1. Your earliest memory.
2. The first time you were comforted.
And
3. Something your mom/dad taught you.
It was really neat to think about what memories came to my mind of my early years of life. It's wild how much we forget as humans. I can barely remember a thing from my childhood in Utah. We moved when I was so young and my life in Washington is so much more clear. But I thought back and tried to really recollect my earliest memories of my life.
1. Finding a praying mantis with my brother, Spencer, on our swing set is the earliest memory I can recollect.
As I think about this very early memory it's really special to me. Spencer is one of my dearest friends and favorite people on this earth. He is the one who went on adventures with me, included me, pretended with me, grew up with me and was friends with James and now thanks to him he's now my husband. Spencer is an amazing person and I am so grateful he's my brother! How ironic that one of my earliest memories I can really recollect is with him. Yep, he's pretty special!
A few other hazy early memories are:
The huge sprinklers turned on at our school in Utah.
Playing with a childhood friend in a fort built with blankets and chairs.
2. The first time I can really remember being comforted was when I wanted my parents to get home and I was at a friends/neighbors home. I remember, hazily, praying in their backyard by a gate that they would come home soon. And I felt the comforting feeling of the Holy Ghost assure me they would be soon. And then they arrived minutes later.
This is also a special thing for me to remember and recollect because the Holy Ghost truly is a powerful comforter. There have been many instances in my life that I have needed his care. How grateful I am that I can have someone with me at all times, as long as I am worthy, to give me strength when I am feeling small or comfort me when I am lonely. That is a great blessing!
3. My parents taught me a lot. But the thing I feel that stands out the most is my dads respect and care for money. It has been ingrained in me to not spend money unless I have to. To not be frivolous with my earnings. And to be responsible with my $'s. Sometimes this learning was annoying and sometimes I still feel it's ok to splurge sometimes, but it really has been an important one in my life. I was able to go to college and pay for 1/2 my mission without debt. I have been able to help my husband earn extra money with little things I do. We have strived to be wise as a couple to not buy everything we want and to sacrifice things we desire to make sure we are being wise.
When my dad danced with me at my wedding that was his topic of conversation to. He advised me to be wise with money and to be smart with talking about it with James. At the time I thought, "oh boy, here goes dad on his money rant." But it truly is something he holds in great importance and I have a great respect for that. We as a family learned the importance of being thrifty, doing without and working hard for things that matter because of him.
I am grateful that our sweet teacher made us think about our pasts. Because looking back makes us realize our future. Each one of these specific memories has shaped me and has carried into the things I care about and do in my adult years. You learn good and bad from your past and both have a big impact on your futures. I am thankful for the times of the past that influence us for good in the future!
