Springtime and Baseball

On a beautiful spring day like today,
I am feeling a little nostalgic.
I miss watching these guys round the bases, catching flies
and sliding in home.

Luke looks like he's grown a foot since we've seen him!
Wish I was there for this game!

Hogan's loves the game.
 He's always calm and he's got a smile on his face. 
He's so much fun to watch.

Jack works so hard at his game and is getting so strong.
 Love to watch him pitch and hit the ball.

And can you believe Taylor is driving everyone everywhere? 
Every spring at this time of year I find myself humming
"take me out to the ball game..."
Just thinking about them makes me smile.

Turning 60 at the Sego Lily Spa

 

 

Yesterday I turned 60!!!! 

 I got up as I usually do

Got dressed..a little slower,

(due to my age)

 

Went out the door to take care of the grandchildren. 

When I got to my daughter's home a wonderful surprise waited for me there.

Three of my five kids were there with four of the eight grandchildren. 

They had fixed a delicious

breakfast. 

 After eating,

 they were sending me off to a spa!

FOR THE WHOLE DAY!!!

 

I have never spent the whole day in a spa.

Maybe being 60 isn't going to be that bad. 

 

 

I can't say enough about the

 Sego Lily Spa. 

The Facility is lovely and the treatments are all to die for. 

What a wonderful way to spend my day.

 

The spa day was fabulous,

 but the present I loved the most was the thought that went behind the gift, 

 I loved the notes from nieces, nephews, sisters, and my brother, kids,

 and grandkids, and my dear husband. 

Visits from my friends. 

 I love them all so much and am blessed to have these people in my life. 

 Getting older isn't bad at all when surrounded by so many blessings. 

Becky and the Boston Marathon

I've always admired Becky's speed. 

She puts her mind to something and gets it done. 

 She keeps her busy family on schedule as they come and go to work, school baseball, basketball and soccer. 

 She's a  happy wife and mother to our son and four grandsons. 

Yesterday I was really grateful for how fast she can run. 

 She finished the Boston Marathon in under four hours...even though she was sick. 

 She was away from the finish line when the bombs went off.  

 So today I am grateful for a determine, happy and

a very fast

daughter in law. 

Way to go Becky!!! 

 love you tons!

Giggs Bagley-Lessons learned from my dad

I've had the flu the last couple of days.  As a result I'm laying around in bed, thinking a lot. 

 Last night I started thinking about dad.  I thought of all the things he taught me. 

He was part of the "greatest generation,"  growing up during the depression. 

He wrote,

"I consider it quite a blessing that we had no money.  We had to scratch.  When I finally got a dress coat, I was out of high school.  We were always in deep trouble with money.  We did any old thing to make ends meet. We picked strawberries, we picked cherries.  We couldn't wait until June and July when the fruit came in.  When we picked it we could get a quarter per case.  One summer we went up there to Mount Olympus and picked worms." 

 He learned  a hard work ethic and sticking together as a family from those early years.  He fought in WWII as a young man. 

I learned from him a deep love of this country.  To never take for granted all the wonderful opportunities and blessings this great nation has to offer. 

After the war he married our mom.

  A woman he cherished throughout his life.

  He was a devoted family man. 

He loved his June and us kids more than anything and gave us everything, not just monetarily. 

He gave us a magical childhood.  We had fun growing up. 

 There was lots of laughter..much joy.

He taught me about persistence. 

One of his favorite quotes was by Calvin Coolidge.

"Persistence

Nothing can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not:   nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not:    Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not:    The world is full of educated derelicts.

 

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

He certainly lived this. 

There were many examples where he taught me this principal.  While he worked as an optometrist, coached, approached any problem, but one in particular comes to mind. 

He always wanted to build a golf course. 

As a young boy, he would caddy for "a dollar a loop,"  at the Salt Lake Country Club, hoping for a dime tip so he could buy a hamburger. 

 When he got older and had some land in Parleys Canyon, he could just see a world class golf course rolling through those hills.

  It couldn't be just any old course, it had to be the best.

  So he just called Arnold Palmer and made it the beautiful world class course that it is today.  Every time I drive up that canyon  and see that golf course I am reminded of the lesson of persistence my dad taught. 

 Also, that one of following a dream. 

