Enjoy the ride

The house is quiet now. Jordan, Jake and the girls left this morning to head home. There are sippy cups strewn here and there, some smashed blueberries under the bar, some bedding to change and towels to wash. Jordan and the girls were here for about two weeks. They spent most of the first week with Jake's family who also live in the area. Jord flew down to CA for about four days at the end of the first week to spend some time with Jake who was there on business, and we tended the girls while they were gone. We had some good bonding time with our sweet little granddaughters and enjoyed every minute of it. It was an "up" experience for me and Rick. We'll miss them all, but now it's time to get back to our own routine. Life is like that and change is constant. We are enjoying the ride.

We hear from Andy every week through email. He is serving an LDS mission in Mongolia. Last week he said that the work right now is difficult and they had a tough week. He had a "downer" week you could say. Through it all, he is enjoying the ride. I sent him the quote below as a reminder that more good days are ahead.

My friend Colleen gave me a wall hanging years ago with the Jones quote. It's hung on the wall of our family room for many years. Jordan uses it as the title of her blog "Enjoy the Ride."

President Gordon B. Hinckley quoted it on more than one occasion and it was written by Jenkin Lloyd Jones who was a syndicated newspaper columnist years ago. Here is some wisdom he shared:

There seems to be a superstition among many thousands of our young who hold hands and smooch in the drive-ins that marriage is a cottage surrounded by perpetual hollyhocks, to which a perpetually young and handsome husband comes home to a perpetually young and ravishing wife. When the hollyhocks wither and boredom and bills appear, the divorce courts are jammed.

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. . . .

Life is like an old-time rail journey--delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.

President Hinckley added: Life is like that--ups and downs, a bump on the head, and a crack on the shins. It was ever thus. Hamlet went about crying, "To be or not to be," but that didn't solve any of his problems. There is something of a tendency among us to think that everything must be lovely and rosy and beautiful without realizing that even adversity has some sweet uses.