NEW YORK J ANUARY 201 4

WELCOME,
COLIN!
Our family
Susan Jane Hibdon Joyce
Dustin Tyler Joyce
Fiona Claire Joyce
Colin Everet Joyce
Original content is available for
noncommercial use under a Creative
Commons license. Some material in
this issue was produced by others;
material used under a Creative
Commons license is identifed by
CC and the license type and
version. For more info, visit
dialann.org/copyright
dialann.org
DialannIrish for journalis
published quarterly at New York, in
January, April, July, and October.
ISSN 2334-3230 (print)
ISSN 2334-3249 (online)
Published by
Dustin Tyler Joyce
dtjoyce.com
Printed by
Blurb
blurb.com
Sans serif text is set in Hypatia Sans.
Serif text is set in Adobe Text.
Tis issue was designed on a Dell
Inspiron ONE2305 desktop, with 4
GB of RAM, a 1 TB hard drive, and
an AMD Athlon II X2 240e processor
with a speed of 2.8 GHz. Te sofware
used includes InDesign, Photoshop,
and Illustrator in Adobe Creative
Suite 5.5, as well as Google Drive. Te
operating system was Windows 7
Home Premium 64-bit.
NEW YORK
Get a notebook, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote fom it for
eternity. Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements
and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies.
PRESI DENT SPENCER W. KI MBALL
JANUARY 2014 ISSUE 13 28 PAGES
NEW YORK J ANUARY 201 4
WELCOME,
COLIN!
on the front cover
Fiona holds Colin just
afer he came home from
the hospital.
DUSTIN | 15.55 EST, 4 JANUARY 2014
on the BACK cover
Tese cards announced
our new arrival to family
and friends.
DUSTIN | 11.59 EST 3 JANUARY 2014
TABLE of CONTENTS
3 Welcome to our redesigned
magazine
Dustin walks through some changes youll notice
starting with this issue of our magazineand the
reasons behind them.
6 Our annual holiday leter, 2013
edition
Te 2013 edition of our familys annual photo
and letter to friends and family at Christmas,
reviewing our familys year.
16 Colins arrival
By Susan | Colins coming into our family on
Tursday, 2 January 2014, was a watershed
moment in our lives. Heres how it happened.
WE BELI E VE I N CHRI ST
22 Te seed of tesimony
By Dustin | Growing up Mormon means you get
early experience with public speaking.
24 Our mos excellent and
sontaneous Chrismas adventure
(or, how I saved Christmas)
By Dustin
I N ME MORI AM
27 Revelee Lee Hibdon
24 June 192010 November 2013
Te obituary that appeared in Te Bakersfeld
Californian on 4 December 2013.
THE J OURNAL
DUS TI N
My year without
soda
My frst new years
resolution in over a
decade was ambitious:
no soda for an entire
year. But it was easier
than even I expected.
PAGE 10
F I ONA
Am Gymnasium
Fiona, age 3, has all
sorts of stories from
when she was in high
school. In Germany.
PAGE 12
COL I N
Being a baby:
Birth, baths,
botles
Colin may not yet know
how to write, but he
sure has a lot to say.
+ Naming Colin
PAGE 14
S US AN
Yearning for the
simple life
Id rather make pencils
than push them.
+ On a cold day in
Krakow
PAGE 8
16
3 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
dustin
W
ith this issue, Dialann enters its fourth year. In that time, our family
has changed a lot: Fiona has grown up to become a smart, curious, and talented
little girl; we moved from Washington, D.C., to New York City; and just this month
Colin joined our family. And as we move into 2014, some big changes are coming to our
magazine.
Te frst thing you might have noticed is that the pages are a diferent size. Blurb, where
we have printed each issue, has made a change to its standard portrait book size. In the
past, Blurb projects in this size, including Dialann, were 7.75 by 9.75 inches (19.69 by 24.77
centimeters). With the new year, to conform with industry standards, Blurb is changing
the dimensions of its standard portrait size to 8 by 10 inches (20.3 by 25.4 centimeters)an
increase of inch (.64 centimeter) in both directions. Our template, which is pretty exact,
will no longer work.
But we had already planned on redesigning our magazine and changing its size. Some
time ago, Blurb introduced new magazine and brochure options. Each is 8.5 by 11 inches (21.6
by 27.9 centimeters), which is the size we would have preferred for our magazine in the frst
place. And they are less expensive to print, to boot: we will save over $40 a year in printing
costs.
And while were adapting to a new size, we fgured, why not freshen up the design of the
magazine with it? We had to redesign the template anyway, so we went all out. Youll notice
it from the front cover, where we have a new masthead, through all the pages of this issue
and those that follow. We hope that this new look continues the high quality of design that
we feel weve established for our magazine. We also hope it simplifes and liberates the design
process by getting rid of the borders and other elements that constrained it previously.
Te design of Dialann.org has been updated to match. One thing that has not changed,
however: the typefaces, Adobe Text and Hypatia Sans (see Dialann 12.13), used throughout
the magazine. Not everything needs to be diferent. Not to mention that we spent $58.30 on
the italic version of Hypatia Sans when we launched this magazinewe need to get a little
more mileage out of it!
In addition to changes to the look of the magazine, there are some substantial changes
to the content and organization of the magazine as well. Te sections Here & Tere and
Our Times have been discontinued, at least for the time being. Tough we certainly want to
remember things going on in the world around usafer all, our family lives in the context
of and is ofen impacted by goings-on in the larger worldthey also took up an increasing
amount of time to produce. And time, now that we have two children, is scarcer than ever. If
we are going to spend our time writing and assembling a magazine, wed rather that time be
spent recording memories ofor making memories withour own family.
Milestones, which alternated with Here & Tere in every other issue, will now run in
every issue and cover the previous three months rather than six. It will normally appear on
this page, opposite the Table of Contents, which has been redesigned and appears on the
inside front cover. (One of the advantages of the new printing option is that we can now
make use of the inside covers, which we couldnt do previously.) Our annual holiday letter,
printed in each January issue, will now appear at the front of that issue, afer the Table of
Contents and Milestones, since it provides a good look back at the previous year.
