Lessons Learned: A blog about my life

April 1988 At the end of my pregnancy, I kept trying to prepare Jared for the possibility of having either a brother or a sister. Jared insisted that he was getting a sister. I started to worry that he would be disappointed if it was a boy, so I tried to help him understand that…

March 1987 We have settled into our apartment, and Jared and I are better from the parasites. I still have to be careful what I eat. The doctor told me that my stomach lining was damaged, and it might never be the same again. Luckily for Jared, he is so young that he seems to…

We managed to get all our belongings out of the trailer. It wasn’t easy since both Jared and I were so sick. Once everything was out, the health inspector put a heavy-duty lock on the door and posted a sign stating the trailer was contaminated and that no one was allowed to enter without permission.…

Thursday, July 3, 1986 In the trailer park, I saw a paper on the bulletin board that read, “Looking for a babysitter.” They were siblings. A boy, 7, and a girl, 5. I found the guy who needed help with his kids. It was from 5:4O am until 6:20 pm. I brought Jared with me…

Friday, May 23, 1986 A few days ago, they turned off the water supply to the trailer, saying they needed to do some maintenance on the pipes. Once the water was turned back on, it tasted horrible! After the water had run for a while, it seemed to taste normal again. Jared doesn’t seem well…

Saturday, February 22, 1986 Richard’s dad showed up out of the blue with two outfits for Jared. It surprised me, since I had never seen that side of him. He said he had noticed how Jared was dressed, so he figured he could use some new clothes. Richard said his work gave him a gift…

Richard and I didn’t celebrate New Year’s. We are just happy when Jared sleeps so that we can sleep too. Friday, January 3, 1986 Beth called to tell me that she and Mom had gone ice-skating and that Mom had fallen on the ice. Mom was going to stay a couple of days in the…

Wednesday, November 27, 1985 I spent all day Monday and Tuesday packing. Richard took Wednesday off work to help me pack the last of our belongings. Thursday, November 28, 1985 It’s Thanksgiving today, but we weren’t able to celebrate it, since we were busy moving all our boxes into the trailer. There is still some…

September 1985 Beth is home from Canada and has gone back to school. Things aren’t better with Mom. Beth can’t understand all the tension between us. I think it’s hard for her to see what’s happening when Mom is constantly telling her things about me that aren’t true. I noticed even people in our ward…

Saturday, August 10, 1985 As far back as I can remember, I looked forward to being a mom. There are no words to describe how grateful I was to have such a perfect, beautiful baby! Jared was such a good baby! He didn’t fuss, and I enjoyed every second with him! Richard and I had…