Hugged.

About a week ago, I had a teenage hormonal meltdown at my friends house.

His mom, who has become my second mom, came over to me and hugged me.

She just wrapped her arms around me and said nothing.

She hugged me even though I was being emotional.

Even though I was only thinking of my own problems.

She hugged me even though I had just said I hated her son.

She hugged me because she knew I needed it, even if I didn't deserve it.

That's love.

Barney

Barney is a purple dinosaur.
A Purple Dinosaur is also one of the best smoothies Jamba Juice offers on their Underground Menu. It happens to be my favorite.

The other day I got in an argument with my father. It was not good. Not good at all. Crying happened.  A lot of it.

I texted my friend Garrett, cracking a joke about saline.
We texted back and forth for about half an hour and then he says this:

"Can you come outside or should Barney come in through your bedroom window? :)"

Yes. He did come and surprise me at my house with a Purple Dinosaur. To help me feel better.

In short, he's the best.   Yep.

This past week I went to the gym with my mom and her fiance. One of my friends was going to give them some tips on how to do an Olympic Snatch. I came along to take pictures.  I didn't expect my friend to talk to me much, I knew he'd be busy with his work out as well as teaching my parental unit the ropes. 

He still found time to have a conversation with me and make me feel like I was welcome.

I'm glad we're friends.:)

Babysitting

When about to begin babysitting my neighbors(these guys again), the mom told her son John (approx. age 4) that she had to go. John began to cry and ran to his mom and hugged her legs. His older sister Lily (approx. age 6) saw this and went and knelt down by John and said,

"It's ok John, I'll take care of you. And we can play whatever game you want to play."

BEST. SISTER. EVER.

At Graduation

At the end of graduation last year, bouncy balls were all over the floor. The graduates had thrown them instead of throwing their caps. After the ceremony, kids flooded the floor to get a bouncy ball. My friend Brett, who's 16, got excited and got one, too.
One kid was left without a ball--the one he was going for was taken by another kid who was faster. The boy began to get teary eyed, and his older brother told him to quit being a wimp.
I watched as Brett walked over to the boy, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the bouncy ball that he had been so excited to get. He gave his bouncy ball to the boy.
The expression on the boy's face said it all. Brett walked away like it was nothing.
Watching that, seeing him do that, meant everything.

Real Strength

My friend Garrett is really strong. He is a swimmer and does a lot of weightlifting. Just by looking at him though, you wouldn't be able to tell that underneath his shirt he's completely ripped.

A local news station featured him a little while ago.  I watched it. Two things:

1)There was footage of him making a baby laugh. Adorable.

2) His mom said he always waves to her when she goes to one of his weightlifting or swim meets. He always acknowledges that she's there and is happy to see her.

When I went to Garrett's swim meet the other day, I climbed the stairs to find a place to sit with the rest of the public.  The public seating at the pool is kind of on a balcony of sorts. I watched as Garrett's parents sat right in front of me, not realizing I was there. Garrett passed down below, then looked up at noticed his parents waving. He waved back with a huge smile on his face.

Most kids would slightly nod their head and then act as if nothing happened. Not Garrett.

Then he noticed me sitting behind them. He saluted me and cracked a smile.

He's a good kid.

My Dad

I was watching "Monte Carlo" a little while ago(By the way, dumb movie). The girl in the movie goes to Paris. I said outloud, "Aw. I want to go to Paris..."
My dad was busy with other things in the kitchen and I didn't think he had heard me.

He gave me eiffel tower earrings for Christmas. 
He doesn't listen. He hears.

Wiggle The Car

My dad used to wiggle the car at gas stations when we stopped on long trips to make us laugh.

As time went on, we had to beg and plead for him to do it. Eventually we stopped asking altogether. We forgot about it and moved on.

On the last road trip we went on with my dad, we stopped to get gas. We continued to watch our movie while he filled up. Then I felt the car begin to shake.