Soon we will introduce two new sections featuring highlights from our online lives
and photography. Our daily social-media interactions capture our life in a way that cant be
matched by a magazine printed every three months, and we take photos of our family on a
nearly daily basis. We wanted some way to preserve and share those insights into our lives
here in the pages of our magazine. Look for them to take shape over the coming issues.
It has been a challenge both to assemble a workable, beautiful layout and accompanying
template and to say farewell to our old look, which served us so well and will be preserved in
our memories forever. Susan reminded me that a redesign is always awkward, and Im sure
well tweak things in coming issues. But here it is, so please enjoy.
Welcome to our
redesigned magazine
4
MI LESTONES
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
SEP AUG JUL
JULYSEPTMBER 2013
J ULY
1 Canada Day
4 Independence Day
6 Asiana Airlines fight 214
crashes as it is landing at San
Francisco International Airport.
Of the 307 people on board (291
passengers and 16 crew), 2 died
and 182 were injured
13 A jury in Sanford, Florida,
fnds George Zimmerman not
guilty on all charges in the
shooting death of Trayvon Martin
on 26 February 2012
15 Fiona (3)
AUGUS T
210 Dustin travels to San
Francisco (via Philadelphia
and Washington, D.C.) with
his mother and brother. While
Dustin was away, Susan and Fiona
hung out with Susans sister Karen
and her family in the D.C. area
14 Te Smithsonian announces
the discovery of the olinguito
(Bassaricyon neblina), a small
carnivorous mammal that lives
in the Andean cloud forests of
Colombia and Ecuador. It is the
frst new carnivorous mammal
species discovered since 2010,
and the frst discovered in the
Americas since 1978
17 President Tomas S.
Monson breaks ground on the
Hartford Connecticut Temple
18 Dustin participates in
Chanel Pensottis confrmation
24 Elder Ronald A. Rasband,
senior president of the Presidency
of the Seventy, breaks ground on
the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
28 50th anniversary of
the March on Washington, a
watershed moment in the civil
rights movement
30 We learn that baby #2 will
be a boy
31 Dustin and Fiona attend
Brooklyn Cyclones game. Te
Cyclones lost 70 against the
Aberdeen, Maryland, Ironbirds
S E P TE MB E R
2 Labor Day
2 Diana Nyad, a long-distance
swimmer who also happens to be
64 years old, becomes the frst
person to swim from Cuba to Key
West, Florida, without a shark
cage. Ms. Nyad completed the
110-mile (177-kilometer) swim in
just under 53 hours
Te new eastern span of the San
FranciscoOakland Bay Bridge
opens between Yerba Buena
Island and Oakland, six years
behind schedule and fve times
over budget. A portion of the
new span is the worlds largest
self-anchored suspension bridge
(the remainder of the new span is
a causeway)
7 Tokyo is selected to host
the 2020 Olympics, beating out
Istanbul and Madrid
9 Susan and Fionas frst day
of school for the 201314 school
year. And Dustins, too: he is
homeschooling Fiona this school
year. Also a signifcant day for
Fiona because the previous night
was her frst in a big girl bed (her
crib with the rails removed)
12 NASA announces that
4 September: Te new eastern span of the San FranciscoOakland Bay
Bridge opens, replacing a span completed in 1936.
FRANK SCHULENBURG | 14 SEPTEMBER 2013 | CC BY-SA 3.0
COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FILE:THE_TWO_BRIDGES.JPG
Voyager 1, at 11 billion miles (17.7
billion kilometers) from the sun,
appears to have lef the solar
systemor, more specifcally,
the heliospherethough there
is some debate over how to
defne the solar systems edge.
At any rate, at 125 astronomical
units from the sun, it is the
farthest man-made object from
earth (an astronomical unit is
approximately 93 million miles,
or 150 million kilometers, the
average distance of the earth from
the sun)
17 Te Costa Concordia, which
shipwrecked on the Italian coast
on 13 January 2012 (see Dialann
7.10), is turned uprighta
process which apparently is called
parbuckling. Go fgure theres a
word for that
24 A massive 7.7-magnitude
earthquake in Pakistan creates
a small island of the countrys
coast. Geologists expect the
island to disappear within a year
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
5 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
Tu
We
T
Fr
Sa
Su
Mo
COLOR KEY
holidays
events in our lives
travel
events in the Church
birthdays
world events
OCTOB E R
1 Afer Congress fails to
come to an agreement on the
federal budget, the federal
government begins shutting down
nonessential services at 0.01
(see Dialann 12.1415)
56 183rd semiannual general
conference
8 Te new $100 bill enters
circulation (see Dialann
6.1617)
14 Columbus Day
17 12.25: President Obama
signs bill reopening government
and avoiding a default on the
federal governments debt
21 Following a decision by
the states supreme court, the
frst same-sex marriages in New
Jersey are performed shortly afer
midnight. New Jersey becomes
the 15th state to legalize same-sex
marriage; same-sex marriages
are also being performed in one
additional state, New Mexico,
whose laws neither recognize nor
prohibit same-sex marriage
26 Arriving at the Leferts
Boulevard terminal of the A train,
Dustin fnally achieves his goal of
riding the entire New York City
Subway
31 Halloween
NOVE MB E R
1 Te First Presidency
announces that beginning in 2014
a semiannual general womens
meeting will replace the general
Relief Society and Young Women
meetings held annually since 1993.
Te general presidencies of the
Relief Society, Young Women,
and Primary will conduct the
meeting
3 Daylight saving time ends
5 Susan (35)
11 Veterans Day
19 150th anniversary of the
Gettysburg Address
20 Illinoiss governor signs
into law a bill legalizing same-sex
marriage in the state. Same-sex
couples will be able to apply for
marriage licenses from 1 June 2014
2124 Terrorists attack the
Westgate shopping mall in
Nairobi, Kenya. Te three-day
seige of the mall led to at least
67 deaths, 175 injured, and the
collapse of three of the malls fve
levels
22 50th anniversary of the
assassination of President John F.
