GREETINGS

               HOW ARE YOU?                                                                                                                HOOWDY-DO?  

        HOW YA DOIN'? 

                                                HEY! WHAT'S UP?  

HOW'S IT GOIN'?                                                                                                                       HOW YA BEEN?  

There are a lot of ways to greet someone.  And the expected reply is something akin to FINE. GOOD. OKAY.  It's just a greeting, after all.  Not really meant to elicit a detailed account of how you really feel.

Some years ago we went to church with a man who, everytime I greeted him with something like, "How are you doing today, Chuck?", his invariable answer was "INCREDIBLE!"

One day I said to him, "Get out of town, Chuck!  You can't be INCREDIBLE every time!"  Then he told me this secret of being able to say that EVERY single time.   It was that he might be either incredibly good, or incredibly bad, or incredibly happy...or incredibly sad.  Nobody needed to know.  They just needed to know "INCREDIBLE", and that usually set the tone for their day, too.

Years later when I worked for United Airlines and was the greeter for the flight, I used that little secret. If someone said they were terrific or super or outstanding--or any number of superlatives--I would then say, "Wow! Then we're twins because I am incredible!"  That usually brought a chuckle, not only to the person I was talking to, but also to the people right behind that person.  On some occasions I actually shared the story of Chuck always being incredible.  It was a good anecdote and gave people pause about the aspects of a positive greeting.

My uncle's consistant answer to that "How are you question?" was always something like "fair to middling" or "60/40" in spite of living with chronic pain.  No one ever knew how bad some of those days really were. Even in the hospital where he battled cancer to the very end, it was always the same.

I recently read about another man who had suffered in great pain during a lingering illness that finally took his life, too.  Instead of reciting all the misery he was in, he continued with the same reply he had always used throughout his life in answer to the question of how he was doing.  "Many things are going well."

These have been good lessons for me who is a complainer and a murmurer. I've often said I can do ANY hard job if I can complain every step of the way.  But no one wants to hear that.  It's off-putting.  So I have determined that I can do better.  I have MUCH to be thankful for.  And MANY blessings.  However, in spite of some setbacks and some challenges at this particular time which are truthfully really pesky, I am determined to begin 2021 with a new and more positive attitude which reflects the goodness of God and the many, many tender mercies that come to me on a daily basis.

"How are you doing today, Georgia?"  

"Many things are going well!"

PEACE AND SERENITY IN ALL TIMES

 I love Nativity sets!  In fact I love them so much, I collect them.  And now, after years and years, I have upwards of 500 of them in various sizes from teeny tiny to 15-18 inches.  And that number includes the Nativity ornaments on the Christmas tree, too.   I continually marvel at the countless ways this miracle is depicted through some artist's or creator's eyes.  Any Nativity set, whether manufactured in bulk or hand made, testifies of Jesus Christ. 

I love Nativity sets so much, in fact, I keep a few on display all year long.  Just glancing at them as I move around the house gives me a sense of peace and calm* as I contemplate that "one wonderful night" so long ago when Jesus Christ was born.  They are wonderful reminders of the humble beginnings of our Savior and Redeemer who ministered with love and goodness--ALWAYS!  Perhaps you feel the same peace and calm when you see a Nativity displayed, whatever the setting.

    --The top photo is part of the entire Nativity Festival I staged in our home in 2017.

    --The bottom photo is a set that is depicted in a rather non traditional way.  I displayed it all year      long a few years ago.

*This post is in response to #LightTheWorld for December 3rd

A DEMONSTRATION OF CHRIST-LIKE LOVE

Maude Huggins in the late 40's.  

This picture is how I think of my mother.  

She always looked like this, just older as the years went by.

#Light the World 2020 for December 3rd was to think of someone who demonstrated Christ-like love and post it on social media to share my comments with others. 

 I chose my mother Maude Marie Crane Huggins. 

Even though my mother has now been deceased for over 35 years, her legacy still influences me on a daily basis. Not only was she an exemplary model of kindness and charity, my mother never spoke negatively about anyone else. In fact if any negative comment was made about someone, my mother never took the bait to gossip or say anything that would add to that. Instead she would always find something good to say about that person, which could be very irritating if I felt wronged by something that had been said or done to me. This was especially true when I wanted to complain about my husband. 

