FLIP....OR FLOP?

Louis' sister and her husband came to see us recently.  It was the first time they had come to our home in the 15 years we have been married. 

I had to work some of the days they were in town, but Louis had planned a robust sight-seeing agenda which included taking them to our Secrest Court house in Arvada to show them where we used to live.  But I happened to be home on that particular day, so I went along.  It has been awhile since we have driven by our old house--remember it was three years before I could even bring myself to drive by it the first time after we moved--but I wasn't prepared for how even more run down the property is.

It was Memorial Day.  The Griffey Family was home and all working out in the yard.  The dad was mowing the lawn on the riding tractor and some young adults were in the garage.  No one seemed to notice us.  But when Louis turned around at the top of the curve just south of the house, Kelly came running toward our car.  Busted! 

I wasn't in the mood to "make friendly" because even now when I think of how they changed the whole persona of our wonderful Nichols Family home, it makes me sad.

However, Kelly didn't seem to notice my lack of enthusiasm as she gushed in ebullient terms how much they LOVED the house .  How they had gutted it to the studs and redone the whole thing.  In nauseating detail!  She shared that their 12 year old son at the time wanted to be an architect, so their architect friend let him "design" the house.  Then they remodeled it.

In addition to the changes not being in keeping with the style of the neighborhood ( 21st century facade and interior changes in a 1970's neighborhood), the workmanship on the remodel is not really a professional job.  The details haven't been attended to as they should be in a total remake.  The driveway is still in the same place, and the new garage just has something like a cinder drive.  The windows are awkwardly situated, and the symmetry of downstairs windows to upstairs windows has been lost.

The fences are completely gone now.  The bushes and the one tree in the back disappeared a few years ago, but all three of the big cottonwoods in the front yard are now gone, too.  It is as bare as the day we moved in!  The grass looks deplorable--remember we didn't have the fanciest or most cultivated yard in the neighborhood, but we had the BEST grass--and the rocks in the front ditch that it took us so many years to finally put in place are all overgrown with weeds. 

It was a sad sight to behold.  Especially since Coleman was out in his yard working, and it still looks as great and as lovingly cared for as it did when we lived next door.  So, it's not that 25 years have eroded the property.  It's the people who bought the house "for the land" who eroded it.  And yet they haven't planted a garden or even kept what "land" we had in decent repair.

At her first invitation to go in and take a tour of the house, I murmured thanks but we were going out to Jeremy's grave to put some flowers on it.  Kelly persisted...anytime we wanted, we could just knock on the door and they would show us all the changes.  I didn't say anything.  Neither did Louis.  As we left, I thanked him for not agreeing to go inside.  He said he had kept quiet because he knew I wouldn't want to.

Still after 13 years, I feel like if I had known that the people who bought our house would want to "gut it to the studs and make it better" I would have waited for a different buyer.  A family who could see it was a special home where the house itself had figured in some great memories and experiences for nearly 25 years.  Some family who could see it had been someplace special and wanted to make it their "special" home, too.

Some cosmetic changes?  Yes.  New paint.  New carpet.  Even change the awkward sharp right turn to go down the basement stairs.  Yes.  But change the very appearance of the house in a flip?  Not!  The Secrest Court house deserved better than that.

Houses get flipped when they are unsalvageable wrecks, mutilated by people who didn't take care of their home because they didn't love it.  I see that channel on TV where the Property Brothers and other "flippers" go into a home and renovate it.

Sometimes the place IS a wreck.  But sometimes it isn't.  And I look at the houses like that and I think, "I wonder what that home's family would think about the horrible things the potential buyers and brokers are saying about the architectural features and room decors they are bashing?  Just ripping it all to pieces like it didn't have any personality at all."  I'm thinking that family might be feeling the same way I do about our Secrest Court house. Sad and disappointed at the outcome of a terrific property that was our home, our sanctuary, our holy place.

I always imagined there would be nostalgic pleasure in driving by 7328 Secrest Court and saying, "There's where we used to live.  Remember the good times we had there?  Wasn't that a great home!"

Instead, I think this "flip" was a "flop"!

"TO THE RESCUE..."

