Life's Toy - Poem

Life’s Toy

Work, worry, effort, tear

    Ninety percent of every year

Responsibility for others take

    Pursuit and golden dollar make

Art, music, simple pleasures

    Ten percent of life’s gold treasure

Slow to walk, from the run

    Laugh, love, have some fun

Balance return on investment

    Joy infusion lifts work ethic

Work gives pleasure to the joy

    Round and round spins life’s toy

Janice Harten

May 7, 2011

Copyright © 2012 Janice Harten.  All rights reserved.

Men Are That They Might Have Joy

One of the challenges I face in life is to learn how to enjoy the journey as I go.  I am personally wired to work toward the end result so earnestly, that I forget to smile and enjoy the roses along the way.  And yet, I believe the real purpose and joy of life is found in the day to day, moment by moment experiences we have.  These small drops of joy gradually fill life with real purpose and meaning.

I often wonder why I didn't allow myself to play and have more fun with my children when they were young.  I worked hard to provide clean clothes, dinner on the table, piano lessons and bedtime stories.  So much needed to be done, it was difficult to rest.  We had experiences camping, singing and long talks.  But, did we have enough laughter and real moments during all these work and play activities?  Did we talk enough, laugh enough, hug enough, share enough?

One of my children's favorite moments was the memory of painting their faces and making bows and arrows from sticks with their Grandmother at Palisades cabin.  They helped feed the squirrels and chipmunks that crawled among the drift wood along the edge of the deck.  She knew how to take very ordinary things and make memories.  She played the organ each evening while we danced or listened, and her husband sat on the deck commenting on the beautiful water in the lake.  This scene was repeated every night.

It is easy to look back, but how do I examine the present?  What am I doing today to express my love and feel the happiness available to me?  For instance, yesterday, my husband was excited to tell me about his plan to take his first solo cross country flight.  And instead of smiling and being happy for him, I expressed concern over where he was going.  I missed a moment of happiness for myself and for him, and threw a cloud over his excitement.

Life is a combination of work and rest.  So, I view my challenge as one of focusing on 'how' I feel while I am doing either, and resisting the instinctive urge to worry, say no, or complain.  My new found mission statement is:  Find joy in the moment, not worry in the moment.  And perhaps I will discover ways to express and use the small, ordinary moments around me, to feel and create happiness and joy for myself and others.  

2 Ne 2:25
Adam ^bfell that men might be; and men ^care, that they might have ^djoy.

Hide and Seek - Poem

Hide and Seek

Up and down

Louise Larsen

   Documented ground

Pages of individual

   Names abound

Whose father, mother

   Sister, child

Whose grandparent

   Have I found?

Birth, death

   Marriage certificate

Records and lives

   Calling

For us to turn

   Find and seek

Our past generations

   Reaching

Infant death

   Widowed wife

Laboring father

   Or son

Evidence, identity

   Land and property

All for only one

   Reason

That all be bound

   In one eternal round

Heaven’s forever family

   Found

Janice Harten

July 14, 2012
Copyright © 2012 Janice Harten.  All rights reserved.

Treasure Hunt - Indexing

Grandparents

I devote several hours each week to indexing.  This is the process of looking at scanned images of birth, death, census, property, military and other records, and typing the information into a format that is preserved digitally.  These records are then made available, over the Internet, for anyone around the world to search for evidence, information and the identity of their relatives.  The records have been collected from all around the world.

Grandfather

As I read hundreds and thousands of names, I am drawn into imagining who they are.  My mind tries to picture them, some single, newly married or with large families; some renting a room in a boarding house, some prisoners in jail.  My mind pronounces their names with an accent from their country, such as Russian, Irish or Spanish.  I imagine what they are wearing, what their homes look like and what they eat.  My heart feels the tug of their trials, with infant death, a young widow or a life caught in prison or other possible tragedy.  I care about them, and I take great care to try to interpret and spell their names and information correctly.  I imagine what they might feel as I discover and read about them and their lives.  I wonder what they would say to me, if they could.

Grandmother

Recently, I found my father and mother in the United States 1930 and 1940 Census records.  It was fascinating to see their names entered when they were children.  I followed several of the links with the names of their parents and grandparents to see what information I could find.  As a child, I always loved going on treasure hunts.  And now, I have found real treasure.

If you want to search the records, or help with indexing, you can visit the following website:

familysearch.org

indexing


Article about the need for more international indexers:


http://www.lds.org/church/news/need-for-international-indexers-growing?lang=eng

Unexpected Rain - Poem

Unexpected Rain

An iron rod feels slippery

In unexpected rain

Just hold on tight, walk steady

The sun will shine again

Janice Harten

Sept 15, 2008
Copyright © 2012 Janice Harten.  All rights reserved.

Stewart Falls - Hiking

I have successfully talked Bill into taking several hikes with me this summer.  There are many areas we have never been in these beautiful mountains.  And I am not yet willing to accept the possibility that we don't have the youth or strength to get there.  So, our first hike was to Stewart Falls, near Sundance Ski Resort in Utah County.  Everyone, it seemed, passed us on the trail; children, adults packing children, youth, senior adults, and dogs.  But, I kept telling myself it wasn't a race, and we could take it at whatever pace we needed.

By the time we reached the falls, we stepped across the stream and happily found a small spot of shade where we ate the sandwiches we brought.  One of the hikers suggested we get our clothes wet before hiking back.  We didn't hesitate to completely douse our hats, shirts, shorts and shoes.  It helped us tolerate the heat of midday, even though much of the hike was in shade, and taught us that our next attempted hike would be started much earlier in the morning.  This moderate hike was well worth the accomplishment of the four mile roundtrip journey.  I loved the sights and smells of the pines and wild flowers, and I found satisfaction in my accomplishment.