#52 Stories of ME! (week three)

QUESTION:  WHAT GOALS ARE YOU ACTIVELY WORKING TOWARD RIGHT NOW?

While my children were growing up, there were lots of Family Home Evening lessons that they liked so well those lessons eventually became part of our “tra-NICHOLS-tions”.  One of them was our New Year’s lesson about setting goals. 

We each picked three things to work on as our personal goals, then together we picked three specific goals to work toward as a family.  I would type the goals and put them on the bulletin board so we could see them often.  Then, during the year we would review how we were doing and talk about some course correction.  Of course, we didn’t ever CALL it that, just some encouragement to stay on track of doing a little better every day.

It was surprising that by the end of the year when we reviewed how we had done, we had gone on that vacation.  Jeremy did climb a tree.  Harold did get an A in French….and so on.

Actually, it was the visual with this lesson which they liked so well.  And as the years went by, each of my children wanted to take a turn to manipulate the visual aid.  It was simple, really.  Just a reminder that goals are a written plan for our future, not a sculpture already set in stone.

First, I would show them a rubber band and make it stretch really wide then back again.  “Don’t choose a goal that has no set boundaries or parameters so sketchy you’re not exactly sure how you can accomplish it.”

Then I would show them a popsicle stick and break it.  “Don’t make your goal so rigid that you break yourself trying to reach it.”

Lastly, I would show them a piece of string and demonstrate how it could be tight but still have some flexibility.  “Give yourself some room in case you have to modify your goal.  You’ll still be able to accomplish it without feeling like a failure because you messed up by the end of January.”

Those were the old days.  Goals were the road to freedom and a feeling of satisfaction that something had been accomplished.

The old adage I was introduced to from a Relief Society Seminar in the 1970's by Daryl Hoole is still true:  "An ounce of morning is worth a pound of afternoon."

I used to get up, get moving, and get things done!  Just like THAT, every day. I don't know where along the way I started to slip a little here and there.  Maybe after those bone-wearying four-day trips that start out early on the first day, fly all day for four days with sits between flights, minimum layovers each night, and finally get home late on the last day.  

I would allow myself to sleep in.  Maybe get up but go back to bed.  But the worst was finding myself around noon still in grubbies and having done nothing but brush my teeth.  Then that process of getting ready for the day seemed even MORE daunting.

That has just about done me in over the past few years.  I HATE that routine of exercises, walk, shower, make up, etc.  Sometimes it seems like too big of a job.  

And those "to do" lists I used to jot down from advice by President James E. Faust who never went to bed without writing out a list of things to accomplish the next day--all went by the wayside.  Why write the same stuff over and over and over.  I even tried Faye Nix's method which I heard from her when we lived in Berlin:  three things ONLY on the list.  If they don't get done, put them at the top of the list of three the next day.  Three sounded doable to me, too.  But there have been days NOTHING got done.

I don't watch TV.  I don't even read any more.  That used to be a time user upper.  So, what excuse do I have other than non-motivation?  NONE!

I got into a habit of reading the Book of Mormon each year ACAD--a chapter a day.  Even though I saw new insights every year, that just wasn't qualifying for feasting on the word of God.  

I went back and read some of the note entries I made when I read the Book of Mormon a few years ago and decided to do an online journal.  I am surprised at some of the insight I had--and there was often a comment or two about current events in my own life.  But it was SO VERY time consuming because I don't have talented thumbs.  Everything has to be pick and click.  I was glad when that year was over!

After hearing President Eyring's Conference talk a few years ago about his writing down where he had seen the Lord's hand in his life on a daily basis, I promised myself I was going to do the same.  I am the recipient of many, many tender mercies.  But that, too, went by the wayside after a few entries.

I loved writing the Nichols Family News newsletter for ten years! I love to write.  I fancy myself a decent "essay" writer--never a novelist, etc.--but a chronicler of events in an interesting way. So, I said, "Two Blog entries a month.  That's a doable thing."  Lots of months I didn't even write one.  

