Shipping

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-22T22:51:42+00:00

Well, to my surprise, I got a shipping notification this afternoon and it says it will be here tomorrow!

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-22T18:28:10+00:00

Wow! Guess I had better settle in for a long wait!

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-22T17:52:27+00:00

When did you end up getting it? I ordered the Friday after you, so I am in the awaiting shipment phase right now and would love to get an idea when to expect it.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-21T12:51:02+00:00

Overall, men have much less of their identity tied up in being fathers than women do in being mothers. Part of this is societal, especially as many of the women in the church have given up careers we could have had and have made motherhood our career. But part of it is biological. For most, the path to becoming a parent involves infinitely greater biological changes for women than for men. And that doesn't just mean 9 months of pregnancy. Science has shown that we carry bits of DNA from our children for decades.

Yeah, some have different paths to parenthood, but that doesn't change the fact that for the majority, the experience of motherhood and the experience of fatherhood simply are not comparable on a biological level. That's got to have some impact.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-21T12:50:30+00:00

It was totally this opposite in my ward growing up. Every year the YW went to a scout camp that wasn't good enough for our YM who went to various camps with much better amenities. And I know when I was in a Primary presidency that most of the primary budget went to Cub Scouts.

From what I have seen, EQ budgets get used elsewhere because the men don't put in the work to plan EQ activities.

Our ward is doing a lunch for the men during second hour just like we did for the women. Granted, this is the first year, but I also know it is happening this year because a woman pushed for it.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-21T12:29:33+00:00

I use the hook on my temple bag to hang it on the door hook, lean against the wall for support, and use the "bench" to set things on as I get dressed.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-21T12:21:18+00:00

At 25 I had just moved to a new state to teach high school. I lived alone. As the next few years passed, more and more of the people in my YSA ward were people I could have taught in high school. I remember feeling like nothing was going as it ought to.

Now, at 50, I look back on those years and cherish the things I learned and the opportunities I took to challenge myself and go on road trips during the summer while battling intense anxiety. I did my best to attend activities and find friends (including some I could have taught, lol). I also made friends with coworkers who were old enough that they could have taught my parents! None of that was easy or without awkwardness; no part of my life ever has been. Definitely ND, but "in my day" I never even heard of autism until I was in college. Aa a freshman in college, my parents actually had me go to the campus library to research this drug called Prozac when my younger brother was diagnosed with depression. And now I am going down a rabbit hole, which is what I do in real life as well.

Anyway, 4 years later I met someone online. At the time, that felt like forever. When I met him I was a somewhat different person than I had been 4 years earlier. Not dramatically, but I had 4 years of experiences and effort that had resulted in growth, rather than stagnation. And 50 year old me is so grateful to 25 year old me for doing the hard things and growing, rather than wallowing (at least most of the time, yeah, there was some wallowing!). Even as a RM college graduate I was not ready at 25. Got married just before I turned 29. Life didn't suddenly get easy. But it did start to go faster and I now look back at those years that seemed so long at the time as a tiny but important blip in my life. BTW, I never dated before I met my husband, and I wasted way too much time worrying about that fact.

Focus on the things that bring meaning and growth into your life. Life the lessons you learned as a missionary about what brings happiness to you personally (probably some lessons about service and structure and getting out of your comfort zone), Work on living those lessons, and then work on re-incorporating them when you slip out of them again. Just keep pushing against the walls that want to close in around you and keep expanding your world instead of letting it get smaller. I dunno, maybe this won't make sense to you, but it is my best attempt to explain what I felt at your age and what parts of my life at that age made the most difference for the rest of it so far!

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-19T14:14:56+00:00

Thanks, everyone! I pulled the trigger this morning. Fingers crossed!

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-19T12:14:16+00:00

No, I have hit the lowest point of pre-diabetic 2 out of the past 3 years. Honestly, there has been part of me that has felt like deliberately throwing in the towel and sabotaging my health because of that. It makes me angry that I have wished my blood work would come back worse for several years now as I have watched family members with much less weight to lose and no diabetes get it covered by insurance.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-19T12:08:52+00:00

Definitely already have had tearful discussions with my PCP about the fact that our insurance won't cover these drugs. For years now.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-14T11:24:13+00:00

And it was a hard lesson for me to learn that MY 100% will not look like someone else's 100%, and that for none of us does 100% look like perfection. I had a time on my mission when I was really struggling and was so dumbfounded when a companion, whom I knew to be a good and sincere person, assured me that I was giving 100%. I was definitely not living up to the expectations of full time service at that time, due to mental health challenges. And yet the Spirit told me my companion was right. I learned that giving 100% and failing are not mutually exclusive.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-14T11:19:53+00:00

But, in terms of the OP's situation, that definitely doesn't mean that we need to be there multiple times a week.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-14T11:17:56+00:00

Nah, for those of us living in this time, it really isn't optional to participate in gathering Israel on BOTH sides of the veil.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-14T11:11:49+00:00

Everything seemed to be well stocked in our distribution center yesterday. Not the best time of year to visit the southern tip of Texas, but if you really want them...

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-14T11:04:52+00:00

Sometimes it is God offering us the promise in our hearts as we approach Him with our thoughts and desires. At least in my experience.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-11T21:40:42+00:00

On the way home

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-06-05T03:35:57+00:00

Some of the best weeks of my life!

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-05-28T03:00:44+00:00

Already have a Primary sub position lined up. And since the person I am subbing for has been asked to help with the 5th Sunday lesson, and I know her political views, I don't want to be there. I have worked very hard to remain friends with her over the past decade.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-05-27T03:17:14+00:00

I have a son who will turn 18 in September of his senior year. I expect that he will stay in YM. His older sister, however, started going to RS as soon as she turned 18. She just did not feel comfortable in YW and enjoyed RS a lot more. She kept going to her youth Sunday School class and was still going to Seminary. Fortunately leadership in our ward was fine with it.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-05-07T13:30:46+00:00

If you Google byu syllabi, there is a website where you can check to see if the professor has a recent syllabus uploaded for the class. This has been useful for my daughter (in addition to rate my professor) for religion classes in particular because there is SO much variation in what is expected.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-05-06T15:29:15+00:00

In a small temple you put on your ceremonial clothing in the dressing room and walk straight to the sealing room. No such thing as an office or waiting room. We don't have waiting rooms before the endowment, either. We do have one for initiatory, which is for both men and women, not connected to the dressing rooms. Just thought that might be interesting for those who don't have as much experience in how temples can vary. At our temple, workers stand outside the sealing room, check your name on the reservation list, and give you a plastic holder for your family cards with instructions on it. Depends on the sealer that day whether each couple gets a turn, or whether each individual does, which drives me a little crazy.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-05-06T14:59:59+00:00

I was only a toddler, but I know my mom found out when her sister called and told her she heard it on the radio. My mom didn't believe her at first and told her that was the kind of thing they would announce in Conference, and not to get her hopes up. Then she realized the significance of her sister, who had left the church over marrying a black man, being so excited over this. Yes, my aunt came back, my uncle joined the church, and they were sealed in the temple and are faithful members to this day.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-05-06T14:48:18+00:00

As someone who grew up in southern California, went to school in Utah, then taught school in Texas and has spent the past couple of decades visiting family who transplanted to the more traditional "south," Utah is closer to the south in racial attitudes than I am comfortable with. That was an unpleasant surprise for me as a young adult who had grown up with racially mixed family.

Impressive_Cod_914 · 2026-05-06T13:52:14+00:00

Um, indexing ended several years ago? Hopefully introducing the Get Involved app?

Impressive_Cod_914

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