Happy birthday, Isabelle

A year ago today, my niece by "adoption", Isabelle Gelder made her way into the world. We already knew that Alan and Lara were having a girl. So it was just a matter of waiting to meet her.

I ended up going to the hospital the following night after work to meet her. I held her and sang "Silent Night" in Irish Gaelic to her. When she cried, she squeaked. She was way too adorable.

Over the next few months, I spoiled her shamelessly. I got her little outfits and St. Patrick's Day socks. And I would sometimes go over the Alan and Lara's to visit her and help Lara out with the baby. And when I needed to get to the train station to come out to Utah, it was Lara who took me to the train station, with Isabelle in tow, and they were the ones who saw me off.

The last time I spent some real time with Izzy B was when the Gelders came out for David's wedding. Some of my time in Provo, Orem, and American Fork was spent keeping seven-month-old Isabelle entertained, and doing my "aunt-ly duties". I was even able to make sure she smiled during the family shots (at least the ones I wasn't in).

Happy 1st birthday, Isabelle. I love you.

Slan go foill...

Almost seven months...

It's almost seven months since I boarded the Amtrak train and made the trek out here. And I'm having major mixed feelings right now.

I'm glad to be here, don't get me wrong. This is Zion, after all. But I'm feeling a little lonely and homesick, especially since I can't go home for the holidays. And the fact that I can't be with my family for the holidays kinda sucks; I won't lie.

Thank goodness for friends here. At least I have somewhere to go. :)

Slan go foill...

Almost two years...

It's almost two years since Mom passed through the veil. I've found myself thinking about it. A lot of my thinking is centered on what I could have done differently when she was in the nursing home, dying of cancer. Could I have made time to visit her more? Could I have spent weekends in the Quad Cities? Should I have called more?

There is a question that will forever haunt me. Should I have left work earlier the day she died?

It doesn't matter that Dan and Sandy say that I have nothing to regret. I do; I regret not being there with Dave and Mom when she took her last breath. I will always wonder if she was thinking, "Where's my baby? Where's my little girl? Why aren't all of my children here?"

If I could talk to Mom, I would apologize to her profusely for not being there when she died.

Mom, I am so sorry I wasn't with you that day. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you all I wanted to.

Slan go foill...

Fragments by John McGlynn

John McGlynn is a singer-songwriter (I'd even put him in the category alongside Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues). His music always struck a chord within me. Here's a vid of him performing at the Boomboom Room in Dublin, Ireland.

I will admit I had a major crush on him when I was in my 20's. I still do, but it's not as major. I just love his music, and I do think he's majorly handsome for his age. *blush*

Slan go foill...

The perils of corporate America and living in a right to work state

I'm starting to see the perils of corporate America. Actually I have been for a while now. It seems that corporate America doesn't care about the working people. Case in point: I've been working for this company for a while, and I've learned that you can't afford to be sick. If you have to leave work early, even if you are sick, you get in trouble for it. *shakes head* I took another attendance point so I could rest yesterday and take care of my voice. Today, I'm going armed with cough drops and lots of fluids.

What happened to companies that actually cared about the well being of their employees? What happened to paid sick days? What's happened to those old days where you could take time off to get well? I fear those days are gone forever.

Slan go foill...

Taking a cue from the Amish...

Lately, I've been reading books by Beverly Lewis. Her books have been about the Amish people and their faith. I was introduced to these books by my aunt Annie years ago. They're actually really good reads, I think.

But what I've noticed about some of them is that if a member of the Amish community doesn't "toe the line" according to the church leaders of that district, they are put under the Ban, a shunning, meaning that the person in that sect is "Shunned". The person is not to be spoken to; in essence he or she is ostracized, even by their own family. This continues until either the person leaves the community completely, or they repent.

I've been reading a friend's blog. This friend actually left the LDS church a while back. He was a convert, like me, but he was experiencing some of this ostracism for reasons that I won't go into on this blog. But I've noticed, whether it be through personal experience or hearing about it second hand, that if a person doesn't "toe the line" in the LDS church, they can face the ostracism as well. Thankfully, I haven't had to face it personally, but hearing about these experiences has made me think.

Are some Mormons taking a cue from the Amish? Are they judging others in their own narrow minded ideas of what an ideal Mormon should be?

If this is the case, then I could be in a bit of trouble. Because I'm about to show that I'm not the image of an ideal Utah Mormon woman, especially when it comes to voting. I need to be myself in all ways, come what may.

Slan go foill...

September 11...

I will never forget where I was on September 11th, 2001.

I was at home in Muscatine. I had gotten up and was trying to check my email when I noticed that I was having problems with our Internet connection. I came downstairs to use the phone and that's when I got a glimpse on the TV of what was going on in New York. I saw the World Trade Center with a huge smoking gaping hole in it. At first, I thought that the fire was going to be put out so I didn't think anything of it. I made my call to the cable company and got back online; checked my email and went back to bed since I didn't have classes that day.

Mom woke me up a little later and told me what had happened in New York, thinking that our Internet went down because of it. She also had another shocker for me: the plan crashes at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, PA. I was immediately wide awake and in a state of shock. I couldn't believe it. Who'd want to attack us? And why? I was soon glued to the TV getting details and updates on the news. It was the first time I ever heard of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. They hated our country because of our different lifestyles. I became one of millions of witnesses to what is now called The War on Terrorism.

Once it became clear it was radical Muslims from the Middle East that were responsible, the backlash was horrible. I was sickened when I learned that my former Macro-Economics teacher, John Dabeet--originally from Palestine--was the recipient of death threats because of the incidents. The fear led to hate very quickly and I did my best not to take part in it.

And now ten years later, things are getting better. We're still vigilant, but there is hope that there's a light at the end of this long tunnel. With bin Laden dead, I pray we're close to this war on terror being over sometime soon. But we will never forget what happened that day and the fact that our innocence was lost.

September 11, 2001; I will never forget!

Slan go foill...