Learning from family...

Today, in Philippine time, is Thursday- October 25, 2012. Today, according to the United States Government we are no longer official responsible for youngest son's health insurance. Mind you he's been on his own since he graduated from high school. Before I delve into the this particular topic (and in those three sentences there is so much I could discourse on so you may be surprised) I need to clarify some things regarding our family.

Happy Birthday Harli!!

After 53 years I have a confession to make. Marcia and I had an absolute rule regarding children and sleeping. Children were not allowed to sleep in our bed when it was time for bed. It didn't matter if the child was sick, green or scared. I did have compassion and if a child was sick they could either sleep on the floor next to the bed or I would go into their bedroom and sleep on the floor next to them. As it was boy's job (another blog post on that topic later) to clean up vomit it was best to be holding the pan instead of cleaning linen and clothing later on. As our kids grew up they would sneak in and watch TV from our bed or even take naps. Never at night though. They tried and some tried more than others. Actually once the rule was laid down there wasn't much of an issue until our last 'child' came along. She was a surprise 'child' which arrived via two of our older children on December 24, 2009. Harli and mom soon adapted to each other. It took some coaxing from children and playing certain family cards but Harli was accepted into the family that particular Christmas. I tried to explain the rules to her regarding sleeping in our bed but for some reason it never quite sank in. She never was allowed but she was very persistent in her attempts. It didn't help that we had older children who thought it was OK for her to sleep with them when they came home to visit.

(R-L) Elder French,  New Member of the Church, Mission Companion

The other thing that I will admit during this particular post is the family rule that was reiterated over and over regarding what they were to do following high school graduation. I'll admit it was more my rule than Marcia's. The rule was that as soon as you graduate you are on your own and off to college. Fortunately for me I came to a realization that the rule wasn't quite compatible with the pattern that Heavenly Father has given us. Most people think one of the big questions is- where do I go after I die? Most people that I know, whether or not their particular faith teaches this concept, think that they will be going to someplace referred to by most as Heaven. Some people also think another big question is- where did I come from? Without mentioning the obvious of parentage- where does our 'soul' come from? Without going deeply into the topic I'll just mention that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believes in something that is called the 'pre-existence.' We believe that before we were born we were spiritual children of our Heavenly Father. The Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah touches this:

     "Then the word of the Lord came me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee,and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

Thus the pattern has been set. Our Heavenly Father sent us into the world to learn and grow and He has expectations for us to one day return to Him again. When we moved to Indiana I realized I was wrong in teaching our children regarding their leaving the house after graduation. I realized that they should and would be welcome home at anytime, just as our Father in Heaven is waiting for us to return. Currently with Marcia and I selling our house it may be hard for our kids to return home but the thought is there!

So what does all this have to do with our youngest son? As he grew up we knew he was a smart kid. High school bored him to death. When it came time for his graduation he didn't want to attend the ceremony. We thought "great! That's three hours we don't have to sit through!" Then we got to wondering- did he...graduate? We were both excited when the Kathy, our mail lady, brought his diploma to our home. Later that summer he took off to venture on his own. And venture he did!

Brig with walker and cast following 2007 accident

After graduation he surprised all of us as he was accepted into the University of Wisconsin at Parkside. He realized that wasn't quite the school he expected so he went west and became a craftsman. He was taught by a stone mason how to work with brick and mortar. If you have seen our house you have seen Brig's handiwork has he re-did our fireplace the summer he was recovering from his near fatal motorcycle accident (another story!).

I will not drag this on anymore and will wrap it up from where I started. Brig has never been on the family dole. He has shown his independence from birth. From borrowing dad's T-Bird at a young age to being his own person in high school by not allowing others to cater to him because he was a French. Brig is, like his siblings, a giant in what ever he does. As he continues his education in astrophysics (thank heavens he got his brains from his mother!) he continues to amaze us.

Lock and Load, Pull! Christmas 2011

Happy #26!!

Love ya....mom and dad