Kennedy during a motorcade in
Dallas
23 Family to Philadelphia
to visit Dustins friend Matt
Brownell
271 December Family to
Fredrick, Maryland, to spend
Tanksgiving with Dustins family,
with side trips to Fallingwater and
Hershey, Pennsylvania
28 Tanksgiving
DE CE MB E R
1 A Metro-North train
heading to Grand Central derails
at Spuyten Duyvil in Te Bronx,
killing 4 passengers and injuring
65. It appears that the trains
engineer dozed of just as the train
was entering the sharp curve in
the tracks where the Harlem and
Hudson rivers meet
2 New York magazine
announces that it will be
published biweekly, rather than
(sort of ) weekly, beginning with
the issue dated 310 March 2014.
It is currently published almost
weeklyits current schedule
of 42 issues has already been
squeezed, according to David
Carr at Te New York Times,
and will be cut to 29, though 30
will be published in 2014 since
the frequency will change two
months into the year. Our family
has been among New Yorks
just-above-400,000 subscribers
almost the entire time we have
lived in New York
Same-sex marriage becomes
legal in Hawaii, the 15th state to
legalize gay marriage
Tieves near Mexico City steal
a truck. Normally that wouldnt
make international headlines
except this truck was loaded with
highly radioactive cobalt-60,
typically used medical treatment.
Experts warn that the thieves
may have received a lethal dose of
radiation
Police in Reykjavk, Iceland,
shoot and kill a man who refused
to stop fring at them with a
shotgunand then the police
apologize for doing so. Te
police regret this incident and
wishes to extend its condolences
to the mans family, said Haraldur
Johannessen, the national police
chief, according to Bloomberg
View. It was the frst time police
in Iceland had shot and killed
someoneas in, frst time ever
3 Newsweek announces the
resurrection of its print edition.
Adam Martin, writing for
nymag.com, reports, Te new
weekly magazine will run to 64
pages and will start printing in
January or February, aiming for
a circulation of 100,000 its frst
year. Jim Impoco, Newsweeks
editor-in-chief, told Te New
York Times that the new version
of the magazine would rely more
upon subscribers than advertisers
for revenue, contrasting Te
Economists reader-based business
model with that of Time and
its ad-based model. As it turns
out, the #lastprintedition (see
Dialann 9.9) was #notsofnal
5 Nelson Mandela passes away
at age 95
20 Afer a federal judges ruling,
Utah becomes the 17th state
where same-sex marriage is legal.
Oh, the irony!
25 Christmas
2527 Family to Bethesda,
Maryland, on a spontaneous road
trip to celebrate Christmas with
Susans family (see pages 2426)
31 Te last Volkswagen Type
2, also known by such various
names as the Bus and the
Campervan and an icon of the
hippie generation, is produced on
an assembly line in Brazil
31 New Years Eve
OCT NOV DEC
OTOBERDECEMBER 2013
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
6
Our annual holiday letter
new york city
december 2013
Dear family and friends,
wenty twelve ended just as every year should:
snow-covered and in the company of family. Fiona made
her frst visit to Susan and Dustins old stomping grounds
in Salt Lake City as we joined Susans family to celebrate Christmas.
Fiona had fun exploring Temple Square for the frst time, but that
was nothing compared to what is quite possibly the Worlds Coolest
Playground behind city hall in the Salt Lake City suburb of West
Jordan. (Seriously, this playground was the coolest ever.) Dustin, of
course, had to ride all the new rail lines that had opened since his last
visit, which was even more fun with Fiona at his sideshe seems to
love riding trains even more than he does.
We were not content to let 2013 pass us by without taking it by the
horns. In February, we thought Susans midwinter break sounded like
a great time to help Dustin check another state capitol of the list in
his quest to see all 50. So we took the train (of course) to Springfeld,
Massachusetts. Fiona was such a trooper as she braved the bitter wind
and cold on the walk from the train station to the hotel. Afer spending
the night there, we rented a car and drove up to Brattleboro, Vermont,
and on to Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. We stayed at a
delightful old hotel near downtown and continued our family tradition
of hedonism, by which we mean ordering out pizza and watching TV
in our room. Te evening turned tragic, however, when a brief scene
from King of Queens showed the main character repeatedly running
into a padded wall at a baseball stadium. Fiona, full of empathy, was
mortifed, and it took a few minutes to calm her down and assure her
that no one actually got hurt.
Fiona had a great time exploring the capitol buildingDustins
33rdthe next day. We love how she enjoys exploring new places.
What we dont love, however, is the tendency of adults to make up
stuf that they tell to children. Like in this exchange we overheard
while passing a group of school students on a tour of the capitol:
Student: Why is the dome gold?
Chaperone: Because we have had a president from our state. If
someone from your state is elected president, your capitol gets a gold
dome.
Lets just clarify that the chaperones explanation is a complete
fabrication.
As spring turned into summer, Fiona fnished her frst year of
preschool, but Mama and Daddy kept her busy exploring the city. Te
best thing about living in New York is that you never run out of stuf to
do. Tat, and that its so close to the beach, which makes it perfect for
celebrating Fionas birthday, smack dab in the middle of summer. Her
Nana, Randy, and Aunt Amanda joined us for our annual Train Trip
to the Beach, this time on the Long Island Rail Road to Long Beach,
Long Island, where Fiona got to fy a kite for the frst time. It was a
great way to celebrate the ripe old age of three.
Turning three also meant it was a great time to learn how to swim,
so Fiona took swimming lessons at the YMCA in Jamaica, Queens. On
our way there for Fionas frst lesson, Susan and Dustin showed their
New York bona fdes by defly changing Fiona into her swimsuit while
riding the subway. You gotta do what you gotta do when you gotta do
it.
No summer, of course, is complete without a trip to San
Francisco. Well, thats how summer 2013 worked out for Dustin at
least. His mom had always had an itch to visit the City by the Bay, and
though Dustin had been there plenty of times before, he was more
than happy to tag along. Its always a thrill riding a cable car up and
down those incredibly tall and steep hills, or catching a glimpse of the
Golden Gate Bridge. Its also always wonderful to come back home to
Susan and Fiona, who had spent the week lounging in Maryland.
