Ridley Update - In which more stuff happens

6/05/11 - 6/12/11

Sunday I was set apart as a Gospel Principles teacher in church and the counselors members of the bishopric took several minutes to get to know me - how my family and business are doing - and what it is like to counsel in the church versus what I do outside the church. I was then blessed by them not only with special help to be able to teach my class better, but with special help in my business and therapy that I do with others and that the business would grow. This was a relief to me and something I have been hoping and working toward. Later at home, In the effort to give Emily a break from rowdy and mischievous youths, I took the kids to a park where we sat and played (or tried to play) a board game. Until the pieces started blowing away. Then we trekked up and back on a series of wooden beams surrounding a garden, jumping from one to another and trying to pass one another without knocking each other off.

Hayley and I made a quick errand into a chance to talk on Monday. The recycling had to be taken out, so we took a drive and talked about whatever dads and daughters talk about. She helped me sort and toss various things - including a box of college papers and office items which were not intended to be recycled! Fortunately Hayley dropped the box on the ground and the contents spilled out where I could identify them before they could be pitched.

Tuesday, Nathan and I visited the Bishop's Storehouse here in Idaho Falls on a volunteer assignment to help restock and fill the shelves there. We were surprised to find the front of the storehouse laid out very much like a little market filled with all sorts of necessities from dish soap to deodorant to fresh fruits and meats to canned and frozen foods. All of these are measured out at no cost to families in the area who don't quite have enough to get by - sometimes in trade for whatever skills they can employ to help others. Nathan and I (along with some 20 something other volunteers of all ages) got busy pulling items from the huge warehouse out to the "store" floor and filling things up. Nathan was particularly talented at stocking toilet paper and chocolate pudding packets. He seemed to enjoy driving the box cart and breaking down the empty cardboard cases.

Wednesday morning - because Matthew had not gotten to go on any errands with Dad, he and I arranged to get up early and play the Wii. This is one of Matthew's most favorite (aka most often whined about) activities. He played several Wii Fit Plus exercise games before his brother and sister finally wandered into the living room.

Wednesday or Thursday evening (can't remember which), I learned that Matthew has a particular talent with a baseball bat. He can swat slow pitch underhand tennis balls out of the air with ease and whap them against the far side fence of our back yard. Hayley and Nathan joined in and Emily added some coaching and catching, and very soon we were getting to know our neighbors better through ball retrieval efforts. After Hayley circumnavigated our block to knock on their door, our over-the-back-fence neighbors let us know they had taken the initiative to snake a hose through the fence and thoughtfully water our trees in the 2 years nobody lived in house and could we please give their hose back some time soon.

Thursday I spoke to the Civitan (http://www.civitan.com/) youth group in Pocatello - a bunch of enthusiastic, service-minded teen leaders who did quite a bit more cheering and applauding than I expected. I spoke about healthy relationships - or how to take care of their own emotional needs so they can avoid "really lame" needy, fear-based, insecure relationships. We talked about how paying attention to how much their behavior is simply seeking a quick "feel good" or "look good" payoff rather than a "do good" right/moral choice. The discussion groups were lively and everyone was on-task and involved. At the end, I challenged them to think of something that diminishes their courage to do right and change it within 48 hours, or stand up for something they believe in, and then make a phone call or send a text message to report that they'd done it. Nobody backed down from the challenge. What a good group to speak to! This was my second year addressing them and I hope they invite me back next year.

Friday Emily and I went to a bit of a farewell dinner for the other therapist working with Uncle Bob and I at Well Spring Counseling. I thought I had eaten at Texas Roadhouse once before, but I must have been mistaken because I would have remembered any place where the waiters periodically line dance and every table is equipped with a gallon bucket of peanuts to shell and eat while you wait to order. The food was...really good. I have never seen ribs fall off the bone quite that way before (not that I eat a lot of ribs). And they had a gluten-free menu for Emily. Both of us were quite stuffed and, of course, brought home Saturday's lunch in a box.

Emily has been reading book 3 of Brandon Mull's "Grip of the Shadow Plague" (Fablehaven, #3). And I have been reading Shannon Hale's "Princess Academy" (Hayley has been trying to get me to read this book for about three years). Also, I really enjoyed David McCullough's presidential biography "Truman". I have really enjoyed Mccullough's "John Adams", "Mornings on Horseback" (early life of Ted E. Roosevelt) and "1776" - and "Truman" was no different - although the only copy I could conveniently get was abridged and it is obvious that the book would have been better without chunks dropped out. He's a great writer and must do a ridiculous amount of research for each one.