December 3rd Mel Cottle

December 3, 2007

December is here at last! For us that means the semester is nearing an end. This is the last week for classes and test week starts on Monday the 10th. This week's blog will be about counting your blessings. Saturday night we had our ward Christmas Party (I know this is a little early but we have a lot of students in our ward and many will be leaving in a couple of weeks) and like all ward parties there was lots of food and fun. And, since the real Santa was available I didn't have to sub for him this year. During a lull in the program Sister Cottle was called upon to lead an audience sing along - during the last hymn, O Holy Night, she noted a couple of teen age girls signing the words - so she invited them on stage to do it for everyone. After much giggling and fussing about they came up and were surprisingly good - charming the audience and giving a nice touch to the song. For the children they had a butcher paper picture of a giant Christmas tree at the back of hall, but it was undecorated! Close by there were scissors, paper, crayons and ornament cutouts – so during the evening, everyone had a chance to add to the tree decorations, and not just children, I noticed a fair number of adults with crayon in hand, displaying their artistic talent. The organizers had asked Sister Cottle to tell (read) The Night Before Christmas to the children, paving the way for Santa’s arrival. When the time came however, they handed her a mike and said - read for everyone. So, Grandma seated herself on the stage and, with all the children gathered about her, began telling the story. A silence fell over the entire audience and everyone listened closely to Sister Cottle's wonderful rendition of that Christmas classic. I mention the ward party for another reason. As I watched the fun the children were having and socializing of the adults, it reminded me that friends and family are a most important part of Christmas, and it felt good to be part of an organization (the church) that brought people together in this type of environment where both adults and children can socialize, laugh and just enjoy one another’s company. Good party!

Remember Megan, the girl I mentioned a few weeks ago who played a part in the SVU musical, "Joseph" She had told me the week before Thanksgiving that during the break she had a pre-op appointment regarding some needed surgery from gymnastics injuries, so this past week I ask her how things went. She hesitated a bit and then said, "Not so good" and then went on to explain that during the exam the doctors found an ovarian cyst that will need to be removed. Naturally this had her worried, but the longer we talked the more Megan impressed me with her attitude and the way she talked about all the positive things that had happened to her since coming to SVU. As she talked it reminded me that each of us has an abundance of blessings and sometimes we need a reminder to "count our many blessings” and just realize how blessed we are. President Monson’s story about the train cars and his own selfishness is a good example of understanding (or misunderstanding) how to share our blessings with others.

Kudos to all who signed up for the new Cottle Blog last week. This blog will appear there and as the weeks go on I hope to post it online in place of the emails, so please sign up. I’m also posting couple of photos (check out Sam the flying leaves man). Thanks for Randy and his admin help in getting this electronic newsletter up and running.
Love
Elder/Dad/Grandpa Cottle