Comments on: Facing the Elements

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:36:26 +0000

What helps you choose a different perspective?

Choosing and choosing and choosing again. I think it takes discipline and a whole lot of grace to have the kind of spirit that can look at things without grudges, guilt and frustration (toward self and others). I try to catch myself when I am going down one of those paths, and I try to pray, give the benefit of the doubt, and look for the positive.

I also seek to be secure enough in God’s love that I can not worry so much about what others think. I can remember that He knows my heart, and in the end, if I am doing all I can, it really doesn’t matter what others think.

By: Suzy

Suzy — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:04:12 +0000

I grew up and still live in Michigan, so I “know” cold too. Even when it’s from the door to the car to the door, you can freeze your patootie off. My girls refuse to zip their jackets which drives me crazy too. What’s the point of a nice warm OPEN winter coat?!? Anyway, one of my girls also came up with a little phrase when she was younger that always helps me put things in perspective when I feel like people are poking their noses (and opinions) where they don’t belong. She always said, “mind your own personal beeswax”. The “personal” always cracks me up, and by the time I’m done laughing I’ve forgotten why I was getting all t.o’d. Maybe it’ll help with your Dominican Grandma lady.

By: Allyson

Allyson — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:24:01 +0000

Angela — I was there ’93-’95, so I just missed him. My older sister however (Sis. Miller) would have overlapped him. She was there around ’90-’91, I think.

Good man to venture back. I remember thinking that MN would be a great place to live if you didn’t have to tract. Our standing rule was tracting until 40 below, so those preschoolers had it easy. (I say that, shivering in our 30 degree frozen rain storm this morning — oh la la MN is cold. Beautiful, but cold.)

By: Maralise

Maralise — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:25:09 +0000

Heather–I tend to take a different perspective altogether. Instead of looking at that woman’s reaction as one of love for your son, I tend to feel sorry for her. I always feel bad when people feel the need to judge someone else’s behavior when, if they had even a little creativity, they might choose another path (like looking at your pregnant state, like realizing that it’s none of their business, like trying to understand instead of judge). Our move to Austria (and our lack of a car) has taught me the importance of avoiding the appearance of cold (and avoiding the real thing also…people were wearing long sleeves and jackets in August when we arrived in hot pants and shorts). I try not to give someone else a reason to judge, but when (because it’s inevitable) they do, I try to realize that it’s their problem and not mine.

By: Lee Ann

Lee Ann — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:34:52 +0000

I served in the great white north of Japan, which is also cold, humid, and windy. My best friend served in the Dominican Republic, and we came home to BYU at the same time. I’d be in short sleeves and no coat, and she’d be huddled in a down jacket, cursing the “cold”–even though she’d grown up in Utah.

So, here’s another alternative explanation for you to try on…perhaps that Dominican grandma was feeling orders of magnitude colder than you, and cursing the cold that turned the adorable baby’s hands blue. Maybe?

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:16:52 +0000

Yes, Minnesota winters. When we lived there (’98-’06), my kids were in their little years, and I always felt the most sorry for the preschool teachers: they had a standing rule that all kids went outside to play if the temp was above zero. So the preschool teachers would have to stuff all those wiggly three year olds into their hats and boots and snow pants and scarves and face masks and march them outside, only to march them back inside 20 minutes later to take all the gear OFF and leave it in a sopping wet puddle under the cubbies. I did feel like a hearty soul, though, as a Minnesotan. Like everybody I knew in Utah who complained about the cold was a big ol’ baby and that I had gained some kind of moral advantage through my suffering . Although, I must say, 20 below DOES count as suffering.

By the way, Allyson, when did you serve your mission? My husband served in MN from 90-92–Elder Hallstrom. Part of the reason we went back to MN for grad school was because he liked it so much during his mission years. Even the cold.

By: Allyson

Allyson — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:26:44 +0000

Ah, missions to the great white north. Minnesota gave me a whole new appreciation for the word “cold.”

Now on my fifth 2 year old, the only thing that sways my perspective well is a decent amount of sleep. And quiet. And a good book. Rarities, granted, but they work.

And no, 2 year olds do not voluntarily wear gloves, any more than my 11 year old will wear long pants and a coat in the snow. And who gets the cold? me, of course.