I was asked to give a talk at our Windsor Stake Relief Society Spring Event a few weeks ago.  The assigned subject was Visiting Teaching as it relates to rescuing.   I was asked to reference Elder Mervyn B. Arnold's talk in April 2016 General Conference AND since the Event theme was Alice in Wonderland's famous statement, "Which way should I choose?" I was also supposed to work Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee into the whole mix.  WHEW! 

I was very  pleased to receive the assignment.  After having been in the Arvada Stake for 35 years and having had a fairly good reputation for being a remarkable teacher and speaker there, it has taken a long time here in the Johnstown area for my circle of influence to widen.  This invitation made me feel like I was finally a part of the stake.  And, I think it also helped that our newly created Windsor Stake was cut off from the part of the Greeley Stake that had all the established "go-to" people who were the speakers and leaders over and over and over since I moved here 13 years ago.

Anyway, it was a fun task.  It wasn't overwhelming or daunting.   Elder Arnold's remarks were divided into four sections as to how we could help in the Lord's efforts to rescue any and all who need rescuing, though some may not even know they need that helping hand. After rereading his talk, I immediately thought of personal experiences I have had as a  Visiting Teacher or a Visiting Teachee--especially in regard to my calling to write to the no-contact sisters which I have done for the past 16 years now.  I used some of those experiences to illustrate each of those four directives.  And I managed to work in the  Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee slant, too.  (The other speakers had to reference the Mad Hatter and some other parts of Alice in Wonderland's famous characters and situations.)

It wasn't even scary to deliver the talk!  These experiences were so much a part of me that I just stood up and began sharing the stories that were so remarkable in my more than 50 years as a visiting teacher and a visiting teachee. 

Most gratifying was that my comments resonated with so many sisters.  Not only at the luncheon afterward, but also since, as I have seen sisters in the stake at church and social functions several have expressed to me that my words and experiences helped them see Visiting Teaching in a different light.  One woman even asked me at  a local store in Johnstown if I were Georgia Nichols.  When I replied in the affirmative, she told me it was the BEST talk of the program and it made visiting teaching sound like a wonderful thing to be involved in rather than just a monthly item to do.  I even got notes in the mail.  (Something I loved!)

Spirit speaks to spirit.  And it did that rainy day "down the rabbit hole" where we all shared Alice's adventures in Wonderland.  It was clear we learned which way we should choose to go:  to the temple, to our family history, and TO THE RESCUE!

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM...

NOTE:  I ACTUALLY WROTE THIS BLOG ENTRY MONTHS AGO BUT DIDN'T PUBLISH IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO ADD SOME PICTURES I HAD TAKEN OF THE DISPLAYS.  WELL, WINDOWS 10 PRESENTS BIG PROBLEMS TO ME BECAUSE THE WHOLE PROCESS IS SO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I WAS USED TO WHEN I WROTE THE NEWSLETTER.  PICTURES TO A FILE AND THEN DRAG THEM WHERE I WANTED WAS NO PROBLEM.  NOW I AM AT A LOSS.  

I AM ON A LONG LAYOVER IN TULSA TODAY AND THOUGHT TO MYSELF "WHY NOT JUST PUBLISH WHAT I HAD WRITTEN.  IF I EVER RETIRE--HAHAHA!--I CAN ALWAYS ADD THE PICTURES LATER."  THE PICTURES ARE WORTH SEEING AS A TESTAMENT TO THE WONDERFUL EFFECT THE WHOLE CHRISTMAS EVENT WAS AS A VISUAL.  SO, I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING ABOUT THIS UNIQUE CHRISITMAS EXPERIENCE FOR ME.

I wasn't sure I was going to display all the Nativities I have collected over the years for Christmas 2015.  Because it is a tremendous amount of work, but with a tremendous reward for doing so, I couldn't make up my mind whether or not I was going to be up to it.  

However, when I thought of the great Christmas spirit it brings to me now that my kids are grown and gone and there is no more excitement connected to planning for this wonderful holiday and preparing small gifts for them in fun and thoughtful ways, I remembered how much the Young Women of the ward have enjoyed their YW hour here while I gave a little lesson about the particulars of Mary and Joseph and then I shared my personal conversion to a Christ-centered Christmas.  And...I still had a few vacation days left plus three days of funeral leave after Louis' brother Barry died.  I figured those few days would be enough to pull the whole thing off.