My mother also loved babies and little children in the true way that Christ succored the little ones. She often said how unthinkable it was to hurt or injure these innocent little people whom the Lord loved so much. Kids knew that and gravitated to her warmth and love--and not just family members either.

There is no way to tally the number of meals or desserts she took to those who were ill or had suffered the loss of a loved one. Anyone who came to our home was always offered something to eat and a place to sleep. Many a time I was invited to give up my bed to make sure a "guest" would be more comfortable. 

My mother's Christ-like charity was practically legend with those who knew her, and I was always proud of the way she ministered as Jesus did "lifting the hands that hang down and strengthening the feeble knees".

I'll never be anything close to the person my mother was, but thinking of the way she treated other people always makes me want to be a better person.

BUT I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE MORE YOU ACT THE PART, THE CLOSER YOU ARE TO BECOMING THAT PERSON.

A CELEBRATION WORTHY OF DIAMONDS

Three quarters of a century!  That's a long time no matter what angle you look at it.  And I've been telling everyone (as this milestone birthday of mine has approached) that I'll be "celebrating in diamonds".  That is until COVID 19 restrictions forced us to cancel the Nichols Family Thanksgiving and the ensuing celebration for my 75th birthday.  I had so much fun on my 70th birthday, which was planned as a surprise, I initiated this celebration at the beginning of the year myself.  I reminded the family I was planning to retire on my 20th United Airlines anniversary in August.  So, make plans, reservations, book tickets, ask for time off, whatever was needed for us to celebrate BIG during the Thanksgiving holiday.  

Well, maybe next year....

Then the good old internet beckoned and look what I found when I Googled "75 years".  There is an awful lot of other stuff, including celebrities who are the same age as I am.  Some I knew about.  Some I didn't. Doesn't matter.  It's all about ME today!  

I was feted with birthday greetings--and gifts-- from family, friends, and even some people that I hadn't anticipated wishing me well "and many more!"  Plus PIZZA for supper!  Life doesn't get much better than this...

HERE ARE SOME "75" INTERNET ENTRIES....

• The 75th birthday is called a semisesquicentennial because it is half of 150 which is a sesquicentennial.  Also this....
• 
  
• What is 75th birthday called?
• 75 years of life is a milestone birthday, often referred to as the platinum celebration. This is a birthday that family and friends celebrate with love, as well as traditional gifts.
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• What is the best gift for a 75 year old woman?
• Good gift for a 75 year old woman…. Gold Painted Lord Ganesh Wall Hanging.  Alluring and enticing, this art piece is a perfect way to lift the style quotient of your home interiors. With this divine gold painted lord Ganesha wall hanging you will feel blessed.
• Indeed!  I would feel more blessed if I looked at the last family portrait, though it is missing some recent additions.

It's evening now, and I am reminded once again that a birthday is just another day of the year!  And though it was far quieter than I had anticipated, it was still a good day!  My hair even looked decent, the true gauge of a good day in my book.

Before I know it, I will be looking at 76 smack on.  And then I will be celebrating....

Platinum Plus!

WHAT THANKSGIVING LOOKS LIKE ALA COVID 19 IN 2020

 

Not at all like I expected.  That's for sure!

At the beginning of 2020, I reminded my children, et al, that I had plans to retire from United Airlines on my 20th anniversary in August.  And...since I was going to reach a milestone anniversary on my 75th birthday in December, I invited all of them to join me for Thanksgiving 2020 during which time we would also celebrate my DIAMOND birthday.  

I had had such a wonderful experience when they surprised me the day after Thanksgiving in 2015 for my 70th birthday.  This time I was going to make sure it happened again.  "So, get your ducks in a row, make your reservations, get the time off work, and make sure you're here for a really bang-up celebration."  I was really looking forward to it!  

In the 21 Thanksgiving Days since I began with United in August 2020,  there have been only about five or six that I had opportunity to spend the holiday with family--and only three of those were at my home.  The rest of them were during my time in another city with one of my children or with Louis when he came on a  layover with me.  The bulk of those Thanksgiving days, I was either on a plane with hundreds of other people who were trying to get to their family celebrations. Or I was esconced in a hotel room with hours on my hands and a Thanksgiving  hamburger meal from Mc Donald's before they closed at noon so their employees could celebrate with THEIR families.  Oh, I always took a ton of stuff with me to occupy my time, but there was always something lacking--FAMILY!  It never really seemed like Thanksgiving.  No wonder I was looking forward to a Thanksgiving celebration without any spectre of United's crew desk hanging over me.