With all that in mind, I made some goals for 2018.  Not too stretchy.  Not too rigid.  Just enough give and firmness to keep myself in line.

United has an incentive posted all over the airline, "What isn't measured can't be improved."

I'm sharing these goals with you so I feel more accountable.  Who knows?  Maybe I will succeed in moving the needle back to the productive side instead of hovering around the lazy bum side.  Let's hope so....there is a lot that needs to be taken care of!  And I ain't got THAT MUCH time left.....

Ready, set, go!

#52 Stories of ME! (week 2)

QUESTION:  WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU TAUGHT YOURSELF TO DO WITHOUT HELP FROM ANYONE ELSE?

ANSWER:  a monthly newsletter

PART ONE: 

I was on the yearbook staff when I was in high school--The Roundup of Rawlins High.  I loved that extra-curricular activity!  It made me feel pretty heady because it seemed like at that time it was a coveted spot to be.  (Maybe not....maybe it was all in my head!)  Still I remember being proud of my involvement.  I wasn't a bit interested in the Newspaper.  That seemed weak and kind of corny, at times.  But, the yearbook....Now that was something!

I learned three things while participating in the yearbook publication that have been an invaluable addition to my life.

First, I learned how to sell a product to a complete stranger.  The staff had to go out and sell advertising to keep the yearbook afloat.  It was scary to approach the local businesses, to be sure, but it taught me to swallow my fear, look people in the eye and tell them what I was selling and why. I learned to concoct a spiel all on my own which fit me and what I was trying to do.  Learning and practicing that gave me a distinct advantage over kids who were afraid to speak up, those who wouldn't make eye contact with the buyer, and the ones who seemed embarrassed that they were trying to sell a product even though it wasn't illegal, immoral, or unethical.  And the merchants were usually willing to buy.  But they made you work for the sale.  The better you were, the bigger the ad they took out.

I truly see online selling--all the way from Girl Scout cookies, to team fund raisers, to school or scout unit improvements--as a detriment to young people.  Where are they going to learn to interact with people, as well as all the subtleties that come with "selling" as they find themselves applying for a job, interviewing for a merit badge, or  asking for a raise?

This was the groundwork for all the selling I did over the years both for school fund raisers or my employment in corporate America.  And though I really do not like selling, I am a "cracker jack" salesperson!

Second, I learned how to write "copy", the interesting blurb to describe a photo or the text or message portion of an article, including the headline, sub-headlines, body copy, and any other information.

It was fun to be creative and "tell a story" in the captions rather than just make a statement about each photo.  Sure, the people had to be identified, but the whole layout was more inviting to read when the headlines instantly caught the attention and the copy held it.

Third, I learned how to crop photos so only the interesting parts were captured rather than fill a whole lot of space by just slapping a series of photos onto the page.  Size, shape, and a manageable number of items to feature all made such a difference.  It was calculated to emphasize or downplay, according to the purpose.

PART TWO:

Now I am to the part where I began in earnest to implement the skills I learned on the yearbook staff. 

From the time I was in grade school, I had assembled scrapbooks of some of my school work, greeting cards I had received, my Mutual (YW) Treasures of Truth book, The Nichols Family "Virginia Experience" scrapbook, and other collections.  I tried to make the books attractive, but the early ones were like the old photos in the Huggins Family picture albums--just stacks of photos pasted into the book side by side.  They were a little more attractive by the time I was a teenager, but truthfully, pretty much nothing but newspaper articles and other memorabilia pasted onto the pages.  Not willy-nilly, but not wow! either.

When "SCRAPBOOKING" arrived, I really admired all that fancy creativity to  display family events and photos.  But that wasn't me.  I don't have that artistic ability--or the patience to make a masterpiece of each page.  I have always done my best when words are involved.