Boy, did I totally UNDERestimate what was involved!  But by working literally 15 hours a day for about six days in a row, I was finally ready at midnight on December 12th.  The YW were scheduled to arrive at 11am the next day for their Sunday meeting hour.  I made it!  And STILL added a couple of things at the last minute before they came. 

Some of those days I hadn't even walked out of the house I was so driven to set up the Nativity sets and stage them so they were displayed in a pleasing way.  I think I succeeded.  The displays were better than last time, though some could still use more tweaking with additional time to do that.  But with some changes I made from the original set up years ago,  along with using the additional  space above the kitchen cabinets, the whole scene was literally breath-taking.

Scented pine cones in a low oven made the whole house smell like cinnamon.  And the Sugarplum spray from Pier One Imports added just the right spice to make it smell like Christmas.  Low background music of the Tabernacle Choir's best Christmas  carols set the mood for a very spiritual event.  Outside lights, inside lights--they all enhanced almost 300 manger scenes, including those on the two decorated trees.

This Nativity Festival in Johnstown at Sweetbriar the last few years was my attempt at missionary work in my own neighborhood.  I have a lot of opportunities to share my testimony about Christ and other gospel priniciples at work as a flight attendant, but I haven't been so good about reaching out to my neighbors with an invitation to find Christ.  This seemed like a perfect way for me to do that.  Some years at my Nativity open house  I have handed out the DVD about Christ's birth that the Church produced a few years ago.  Always there is a basket of Nativity related puzzles or DIY manger scenes or pencils or simple Nativity ornaments which the kids can pick from to take home.

This last Christmas was my best effort so far.  Just about 150 people came for the three Sundays in December I held the open house and also times by appointment for other families in response to the invitaiton to call me for a different time if those Sunday afternoons didn't work.  I said six pm for a close to each week's open house, but every Sunday there were people there long after that visiting and just enjoying the wonderful Spirit of Christmas which enveloped the whole house.  One family had come on Christmas Eve day two years ago as part of their FHE, and made a visit to our Nativity Festival part of their Christmas celebration again--this year seeking the sheep--for their Family Home Evening.  The last guests came on January 10th because the dad is now the bishop in the Severence Ward--tithing settlement, etc--and they had taken their family on a vacation right after Christmas.  It was okay.  I had no plans to take the whole thing down immediately.  I was too tired still from putting it all on display!

Some of our non-member neighbors actually came.  But the one group which made my heart the most glad was a non-member neighbor a couple of streets over who had come two years before with her two teen age sons and had brought a recently widowed friend  with her 12 year old step-daughter.  Sandy told me later her friend had told her she had felt such a spirit of peace when she had been there.  

So, this year a few days before the first open house, Sandy called me to see if she could come on Saturday, not  Sunday, because her recently widowed aunt was there visiting and she wanted her to see the beautiful display.  Unfortunately,  it was our ward Christmas party that Saturday with it's attendant assignments.  So, I had to decline.  But Sandy and her two teen age sons--now much taller--were the first to ring the doorbell on Sunday.  And there was Sandy's aunt with them. Sandy had encouraged her to stay a day longer and come with them.  I was so happy for the spiritual impact that had made such an impression ppreviously.

Though it was the end of January before all lthe Christmas stuff got to the basement, and another month before I was able to pack everything away and reorganize the basement (the Christmas corner has now spilled over into the next section of basement!) the whole event was soooo worth the trouble and effort it took.  

I think the Lord was pleased with my offering to keep "Christ in Christsmas"!  

Why don't you plan to bring your family and come and celebrate with me in 2017?  Surely I will be be retired by then, and we can enjoy this Christmas event together.

CRYSTAL CLEAR...

Louis and I celebrated our 15th anniversary last week.  The Crystal Anniversary (who makes these designations?)  Anyway, I read that the 15th anniversary is a huge landmark for a marriage so it should be properly celebrated.

Well, I think any anniversary should be properly celebrated, so I suggested to Louis that we extend it out for a few days.  I was on a three-day trip laying over in Orlando or Hartford or somewhere on the actual day--May 12th.   But as soon as I got home the following day, Friday the 13th, we began our little commemoration.

