Our Christmas Tree

by Emily Cushing

Five days before Christmas last year our family still did not have a Christmas tree. So my husband, Travis, and I loaded the kids up in the mini-van and drove down to the local tree lot. With only five days to go, I thought do we really need to buy an expensive tree since we will only be able to enjoy it for a few days?

Therefore, we set a $30 limit. How far does $30 go these days at a tree lot? Not far. The tree we purchased was a scrappy little guy who barely reached 5 feet. And on top of that, when we drove into the garage, we forgot that he was on top of the van. When we heard scraping and crunching as we pulled in, Travis and I looked at each other in confusion. And then simultaneously we yelled, “The tree!!”

But a small Christmas miracle occurred and our little tree survived the ordeal. We brought him inside, decorated him, and made him our own. Then eight days later, as we were preparing for a party, I asked Travis to get rid of him. So what did Travis do? He threw the tree in the backyard.

Luckily, Utah had a very bad winter. So before long, our tree was buried by snow and it wasn’t until spring, when the snow had all melted, that our little tree reappeared. Once again, I asked Travis to get rid of the tree. He said he needed to wait until he could borrow his Dad’s truck. That was two months ago.

A couple of weeks ago Travis and I were walking to our kids’ school to watch them perform in their dance concert. We had walked about a quarter of a mile when out of the corner of my eye I saw this huge dead bush:


As we got closer I realized that someone else in our neighborhood is as lazy as we are because there lying in their yard, five months after Christmas, was their brown dead Christmas tree.


But then to my complete and utter astonishment I realized that it was not their Christmas tree, but that it was our Christmas tree! And even more surprising than our tree traveling a quarter of a mile, was that in order to do so, he had dug himself out of a small hole, jumped a fence, taken a sharp right turn, and then tumbled (I’m guessing) the rest of the way, until there he lay waiting for me and Travis to go on a walk and discover him.

I guess we won’t have to wait until five days before Christmas this year to go get our tree. Instead, we’ll just pick him up from our neighbor’s yard in November.

Author Website and Blog

by Emily Cushing

My friend just started a website for authors. On the site they share how authors began their writing careers. Each week they highlight a new author and share his/her writing experience. They explain what it was that prompted the author to write his/her books, information about the books, and what helped the author to see his/her books through to completion.

I am featured on the website this week. They are also looking for more authors to highlight on the site. If you would like to be featured, please visit the sites for more information.

http://www.bookbeginnings.com/

http://authorbeginnings.blogspot.com/

Ben

By Emily Cushing

A couple of weeks ago my husband, Travis, and I attended the funeral of our friend’s dad. A very sweet moment occurred just after the first talk.

Travis and I were able to sit by Ben. Ben attended high school with us and he is mentally handicapped. Although not autistic, physically and emotionally, Ben reminds me of "Rain Man". At times he has difficulty speaking clearly and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, he just won’t answer you at all. He can also be a bit aggressive.

Ben is very close to the family of the man's funeral we were attending. This family often invited Ben over to their house and they also took him on family outings with them. They were especially kind to Ben when he lost his mother seven years ago.

While we were waiting for the funeral to begin, Ben kept asking me and Travis to help him find a pen so he could write down our telephone number. Nobody had one, which seemed to agitate Ben.

After the first talk, Ben stood up and walked towards the door. He was motioning and saying very loudly and urgently, “Travis! Come here, Travis! Travis, come here!” Everyone around was staring at Ben, and then Travis, and then back at Ben. Travis looked at me and I shrugged. He then stood up and followed Ben out the door and into the hallway.

After a few moments Travis returned alone. “What did he need—a pen?” I asked. “No,” Travis answered, “he needed a hug.”

Thank you, Travis. For reminding me that sometimes we need to take the time to follow when someone is beckoning for us to come.

In Honor of Mother's Day

“I love you, Mom.”
“I know you do.”

These are the last words my mom and I exchanged before she died. I had willingly helped to take care of my parents for several years while they struggled with various illnesses. Two years after my dad passed away, my mom lay very ill for several months. I had to leave town for five days. After the trip, as I drove home alone from the airport, I had a feeling that my mom had passed away while I was gone. I passed the mortuary where her body was to be taken if she died. For some reason, I stopped and went inside. They confirmed that my mom had died earlier that morning and that her body was there. My best childhood friend, Stevie, who had made arrangements to do my mom’s hair, arrived a few minutes later. While Stevie cut and styled her hair, I lovingly held my mom’s hand. She looked so beautiful and I knew she was finally at peace. The above words came to my mind. I was so grateful that I had been able to express my love to my mom before she passed away. I was even more grateful that she already knew.
Faye, Age 57, Utah, USA

This is one of my favorite submissions found in One Heart, Many Voices. Call me bias, but it is probably because Faye, the woman who wrote it, is my mom and she is describing her final moments with my grandma Doris. I’m grateful for both my mom and Grandma Doris and for the great examples they have been in my life. Thank you, Mom. I love you!