I dabbled in a Huggins Family Newsletter during the late 70's and early 80's when Grandpa and Grandma Huggins were still alive.  But after they died and we no longer met as a Family Association, even that died out, too.  I've done fake newspapers to present lesson material.  And, I wrote a feature for the Arvada 5th Ward Flyer, "Getting to Know You" presenting a different family in our ward each month.  I had a series of questions I would use to interview the families that made for interesting reading.

Fast forward to when I moved to Johnstown and Bishop Hull called me to be a Family History Specialist with an emphasis on writing my own  personal history.  What better forum than a family newsletter to share those little chapters I wrote about myself--and add some other features about the family's adventures, etc. along the way.  Thus was the Nichols Family News launched in January 2003.

During the ten years I wrote that monthly newsletter, it went from one sheet on both sides in the beginning to five sheets on both sides by the time I had been writing it for three or four years.  It included excerpts from my personal journals, thoughts (remember I am an Aphorism Addict) family recipes, memories of my parents, excerpts from my mom's journals, favorite Family Home Evening lessons, bits and pieces I shared which I picked up here and there in the course of reading ALL kinds of written material, interviews with other family members, my constantly evolving testimony, and Momma G's State of the Family address every January.

And, I couldn't have done a bit of it without Microsoft Seven!  I had a plethora of fonts, layouts, word art, clip art, scanning ability, and lots of other options from which to choose that I learned to manipulate better and better over time.

In the meantime, I began being aware of some changes in published magazines' formats--even Church magazines which kind of came to the party a bit later.  Instead of just columns of words, the paragraphs and articles were arranged so they were short blips instead of nothing but close-spaced text.  Along with all that there were interesting little "spacers" whose format I also copied in compiling our own Nichols Family News.

Sometimes on Sundays I read those newsletters again, as opposed to reading what I normally do during the week. And what better reading material than a little Nichols Family history!  It doesn't take long to become absorbed with the memories those articles evoke.    I am sometimes almost astounded at the amount of work that went into that monthly endeavor.  Now, I wonder how I ever found the time to publish that family rag.  There is no time hanging around in my schedule for that now.

And, don't forget Brittany read every single issue of the Nichols Family News when she was preparing the Trivial Pursuit Game for my 70th surprise birthday party.  (I didn't even know some of the answers!  And, I wrote the book...)  It's still fun to play when the Family gets together.

It's a good thing that my ten year commitment came to an end about the time we got Windows 10.  Talk about a crippling and limiting program for desktop publishing!  Such a wimpy number of fonts, options, and diversity of layout.  What's worse,  the user-ability isn't at all friendly.  In short--IT STINKS!  And I'm not the only one who HATES Windows 10.

But when I look at those ten 3-ring binders on the bottom shelf of the book case in the computer room, I feel a certain sense of pride that I learned how to publish the Nichols Family News all by myself.

Thank you very much!

#52 Stories of ME! (week one)

I recently reread about Family Search's initiative last year to write your own story in 52 short chapters, one each week, using as a guide the 52 questions they published about a variety of topics.

During the 10 years I wrote the Nichols Family News for my kids, I included a lot of personal history in short little vignettes.  When I first moved to Johnstown, I was still on straight Reserve with United and during a period of 13 months had NO scheduled Sundays off.  I attended Church wherever I could on a layover, but to attend my own Johnstown Ward just didn't happen.  So Bishop Hull called me to be a Family History Specialist with the directive to spend some time each week writing my own personal history.  

I didn't like the idea of starting out, "I, Georgia Carol Huggins Nichols-Bateman, was born Sunday, December 2, 1945, at 1:16 a.m. at Carbon County Memorial Hospital in Rawlins, Wyoming."  

Nah!  That sounded BORING, so I decided to write about stuff like "Cars I Had Known", "Making Sunday the Best Day of the Week", "The Days of Her Life...a Modern Soap Opera in Three Acts", "Tickling the Ivories".  You get the picture.  