 

He certainly followed his dreams. 

Which leads me to another thing I learned from him. 

 Dad became very successful.  He always told me that all the" things" he had were nice and even fun to have, but they were just" things". 

 The trick was to remember that, and to be just as happy if you didn't have those things as you are when you do have them.

He proved this to me, when one day he lost most of what he had.  During that time he became great to me, because he lived what he preached. 

 He was as happy as before. 

 He continued to work, to be joyful, because he had what was of most importance to him. 

He had his wife, his family

 his faith..he could work. 

The challenge was before him, and he was no quitter.

 

I learned faith from him. 

 He had an unwavering faith and was a positive thinker. 

 He knew things would work out, as the scripture says.

 

"Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly."

 

D&C 90:24

 

I learned about imperfections from him.  For all that he accomplished, he was not perfect.  No man is.  Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever been perfect on this earth.  But I learned that you can always keep trying, I learned to not let imperfections get in the way, to strive to be better, to learn and to move on striving to be a better more compassionate person. 

 

Mostly I learned from my dad, that family is the most important thing this world has to offer.  For all the trials he overcame, when he lost his June, I think that one was just one that was too big for him, yet he did have his kids and grandkids to surround him with their love and that was the greatest blessing to him.  Because of his love for them, those grandkids circled around him and poured out love unimaginable. 

 

Thank you dad for these and many more valuable life lessons. 

love, polly

 

 

(just a little of Giggs and June's posterity-still having fun and carrying on as they would have us do)

Welcome Spring!

As the days get warmer and the spring showers green up the garden,

 I  look forward to being outside once more. 

To start planting, to see the flowers grow, to see their colors.

Each plant is so unique. 

Each adds beauty to the garden in its own way. 

"I think that no matter how old or infirm I may become,

I will always plant a large garden in the spring. 

Who can resist the feelings of hope and joy

 that one gets from participating in nature's rebirth?"

 

~Edward Giobbi

 

 

"I love spring anywhere,

but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden."

 

~Ruth Stout

 

(my sentiments exactly)

Happy Easter

Years ago when our kids were little, the Easter Egg Tradition began. 

Aunt Marie and Grama Bagley were the one's to gather everybody over for the hunt. 

The tradition continues in Grama Polly's backyard (or livingroom depending on the weather). 

 This year we had a beautiful day. 

The little kid's had a fun time finding all the eggs spread throughout the yard. 

 Wren even liked banging her eggs together and hearing the noice inside. 

 Poor Dylan didn't feel very well, but he rallied long enough to fill his basket. 

At times like these I certainly miss the other half of our family. 

 Hopefully they are enjoying the weekend on the other side of the country.

Grama with a few of her kids. 

 It was a lovely day.

 

 

"Love is the solution.."

Happy 40th Jamey!

Happy 40th to our son James!
This cute little boy
has grown up to be a wonderful son,
husband and a great father to four boys.
We love you James.
Have a great day.
love, mom and dad

Extraordinary Women

 I was reading in my book "Daughters in my Kingdom." 

The first paragraph in that book is the best as it talks about  examples of ordinary women who accomplish extraordinary things as they exercise their faith.  I have been blessed to be surrounded by such women. 

You don't hear about these women in magazines, newspapers, or movies.

  These are real women, who have amazing stories, who live life with courage and faith. 

 They overcome heartbreak and discouragement and come through stronger. 

They are beautiful because of the way they live and meet their challenges.

From Grama Bagley I may not have learned the art of quilting or stitching

 (that skipped generations to my daughters),

but I feel a kinship with her when I think about home, children and church.

Here is a quote from her journal,

 where she describes her feelings when she is about to lose her home.

 "I have become attached to this place. I love the flowers, trees, and shrubs we have struggled to raise from a veritable rock pile. As president of the mutual I have attended five sessions of the annual conference. I have mixed emotions. It was an inspiration to hear Elder Widtsoe say, 'I am as clay in the hands of a potter.' Now I know it is my duty to forget material things and respond to the call and do the will of my Father in Heaven.
It is my desire to do a small amount of good while I am young. If someone could say of me, 'she helped me over a rough spot or helped me catch the spirit of the gospel', I would feel my life had not been in vain. The loss of our home and my human weaknesses make me feel I should resign. Then I realize it is an opportunity and I would be cheating myself of growth in our church which means more than anything else."
Another entry in October of 1936 "
Many things and events have impressed me and helped my testimony to grow. Not long ago, our three sons all passed the sacrament together. It gave me a feeling I could not describe. I wish then that I could write a poem describing my inner most gratitude for 3 fine sons.
"Not long after this my grama and grampa lost their oldest son, Alan to a heart ailment, that he had struggled with for years. One night when Alan was very ill a young man in the ward, Lamont Gunderson,

 came over to give him a blessing.