A Huge Hook

Emily Cushing

In June I am running in the Wasatch Back. It is a 175 mile relay race from Logan to Park City. On KSL’s television show Studio 5 they are going to spotlight a participant who is running in the race. It has to be the runner’s first time running the race and the runner must be running the race to lose weight. I fall under both of these categories. Therefore, I am being considered as one of the people they may spotlight. I have to admit, I think it would be really fun to be on the show; however, how much more fun would it be if I were going on the program to promote my book?

So fellow authors, that leads me to a question. If I get chosen, would it be terribly inappropriate if, in the middle of the segment, I discreetly pulled out a copy of my book One Heart, Many Voices and said, “Yeah, yeah, I’d love to lose twenty pounds, but more importantly, is there anyone out there who is looking for a great Mother’s Day gift? If so, One Heart, Many Voices is the perfect gift for you…..” How many seconds do you think I would get before a huge hook dragged me off the stage? I wouldn’t kick or scream. I would just continue to smile and hold up the book until I disappeared out of camera’s view. Because after all, isn’t any publicity good publicity?”

So that leads me to my second question. What are some good, interesting, or creative things that you have done to help promote your book? I figure with 22 of us, we may learn some good new promotion tactics, tactics that hopefully don’t involve a huge hook.

A Fake Clean

Emily Cushing

This weekend we are blessing our eight-week-old baby. That is why I have been cleaning every nook and cranny of my house. While cleaning, I thought to myself, “I really need to do this more often.” But there’s a reason I don’t do it more often. The only time I really care to dust every nook and cranny is when I know someone else will see it. Why is it that, as women, we don’t want people to think that we actually live in our houses? Sometimes things get left out. Sometimes dishes don’t make it to the sink. Sometimes we even leave clothes on the floor rather than throw them in the laundry bin. But we don't want anyone to know these things.

It reminds me of the time my husband and I were at a wedding and my mother-in-law called to say that she and some friends were in our neighborhood and she wanted to show them our house. Although we had deep cleaned the house that day, in the pre-departure madness, we left cupboards open, wrapping paper lying around, and clothes strewn throughout the house. I did not want my mother-in-law to see my house in this state. For a split second I wondered if she would believe me if I said that I could no longer remember the security code to my house. If only I would have had ten extra minutes to put things away (or at least to hide them in my closet.)

Hiding or should I say shoving things in my closet is what I do when I know someone is coming over and I don’t have enough time to put things in their proper places. This is what my friend’s husband refers to as a fake clean. A fake clean is what people do when they know others are coming over and they want to deceive them into believing that their house looks perfect all of the time. So they run around the house frantically cramming things into drawers or under beds and then smile as they politely invite guests inside once they arrive.

More often than not, however, guests drop in unannounced. And they don’t ever drop in on the days that we’ve spent hours cleaning our houses, it’s always on the days when we haven’t done a thing. In these instances, we haven’t even had time to perform a fake clean. That’s when our true colors shine through. And like it or not, people see that we are human.

So anyway, to sum it all up, if you’re ever in the neighborhood, feel free to drop by for a visit. Just call ten minutes before you arrive and don’t look in my closet.

It's a Small Cedar Fort World

Emily Cushing

I made a fun little discovery last night. One of the other authors on our blog is quoted in my book One Heart, Many Voices and I didn’t even know it (and I don’t even know if she knows it!) Let me explain. One Heart, Many Voices is a daily inspirational calendar for the Relief Society sisters of the church. Each day features a different Relief Society sister from around the world. The page gives the sister’s favorite scripture or quote and its importance to her in her life. My good friend Cortney sent me the following submission which I included in the calendar:

December 19
"Help me to remember that my children are a special privilege and not a task. Help me to think of them as fun and laughter and not more responsibilities. And most of all help my heart to be their age so I may understand."
My mother-in-law shared this quote with me one day after I had a bad day. I love it because it reminds me...of what a great responsibility we as mothers have and I hope to always cherish it and never take it for granted.
Cortney, Age 28, Utah, USA

As the mother of four young children, this submission from Cortney really hit home when I read it. Especially the line that reads, “help my heart to be their age so I may understand”. I have tried to remember this advice when my two-year-old spills a bowl full of milk shortly after I have mopped the kitchen floor or when a little person climbs into my bed at night because he or she has had a scary dream. I appreciated this mother-in-law’s advice even though it wasn’t given to me.

