One Person

It's amazing what meeting one person can do to change your life. And this summer and fall, I have met many people who have drastically altered the course of my life.

If you don't remember my feelings upon my arrival home in May please

visit --> here.

Needless to say my heart is no longer as snooty and hardened as it once was. In fact it is quite the opposite. Now looking at my inevitable departure from Kingman I find

my heart growing heavy.

There are truly beautiful souls that call Kingman Arizona home, or at least a place of residence. I have been privileged to mingle and befriend these souls and I find it hard to go. They have taught me so much, both knowingly and unwittingly. Mostly they taught me humility and love. I understand why Christ would give his life for them, I would too. Each and every one is precious to me.

While I am very grateful for the chance to return to school and continue to learn and forge ahead in life, I wish I didn't have to do so at the cost of seeing these faces I have come to love. Yes, I agree, technology is wonderful, but there is nothing so wonderful as face to face conversations. And soccer smack downs in the Rutherford gym. That's right suckas!

I will happily grow and continue forward, but know that my heart is held by the friends and best friends I have gained while living unexpectedly in Kingman.

Grenade

I have come to love the only two songs of Bruno Mars that I know.

Click here -->"Grenade"

And here -->"Just the Way You Are"

I don't know how but Bruno sees into my soul and speaks to my heart, but he does in a powerful way. Now all I'm waiting for is a song with the title

"I'm Sorry I Couldn't Love You Enough"

There is one thing I love more than any other thing on this earth. The Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Should anyone try to come between me and that gospel, no matter how much I love them, that title to a song that does not exist yet will be what I tell them. I can't change people, only the spirit and themselves can do that. I can't force his eyes to see the perfect beauty and happiness and hope that spill from every ordinance, lesson, and talk to which I am witness. I can't feel for her the power of the love that sweeps over me when I communicate with my Savior and Father. I can't give him the surety I feel when I look toward the future in faith, knowing without a doubt, that I will be taken care of when I trust in my Lord. I can't explain to her the moment I discovered the truth of this gospel.

But I can share my testimony and encourage him to discover the truth for himself. I can never give up in encouragement and love, even if they think I can't love them enough. I do love them, I want to share with them the profound joy that I feel. I just can't let them come between me and the gospel.

Please help me remember this. Because there may be times when I forget.

Rampant....Things.....

Mostly rampant cheating. My family loves to cheat, but we only like to cheat if you catch us. Cheating is only fun when you get caught, of course, winning is always nice when you don't....

We think we inherited it from our mom, she loves to cheat so that people will laugh and tell her to straighten up. Derrick "cheats" by changing the rules. If the goal is to get the least amount of points, Derrick (who almost always loses terribly) will claim that having the most amount of points is really the way to win.

Also complaining, what would a competitive game be without complaining? This comes from my dad's side I think, because my Uncle Shade is about the best complainer I know.

Me, I like to cheat blatantly and made people laugh and laugh in turn. Kevin and Seth are about the worst cheaters in our family, they even plot out loud. They pretty much never win though. I guess it just goes to show "cheaters never prosper."

But, even more rampant than cheating and complaining is the laughter that burst out at the antics of family members in our scramble to win. Long live the laughter of the Gibelyou clan. Or Gobelyou's and all their little gibelets. (What my father calls us on Thanksgiving)

With the flip of a coin

Silly story that I am going to share anyway.

I was standing by the incredibly slow fax machine waiting for a confirmation that the piece of paper I sent had been properly digitized and arrived unscrambled at its destination. In my pocket I had a quarter, in my brain an idea.

"Heads, I like him; tails, we'll stay friends."

Three times in a row. and then...

With a different boy in mind.

"Heads, I like him; tails, just friends."

I think it's a sign. (I would.)

Seriously considering basing crucial life decisions on a quarter now. Ha ha.

Three Little Words

Three little words cause the world to go crazy and reason to fly out the window, at least for some. To reach a point in a relationship where you feel comfortable enough to tell your partner those words takes time and courage. And when that doesn't work out like you expected it too...

Watching my friend struggle breaks my heart, but for tonight I was rewarded in my efforts to make her escape for a couple hours into frivolity. While I can comfort and console, and be a shoulder to cry on, I find that my favorite role to play is a buoy and an escape. I could tell that she didn't want to talk or think about it, so I didn't. I made her laugh and guffaw with silly stories about my day, I made her pay attention to me and dance with me. Sing happy birthday to our friend with a French accent, and made her laugh with my and Anne's silly antics. (We "interpretively danced to Bruno Mars's "Just the Way You Are.")

I wish that I knew someway to make her laugh and pull her away from the pain without focusing on myself, but I am grateful that I could give even so small a gift as a few hours of reprieve. If ever your heart is broken and you want to get away, come see me and we will frolic in the lands of silliness. And I hope someday, when my heart is raw, that I can rely on you for the same thing. Isn't that what this life is all about?