We went to the temple.  It was our Windsor Stake day with a chapel meeting at 4 pm which we were able to attend before the 4:30 session.  After that was over we just mosied on home picking up some fast food along the way since we had eaten before we went into the temple.

On Saturday Louis spent the day at the temple as per his usual assignment.  I took Burgandy shopping for some new duds to complement her new position at Lennar Homes.  Her first assignment was to go to Califoronia for training for two days.  Couldn't let her go in raggedy old Levis and a stretched out T-shirt.  Pulled out all the stops and bought some really nice "business casual" attire to send her off in style. 

When Louis got home from the temple Saturday evening, we went to see The Jungle Book.  I had never seen the cartoon version from start to finish and didn't really know the story line, but I had always liked the songs.  The movie was great!  I bawled. I was in awe.  And I thought Mowgli looked JUST EXACTLY like the cartoon boy.  He was outstanding!  I don't know how he did all that running through a jungle.  One of the girls recently graduated from Primary was there with her older sister.  Dani opted for them to sit by us.  (She has always come up to me with a big hug ever since I was sustainded as Primary president.  It makes me feel good that someone in there recogonizes me.)

After Church on Sunday we went to downtown Denver to the Marriott City Center Hotel for the night.  It was fun to drive around the city and look at how things had changed.  And it was really lots more fun because the traffic was light and there weren't a lot of people and cars behind us pushing us along when we wanted to take a minute to look a second glance at something.  We also drove over to Aurora after we ate.  Louis wanted to see Fitzsimmons Hospital--now the Anshutz University of Colorado campus--because they have torn a lot of the buildings down in anticipation of the new VA hospital facility which is still being built.  It is no longer an Army facility, but the "guard shack" at the entrance was still there.  However, the building which was his barracks while he was recouperating was gone.  

All these days it had been raining.  When we got up on Monday morning, the weather was no different.  But we didn't let that stop us.  We had planned to take the new light rail from Union Station out to DIA.  It was fun!  We got a day pass which included round trip fare and jump on and off wherever along the way until 3am the next morning.  We had orginally planned to eat at Elway's Steak House at DIA.  But we'd had such a filling hamburger supper at BJ's the night before, we opted for KFC on the A concourse.  

Took pictures of each other in front of the "Wish you were here signs" at DIA and then rode the train back to Union Station.  The rest of the afternoon Louis took me from thrift store to antique store to thrift store  then to the Zoo where I found my anniversary present--another elephant to add to my ever growing collection!  Surprise, surprise!  And for Louis?  He got M&M's.  Just what he likes, too.  

Might seem like dumb presents or not in keeping with a "crystal" attainment, but we each got something we really like.  Spend the money on the fun.  Didn't need the fancy dinner party with crystal appointments that was indicated as "must have" for a proper celebration.   Then it was home to spend a cozy evening out of the rain.  

Rated five stars by me!  *****  I think Louis gave it the same rating.

So, there you have the story of our drawn-out celebration for a note-worthy milestone.  It has been an interesting 15 years as we have tried to meld two completely different lives--and lifestyles--into a fairly compatible unit.  Lots more challenging than starting out young without the trappings of a previous marriage to get in the way now and then.  But think of what we've learned....patience, acceptance, comopromise but mostly not to kill each other.  HAHAHHA!

Maybe we'll do things up a little fancier for our "Sweet Sixteen" next May 12th.  Who knows, we may have a real need for silver hollowware by then.

Anyone out there have a coffee pot for our next anniversary celebration?

NEWSFLASH...OF SORTS!

For about three weeks, we kept getting notices at work that there was going to be some kind of announcement April 18th about the contract between United and Continental flight attendant groups. Well true to form, the 18th came and went without any kind of update.  Was anyone surprised?  Nope!

Then this last Thursday word got around that the target date for a completed new contract is June 2017.  That means the tentative contract will have to be presented, voted on, ratified, and signed by every single flight attendant before it can become "law".  And, if the contract is voted down--as were the pilots' and machinists' first contract--it could be even later than next June.