Last night I found out that Cortney’s mother-in-law is our very own, Mary Stosich. I also discovered that Mary has written an inspirational book entitled Finding the Diamond Within: 10 Ways Every Woman Can Sparkle. I’m excited to read Mary’s book. If the advice she gave to Cortney is any indication of what can be found in her book, then I know I will truly be inspired.

Missionary Moments

“Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”
1 Corinthians 13: 8
Several months into my mission, I was transferred to a remote area where we visited several small branches of the church. One of these was particularly small; only about 20 people attended the meetings. The building was a rented school house. On one particular Sunday, as we were getting ready for the meetings we discovered that none of the people we had invited to church that day could come. My missionary companion left me with a Priesthood youth to prepare the sacrament while he left with another youth to find somebody to invite to church. When he returned I was shocked and surprised. He had returned with a vagrant. I remember the man was filthy, and foul smelling. His hands, beard, and clothes were covered with adhesives which he had been inhaling and possibly eating to get high. I remember being embarrassed for the people sitting next to him and waiting long minutes for the meeting to end. When the meeting finally ended I learned a life lesson. Each member spontaneously got in line to shake this man’s glue covered hands. They each told him how happy they were that he was there and hoped that he would return some day. These humble members of the church taught me a lesson that day about Christ-like love which I hope to never forget. Written by Bill H., Chile Viña Del Mar Mission, 1987-1989

This past year I gathered favorite scriptures, quotes, and personal experiences from 365 faithful Relief Society sisters from around the world. These experiences have been published in a daily inspirational book entitled One Heart, Many Voices.
I am now gathering submissions for a similar book for the missionaries of the church. My hope is that the pages of this book will inspire and encourage missionaries on a daily basis as they strive to serve the Lord. Bill’s experience is just one of the many inspiring stories which will appear in the book. However, I am still in need of more submissions. I would love it if you would share your own missionary experience to be included in the book (or if you are a convert, an experience which helped you while you were investigating the Gospel.) To do so, please send your entry to missionaryquotes@hotmail.com. A portion of the proceeds will be given to the Church’s Missionary Fund. Thank you!

The Weight Chain

Emily Cushing

Since last June I have gained forty pounds! Forty pounds! That equals a gain of over a pound a week! These pounds were gobbled down in the form of ice cream, cookies, and don’t forget my favorite, chocolate. Joyfully, seven pounds and one ounce of that weight was lost on Valentine’s Day in the form of my beautiful new little boy, Tyson.
Even though I knew I wasn’t going to be on the cover of “Healthy Pregnancy”, I still looked down at my bulging belly as I checked out of the hospital and thought, “What are you still doing here? The baby is out, you should be gone.” But alas, that is just not how it works. As many well-intended people have reminded me, “It took nine months to put on the weight; it could take just as long to get it off.”
However, in my case, I am not that patient. So, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, because I am a firm believer that we need to share our good little secrets with one another. My secret is hanging behind my closet door. It is what I refer to as “The Weight Chain”. It is how I hoped to motivate myself into losing the remaining 31 pounds that were still lurking around. Here’s how it works. For each of the 31 pounds, I created a paper link. All of the links together form “The Weight Chain”. Each time I weigh myself and I have lost a pound, I get to rip off one of the links (and believe me, I do rip, then proceed to do a little victory dance as I tear it into pieces and toss the pieces into the garbage.)
As far as motivation goes, not only do I get to watch as “The Weight Chain” gets shorter, but behind every third chain is a “prize”. After I lost the first three pounds I earned myself a new pair of sunglasses, next three, socks. Nothing big, just a smiley face that says, “Congratulations! You’ve earned yourself a new pair of socks.” And guess what? It’s actually working. Only twenty-seven more pounds to go!
So I’m throwing this idea out there to any of you who may be in need of your own “Weight Chain”. Make one—they’re fun. After all, who doesn’t want to lose a few pounds, and at the same time, gain a new pair of socks?