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Show -N E W S Spanish Fork Covering what matters most WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 , 2008 • A3 The greatest seat of power Life After Birth Janene Baadsgaard My daughter called me the other day and said, "I feel like all I.do all day is clean up poop." She was the mother of a four-week-old newborn who had just exploded with so much gusto it shot up his back, through his arm holes and out through his pants. Her toddler had just made a deposit on the floor next to the potty chair then, stepped in it and tracked it around the house. Her preschooler was still resisting toilet training, yet refused to wear training pants or diapers. Before the children came, this same daughter had penned a quality novel about deep philosophical issues. Recently, she sent Janene Baadsgaard an e-mail to me that read, "Once there was a mother with three children in diapers. She went crazy. The end." Though it appeared her individual identity and purpose had been lost, in reality, her individual identity and puipose had been found. I recently walked through Washington, D. C. and noticed almost every honorary statue depicted a man who led an army or held high political office. Some of their names were familiar, but, surprisingly, most were not. The vast majority of battlefield victories had faded from our nation's collective memory and most the famous leaders of the past are largely unknown today. I longed to see a statue for all the invisible women who had conceived the great ideas that gave birth to this nation. I believe the greatest seat of power is in a mother's lap. Great ideas and philosophies begin as desires in a noble woman's heart. Those desires grow into thoughts, and those thoughts into ideas. Eventually, those ideas grow into words. Words are powerful - they give structure, form and permanence to dreams. The words that most affect us are those we learned at our mother's knee. While in Washington, I gazed up at the Lincoln and Jefferson monuments and walked past the White house. I viewed the courtroom in the Supreme Court building with nine empty chairs. I thought about power-the kind that lasts. I have come to believe that all great strides in knowledge, wisdom and positive social reform were once whispers of hope in a woman's heart. Mothers have the opportunity to plant tiny seeds of ideas and possibilities in their children's minds. If the seeds are good, when their children grow up, they became the givers not the takers of the world. The hand that rocks the cradle really does rule the world. We now have women Check that 72-hour kit eral people interviewed on the local news that excitReady or Not edly exclaimed, "They only Dawn Van Nosdol gave us 10 minutes to get out. We had to leave everyIt is that time of year thing!" I hope not. I hope again - time to check your that they had enough wits 72-hr kit and rotate the food about them to at least get and check to make sure that their 72-hour kit and take the clothes still fit and are it with them. Remember to seasonally appropriate. It have it in a place that you seems like yesterday that can just grab it and go. I we were doing the same also hope that they had all of thing - and we were; only it their important paperwork ready in one place that they was April. could just gather up and I'm really excited this take with them. That way, year because I am saving up for a really nice external later that night, at the emergency shelter or in a motel frame backpack that I am hoping to buy next month. room, they .could find some For years I have used a real- comfort with a change of clothes and have access to ly big, soft-side travel bag. It held everything, but it was toiletries to freshen themselves up while they waited heavy to carry with just my for the okay to return home. arm power. With the exterIf they did grab their imnal frame backpack, I will portant paperbe able to better distribute w o r k , my load and have my hands they free. I'm very excited; it is green, but not camouflage (everything that rny son has is camouflage and I want my own stuff). Green is my favorite color. Another reason that I wanted to talk about 72hour kits (and please tell me that if you don't have one completely assembled, that you are at least seriously working on it), is that I keep thinking about the people in Draper. Especially the neighborhoods that were affected by the fire about a month back. There were sev- would have their insurance paperwork to peruse, while waiting to find out if they were going to need to use it or not. I wonder how many of the families that were displaced actually thought to take their 72-hour kits with them, and how many of them kept wishing they had. Even better yet, how many of them wished that they had prepared ahead of time and put one together. Let's make a goal to be prepared. Remember, it doesn't have to be fancy, just practical and useful for when it is needed. If you need a few good flashlights for your kits (and who doesn't), this would be an excellent time to get them. We who lead the highest institutions of government and commerce in the land. Does that make them great or simply more visible? It is not our position in society that makes us great - but our goodness, the strength of our character and our willingness to sacrifice for the well-being of others. We need good men and women to lead our nation and corporations but we need more who lead our children. What happens in our house matters more than what happens in the House of Representatives. For a nation conceived in liberty cannot remain powerful if it does not remain good. A nation will not remain good unless the children are nurtured in love. So I thought for a moment before I answered my daughter. doing so much more. Try to imagine your little ones as the great men and women they will be some day. The way you treat your children today will be the way they treat the world tomorrow." Janene Baadsgaard is the author of many humorous and heartwarming books for families including 15 Secrets to a Happy Horne, FamHies Who Laugh, Last, On the Roller Coaster Called Motherhood, Winter's Promise, Financial Freedom for LDS Families and The LDS Mother's Almanac - available at local stores or at www. springcreekbooks.com. Read her columns titled Baadsgaard Bylines at wwwJaneneBaadsgaard. blogspot.com. She can be "Some days it feels like reached at janenebaadsthat," I said, "but you are gaard@juno .com Madison s Avenue by "Big Al" and "Famzy* ©2008 Madingo L L C , Allan CMsen and Darrwi Fames Hmmm.... I don't have any change for your allowance. are coming into the Halloween season, and that means that there will be a bunch of little ghosts and goblins running around after dark. Instead of getting cheap flashlights with skulls that light up to illuminate their way and keep them safe, Consider getting some really good wind-up flashlights instead - the kind that don't need batteries. Have the kids spend a minute or two winding up the flashlights and use them instead. After they get home, you can either put them in their Under the Bed Kit or your family 72-Hour Kit. And don't forget to store water with your 72-hour kit; at least one 2-liter bottle for each person using the kit. That's OK dad. I take debit cards." •Custom Homes •Additions -Finishing Basements "Thank You Spanish Fork and Salem for making us your Home Builder choice for 2008. We will continue to work hard to deserve your confidence in us." -Robert Nelson Best landscaping, runner up best interior, best overall home in the 2008 Parade of Homes Scenic Lots $79,800 Call for Info. 423-1141 1 Salem, Utah robertnelsonconstruction.com Legal Tips by: A T T O R N E Y p^MENTARY " ' A T L A W 798-8201- 743 N. Main, Spanish Fork . I have learned IronTOJilrnerable s&)3BmediatfcffiHnegoti| Alicia Broomhead Canyon Elementary HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING untestHfbefore par Jes begfa heated cteputeS • Service • Furnace Replacements • A/CAddOns • Green Sticker • Financing OAC Canyon Elementary would like lo recognize Alicia Brocnhcad for her outstanding performance in the school year so far. Alicia is a hanl worker, and always strives lo do her very best in anything she docs. Not only is she an outstanding student, but she is very kind and thoughtful of others The sixth grade al Canyon is pleased lo have her as one of Their students. Some of Alicia's hobbies include: climbing trees, reading, and going on bike rides wilh her family. When Hiked what her favorite subject in school was. her response was, "Math ike to solve problems, and then c l u while everyone else figures them ." Thanks Alicia for hard work! 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