Just a Few New Year Happenings

Happening #1
I went back to work as a teacher yesterday. I took off two months to have my knee joint replaced with titanium! I spent most of that time lying on the couch, of course, except when I was doing PT (physical torture). So, when I showed up at school, I was feeling pretty good about how well my knee had healed, and how well I could walk again, and just ready for action. By lunch, I discovered just how exhausted a person can be after they lie around for two months, and then jump back into the Rat Race (and it is a race...believe me...in fourth grade.) My new knee felt great! The whole rest of my body was panting, and yelling, "Hey! What happened to the couch? That was great!" I sat down most of the rest of the afternoon, and then ate some dinner, and fell into bed at 9:30. (I usually get to bed around 11:00.) And I felt pretty good by morning. Today wasn't nearly as exhausting, but I'm definitely going to have to get back into shape if I want to keep up with the school teacher routine.

Happening #2
This morning I woke up and I had a serious ear worm in my head. "Scripture Power!" Over and over, with great insistence my brain would not give up on the chorus: "Scripture Power! Everyday I need, the power that I get each time I read!" I mean--it was persistent, loud, and drowned out every other thing I could think about. Suddenly, I just laughed out loud, and thought, "Thank you, Heavenly Father! That's right, I really wanted to get better at the habit of reading the scriptures every morning."  I've actually been apologizing each night in my prayers about failing, once again, to sit down and read each day. I put my scriptures out on a table so they'd be a reminder. I have the time in the morning. While I eat my breakfast cereal, or toasted bagel, or whatever...I could easily sit and read something from my big old quad on the little table in front of my reading couch. So...I just went right in, sat down, and opened up that book and found a really nice section to contemplate this morning, while the house was quiet, and I was well-rested. Sometimes, God has to resort to actual nagging. Thanks again!

Happening #3
Our son and his wife called a couple of days ago, out of the blue! It was great! The big surprise is that they were driving across Montana at the time. They live in Bremerton, WA, where he is serving on a submarine. So, hey! Montana? In the middle of winter? They were driving across country so that the wife can live the next five months with her mom in Worcester, MA, and have the car so she can go to work, while our son heads out to sea for an unexpected trip on another submarine. He's a sonar man and I guess this other boat just really needed him and couple of other guys from his original boat to fill in their crew. So, every day, I got a text from them telling me where they were next. Yes, they ended up driving south a little to escape the amazing storm slamming the northernmost part of the USA. It was fun to keep track of their journey. Today, I read that they stopped to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame for about three hours. Those two need three days -- I'm just saying. And then, I got a little video in a text, of her walking into to her mom's house for the Big Surprise! Yes, it was a secret for her mom, and it was a dandy payoff. Her mom will appreciate seeing her, and then our daughter-in-law won't have to be so lonely while our son is listening to whales and shrimp...and other things...