Then coronavirus reared its ugly head, and all of our lives changed drastically.  Oh, not all at once.  But along the way the pandemic changed the face of our entire existence all the way from our employment to how we interacted with each other, at home, at church, and out and about.   Then I ended up taking a voluntary separation from United which they counted as retirement.  

Still, I was adamant that we were going to meet for Thanksgiving and my birthday.  The plans were all in place, reservations at hotels made, and tickets for air travel already purchased.  It looked like a "go".

However, a couple of weeks ago, there were more setbacks.  Plus more people in the family had contracted COVID--though everyone recovered without incident.  After some intense family texting, I finally made the final decision and said that "it" was just another day.  We could celebrate next year when all this crap was behind us.

Cancellations, refunds, disappointment.  

Then Louis and I started to scale down our Thanksgiving dinner to just a turkey breast, and some of the trimmings--but in much smaller proportions.  We even got just two pieces of pie instead of making a whole one. 

One unexpected result with only two diners, though, was a beautifully set table.  For years every time we have been together as a family, we have resorted to paper plates--albeit fancy ones--instead of generating a lot of dishes and a clean-up time that took hours.  This year I actually rooted around in the cupboard and the china cabinet in the front room to find some nice pieces that had service only for two.  I even dug out the silverplate and polished up two knives, two spoons, and four forks-- two each for salad and dinner.  And a centerpiece....  How fancy is that...!

At 3 pm we sat down to eat.  But there was something missing--FAMILY--in person.  The Zoom call was fun while we were all eating dinner at the same time, but not in the same place.

Next time, I opting for a Thanksgiving Day that gives us opportunity to be together in person as a FAMILY and actually looks, and FEELS, like a traditional celebration!

Is that too much to ask?!

A HIDDEN GEM

 

BACK STORY--

You know that little cubby you keep close to your bed which you pile up with those  bits and pieces of reading material you are going to get to SOMETIME when you have a minute or two to sit down and read?  Well, the other day I was looking at that stack and decided it was time to sift through it and start organizing those magazine articles and downloads and scraps of paper into a more accessible stack.  

As I was leafing through everything and categorizing each piece into a better system, I came across this little essay.  (I have no idea why it was tucked into one of those magazines I was saving.)  It was a submission I sent to the Ensign magazine in October 2010 in response to one of those invitations posted at the end of some of the articles appearing in the magazine calling for related experiences.   This one was obviously a request for personal encounters with the Book of Mormon.  

When I had initially read that now forgotten article which sparked my submission, I immediately thought of the following ongoing influence the Book of Mormon had been for me at a very critical time in my life.  It wasn't difficult to put my words on paper, and I sent it off right away.  I figured nothing would come of it except the satisfaction I had because I actually acted on that invitation.

A few months later I received a phone call during the time I was out walking while on a layover in Houston.  It was some woman on the staff of the Ensign magazine telling me that they had accepted my experience with the Book of Mormon for publication.  And, that I needed to resend a copy of it in a certain format, releasing my essay to them.  I did that in a New York minute!  Consequently, I began to look forward each month for the Ensign to arrive in my mailbox.  When it did, I would tear through each page of the issue looking for my "article".  

Months passed and my article had never appeared. By that time, we were no longer studying the Book of Mormon for Gospel Doctrine every Sunday as a Church.  Then years passed.  That rotation of four books of scripture to study came and went nearly twice.  

I finally gave up that my article would ever be published, as the magazine's format is now VERY different with its emphasis on young adults and the change to a more contemporary layout.  But...I think this essay is still a very good experience to share, even now, because there might be someone out there who reads this blog and might see it as a testimony which could strengthen their own.

So, here it is the way I submitted it to the Ensign over ten years ago:

One day several years ago when I was Visiting Teaching, one of the sisters I visited shared that she reread the Book of Mormon every year and testified to the great blessings that undertaking brought to her each time.  Prior to that visit I had read the Book of Mormon cover to cover only once, though I always studied it when I was preparing for teaching assignments.  After my visiting teaching visit I decided to use that sister’s example, and I began again, “I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents....” and read right to the end.  She was right!  I was blessed in many ways I recognized and in other ways I could not even put my finger on.  But my life seemed to go more smoothly.  Since that sister’s example to me, I have reread the Book of Mormon over and over. 

