Dancing with Daffodils

Eighteen years ago I did a semester of college in London. I lived with about 40 other students and a few teachers in a house that BYU owns in Kensington, right across from Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park. I studied English history, Shakespeare and other English literature. We roamed used book stores in Covent Garden and ate Cadbury chocolate bars from the vending machines in the tube stops on our way to the theater where we would wait for cheap, last-minute tickets. We visited so many castles and cathedrals that somehow by the end of the four months they had started to get a bit redundant. It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life.  Just this week after recently watching The Crown, going to the movie theater to see Darkest Hour and then finishing a fantastic book entitled Victoria, I was literally seconds away from clicking the button to purchase airline tickets to London when the thought crossed my mind that I should probably talk with my husband first. I love Engl...

We're half-way through January and I just sat down a day ago to think about my goals for this year. I always make a list in my journal of highlights from the past year, what I'm looking forward to in the new year and then I tend to make a few goals. This year I felt tired of making the same goals I've been making for years and decided to focus on things that I felt needed to happen now, not goals that are in actuality habits I'll be developing and perfecting over a life time. One of those goals is to do more writing so every Friday I am going to publish a blog post. I have not written with such regularity since I was a junior in college and writing three stories a week for the college newspaper. I am excited for the challenge and hope that my four loyal readers appreciate the increase in content and hopefully quality. January can be a tough month; a letdown after all of the Christmas fun and family time. Some Januarys I have felt the blah and impatient with the wint...

Today I had a true "dancing with the daffodils" moment that I want to remember forever. I had an upsetting experience at church this afternoon and when I got home alone with four tired and hungry children who all seemed to be pestering me for something, I could barely hold my emotions together. I grabbed a tissue and ran upstairs and locked my door so I could cry alone. My eldest saw that I was upset and I could hear her immediately engage her younger siblings who were following me up the stairs. She played with them and I remained almost entirely uninterrupted in the 45 minutes or so it took me to compose myself. When I did come down and start making dinner, she immediately came over and offered to help me. Once it was in the oven, I gave her a hug and thanked her for keeping her siblings busy and told her how much I appreciated her kindness. She asked if I was just stressed earlier and I told her that someone had really hurt my feelings and I was feeling badly about mysel...