I am pretty bummed, to say the least.  That means more than a year more for me to work--unless United decides to offer a buyout BEFORE the contract is ratified completely.  One more summer.  One more yearly requalification.  One more winter of bad weather on the ground and up in the air.  One more. One more....

Good thing I'm still on my feet.  I'll keep you posted if I hear about a "Get Out of Jail" card coming my way.  Today I'm not thinking the skies are all that friendly.

CONFESSIONS OF AN APHORISM ADDICT....

I've always been crazy about aphorisms, pithy little statements that can say so much in such an economy of words.  I began collecting them when I was growing up.  My scrapbooks and journals are full of quotes and sayings and all kinds of verses that have appealed to me over the years.  They have become like old friends, and I often reflect on their wisdom.

These little gems are sometimes in odd places, so I always carry a pad and a pen with me even when I go for a walk on my layovers.  I have often been rewarded for doing so because I can no longer remember a catchy phrase or a snappy sentence like I used to be able to do.

This one has been on my nightstand for the last several months.  Have no idea where I found it. But I jotted it on a notepad from Crowne Plaza Hotels and tucked it into my bag or my purse and promptly forgot about it until I was searching for some other scrap of something I needed.  By then the paper had been folded into such a twisted wad, it was ready to tear.  The writing was blurred, like it had been around some kind of liquid, and had even begun to fade.  So, I transferred the wad to my bedside so it would be visible and not end up "lost" again until I could decide what to do with it.  I have moved it myriad times while dusting, because since I quit writing the Newsletter I no longer have a folder for these little bits I used to like to share in that forum.  Frankly, though it was worth sharing, I didn't know what to do with it.

I had the day off today.  Didn't do a lick of housework, but spent my time writing letters and doing odd jobs here and there that relate to keeping my life organized in my calling and in my work life.  Don't have to do the bills until tomorrow when this loooong stretch of 15 days since my last paycheck is finally over.  Now I have an evening ahead of me to spend in a way that  gives me great pleasure--writing.  This is the night I am going to give that aphorism a permanent home on paper.  I liked its substance when I wrote it down, and I have reflected on it many times while it has been residing as a lone resident on my nightstand.  It has a particularly positive statement for me, who can dwell on things in the past with the best of those who see the glass half empty. 

And after all that wordy explanation, I will introduce my little gem with another one which I CAN recall word for word:  "Each day comes bringing its gifts.  Untie the ribbons!"

What a great segue for the sage advice I promised from that scrap of paper: "Don't ruin a good day by thinking about a bad yesterday."

Good recommendations for all....

RISING STAR IN SOCCER!

PLAYER OF THE GAME @CENTAURUS

Congratulations to CAMERON NICHOLS for being selected the Prairie View Girls Soccer Player of the Game on 3/15/2016 6:00 PM

Cameron played the entire game at outside defender and she was able to account for many game changing plays.  Frequently, she utilized her tactical awareness and athletic agility to thwart quality Centaurus opportunities.  She was the most consistent defender on the field and her ability to defend without fouling her opponent was also something that had a huge impact on the trust she has instilled in her coaches.  Cameron is diminutive and she does not possess an overly boisterous personality, but that is what makes her special on this Thunderhawks roster.  She, unlike many others that wear black and gold, allows her play to do the speaking and she is more fearless than half of her teammates.  Without a doubt, she is a treasure for the Thunderhawk defense and someone that will be relied upon to lead by example throughout the remainder of this season, as well as the many seasons to follow.  Bottom line, Cameron deserves high praise for the consistency and soccer IQ she plays with.  Well done!--Girls Soccer Coaching Staff

Cameron Nichols--Freshman   Graduates in 2019     Prairie View High School, Henderson, CO

(Courtesy of www.maxpreps.com)


NOTE FROM MOMMA G:
These 2GNK (Second Generation Nichols Kids) are ALL stars!  And in a great diversity of areas, too.  I gave each of them a "star" ornament for Christmas 2015 as a reminder that each is a standout in whatever is being pursued.  And aren't we all  so proud of our people?!?!?!?!  Let's hear some more of the awards and recognition they are receiving in school, church, and work!  Send your entries to me at mommuzamom@msn.com.