. She was perfect to me, inside and out. She was fun to be around and she would take us on little excursions from time to time. (I get to claim that I rode around w. her in S. Young's old jalopy of a car, before he was famous and made millions) She introduced all of us young girls to the world of fantasy, whimsical weddings when she had hers up at Sundance, with la creme de la creme of society, it seemed. Plus, I will spit on my hand and swear on my grandma's dead dogs grave, that she liked our small group of gymnasts the best of any she had. If any female "mentor" left a positive influence on my youth, it was her. And most of all, she was just plain kind to me. Well, in finding her relative, I was able to find out how to contact her. So this holiday season I intend to send her an "appreciation card" as such, letting her know her impact.

I look at what an incredibly warm and wonderful ward I live in now, and the potential of mentors to my own sons. I hope that they too, will look back someday and want to let someone who has played a positive role in their youth, know what they did for them. I am grateful for this time of year, where one takes extra pause of oneself through others.

Their is nothing like seeing our nation's tradition, of decorating for Christmas, as one drive's through the snow from house to house, street to street, city to town, town to city and then lastly from town to your town, to your street and then pulling up to your own winter wonderland creation. In a pondering manner, I'm allowed into the scene: a blinking of color here, at this home. A bright swag of crisp, clear icicle lights, at that home. The moon balmily overhead, a touch of soft snowy flakes and the sight of our own towns herd of (rein)deer moving absentmindedly, through the calm, deserted streets of our quaint picture-book, alpine town.

I am so grateful for my challenges and successes, the growth that it's given me and for the opportunity I am granted in raising two beautiful human beings (lady killers that they think they are too). This is the time of Christ, of past miracles and modern accomplishments. To all my friends and family, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See ya in 2009!