Perception

One day a father of a very wealthy family decided to take his son on a trip to the country. His purpose for this was to show his son how poor people live. Upon their return from the "poor family's house" the father asked his son, "what did you think of this experience?"

His son replies, "It was great Dad!"

The father then asked, "Did you get to see and better understand how poor people live?"

"Oh, yeah, I sure did," replied the son.

"So tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I got to see that we only have one dog and they have four. We have a tiny pool in our backyard that only reaches to the garden, and they have a creek that doesn't end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have millions of stars every single night. Our patio reaches out to the front yard and they have the entire horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they all serve one another. We have to buy our food and they grow all of theirs. WE have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends and each other to protect themselves."

Upon hearing this response from his son, the boy's father sat speechless pondering his words.

Then his son added, "Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are."

**The world is what we make of it.**

(This was a story shared in our monthly newsletter from the ward)

Black Friday

I've never ever shopped early on Black Friday. Mike has gone early once or twice and let me sleep. I've thought before that if there was something worth it, I might be willing to try it out. But, I love sleep. I love personal space. And I hate crowds.
Well, this year Mike and I didn't see anything we would want to purchase, especially since we have little purchasing money to consider spending. However, my dad approached us at Thanksgiving. He knew Mike had been shopping on Black Friday before and wanted to know how it all worked. You see, he was interested in getting a laptop for pretty cheap. And it wasn't just any laptop. It was a laptop my mom could have for chemo treatments that can last up to 4 hours. It's a laptop my mom can use when she's tired and play games on or watch movies. It's a laptop my mom can use for saving pictures and videos she'll make for the grandkids.

Anyway, my dad thought he could show up at sale time and get a laptop. We informed him he was quite mistaken. We offered to take care of it so we could surprise my mom and she wouldn't have to wonder why dad was going to Walmart at 1 in the morning.

Thursday night we were at Grandma's in St George. We left at 10 to scope out the Walmart in Hurricane. Mike thought that would be too late, but it turns out NO ONE was in line at all. We were informed tickets were handed out at 3 and laptops were sold at 5. Ok.
We went back to Santa Clara (about 30 mins) and tried to purchase the laptop from walmart.com. We refreshed that stinkin page from 11 -1. I sent Mike to bed and played minesweeper to entertain myself. At 1:30 the laptop showed available. I went to purchase it, but the page had logged Mike out. I usually know his passwords, but in the anxious moment, the ones I was trying weren't working!!! I didn't know what to do, so I ran and woke Mike up. He was delirious, but helpful. We finally got to "buy this item" but were immediately directed to "We're sorry. The item you are trying to purchase is sold out." AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! So close!!!

So, it's about time to head over to Walmart (back another 30 mins) to stand in line. We get over there at about 2:15. We are 8th in line (thank goodness they let us stand INSIDE!). We wait. And wait. And wait. The lady behind us thinks we are friends and keeps getting closer. She's also chewing gum...with her mouth open. At this point, we have no idea how many tickets are available.

At 3, the workers come over and start handing out tickets and tell us the magic number: 15. YES!!! But now we have to wait until 5. The rules are that if you leave the line, you have to give your ticket to a worker and be back in 15 minutes, or the worker gives away your ticket. Oh boy.
We wait. And wait. And wait. The woman behind us still thinks we are friends, is still chewing gum...with her mouth open, and keeps getting closer.

At 5, the laptops come out. We get one, and then have to stand in line to checkout. The guy in front of us either didn't know how to use a credit card or didn't know how to prevent his card from being canceled. 30 minutes after we got the laptop, we were in the car. I was wondering if it was worth it.

Our next stop was Home Depot. They were selling shop vacs, valued at $100 for $20. Since we were up, why not? We stood in there, outside, for 20 minutes. The guys at the front were trying to tell us that the vacs were on the other side of the store and then RAN towards them and shoving as many onto their cart as possible. We got one, but that was weird.At 6:30, Mike and I got back to Dan and Raquel's. I set my alarm for 8. I told my mom I would go shopping with her for another gift for my grandma. I was in town to visit family, so visit family I would. Even if it meant getting 1 and 1/2 hours of sleep.

So, was it worth it? YEEEEESSSSS!!!! A million times YES! My mom is so happy with it and couldn't stop using it after she opened it. (It's a Christmas present, but why get it for chemo when she can't use it at chemo, right?

Will I ever have another reason that will make a similar experience worth it? I have no clue, but probably not.