Article #75 Childhood Pastimes

Ever look back and wonder how your spent your childhood? Growing up in rural Utah, I had a special playhouse in my grandma’s attic complete with a crib for my baby doll plus a little table and chairs with a small cupboard to hold my tea set. Playing house was the name of the game. Pretending to be the mom, and taking care of my baby (doll) filled many happy hours. Dressing-up with my girl friends in my mom’s old clothes and high heels was great fun. (Photo on left of my girl friend Marilyn with the umbrella and me playing dressup.) We could be gypsies or grownups going to a party. Acting like a doctor or nurse using my medical kit, I could give shots or make slings, take temperatures or listen for my patient’s heartbeat, etc. I suppose I was trying on future adult roles in my pretending.

As a preschooler, I remember having a mixed group of friends that included boys and girls. We loved to play outside regardless of the weather. In the winter, we made snowmen and used our sleighs to pull one another. In summer, we built forts or hideouts, and used our creative imaginations to pretend we were Cowboys and Indians fighting each other. Outside games popular in my mom and grandmother’s days like Hide and Seek, and Kick the Can were also popular. During school recesses, I liked to hang upside down on the monkey bars and twirl around or play on the big swings and teeter totters. The girls had a game of jacks and the boys loved to shoot marbles. (Photo on right of my elementary school-it still stands.)

Growing older, I got interested in playing board games with my best girl friend. We loved to sit down for an afternoon after school or on the weekend pursuing riches and success with Monopoly. I even learned how to gamble by playing Poker for pennies. Then there was Canasta-a complicated card game popular at the time with adults too.

Evenings were spent doing homework or watching the limited TV programs available. A favorite group activity during my Jr. High days (photo of me on the left at that age) was going to the roller rink with friends. I always hoped to be picked by a certain boy for the couples skate only. During high school, I enjoyed sports after classes like field soccer and volleyball. Active in the Home Economics club, Scholarship Society, and Chemistry Club plus dancing in Drama productions kept me busy trying to find my place in the world. (To purchase a collection of past columns in book format, contact lin at sunrivertoday dot com.)

Writing Articles

I'm reading an interesting book about writing articles that I got from the writer's conference that I went to several weeks ago. It's called "Writing Content: Mastering Magazine and Online Writing" by Roger Nielsen. Seems he was sitting next to us at a banquet and told us about his book, so of course I wanted to buy it. Trying to get published short magazine articles and writing longer family histories is where I'm at currently-non fiction is my thing. So I'm enjoying finding out more about the field. He lists different kinds of articles you can write:

• Report-recaps of research
• Survey-broader report of research results
• Profile-spotlight on an individual's life
• Travelogues-this sounds fun
• Voice of warning-i.e. global warming, etc
• Narrative-recalling some event
• First person-non fiction narrative
• How tos-explaining the process or procedures of making something
• Laundry lists-i.e. food storage ideas
• Humorous-which he says the hardest to write but it's important to put some humor in all your articles to make them more interesting.

It seems to me that some of these overlap, but it's opened my eyes to new possibilities and just yesterday I wrote an article on Huntsman Senior Games archery tournament featuring my hubby. Will try to interest an editor from US Archer magazine who is also an archery participant....Now for a trip to Tahiti or somewhere exotic so I can write a travelogue. LOL!

What do you or would you like to write about?

Priesthood Power

As many of my blogging friends know, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we have a lay leadership. A priesthood that isn't paid but rather trained from within. As the mother of four sons (photo on left-l-r Dan, Frank and Brook), I'm grateful for the training that they have received. Starting at age 12, worthy boys are interviewed by the Bishop and ordained to the first office in the lesser or AARONIC priesthood-a DEACON then they can pass the sacrament in Sunday services, and collect fast offerings from the homes of the congregation once a month. At age 14, the next office is TEACHER which enables the young man to prepare the sacrament, and home teach selected Church families once a month with an inspirational message. At age 16, ordained a PRIEST, they can bless the sacrament in Sunday services, baptize, and ordain other deacons and teachers. It's a great program to teach responsibility and service. Also the scouting program at the same time reinforces many of these same values.

At age 18+ a young man can be ordained to the Higher or MELCHIZEDIK Priesthood. Generally this doesn't take place until a special occasion such as becoming a MISSIONARY or getting married takes place. At age 19, our young men are encouraged to serve full time 2 year missions for the church at their own expense. Two of my sons served-one in Taiwan and the other in Japan. They were ordained to the office of an ELDER in the Melchizedik Priesthood at age 19+, entered the Missionary Training Center to receive 6 weeks of language and other training prior to flying to their mission field.

Those who chose to marry rather than serve a mission can be ordained to an Elder prior to their marriage. Now as an elder the young man can attend the temple and receive his endowment before his mission or marriage. Other offices in the Melchizedik priesthood are SEVENTIES-concerned with missionary work worldwide and HIGH PRIESTS concerned with administration matters, temple and family history work. (Photo above: l-r my youngest son Jeff now 26 who was recently ordained a high priest, and his brother Daniel who ordained him to Aaronic priesthood.) It's quite a plan and I as a mom with four sons have appreciated the influence of righteous priesthood holders as well as scout leaders in the training and preparation of my sons for their responsibilities as husbands, fathers and church leaders for those that have chosen that path.