When fall arrived, it was the beginning of a new adventure for
Dustin and Fiona in a homeschool version of preschool. Being a
preschool teacher for his own daughter has been more of a challenge
than Dustin thought it would be, but Fiona seems to be learning and
happy. She has become very chatty and is a great conversationalistif
you catch her at the right time. We are constantly amazed by the
things she somehow knows. Recently, she mentioned seeing an
excavator, which we gathered was some sort of heavy machinery at a
construction site, but she said it was not the same as a backhoe.
One of the things we love about New York City is the opportunity
to spend time outdoors in nature. (We know, thats unexpected.) On
Tursdays, Dustin and Fiona join some other parents and children
from our neighborhood for a forest school at Forest Park, Queens.
Forest school is sort of what it sounds like: you go to the woods and,
as Fiona describes it, play with sticks. Its a great opportunity to get
out, enjoy nature, and make new friends. Besides forest school, we are
able to take the train to all sorts of interesting places that are not too
far away. Dustin, Fiona, and some friends recently went on a feld trip
to see a waterfall in New Jersey. And in September, we all went on an
excursion to a couple of farms upstate, where we met some baby cows,
sheep, and goats (who tried to eat Fionas belt) and then picked a huge
bag of apples. Within a few days, the apples had been transformed into
applesauce, apple butter, and apple jelly, all of which were gone within
weeks. So much for storing up for the winter.
Weve had the opportunity to check a couple of big items of our
(read: Dustins) bucket list this year. Te frst came on Independence
Day, when Susan and Dustin visited the Statue of Liberty for the frst
time and climbed all the way to the crown. Its defnitely not for the
claustrophobic, but the climb up the narrow, twisting staircase through
the middle of the statues internal framework is well worth the efort.
It was the frst day the statue was open since Hurricane Sandy last year
heavily damaged infrastructure on Liberty Island (though, fortunately,
not the statue itself ), and there was no better way to celebrate the
Fourth of July.
And recently, just afer Tanksgiving, Dustin had the opportunity
to visit Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater. As the tour guide,
Ed, pointed out, it is one of those rare places where nature and
architecture enhance each other. It is beautiful, and we thought it was
a perfect spot for our family Christmas photo, which looks a little of
because a certain someonecough Fiona coughdamaged our
camera a few days before. As she would say, Its okay. I can give you a
T
201 3 EDI TI ON
6
7 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
hug and a kiss you can feel better.
But these experiences will pale in comparison to what comes
next. Around the time you read this, we will welcome a new
addition to our family. Fionas baby brother is due on 23 December,
but Fionas late arrival (ten days!) taught us that we cant be sure
if Baby Brother will help us say farewell to 2013 or welcome 2014.
Either way, were excited, and well keep you posted. Look for an
announcement soon.
And with that, our 2013 comes to an end. Looking back, this
year has defnitely had its challenges. But weve also been incredibly
fortunate, most of all to have each other and to count you among
our friends and family. We hope 2013 has been as good to you as it
has been to us and that 2014 will be even better.
Merry Chrismas & Happy New Year!
With our love,
Susan, Dustin, & Fiona
Dustin, Fiona, and Susan at Fallingwater,
Mill Run, Pennsylvania, 30 November 2013.
7 J ANUARY 201 4
8
THE J OURNAL
Id rather make
pencils than push
them.
Yearning for the simple life
y whole life, Ive been interested in
stories about people who were able to
make things and survive on their own. I
remember reading the Little House books, Te Sign
of the Beaver, Diary of an Early American Boy, My
Side of the Mountain, and Te Wilderness Family and
wishing I could have a life like thatliving of the
land, knowing how to build things, learning how to
use resources. In fact, now that Im thinking about it,
almost all of my favorite books either had that theme
or took place in the 18th or 19th centuries (or both).
In a similar vein, I love watching TV shows about that
topic, such as Pioneer House on PBS or NBCs Get Out
Alive with Bear Grylls.
At some point during college, I realized that our
economy is all fake. Money isnt real, and most of
the jobs held by people in the United States (or most
industrialized countries) dont produce anything.
In that sense, were not really even industrialized
anymore, since our economies arent driven by
industry. In a knowledge-based economy, people
basically get paid to think about things, organize
things, talk about things, and record things, but not to
be industriousto actually produce anything. Teyre
paid to push pencils around.
On a side note, my grandfather, Augustus
Graham Atkins (who went by Graham), worked for
the Army Corps of Engineers. When my mom was
little, she asked him what his job was, and he told her
he was a pencil pusher. She took that literally, and
fgured it must mean that he pushed the pencils into
the pencil sharpener while someone else turned the
handlethe Henry Ford system of pencil sharpening!
Now, I know: producing knowledge is useful,
too. Spreading knowledge is useful, and it improves
our quality of life. But I cant help thinking that most
people dont really even know what they contribute
to society; they just go to work, and maybe even
enjoy it, without really thinking about what they are
producing. Im one of them. Sure, I teach students
about history, and I teach them how to think. But
why? What are they going to be producing?
Maybe some of them will become lawyers
someday. Ten what will they produce? Well,
nothing. Tey will read things, write things, and say
things in order to get someone in trouble or out of
trouble.
Maybe some of them will become bankers or
accountants. Tey will spend their days in meetings
and/or looking at spreadsheets that calculate sums of
imaginary money.
Some of them might become nurses or doctors.
Well, okay, they wont actually produce anything,
but they will clearly be doing something useful, so I
suppose Ill exempt them.
How many jobs are lef in our society in which
people actually produce something both real and
useful? Farmers, furniture makers, factory workers,
mechanics, construction not very many, when
compared with the hordes of knowledge workers,
and even fewer if you lump the people creating
useless crap in with the people who produce nothing
at all.
Okay, all of that is probably overly negative. Im
not opposed to thinking, obviously. I just think that
somewhere along the way, humanity forgot about
what matters. We started working just for the sake of
working, and in order to do that, we had to make up
jobs that, ultimately, are kind of meaningless. People
started doing stuf just because other people were
willing to pay them to do it, but neither party stopped
to think about whether any of it was worth their time
or money.
