"The Only Rules That Really Matter Are These..."

"...What a man can do, and what a man can't do." (Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean)

It has been brought to my attention that I have been focusing too much on what I can't do and not enough on what I can do. I think this has become a theme in a lot of my recent conversations, resulting in this post. Just yesterday, I experienced my first snow in the Pacific Northwest. I've come to the conclusion that snow in this particular area is simply the heaven's way of saying, "You should have gotten out while you could. Now you're stuck at home for your's and your baby's own safety." I spent most of yesterday morning pouting and feeling sorry for myself that I have been so useless lately as an ever-growing pregnant lady. My husband, noticing my sullen mood, quickly came to my pouting place (a.k.a. his side of the bed), put his arms around me and asked, "What is wrong?" After a little bit of coaxing, I finally erupted in tears, telling him how I was just a fat, useless woman who has no business about to become a mother because I can't even take care of myself. An intense fear of motherhood washed over me and shame of what I wasn't doing with my life took over my usual resilient optimism toward the future. (For any men who might be reading this post, that's how quickly heightened hormones can make Mount Everest out of that anthill you just stepped on. I went from bored and cabin feverish to "I'm the worst possible human being on the face of the earth!") After cheering me up and encouraging me out of bed, we ate lunch and played some games.

During our nightly scripture study, we read a quote from an apostle of the Lord, Elder Gary E. Stevenson. In his recent General Conference address, he said, "I received a distinct impression...to focus not on what I can't do but rather on what I can do. I can testify of the plain and precious truths of the gospel." He had just been given the responsibility to be global representative of Christ. That's a daunting task. I am getting ready to be a mother. That's a daunting task. My husband immediately turned to me after reading that quote and said, "do I need to read that to you again?" What a great teacher, right?

Why do I tell you this story with all of it's detail? Because this is something I can do. I can record my experience to share with you. I can learn to be crafty. I can read more books. I can learn new ways to do my makeup. I can learn to not abhor voice-to-voice conversations over the phone. There are a lot of things that I can do while I'm getting slower and larger. This won't be my condition forever. So, for now, I'm going to make use of the new mixer I got for Christmas and make some delicious cookies.