Our First Thanksgiving Week in the UK

Our First Thanksgiving in the UK

November 26, 2017

     I am so thankful this week that we served a mission in Independence, MO a few years ago. It was easier for me to manage our first Thanksgiving out of the states. I was reminded that this is a temporary assignment to be away from Home for 18 months. We will return. We will have a big Thanksgiving meal with our dear girls and their families again. My life is not over. So, in the meantime, we celebrated Thanksgiving here last Monday, the day the temple is closed.
     We fed 60 senior missionaries in the downstairs dining room in the accommodation building. The meal seemed better than ever, since it was made in our typical rich American fashion. Mikie's To-Die-For Yams, Brother Lamoreaux's dressing, the Ludlow's mashed potatoes. Well, you can picture it. You all just had the same meal a few days ago in the comfort of your own country, I mean Home. I have felt so thankful for America and temples throughout the earth that bind us All together to our Eternal Home.
     Les and Linda, my Mikie's brother, popped in for a two day visit while they are on a whirlwind tour of the United Kingdom. It was so good to have our first company from Home! As time was very tight, due to our work schedule in the temple, we took two quick trips close to the temple. Our first visit was to Chartwell, Winston Churchill's home. The next morning we drove down to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. I'm telling  you now - both places were worth seeing for different reasons. Add them to your Bucket List when you hit England. Both stories involved love, with one ending tragically, due to choices made.
     It was a quiet, calm, overcast morning when we got to Chartwell. I can see why Winston and Clementine Churchill loved that place. The setting and surrounding countryside was as lovely as any spot I have ever seen. His art studio opened out to such a view. He loved to paint, but not as much as he loved his Clementine. Their love story is often ignored, yet she was his emotional rock and most trusted confidante. From his own words, the Second World War would have been "impossible without her".  On occasion he referred to her as "She-whose-commands-must-be-obeyed". Such a dear story of true love.
     On the other hand, the love story that came out of Hever Castle, could truly be classified as a "Head Over Heels" adventure that ended in literally Anne of a Thousand Days losing her head at the bequest of her husband, Henry the Eighth. After banishing his first wife, Catherine and her daughter, he took up with beautiful Anne thinking she would surely be his answer for a male progenitor. When Anne finally married him and promptly gave birth to another daughter, she instantly lost her charm. Now, how to get rid of her? Henry is the king so what Henry says, goes. A conspiracy was hatched to prove her infidelity in their marriage and then - it's all over but the crying. The only gift he gave her was to take off her head with a sword, which was considered more polite, than with an axe.
    There are lots of lessons to be learned from these two love stories. I am just so thankful that my love story with my Mikie is my own and it is eternal. Our lives may never be as exciting as kings and queens and prime ministers, but oh, it is so much richer. Thanks be to our ancestors who heard the message of the gospel, and through choices of theirs, we are blessed today.

My Love,
Sister Seaman......Mom and Grandma

English Lesson:
swimmingly - Things are going swimmingly (great)
gubbins - equipment; tools
docket - packed lunch
mardle - talk on and on.....My Mikie thinks I mardle about our family.


Turning Point

     I am a getting a little bit tired and bored of talking about England and how different and dangerous it is. So this post will take a different twist.
     There comes a time when you have to make a big decision. It will wait no longer.  For most of us,  that time is forced on us by our procrastination and/or fear.  I bet if you think about it, you can remember some of those times and decisions.  You can probably also remember the outcomes of those decisions.  For instance, who you decided to marry or when you bought your first house, or if you should join the Mormon Church and give up family and friends, a job even, and a way of life.  These are big decisions with far reaching and wide ranging outcomes.  For the sake of this post, I am calling these decisions Turning Points.
     I have reached one of these turning points in my life just lately.  After years of procrastination,  I have made the decision.  I have always been a member of the Mormon Church and have been active in it.  I have served in some form of leadership for at least 30 years of the 57 years I have been a baptized member.  I tell you this, not to brag but to make this point.  After all that time, you would have thought I was all in. I was not.
     In the last few years, since we have started to serve missions, and especially now, serving full time, 5 days a week in the London Temple, I am finally starting to see that I have not been all in.  I guess I thought I could keep just one small part of me domiciled in the world and that would be OK because the rest of me was in.  I was wrong.  I can see that it has been holding me back.  I have been afraid to commit all because I thought I would miss out on something good and worldly.
     This is my turning point. I am all in.  I hope I am not too late.  I don't think so, in fact I know that I am not too late. To my kids and grandkids, make the decision now, don't needlessly drag the weight of the world around with you.  Let it go now and save yourselves and your families in the process.

Sincerely,
Elder Seaman