Thankful for Friends

This is the first Thanksgiving I have missed being with my family in 13 years. Last time I was away was when I was on my mission.

I decided not to take a trip to Utah for Thanksgiving this year because I wasn't sure how the election would go and if I'd need to stay here anyway. Plus, I have a few trips coming up next week and then an extended stay with the family at Christmas.

Today I am very grateful to have friends here in Denver who were kind enough to invite me over. In fact, I had two dinners. Aerie (friend from church) and Santosh had a few of us over and after dinner we played games. Then I headed out to Jason and Theresa's house for fried turkey and smoked turkey that they did themselves in their backyard. This gathering consisted of our little group of salsa friends.

I feel very blessed, thankful and taken care of today even though I missed seeing my family. I am looking forward to some fun, relaxation and cleaning the next few days.

Happy 150th Birthday, Denver

Yesterday the museums were free in celebration of Denver's 150th birthday. I took advantage of the opportunity to go to the Colorado History museum because I had never been before. They had a special exhibit about Denver's 150 year history. It included everything from life in the old west (saloons, brothels, etc.) to the historic neighborhoods, to John Elway.

I was impressed with the rest of the museum which had lots of mining tools and mining exhibits detailing the booms and busts Colorado has experienced over the years. There was quite a bit of information about the Native Americans who lived and still live in Colorado. My favorite exhibit was the detail about the 10th Mountain Division who trained in the Rocky Mountains for wintertime combat during WWII. They fought a campaign in the mountains of Italy during the war. I enjoy learning about WWII and it was a story I was unaware of until yesterday.

It was a warm, sunny fall day and lots of people came out to attend the free events. Just one more reason I like living in Colorado!

Blessed to have served with...

One of the things I like about being a member of the LDS church is the opportunity to serve and get to know people that you might not otherwise get to know. I had such an experience serving the Relief Society presidency in my ward here in Denver.

Stacey, Becky and I served together as a Relief Society presidency for about a year and half. Lots of things were hard about this calling but we became good friends. Stacey and her husband moved to New Mexico about 2 1/2 years ago and today they came back to visit. I was surprised to see their family and shed a few tears of joy from the very brief reunion. I sometimes forget how much I love the people with whom I serve and how strong those bonds can be, even when you are not serving together anymore.

There's nothing like a difficult calling to create a bonding experience. (A shout out to Evonne, too!) As with most service opportunities, you think you are giving service but it turns out you are really the one being served by those who are working with you. I just need to remember this DURING the calling and not years later.

Luckily I had my camera in the car and captured the moment on film!

Relegated to the role of pig

Ever since I had my early morning seminary kids act out the good Samaritan story, they now want to act out everything. Yesterday we talked about the prodigal son and the first thing they wanted to do at 6:00 a.m. this morning was act it out.

One of my students assigned everyone a part. I was told to play the part of the pig in the stall where the prodigal son ended up getting his food. So there I am supporting my seminary kids by sitting on the floor snorting like a pig. They video-ed the play on their cell phones so as soon as one of them (and someone will) puts it up on You Tube, I'll add a link.

I don't know why the sudden interest in acting out the scripture stories. All I know is when they are acting they are awake and sometimes that is the best we can do. After the prodigal son, there was a very rowdy performance of the ten lepers.

First free weekend in 3 months!!

What will I do with my first free weekend in 3 months? Certainly not anything fun! I have too much cleaning to do.

1. Recycle a month's worth of newspapers



















2. Put away my clothes hanging in the guest bathroom for several weeks.













3. Organize my seminary stuff that has been on my living room floor since August.













4. Try to put everything neatly back into the storage closet (dismantled after mom and grandma left in August).



















5. Make a trip to the Goodwill!

My Buddy Max

My friend Max is in town from London. He is actually an Elections Commissioner for the United Kingdom and wanted to come and observe our process in Colorado. I got him hooked up with some of the counties here, including mine.

Max and I were partners in Shkodra Albania in 2005. It was his first mission and my fourth. He was a great partner and we stayed up all night watching them count votes at our counting center. He survived on Red Bull and Mars Bars. I survived on sheer force of will.

Then when I was in Albania last time as a Long Term Observer, he was assigned to my group. It's funny that we see each other about every two years. I brought him a welcome to Colorado gift--a 4 pack of Red Bull.

We met for dinner last night and then he stopped by our office today to observe our process.

Pre-Election Musings from an Elections Official

Does anyone else have a pile of mail that looks like this? This is from the last TWO DAYS ONLY.
And I voted a week ago!















If you vote on Tuesday, please thank the people who are working at the polls. I have worked elections since 1998 and I can tell you that it's a thankless job.

I have spent the last 3 weeks of my life working my butt off almost around the clock to make democracy work in my small corner of the world. I chose this profession because I believe in what I do. I don't get paid well, I work long hours, and I sacrifice my personal time because the work behind the scenes has to be done.

Unfortunately over the last 3 weeks I have also experienced being yelled at, verbally abused, accused of disenfranchising people, and being lied to by people who want to vote but failed to meet deadlines. Is it too much to ask of a person to say "you have to register on time in order to vote" or "you have to fill out a registration form in order to vote"? It's so easy to participate in democracy but people fail to take responsibility and then they blame the government for denying them their rights. Part of democracy and voting means taking responsibility.

On the brighter side this week, I have seen people wait in line for 2 1/2 hours to vote. They were patient, friendly and excited and seemed to wear their wait time "war stories" as a badge of honor. I have had voters say "thank you" when we have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help them and accommodate them. I have watched first time voters come in so excited to vote that they have to announce to everyone that they are a first time voter. These are the times when I have to remind my self that the system, however flawed sometimes, actually works.

Both my grandfathers fought in WWII and my dad fought in Vietnam. I was raised with the belief that our country is good and that democracy is worth fighting for. This is why I do what I do. So yes, if you can vote, thank a veteran. But also, thank the election workers you meet on Tuesday. They will appreciate your gratitude.