I looked out the window and my dad was wiggling the car. He gave us the biggest grin and then continued to take care of filling the car with gas.  When he got back in the car he didn't say a word about it. We didn't either.
It was kind of an unspoken appreciation.

Apostles

At a recent General Conference, the apostles and prophets seemed to all be saying how much they love and appreciate their 'angel, darling wives'.

There was one talk in particular that hit me hard. Here it is.

They're Good Together

My friend Elizabeth brought her boyfriend to church with her today. I watched as she helped all her cousins hang up their coats while he kept the others entertained.

My other friend, Jane, spoke in Sacrament Meeting today. She specifically told her boyfriend not to come listen to her talk.
He snuck in anyway.

My friend Richard's parents. Anything and everything I see them do makes me think they're the greatest married couple I know.  When I had a school assignment to interview a married couple and ask what love meant to them, they are the ones I interviewed.

Just Waiting

Everyday after school, I walk by Joey. He's kind of in a relationship with my friend Kate[if you don't recall, names have been changed.].  I say 'kind of' because it's a really open relationship. Kate won't go on two dates in a row with Joey, they never hold hands, etc. In a way I think that makes it even cuter.

Everyday when I walk past Joey, he's standing across the hall from the girl's bathroom, holding Kate's backpack and sometimes her clarinet or a school project, waiting for her.

Waiting At the Bench

My mom waits for us at the end of the bench in church each week to give us each a hug.
Every week.
Without fail.

But one week when she was out of town, my little sister, without saying a word, waited at the end of the bench and gave my older sister and I a hug as we left to Sunday School.

On the Phone

Everytime my mom says 'goodbye' to her fiance on the phone, I know what's coming out of her mouth is 'goodbye' but what's coming out of her heart is "I love you".

You can hear it. Even though she's not actually saying it.

Babysitting

When about to begin babysitting my neighbors the other day, the dad came in to say goodbye to the kids.  He said "give me kisses", and one by one, the kids gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. He told them all, "I love you" and they said they loved him, too.

Not only was it this act of love that touched me, but that a grown man wasn't afraid or ashamed to kiss his kids goodbye and tell them he loved them while a 16 year old girl stood there and watched.

Brother Johnson

[note: all names have been changed. In this post and for every post hereafter. To protect identities and such.]

I often hear my seminary teachers talk about their families or their wives. The way they practically glow when they talk about them testifies to me how much they love their families.


"I married a princess. Her name is Emily."


"This is my wife. Isn't she absolutely gorgeous? I can't believe I got so lucky....that she would marry me."

All the seminary teachers are so nice.  When I walk through the seminary building after school each day, all the seminary teachers I pass wave, call me by name and say hello--even though most of them haven't ever had me as a student. The fact that they know my name amazes me.

The Quote That Started It All

The entire reason why I started to keep track of these moments was because of one simple quote I overheard in the seminary building at my school one day.

One of my former seminary teachers [note: from now on, all seminary teachers will be referred to as 'Brother Johnson'] was talking to an old student of his. The student had just got his mission call and had come to tell him about it. They got to talking about different things and the student said he had recently been to a haunted forest and that it had been really fun.  The seminary teacher said,

"A fun night to me is sitting and watching a movie with my wife."

People make love seem complicated.

But honestly, it couldn't be more simple.

And that's what I've noticed, and that's what I've come to share. Love isn't complex. And everyone is capable of it.

Love Exists

How do I know? How can a naive teenager like me know that love exists? How could I have experienced anything in my life that is love?
By some miracle, I have. I have experienced it, and I have seen it. In many places and in many different ways. Between a boyfriend and girlfriend. Between a husband and wife. A parent and child. Heavenly Father and all of His children.  Church leaders and students. Teachers and students. Two friends.

Love is real.

And in this sometimes hopeless world, it is good to have a reminder of that. So it's my mission to write them down when I find them. And hopefully, it will make my life [and yours] a little bit better.