It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to!

Today is Tuesday, September 1, 2009. It is too early to know if the sun will shine. It probably will. And I know the song title is really It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To.
I don't want to cry, except for happiness. Today I am 72 years old. My mother was just that age when we moved to California. She moved with us from Magna, Utah, to Bakersfield, California in 1970. Oh, my! So many wonderful events in the years since we moved. And so many wonderful events in the 72 years I have lived on earth.
Many changes in the world as well as changes in my own life. My growing up years were great. I loved going to school. I loved going to Church. I loved all my friends. I loved the big two story house we lived in- Independence, Missouri. It wasn't a fancy two story house. We didn't have fancy furniture - nothing really matched - but I loved it all the same.
My mother was a wonderful lady and shared her wonderful heart with me. It was a great sadness for her that my dad divorced her when I was 6 years old and my two older sisters went with him (their choice). I know she cried when she was alone but she held fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that carried her through.
She got a good job as proofreader at Zion's Printing and Publishing Company and everyone there treated both of us very well. I went there after school every day to wait for mother to take me home. They put me to work. I learned to alphabetize and file. I learned how to run the address-o-graph machine. I learned how to prepare The Liahona magazine for mailing. I learned how to run the jogger and the stitcher. I loved the smell of printer's ink. It was fun for me to be there.
We didn't have a car. We walked to the grocery store and carried our groceries home in big brown paper bags in our arms. When Grandma came to visit (and to take care of me in the summer) she had a little wheeled cart that she took to the grocery store to pull her groceries home but Mother and I just carried them. The check-out clerk would adjust the weight in each bag, one bag for each arm. Mine were a little lighter than Mother's at first. As I got to be a teenager, my load could be as heavy as Mom's.
The big mirror with the gold frame which hangs over our fireplace, Mother paid $10 for at Goodwill and she carried it home in her arms. Our Oriental rug (which now cushions one of our daughters rooms in her new uncarpeted house) also cost $10 from Goodwill and Mother carried that home on her shoulder. She was a spunky woman.
I loved growing up in Independence. I was fascinated by Church History and also by American History that took place in that special place. I was excited to see President Truman walk by our high school. He wasn't always President Truman. He was just Harry S. Truman.
When I was 21 years old I married a wonderful man from Idaho Falls, Idaho. He was in the Army, stationed at Ft. Riley, Kansas. He was interested in Church History. That is why he and his friend came to Independence. They came to Church and we invited them home to dinner as we did many visitors who came to Independence. This one created a lasting friendship, an eternal one.
We moved around some after we were married and have many friends in all the places we have lived. We lived 22 years in Bakersfield, California. And now we have been in Citrus Heights (near Sacramento) for 17 years. Our nine children have been a great joy to us. Six were born in Utah. Three were born in California. Now we have a bunch of grandchildren who are a great joy to us. We count 23.
We like our house and our small yard. We like living near the Temple. We are happy to serve in the Sacramento Temple and at the Family History Center. Twice a month we are docents at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse and that gives both of us much pleasure.
Life is good and I can't believe I am 72 years old. But I am. Maybe today I will list 72 things about my life in my journal. Not necessarily one for each year - just 72 things to think about.
This whole week will be a celebration. Yesterday we went to the State Fair. Glen is taking me to lunch today and tomorrow we will go with several of our daughters for dinner at Wonderful Chinese. Thursday is the third anniversary of the opening of the Temple. I'm sure we will do something special on Friday and Saturday. And somewhere during this week we will need to can our pears. Oh, my! As my boss used to say, "No rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need it." Hmm!
That's all for today.