If were not producing anything with lasting
value, why is it a job? And furthermore, how
many of our own daily activities involve producing
something? We have become so disconnected from
production that most of us dont know how to do it
anymore. Cooking, sewing, building, fxing, growing
most people dont do most of those things on a
regular basis.
Tis reminds me of what William Morris said:
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know
to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. I would
expand that to, Work on nothing that you do not
know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. It turns
out he had the same idea: as I was researching that
quote to make sure I got it right, I found that Morris
also said, Worthy work carries with it the hope of
pleasure in rest, the hope of the pleasure in our using
what it makes, and the hope of pleasure in our daily
creative skill. All other work but this is worthless; it
is slaves workmere toiling to live, that we may live
to toil.
When I think of a simple life, I think of
producing my own thingsfood, clothes, furniture.
Tats not likely to happen anytime soon, because I
dont have time, but for me, its sort of the ideal. And
I would love to have a job in which I make things
every day. Imagine coming to the end of a workday
and actually having somethinga physical objectto
show for it. Tat, to me, would be a great day. d
M
9 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
SUSAN
In February 1999, I was studying in Prague.
Our tourist visas expired afer thirty days,
so we had to leave the country each month.
My frst out-of-country trip was to Krakow,
Poland, with some friends from my study
abroad program. It was an interesting trip,
starting with our overnight train ride, during
which we shared a compartment with three
or four grizzled older Polish men, guest
workers who were on their way home and
found our phrase book hilarious. Tis was
followed by our atempts, upon our arrival
at 6.30 in the morning, to fnd food, a warm
place to hang around until things opened,
and a place to stay. We somehow found our
way to a strange McDonaldshey, it was the
only thing open that early!with, as I recall,
an actual tree in the basement. Ten we
found a taxi driver who spoke some English
and knew some people who ran a pension.
He called them to make sure it was available,
then drove us there while blaring the Polish
version of Prety Woman on his tape player.
I dont really remember what we did for
the rest of that cold Saturday, though I know
there was Nutella involved, and at some
point we went to the Sukiennice, or Cloth
Market, saw a litle girl covered with pigeons,
walked around on the river promenade,
where we saw a novice nun, probably no
older than us, hanging out with her non-nun
friends. At about 18.00, we discovered that
everything was closed except for a Chinese
restaurant, so we had dinner therethe best
sesame chicken ever.
Te next day, Sunday, was also very
cold. I wanted to go to church, but didnt
know where it was or how to ask, so I instead
wore a long skirt just in case. We did visit the
castle, including the church part of the castle,
so maybe that counted. Later, we walked
down a lovely tree-lined mall towards the
old town.
Afer it got dark that evening, it got
very, very cold. We were trudging around
with our backpacks and coats and hats,
trying to stay warm and still take advantage
of our last few hours in Krakow before we
got back on the night train. It was so cold.
Did I mention it was cold? I was so happy to
have these super-warm, triple-layered feece
mitens made by some company called pufn
fur, or something like that, that I believe I had
found at JCPenney in Cotonwood Mall in
Salt Lake. Tey came all the way up my wrists,
so they werent leaky like most mitens, and
inside my fngers were so nice and toasty,
unlike the rest of me.
As we walked down a crowded
pedestrian zone, I saw a man kneeling on
the sidewalk next to the curb, holding a sign
that I couldnt read, wearing a thin jacket, no
hat, and no gloves. I walked by at frst, and
then changed my mind. Hold on, I said to
my friends, and ran back to give my mitens
to the man. He said something that I didnt
understand, and I probably said something
that he didnt understand, and then I lef to
rejoin my friends. I didnt look back at him,
but one of my friends told me he had put the
mitens on and seemed happy.
A few blocks later, we saw someone
making some amazing paintings using spray
paint, and we joined the crowd that had
gathered to watch.
On a cold day in Krakow
Kanonicza Street in Krakow looking toward Wawel Castle.
MAIRE | 8 MAY 2006 | CC BY-SA 2.5
EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FILE:KRAK%C3%B3W_KANONICZA_WAWEL.JPG
10
THE J OURNAL
My frst new years
resolution in over
a decade might
sound ambitious:
no soda for an
entire year. But it
was easier than
even I expected.
My year without soda
have resisted making new years
resolutions for a long time. I even once
excoriated them in a talk in sacrament
meeting (see Dialann 6.2123). I used to make
them, or try to anyway. But, inevitably, it was difcult
for me to narrow it down to just one thing I wanted to
improve in my life in the next year. I would come up
with a list that, if followed, would make me perfect
meaning it was doomed to failure before Auld Lang
Syne was even halfway sung (which, for some
reason, is all its ever sung).
Compounding that is the fact that Im a bit of
a perfectionist. I hate messing up shiny new things,
even if theyre as intangible as a year. So the frst time
I messed up on a new years resolutionlikely by 2
Januarythe year felt like it was already ruined and
there was no reason to continue working on that
resolution. And I would quickly revert back to my old
ways.
Te converse of this is that, in the course of a
year, if I realized I needed to improve something,
it was easy to excuse myself from making the
improvement. I can make that one of my new years
resolutions, I would think to myself. Besides, this years
already messed up, so why bother improving things
now?
But in 2013 I made an exception. It started one
evening in 2012 when I was doing some volunteer
work at Transportation Alternatives. TA is a
nonproft advocacy group in New York City working
for better infrastructure and policy for bicyclists
and well, they say transit riders and pedestrians,
too, but they really just seem to be about biking. Te
organization conducts mass mailings on a constant
basis. I mean, massive mailings. I thought we did mass
mailings when I was at Te United States Conference
of Mayors, but those were nothing compared to the
size and frequency of TAs mailings. Even though
in the 21st century we have machinery that can do
this sort of mailing automatically, such technology
appeared to be out of the reach of a small nonproft.
