When I was growing up, Springlake was just a dot on the map. There were maybe 200 people there, and that’s if you took in all the fields. Now it has grown considerably, but when I was young it was a small, safe place to be. I think fondly of riding my bike to the little store and buying penny candy. I think of all the many nights we went down to the church, and played red light, green light on the lawn. I remember one night walking down to Margie’s and we had just seen the movie The Birds. Along the wires above our head sat thousands of birds. We screamed and ran. I loved skating on the lake in winter time. I also remember going down in the bulrushes by Margie’s and playing all day long. I don’t think my mother ever worried about me, because it was so safe. Springlake will always be home. It will continue to bring that warm secure feeling of being accepted.
Of course, my next favorite place is Hawaii. I had several significant events happen while living in Hawaii. The most important is meeting Eti. While we were there, single, we had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends. When we went back after we were married, we had significant life changing events happen. We had two of our children born there. We received our education there and graduated. Our marriage was tried and tested and we succeed while there. I remember shipping our car over and it seemed like every Saturday we went sightseeing or to the beach. We had a lot of fun with Susi and David and eventually Eric. Unfortunately for Emilee, she was only five weeks old when we left. We had many faith promoting experiences in Hawaii. We lived right by the temple and spent a lot of time there. I learned to love the forthrightness of the Polynesians and their ability to love.
Like Hawaii we had many life changing experiences on the reservation. I also learned to love and appreciate the Native American Culture. I learned to love the students I taught. We had many enjoyable experiences there. It was there that Eti became a Bishop, certainly a trying time in his life. It was there where I learned what true service was like. It was there that we had Ta’ei. It was there where we met and made good friends that will never be forgotten, namely Barbara. Barbara taught me more about handling students in a classroom than any education class I took. I will forever be grateful to her and miss her so. I hope that she has found peace and comfort. It was on the reservation that I learned to truly love the desert. I love the wide open spaces and the colored rocks. I love the cedar trees and the sage brush. I learned to love the heat and the cold. I loved to see what I could do in my yard with a little work and some water. I will always have fond memories of living there. I believe that our time on the reservation truly shaped the lives of not only Eti and I, but of Susi, David and Eric. Emilee and Ta’ei were so young when we left that they missed out on some of those wonderful experiences.
St. George is a wonderful place to live. When we moved here, it felt like a spiritual experience. Where we moved to, became a spiritual experience. We were driving past the house and this woman ran out with a flyer. We stopped and saw the house. There was such a feeling, it was like coming home. We brought the kids over to see it and they loved it. We reminded them that it was small, but they didn’t care. I reminded them that there would be no fighting. It has been a good home. We moved to be closer to mom. She was getting older, and we knew she would need our help. In some small way, I hope we were. At least I hope she was not as lonely. We will die here in St. George. I don’t see us going anywhere else. We love the desert around us. We love the fact that we are close to Zions, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Pine Valley and all the other spectacular sights that are in driving distance. I could go on about the trips and the friends we have made and the places we work, but that will be for another day.
This is now the place for us.
My favorite Places
I’ve been thinking of where my favorite places in the world are. Of course, I haven’t been to very many places in comparison to other people, but I think of several places fondly. I guess the first one would have to be my childhood home in Springlake. The next would have to be Hawaii, and then I would have to say the Reservation. Last of course, is where I live now in St. George. Each one of these, and many others, hold a place in my heart. Why? because significant events have happened in each one.
When I was growing up, Springlake was just a dot on the map. There were maybe 200 people there, and that’s if you took in all the fields. Now it has grown considerably, but when I was young it was a small, safe place to be. I think fondly of riding my bike to the little store and buying penny candy. I think of all the many nights we went down to the church, and played red light, green light on the lawn. I remember one night walking down to Margie’s and we had just seen the movie The Birds. Along the wires above our head sat thousands of birds. We screamed and ran. I loved skating on the lake in winter time. I also remember going down in the bulrushes by Margie’s and playing all day long. I don’t think my mother ever worried about me, because it was so safe. Springlake will always be home. It will continue to bring that warm secure feeling of being accepted.
Of course, my next favorite place is Hawaii. I had several significant events happen while living in Hawaii. The most important is meeting Eti. While we were there, single, we had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends. When we went back after we were married, we had significant life changing events happen. We had two of our children born there. We received our education there and graduated. Our marriage was tried and tested and we succeed while there. I remember shipping our car over and it seemed like every Saturday we went sightseeing or to the beach. We had a lot of fun with Susi and David and eventually Eric. Unfortunately for Emilee, she was only five weeks old when we left. We had many faith promoting experiences in Hawaii. We lived right by the temple and spent a lot of time there. I learned to love the forthrightness of the Polynesians and their ability to love.
Like Hawaii we had many life changing experiences on the reservation. I also learned to love and appreciate the Native American Culture. I learned to love the students I taught. We had many enjoyable experiences there. It was there that Eti became a Bishop, certainly a trying time in his life. It was there where I learned what true service was like. It was there that we had Ta’ei. It was there where we met and made good friends that will never be forgotten, namely Barbara. Barbara taught me more about handling students in a classroom than any education class I took. I will forever be grateful to her and miss her so. I hope that she has found peace and comfort. It was on the reservation that I learned to truly love the desert. I love the wide open spaces and the colored rocks. I love the cedar trees and the sage brush. I learned to love the heat and the cold. I loved to see what I could do in my yard with a little work and some water. I will always have fond memories of living there. I believe that our time on the reservation truly shaped the lives of not only Eti and I, but of Susi, David and Eric. Emilee and Ta’ei were so young when we left that they missed out on some of those wonderful experiences.
St. George is a wonderful place to live. When we moved here, it felt like a spiritual experience. Where we moved to, became a spiritual experience. We were driving past the house and this woman ran out with a flyer. We stopped and saw the house. There was such a feeling, it was like coming home. We brought the kids over to see it and they loved it. We reminded them that it was small, but they didn’t care. I reminded them that there would be no fighting. It has been a good home. We moved to be closer to mom. She was getting older, and we knew she would need our help. In some small way, I hope we were. At least I hope she was not as lonely. We will die here in St. George. I don’t see us going anywhere else. We love the desert around us. We love the fact that we are close to Zions, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Pine Valley and all the other spectacular sights that are in driving distance. I could go on about the trips and the friends we have made and the places we work, but that will be for another day.
This is now the place for us.
My childhood home
Hawaii
Cnyon de Chelly
Old Mormon Fort - Tuba City
Saint George, UT
No comments:
Post a Comment