End of the Everything?

I have decided as of yesterday that May is really the end of everything. At least for me as a teacher. I have spend most of my life ending things in April, May, or June. Which is to say it is also the beginning of a lot of things too. But let's focus on the ending for now.
For 13 years it was the end of public Education. April 29 is the anniversary of the end of before mission life. June 8 is the anniversary is the end of the mission. The end of every April signals the ending of University semesters. June 24 was the end of singlehood (Thank goodness), and for the next 30-ish years (assuming everything goes well!) I will be experiencing the end of school.
I do not like this some days.
I just finished teaching a great class that I will miss quite a bit. The worst part is that everytime I walk into my classroom during the summer, I picture where the desks SHOULD be and who SHOULD be sitting in them. I suppose if I didn't like my students this wouldn't be a problem.
What do you do?
I suppose the reason this is a little rough for yours truly is that all the people I see due to the education system seem to disappear for a few months.
This does make seeing students and friends at the end of the summer so much more exciting though. Know the bad to appreciate the sweet.
Now I am going to get philosophical.
Grandpa Corry also passed a way in May about 10 years ago. This was a bit rough for me. I had spent the last few months before my mission staying the night doing what I could to help him out. He was bedridden for the most part. Unless he was determined to get up, which he did once, I have no idea how...
Anyway. It was about this time in 1998 that he passed away. I was in the MTC. I was already homesick when I found out. I wasn't surprised, but as with all great men and great examples there was sorrow at his leaving us.
I guess the part of this post that is most important is that even though things end, they also begin again. So. School is over, but it will begin again. People pass away, but they will be seen again also. My grandfather Elwood Jones Corry was a great man. I hope I am proud of myself when I see him again, I hope even more that he is proud of me. When the end of my life comes I hope I will be ready to begin what ever is next.
So. What's the point of all this rambling? I do not know. I have been thinking about endings as a time for reflection, a sort of self-appraisal. Do I think this school year went well? Yeah, I do. Perfect? Nope, but better than the year previous. Did I end the year with more love for those I teach than I began with? Definitely.
That's a good beginning.

Meine Familie

Hi. Second blog today. I thought it would be nice to say a few words about my family. Jenna and Dallin. Jenna and I met in 2004. She was a freshman. So I said to myself, "No way Jose." But we were put together to work on choreography in HOPE choir at the SUU LDS institute. So...fate says we have to get to know each other. She was so dang cute. I still had a hardened heart, past experiences with dating had closed my mind. Still...she was so dang cute...and nice...and level headed...and...well you know...
We were married in June 2005. I was 26. She was 19. That's seven years people. For the record this is a really good thing. She teaches many things about enjoying life and hopefully I help her see some things from my "older" not necessarily wiser perspective. PLUS I have learned to appreciate a lot of things she grew up with that I would have missed out on...and vice versa. Our families that we came from are very different, but it is wonderful to have the diversity...well...it's not THAT much diversity, but it's wonderful nonetheless.
NINE months after we were married Dallin came a long. To our credit he was a month early. He has been a great addition. I have loved watching him learn to walk and talk and just be so darn cute.
I guess I thought life was rewarding before I was married, and dating had some (far and between) fun moments, but I can't really understand why now. It was fun and more "dramatic" at times, but there is nothing like having a wife who is always by my side, and so involved in helping our community, and a son who runs yelling "dada dada" and gives me a huge hug when I get home from work. Let's face it. Marriage done right makes every other aspect seem like a pale shadow of existence. I have to say that knowing our sealing binds us together for longer than I can imagine is a supreme comfort and a great motivation to continue to grow and learn about life together. Just some thoughts...I guess I just feel really blessed. God tends to give us more than we deserve and such is the case here. I suppose that is His way of getting us to step up to the mark!

In the Beginning...

I am not really sure to which beginning I am referring to with my title, but lets all assume for the sake of bloggery that it refers to the beginning of my entrance into this vortex of creative thought and expression, referred to from here on as the blogosphere. Maybe Blogosphere would be more appropriate for a world of blog then a vortex of blog, but I digress.
Jenna has been blogging for sometime now and she seems to be thoroughly addicted to the "sport". It also seems to be a good way to keep tabs on friends...and "not" friends, who can become friends. I also figured it would be a good way to get what I am thinking and experiencing off my chest and thrown into the collective pool of humanity.
So we begin. Hence the title...In the Beginning. Genesis will probably be a better place to go for inspired insight, but lets begin anyway.
So...lately I have been thinking about missionary work. How to do it, how to be good at it. The conclusion I keep coming back to is that we have to be ready. We have to pray. We have to befriend those around us, and we have to trust the Lord will bring us opportunities and courage. Sharing the gospel can be a bit frightening to some of us...myself included, but I have been surprised to see opportunities come lately as I have studied scriptures more, prayed specifically, and trusted. The opportunities that have come in the last few weeks haven't been anything frightening, just simple conversations with people I already know. The great part about it is that as I have trusted the Lord to do his work, those people are the ones asking the questions.
Okay. That's my first blog. Kind of a milestone. Hopefully this won't be the only one!