So once or twice a month, TA held volunteer nights
where half a dozen or so volunteers would prepare
the mailings by hand. I wanted to contribute to
advocacy work for alternative transportation, but TA
membership wasnt a cost I could justify, so I decided
to ofer my time. Tey were fun evenings, chatting
with other volunteers and eating dinner provided
by TAinvariably from a Tai restaurant near their
ofces on 26th Street between 6th and 7th avenues.
(TA has since stopped holding these volunteer
nights.)
It was at these volunteer nights that I met Chris.
He, too, had come to New York from Washington,
D.C. He, too, had lived in the District, near Dupont
Circle. (Tangent: It always irks me when people
say theyre from D.C. when they really lived in the
Maryland or Virginia suburbs, so I was gratifed that
he actually lived in the District of Columbia.) He,
too, had biked to work. Chris had worked in Reston,
which, according to Google Maps, is a 21.3-mile
(34.3-kilometer) ride, with a total vertical climb of
823 feet (251 meters). Tat commute would take
about 2 hours one way.
I had once been proud to have biked to work,
but I no longer was. My ride to work hardly counted
as a bike ride: about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers), mostly
totally downhill. It was a little harder in the afernoon
going uphill, but a mile and a half hardly even counts
as a commute. I believe I accomplished mine in as
little as 9 minutes one day, though it typically took
1215. I didnt even dare mention it.
Chris also mentioned that he would bike a loop
around Central Park before work in the morning
you know, six, seven, or eight times around the park,
and then head in to work.
I had considered my few times out on my bike
on a Saturday morning to be decent exercise.
Ten he mentioned that he hadnt had a sof
drink in something like seven years.
I decided that that was something I could do.
And, for the frst time in probably over a decade,
I settled on a new years resolution.
Before I went 365 days without a drop of
soda, I decided to live it up a little on New Years
Eve. A visit to a Coca-Cola Freestyle was in order
(see Dialann 4.1012). I had researched Coca-Cola
Freestyle locations before, and though many Duane
Reade locations across Manhattan have a machine, I
thought a drugstore, with no chairs or tables, wasnt
quite the right setting for enjoying my last soda for
the year with Susan and Fiona. But I knew there was
one at Cos on Broadway at 13th Street, just south of
Union Squarea quick trip down the L train.
When we arrived at Union Square that evening,
the atmosphere was festive. Te sidewalks were
crowded, and though the evening was cold, crowds
flled restaurants and shops, anxiously awaiting the
arrival of the new year. It was presided over by the
Empire State Building, whose newly installed LED
foodlights danced in a rainbow of color.
But when you take a two-and-a-half-year-old
into Manhattan on New Years Eve, you want to get
it over quickly. So, mesmerizing though the lights
on the ESB were, Susan quickly ushered me down
I
11 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
DUSTIN
to Cos. I entered, excited to have one
last sip of orange Coke before giving it up
for a year. I looked to spot the Coca-Cola
Freestyle before going to the registers to
pay for a drink and possibly a small snack
for the three of us. But I didnt see it. I was
pretty certain that it had been there, just
inside the door, on the right. Did I miss it
somehow? But its a pretty big machine;
surely I would have noticed it. Was it in
a diferent location? I looked around the
restaurant, but no sign.
And I quickly came to the realization:
the Coca-Cola Freestyle was no longer
there. In its place was a drinking fountain
that was so last century. As they say, go big
or go home. Id rather begin my new years
resolution with no sof drink than with an
inferior one. So, crestfallen, we went home.
(Since I hadnt expected it to be my last
before my new years resolution, I wasnt
keeping track of the time, place, or contents
of my last sof drink of 2012. Sorry.)
Giving up soda for a year proved
easier than I expected. Actually, for some
time Id been drinking less soda anyway.
Id caught myself one week the summer
before we moved to New York needing
a Dr. Pepper every afernoon to stay
awakeor just because. (I contend that
it wasnt the cafeine that kept me awake,
but rather the actual drinking motion.
Water would probably have done the
trick, too, except I drink it too fast. I think
sodas carbonation slows me down.) I was
reminded of a bishops youth discussion
with Bishop Harry Mahler in the Charlotte
3rd Ward back when I was in middle school
or high school. He was teaching us about
the Word of Wisdom and mentioned that
he didnt eat chocolate. He had gotten so
addicted to it that he needed a Hersheys
bar or some other chocolate every day. For
him, it wasnt the letter of the lawafer
all, the Word of Wisdom doesnt forbid
chocolate (the Church would probably be
considerably smaller if it did). It was about
the spirit of the law, controlling our bodies
and our appetites rather than allowing them
to control us. In that same spirit, I decided
to drink less soda.
Besides, the most economical size
usually sold in the refrigerated section at
CVS or another drugstore is 20 fuid ounces
(591 milliliters). No matter how much you
like Coke or Dr. Pepper or any other sof
drink, youre usually sick of it by the time
youve gotten to the bottom of that thing.
Te only time I drank soda in all of
2013 was under a medical professionals
orders. On 11 July, I donated blood at a
blood drive organized by the missionaries at
church. It was the frst time since before my
mission that Id donated blood, and though
Id once been a regular blood donor, losing
a pint (473 milliliters) of blood at once was
a feeling I had grown unaccustomed to. A
couple of people mentioned how white my
face became, and I did get a bit sick to my
stomach. One of the workers said that a sof
drink would help me feel better, so Susan
went to buy a Coke for me. It turns out
that it didnt help me feel any betteronly
recovery time (and maybe a few cookies)
could do that. So it felt kind of like a waste.
And you might have thought that it would
make me crave sof drinks anew, but
fortunately it didnt.
Te rest of the year abstaining from
sof drinks went of without a hitch. In fact,
it was so easy that it hardly felt like a new
years resolution.
Now 2013 and My Year Without Soda
have come and gone. As the ball dropped
on New Years Eve, I could feel good about
achieving my goaland I was once again
free to drink soda. Why not celebrate?
And where else other than at a Coca-Cola
Freestyle?
