Sunday Gratitudes

Last night, Mr. Wonderful took me to see a movie for date night. Just outside of the theater doors, a group of teens were surrounding a young man who was yelling at a girl across the parking lot. He let loose the most vile, crude, disrespecting-of-women diatribe for the whole world to hear. It was incredibly offensive to me. The young woman, surrounded by her own group, yelled crass, lowbrow commentary right back. I was floored that people would talk like that at all. Their words affected everyone around them, even those not associated with them. As I witnessed this scene, I became so incredibly grateful for my own children, the youth in my ward, and the teens on my street. They would never say these words. The difference between the teens at the theater and the teens in my ward was like comparing sewage of the worst kind to the most beautiful park. I know that sounds cheesy, but I was impressed with what an incredible difference there was in how they acted.

The movie we went to see was The Blind Side. I am always grateful when Hollywood makes a positive movie. It was one of those movies that made me laugh, cry, and think. What an incredible story about a family willing to push differences aside and help someone in need.

Mr. Wonderful and I were stopped by one of the sisters in our ward. She wanted to tell us about an event she witnessed. Firstborn had come upon one of the people he home teaches, a sweet sister who is the mother of an older couple in our ward. Firstborn put his arm around her and told her how much he missed her and was asking about how she was doing. The sister telling us this story said "How many teens would make a fuss over a woman in her eighties?" I was grateful for the further proof that Firstborn is a good son, and also grateful that someone would take the time to tell us something so positive about one of our children.