At one period of time when my life was overwhelmed with my husband’s leaving the family, the seemingly impossible tasks of new employment that was more than stressful, and my son’s chronic health condition, I felt like I was drowning.  However, because I had become familiar with the teachings in the Book of Mormon, I knew treasures of truth appeared when I “likened” the scriptures to my own circumstance.

In chapter 24 of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon, Alma and his people were living under great burdens placed on them by the Lamanites.  They prayed for help and received an answer that the Lord was mindful of their situation and would deliver them—but that until they were delivered, their burdens would be eased so the people could withstand them.  The Lord told them he would deliver them from bondage so they could stand as witnesses that he took care of his people in their afflictions.

I had studied that chapter many times before in my life, and I had taught it many times to other people in gospel classes.  I believed the truth of those verses.  So I read that chapter every day for nearly a year just to sustain and maintain myself—to remind myself the Lord cared about me, too, and would make things easier.    Though I still had to experience those trials, he did make the burdens lighter.  In time, through a series of circumstances, those burdens were lifted, and I was delivered from the “bondage” I was experiencing. 

Those verses in the Book of Mormon carried me through a time of great personal adversity with peace and a comforting knowledge that the Lord is mindful of all his children.

Georgia H. Nichols

Carlson Farm Ward

Johnstown, Colorado

Who knows what hidden gems can be found in unexpected places if you're willing to go through some of the odds and ends that have become just a cluttered part of the "landscape".

The Closing Bars of Rhaspody in Blue

A RHAPSODY IN BLUE...

 It's been almost 4 months since I hung up my uniform for the last time as a flight attendant with United Airlines.  During that time, I have made a weak attempt to go through the detritus of  20 years employment with them.  The first steps were pretty clear:  empty my suitcase and totes, toss from them what I no longer needed then store the uniforms until such a time as I can get them back to the Denver domicile for other flight attendants to take as supplement to their uniform points at Cintas (most of the items--excluding the dresses--are brand new, never been worn, and are still in the original packaging). 

Then the process became more complicated.  What to do with the usable bags, string back packs, and other convenient instant luggage for the occasions I purchased something on a layover that wouldn't fit in the suitcase?  How about the complete second set of cosmetics, just in case I got up too late in  a hotel room with no time to take a shower and  had to go to the airport dirty?   (Only happened once--but that was enough to make sure I was prepared in case it ever happened again!)  A stack of six by eight inch  envelopes crammed full of the paperwork for each month's trip assignments.  A small pile of greetings from other flight attendants wishing me Merry Christmas or just a friendly "Hello!"  Bits and pieces of company correspondence which just got tucked away--somewhere to get it out of the way.

Twenty years!  Who knew it would go on for that long?! In the beginning I said, "Ten years.  Just long enough to get that diamond in my flight attendant wings."  And I would be 65--retirement age.  But ten years passed, and I was in good health.  I liked my job.  Why not stay.  And then it went on for another decade.

 Being a stay-at-home mom was the only other time I've been in the same place for 20 years.  Those years flew by. I quit work at the library research center, delivered Harold a scant few weeks later, and started my career as full-time mother.  Remember... Ross and I had agreed that he would make the living--and I would make the living worthwhile.  

The next thing I knew that baby had grown up, finished a year at Brigham Young University, and I was dropping him off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo before his mission to Paris, France.  The following Monday, I was at a desk in corporate America.  

My feelings about my time at United Airlines, when  that giant chunk of my life as a flight attendant came to a close, seemed almost identical to my feelings after 20 years at home  I looked back and wondered where in the world had the years gone.  Yeah, I remember wanting desperately to retire around 15 years and beyond.  But though some of the days and weeks seemed unbearably long, in retrospect they whizzed by.   One day I was a recently minted flight attendant who knew nothing and was just bumbling along.  The next thing I knew, I was no longer the junior person on each trip.  There were plenty of new people with less seniority than I had.  The bad thing, I was old enough to be their grand mother!  Finally when the world turned upside down with the advent of COVID-19 and it was no longer smart to stay, I bid to exit from the company with a few dollars, some insurance for a limited time, and a "retired" status.