We invited a friend to join us. We made
sure to choose a venue that had a Coca-
Cola Freestyle: Steak n Shake Signature at
1695 Broadway, just north of Times Square.
(Steak n Shake was a favorite diner and
hangout spot with my friends when I was in
high school in Charlotte. Tis is its frst and
so far only location in New York City.) At
17.29 on Monday, 13 January, I had my frst
non-prescribed sof drink in over a year. It
was, of course, an orange Coke.
While I now feel free to drink soda,
I have defnitely decreased my appetite
for it. And maybe theres some power in
new years resolutions afer all. Tis year
I decided to devote some time to family
history, and Ive already quickly become
engrossed in it. But next year I have
my sights set on an even bigger target:
chocolate. Tink I can do it? d
Drinking a (non-
prescribed) soda
for the frst time
in over a year.
PHOTO BY SUSAN
12
THE J OURNAL
Fiona, age 3, has
all sorts of stories
from when she
was in high school.
In Germany.
Am Gymnasium
Before recording began
When I was in high school in Germany, I built a
dinosaur. A cheese dinosaur. It was really huge.
Some of my friends just built it for me because I
didnt know how to build it. Tey didnt know how to
do it so I helped them. Tey were the same age as me.
Tey built it all wrong so we had to draw a picture of
it, and so we drew a picture, and we built it all wrong
and it fell down. But how could we build it so it
wouldnt fall down? What about if we put some more
cheese under it? What about that? We could even do
that. Lets try our idea!
Susan: I was wondering if you could tell me about
your high school in Germany. You were just telling
me about your cheese dinosaur that you built. What
else did you do in high school in Germany?
Fiona: One day I [unintelligible] to Hice.
Susan: Hice?
Fiona: Yeah. Its another country.
Susan: Its in another country? Is it in Germany?
Fiona: No, its far away.
Susan: How many years did you go to high school in
Germany?
Fiona: Super six!
Susan: Super six?
Fiona: Yeah.
Susan: You went to high school for six years?
Fiona: Super six!
Susan: Super six. Is that a really long time?
Fiona: No. Its for my dinosaur
Sometime in the last few monthswe cant remember when exactlyFiona started talking about when she went
to high school in Germany. At frst, it seemed that she was reminded of it when Susan or I was talking about
something. Oh, I did that, too, when I was in high school in Germany.
Ten her storieser, memoriesstarted to become much more elaborate, as you can see here. Its now
something she talks about all the time, along with her imaginary friend, X-Word (which well write about another
timeand who also, apparently, went to high school in Germany with her). One evening at dinner, Fiona told
another story about when she was in high school in Germany, and Susan decided that, if Fiona was willing to talk
about it, it would be a perfect time to interview her about her memories.
Were not exactly sure where she got this from. Of course, Susan served her mission in Germany and
occasionally speaks to Fiona in German, so that was probably the inspiration for the chosen geographic location.
Susan also teaches at a high school, and Susan and I both share memories from high school fairly ofen. Susan and I
are hopeful that shes actually having some sort of premonition and that maybe Fiona really will go to high school in
Germany. (But shes probably not.)
In the meantime, were just grateful to have such a smart litle girl with an active imagination who can tell us
great and funny stories. dustin
Susan: Did anybody help you build that cheese
dinosaur or did you do it all by yourself ?
Fiona: Somebody helped me.
Susan: Oh, who was it? One of your friends?
Fiona: Uh huh.
Susan: Tat was nice.
Fiona: Graham
1
was also there.
Susan: Oh, did he go to your high school?
Fiona: Mm hmm.
Susan: Oh, I didnt know that.
Fiona: And Dad. And my Mama and Daddy.
Susan: Oh, we all went to your high school? Were we
in the same class or were we in diferent classes?
Fiona: We were all in the same class. Erik
1
was
the teacher and we were students. Yeah. But not
anymore.
Susan: Yeah. Are we all done with high school now?
Fiona: Mm hmm.
Susan: What was your favorite thing that you did
when you were in high school in Germany?
Fiona: Build that huuuuuuuuge dinosaur.
Susan: Build that huge dinosaur? Out of cheese?
Fiona: Mm hmm.
Susan: Whose idea was it to build that dinosaur?
Fiona: Mine.
Susan: Did other people do that, or just you?
Fiona: Just me. I also builded out of other things.
Susan: You built other dinosaurs out of other things
opposite
A high school, or
Gymnasium, in Stutgart,
Germany, according to
Wikimedia Commons.
Susan served as a
missionary for a time in
Stutgart, so, since we
think Fionas stories were
inspired by Susans time
there, presumably this
might be the high school
she atended.
KARLSGYMNASIUM,
STUTTGART, GERMANY
MSESES | 12 FEBRUARY 2012
CC BY-SA 3.0
COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG/
WIKI/FILE:STUTTGART_
KARLSGYMNASIUM_-_1.JPG
13 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
FIONA
besides cheese?
Fiona: I also built one out of doorknobs.
Susan: Oh, wow, thats interesting. Out of
doorknobs! How many doorknobs did that
take?
Fiona: Um, a ton. Yeah, and a ton of
cheese. It goed all the way around my city.
Doorknobs goed all the way. I put some
glue onto the cheese, and then I put some
more stuf on there, like doorknobs or
sauce, like that kind of sauce
Susan: Tat green Indian sauce?
Fiona: Yeah. and water, and this, andI
thinksome fruit, I think, but I dont know.
Susan: So was it two diferent dinosaurs, a
cheese dinosaur and doorknob dinosaur, or
was it all one dinosaur with lots of diferent
things in it?
Fiona: It was just a ton of dinosaurs.
Susan: Wow, so there was a cheese dinosaur
and a doorknob dinosaur and then a fruit
dinosaur? What else?
Fiona: A picture dinosaur!
Susan: Oh. And a soap dinosaur, maybe?
Fiona: Yeah.
Susan: Whoa.
Fiona: Underwear dinosaur! And a
city dinosaur! Green dinosaur! Picture
dinosaur! Train-track dinosaur! Lots of
diferent kinds of dinosaurs.
Susan: Were people nervous about all these
dinosaurs?
Fiona: No. We didnt make sharp teeth.
Susan: Oh, you lef out the sharp teeth?
Tat was a good idea.