He told them later that he was about to bless Alan that he would get better, but felt inspired to end with a plea for the Lord to take Alan, that his suffering would be brief.

Alan passed away very quietly that night while being held in his dad's arms.

 He was 18 years old.

 A year later grama wrote:

"Here it is a year since Alan left us. It is as fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday. Oh the heartache. Only a mother who has had a similar experience can know the feeling. The tears flow as freely because of the wound which is as deep as the day he left. It is not in my power to describe my emotions to lose one so fond of life. He brought so much joy into our home. Now it is like trying to go full speed on three wheels or some such impossible thing."

 

Grama had other problems to deal with in her life. 

 But she rose to the occasion.  She handled them with grace. 

 Always being there for her family.  Family was the most important thing to her.  She was a simple woman.  She learned early to serve others. 

 She was an ordinary woman who was extraordinary.

 

Another extraordinary woman is my sister, Jolyn.

 

She's the youngest in our family.  She became a widow at the age of forty one. 

She has four children. 

 At this young age she realized she had to reinvent herself. 

She has been an example of strength and generosity to the members of our family. 

Giving back to the Hospital that tried so hard to save her husband's life. 

 Always smiling.. I'm sure she get's down, but seldom does she show it to anyone. 

 As her children have grown and left home, she's had to start over again. 

She's stays busy by serving in the church,
 loving and playing with grandchildren and exploring the world. 

She is the most adventurous woman I know. 

Travelling the world..nothing slows her down. 

 She is a woman of a different time,
but much like our grandmother she rises to the occasion,
 through service, through her faith,
 she is extraordinary. 

 

As I write this post I can think of countless others and will probably post about them in weeks to come.
 These women keep me going.
They go about their lives without much fanfare.
 They just go out there and get things done,
 because they love their families..because they love the Lord, because they have faith,
 because they are righteous.

 

"In any and every age of the world when God has called or commanded man or a people to perform a certain work, they through determination and perserverance, and faith in him, have been enabled to accomplish it."

 

~Wilford Woodruff

"Show Me the way to go Home"

I was corresponding with my sister, Margie the other day. 

 We were talking about good memories of my parents. 

 She remembered how they dropped her off to see her parents just before her dad died. 

 She also remembered my mom's delicious pot roast's on Sunday. 

Then how dad would take the rolls and  put melted butter on them with the left over roast for sandwiches on Sunday night.

(I still make sandwiches like that..there's nothing better. - I can still picture dad making those delicious sandwiches.) 

Then, this morning I was reading Ann Cannon's article in the Tribune. 

 She wrote about keeping family stories alive. 

 

 Do children today listen to those old family stories that our generation heard whether we wanted to hear them or not?

I remember riding to work with dad. 

I heard his philosphies, his stories, sometimes I thought it was interesting, lots of times I thought it was boring. 

 Now I realize how much I absorbed and learned.

 

Our family gatherings were the same way..

the old songs, many old family stories, memories from the past. I feel as though I knew my Uncle Allen, who died before I was born, just from hearing stories about him.

 Looking back, I'm thinking what a wonderful way of life.  To learn from these people.  To learn about their lives, to learn our history, to learn how to overcome life's hurdles, to learn to laugh, to learn to sing.

We still get together.

That closeness and love is like a thread stitched through generations.

The family has grown, but we love gathering and sharing the love, the stories, the laughter, the legacy.  These young ones can still learn from those that have past away, because of those stories and the songs..

At the end of the day when we sing
and Sam gets all the words to
 "Show me the Way to go Home"
and says "I sang it all by myself."
 I smile, and I remember dad plunking that tune out on the piano,
during another time..other children singing the words. 

The legacy continues.