In my mind I could just imagine how it would be when I finally exited the Friendly Skies--I would be euphoric!  I would walk out with no burdens of bidding, seniority, Reserve status, or irregular operations to have to think about and plan around.  I would leave and not look back!  My happiness was going to be seeing Denver International Airport in my rearview mirror.  Travel?  Nah!  I wanted to go the opposite direction of the airport.

But there was no feeling of euphoria.  It was anti-climactic, to say the least.  Only one supervisor was in the domicile office (at least it was one who actually knew me) and no flight attendants in sight, at all.  The airport was virtually a ghost town, and the Departure board had only one and a half panels of posted flights instead of seven or eight panels.  It seemed surreal.

And in the three times I've flown as a passenger since my retired status, I find I don't like being in an airport--definitely NOT Denver International.  Because now, I am no one.  A nobody.  Just a regular person who isn't wearing a uniform--which provided a modicum of respect--and can no longer access doors and areas off limits to the flying public.  I had to admit I really missed that distinction.

THINGS I WON'T MISS....

--practically transparent toilet paper in airports, on planes, and in hotels

--getting ready in someone else's bathroom several days a week

--the inevitable sleepless night before an "o'dark hundred" check-in because of worry I will oversleep

--passengers telling me to "SMILE! It's not that bad!"

--the totally abject and distressing "feel" as each airport has remodeled and taken out all the walkways and installed in their place bars and other alcoholic venues and high end shops that have given the whole terminal a feeling of over-the-top oppulence.  In the end I traipsed down those once "airport like" walkways  feeling like I was truly in Babylon

--living out of a suitcase

--sleeping with the phone by my bed

--the Crew Desk calling with an assignment (Jungle Drums ring tone)

--yearly requalification and the 40+ hours of computer based training that preceded it.  PLUS two days of extremely stressful testing

--scary winter driving to DIA

THINGS I WILL MISS....

--association with the people I liked, although it was limited and about 99 and 44/100% of the time during my duties on the job, seldom in my real life.

--listening to General conference CD's in my car for long periods on every round trip to DIA.  They helped me through traffic snarls that were criminal and gave me a sense of peace by the time I drove into the employee parking lot.

--small opportunities to bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon by writing it in the copies of the Book of Mormon which I found in the nightstand drawer of every hotel in the Marriott chain where we stayed on layovers.

--leaving a thank you note for the hotel maid EVERY SINGLE NIGHT with my testimony about some gospel principle and an invitation to visit churchofjususchrist.org. 

--finding "tiny treasures" for myself and gifts for others while on my layovers.

--going to museums and other local attractions that were within walking distance or I could ride a bus or board a train to go see.

--eating a simple meal in my hotel room while doing a crossword puzzle.

--some opportunities to see friends or family members while on a layover.

--the smell of jet fuel, which is like perfume to me because it means I am going somewhere!

--the respect my uniform afforded me in airports, etc. and going through doors locked to the public.

--seeing the vastness of the earth and sky from 30,000 feet and knowing all this was created by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, not only as our earthly home, but for our pleasure and the sheer joy of living in such a beautiful place.  Oh the magnificent cloud formations and the patterns of farms and fields and the houses and building of cities!  That always generated feelings of great thanksgiving.

THINGS I ALWAYS SAID I WANTED TO DO AFTER I RETIRED...

--get acquainted with my back yard again.  

--organize my recipes and put together a small cookbook featuring the best of Nichols Family Eats

--compile a second volume to my first book "Letters of Testimony"

--update my will

--organize all paperwork, passwords, etc. in case anyone needed that information

--sort through the picture boxes and organize them in some way

--have a HUGE garage sale

--go visit my extended family meaning some of my nieces and nephews that I was close to while growing up

--clean out drawers and look through boxes that haven't been opened in two decades

--and on and on and on

Never got to spend time in the back yard because the temp was in the 90's every day and it was too unpleasant.  When it finally cooled down, it was time for bed.  I just wanted some hot, but not killer, days to bask in the splendor of summer.  Then I was called to teach early morning Seminary.  So there went the rest of the list, put on the back burner until the school year is over.  That's when I will really retire and tackle that years' long TO DO list.

And that is how I flew off into the wild blue yonder after spending 20 years in the Friendly Skies.  But in looking back, it was truly a rhapsody.  A Rhapsody in Blue which captured all the fantasies of everything that was good about being a flight attendant for United Airlines!

BON VOYAGE  to me....