October Omelets & Family

October means Fall General Conference and listening to our living prophets prepare us for the next six months of facing life together. I was impressed this conference by how many speakers talked about having hope, moving forward in faith, and not allowing our circumstances to cause anger among us which creates distance. In the Crockett home, we've faced our share of adversities & differences. But as a family, we have tried to move forward with a brightness of hope, creating a better tomorrow. As tradition has it, each General Conference our family gathers on Sunday morning to enjoy one of Dad's special omelets prior to conference starting. (At least that's the idea! Tee hee tee hee!) Mom gets all the ingredients prepared the day before and then on Sunday morning, she lays them all out for Dad to cook up "his specialty omelets" that are individually ordered." As I watched the children file in this Sunday....some with children & babies, other's expecting a babies soon.....I couldn't help reflect about families. I looked backward for a moment and thought about Tim's growing up years and the traditions his family set into motion. I asked myself, are his memories written down and posted so his children and grandchildren can reflect on the moments of joy, travel, scobbles, and friendship between his siblings. Do our children know their Grandma & Grandpa Crockett like they should. Likewise, have I taken time to record how the hard blow of polio hit my family shortly after the following picture was taken. Somewhere amidst all their pain-struck confusion, my parents were torn between shuffling me into the arms of my two grandparents and making trips to Salt Lake to witness two of their sons in Iron Lungs. Kathryn was ladened with responsibilities far beyond imagination for a young 10 year old girl. Our family felt blasted by adversity and yet my parents worked endlessly to provide for everyone of our needs, heal the boys from their afflictions and create happy memories for us which brought us together.
Our family were little youngsters once. And time for me to "stop & write" seemed impossible. But I have found that if we don't take time......it just keeps ticking on & recordings are soon lost.
Each family is so unique. No two children have the same childhood.....even if they live in the same family. Each persons story & point of reference is distinctly different because of age and perception. And yet being in a family is the most priceless of any possession. For parents, the real trick is helping children be friends and being willing to teaching each other rather than compete. It doesn't come without resistance and sometimes adversity. It doesn't come without having to start over and over and over again.....trying to implement principles of respect, faith, cooperation and a number of "time-outs.". And it doesn't come without commitment to allot of precious, dedicated, and sometimes laborious TIME. Time does fly on wings of lightning. If it slips away from us without effort or commitment, the most precious of relationships drown in the sea of forgotten experiences. Our October Omelets aren't perfect. It isn't 100% quiet, with everyone paying attention to our leaders speaking. In fact their are rooms for little ones, room for sleeping babies, and rooms of chaos. But this wonderful tradition that calls our family together is perfect. Alan & Karen's family wait for Grandma & Grandpa's fall visit in Colorado. This year, Davy & Becca's family was on their way home from a wedding in Arizona. But the other 5 children were here at home, sharing a family tradition and being together united in hope and faith. My greatest blessing is that our children do acknowledge one another as their closest friends. Each one chooses to be active in the faith we taught them as children and each one is creating a "new beginning" of their own. In the not too far distance we will have 7 major branches of our family tree expanding into their own family traditions. Tim & I will have to divide our time and choose to rotate as we visit each of their separate homes. As each of them choose to follow the teachings of our living prophets who spoke today, Tim & I will have another reason to rejoice and celebrate our posterity.
Yes, family and happiness are synonymous. "Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation....no longer a stranger on earth need we room. Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation...." Oh that melody is resounding in my heart today as simple October Omelets has called our family home to rejoice & be together.