But I did know that there were lots of other chapters in my life that had never been tapped.  Maybe interesting.  Maybe not.  When I saw this initiative repeated as we were poised ready to launch into 2018, I decided I would take the challenge.  

WEEK ONE:   WHAT GOALS DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE THIS YEAR?

Best to start out with what goals I am NOT going to achieve this year. 

Starting with retirement. 

I submitted my retirement papers November 30, 2017, as United has a six-month notice requirement before leaving as a retiree.  The official day of my retirement was noted at June 1, 2018.

I had plans to have a huge garage sale--or one of those online dealies people can do now to sell their stuff.

I wanted to go through all the recipes and THROW OUT about 99% of them, reserving only those that we actually used.  Then I was planning to make a simple cookbook of about thirty dishes the family liked when they were growing up.

I thought about going through the picture box, and at least organizing pictures from each family into a box of their own.  Additional plans called for me to see about transferring all of Ross' slides to a video format.  All the info which would identify them now is GONZO, but I think the family might like to just peruse the pictures--especially of themselves at home and abroad.

There was a way-out idea I had to maybe spend some time visiting my children in such faraway places as Cincinnati, Portland, Payson, and yes, even Commerce City and Brighton.  I even thought maybe I could squeeze in a visit to some of my extended family or maybe even go see Rosalie Hall in Farmington, Utah.

And spend some time in  the drawers and cupboards:  all the way from the junk drawer to the little spaces under the bathroom cabinets which have all collected their own detritus. 

Compiling a second volume of my Visiting Teachers letters was also on the list.

Silly me!  

I kept bugging Louis, asking for his input and opinion before I submitted the retirement papers. He told me I could do what I wanted about retiring, I could retire any time I wanted. In fact he asked me why I had waited when I had said for so long I was going to retire a couple of years ago.  So, I went ahead and grabbed that freedom ring by clicking SUBMIT.

Alas....none of that was meant to be. I was finally able to pin Louis down, and we had the family council together which should have happened months ago.  It revealed that there was NO WAY I could retire and still keep this ship afloat.  The new job he took last summer in Greeley seemed like the answer to that question that's been on my mind for the last three years--RETIREMENT?  HIs new job was less yearly salary, but there was a $15,000 bonus as incentive providing the company did well.  Also, he was going to continue to drive for LYFT every evening for a couple of hours after work and on Saturdays.  And there would be my Social Security.  All combined would have made retirement doable.

When the hotel actually opened in September, life for him turned upside down.  He has put in 12-15 hour days, gone back in the evening after coming home, spent Saturdays and parts of Sundays there--and STILL didn't realize the bonus, or a raise, at the end of the year.  Also, no time to go drive.  He hasn't done LYFT for the last three or four months.  

So, instead of retiring and doing any of the above aforementioned activities in 2018, I will be flying around the Friendly Skies, dreading my yearly requalification in September--just like always--and battling with the traveling public.  

Then I did an attitude adjustment after taking stock of my blessings. I decided I have more than 95+% of the world.  And, I would rather continue to fly for $65/hour than find out I needed to take a supplemental job after retirement for minimum wage doing something like greeter at WalMart or lunch crowd at McDonald's.  I'll take United, thank you!

So....I went back to the drawing board.

Here are the goals I hope to achieve this year:

•    more conscious effort to emulate Christ ---walk the walk, talk the talk ALWAYS
•    continued good health to keep me active and strong to do my job
•    get through that pesky REQUAL without too much fear and trepidation
•    be able to see my family once in a while
•    Sundays off as often possible so I can do my calling
•    keep myself productive with small accomplishments along the way
•    continue my personal ministry
•    magnify each of my callings better
•    find joy in the journey
•    greater gratitude for the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life
•    learn more about the Old Testament

 Actually, not one of these goals is new except maybe the Old Testament one.  The others already have a foundation in my life.  My goal is to rachet myself up a step or two from where I am now.

And by  just doing that much should make 2018 "A Very Good Year!"