Fiona: We made sharp teeth out of We
also built eggs to hide in, and then we
hatched out of them.
Susan: Did you hide in the eggs?
Fiona: No.
Susan: Everybody else?
Fiona: Yeah. Especially all four of my
students. I was possibly the teacher. I was
older than you. I was about sixty-one.
Susan: Sixty-one?! Wow, thats nearly
retirement age.
Fiona: I was actually one, two, three, four,
fve, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven,
twelve, thirteen, fourteen, ffeen, sixteen,
eighteen, nineteen, thirty-one, thirty-
two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-fve,
thirty-six, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, thirty!
Seventy, seventy-one, seventy-two,
seventy-three, seventy-four, seventyuh
fve, seventy, uhhow many is that?
Susan: Six.
Fiona: Seventy-six, seventywhat?
Susan: One, two, three, four, fve, six,
seven. Seventy-seven.
Fiona: I was probably about forty-one.
Susan: Oh, you were forty-one when you
were a teacher in high school?
Fiona: Sixty-one.
Susan: Oh. Tats when you were a teacher
or when you were a student in high school?
Fiona: Uh, a teacher. Were you also the size
of me?
Susan: When we were in high school in
Germany?
Fiona: Yeah!
Susan: I was aboutyeah, I think I was
about the same size as you.
Fiona: And Graham?
Susan: Uh huh. So were you a teacher in
Germany in high school and then you were
also a student at a diferent time?
Fiona: I was a student a diferent time. I had
really long pants.
Susan: Oh, because you were so tall?
Fiona: Yeah. I also had really big hands.
And really big feet.
Susan: What about your hair? Was your
hair longer or shorter or was it the same?
Fiona: Its the same. It was all diferent
colors like green, black, white, yellow,
those diferent kinds of colors. Also blue. I
think also white. And
Susan: What kinds of things did you learn
about in high school in Germany?
Fiona: purple. Yeah, that is the color
of my hair when I was in high school in
Germany. Was your hair the same color as
my hair?
Susan: Um, I dont remember. Do you
remember?
Fiona: Yes. I remember.
Susan: What color was my hair?
Fiona: It was the same colors as mine.
Susan: What are some things that you
learned when you were in high school in
Germany? Did you learn things in high
school?
Fiona: I didnt learn any things.
Susan: Oh, no, like reading or writing or
math or science?
Fiona: Math? What is science?
Susan: Like numbers. Science is like when
you make a hypothesis about stuf. And
then you test it.
Fiona: What about cheese? Cut it up and
grate it and then put it into a backpack.
Susan: Is that your scientifc experiment
that you did?
Fiona: Yeah.
Susan: Did Colin go to high school in
Germany or just you?
Fiona: Yeah. All four of us. All of us,
actually.
Susan: At the same time?
Fiona: Yeah.
Susan: So if you were taller when you were
in high school in Germanyremember that
you said you had long pants and you were
taller back thenhow did you get so small?
Fiona: Um, I didnt go backwards, I just
stayed as the size as I was.
Susan: So youre still really tall with long
legs?
Susan: About 38 inches, I think.
Fiona: No.
Susan: No? How tall are you?
Fiona: No, three.
Susan: Well, thats how old you are. d
NOTES
1. A reference to Graham Dalzen and his dad, Erik.
Graham is one of Fionas friends from church.
14
THE J OURNAL
Colin may not
yet know how to
write, but he sure
has a lot to say.
Being a baby:
Birth, baths, botles
W
ell, hello, everyone. I
guess I should introduce
myself. Im told my
name is Colin. I dont
know exactly how it all
happened, but suddenly, one day, I was born.
One minute I was in a nice, dark, warm place, and
then it all happened so fast, so Im not clear on
all the details, but before I knew it, that place was
gone and I was in a diferent place that I hadnt
known about before. It was cold, and the lights
were bright, and the sounds were diferent. I had
heard my Mama and Daddy and big sister telling
me about this place, but it just didnt sink in until
there was no going back.
Once I was born, I just fgured the best
way to cope with the sudden change was to
sleep a lot. So I did. In between naps, I tried
to learn something called eating (Im prety
good at it now, but it was confusing at frst) and
experienced something called a diaper change.
Tose were not fun at all. During diaper changes, I
practiced crying. See, one of the amazing things I
discovered when I was born is that I can produce
my own sound! In those frst few days, Mama
kept telling me I was doing a great job crying and
exercising my lungs. I was so proud.
But one of the best things about being born
was fnally geting to meet my family in person. I
met Mama and Daddy frst, and they held me a
few times. Ten, the next day, my big sister came
to visit me. Her name is Fiona. I didnt realize it
at the time, but she is the best. Now that I know
how to smile, I save some of my best ones for her.
She helps me with my botle a lot of the time,
which is great since I dont really know how to use
it myself. And when Im feeling sad or frustrated,
she sings me songs. Plus, she can do all kinds of
things all by herself. She can eat regular food, and
walk and jump and dance, and tell stories, and
oh, just lots of cool things that I want to learn.
I confess, though, that Ive had my share of
doubts about this whole arrangement. For a litle
while, they kept trying to shove a fake botle into
my mouth. Id suck on it a few times and then
realize there was no milk coming out! Whats the
point of that? I would spit it out immediately
and express my displeasure. It turns out, though,
that that thing is called a pacifzer, according
to Fiona, and its actually not bad for sucking on
when Im trying to sleep.
Another thing Im not at all excited about
is baths. So unpleasant. Its fne for a minute or
two, but that is long enough, thank you very
much. Te only good part is that when I get out
of the bathtub, I get wrapped up in a warm towel
and then Mama or Daddy hold me for a while.
Fiona calls that cuzzling up, and its one of my
favorite things. Being cozy with my family makes
everything else worth it. Im so glad that I came
to this place so that I can be held by my family. It
makes me feel that all is right in the world. I guess
Im a lucky guy. d
And batling: Ninja
Colin uses ninja stars
to fght of a masked
intruder.
SUSAN | 13.07 EST, 10 JANUARY 2014
15
COLIN
Naming
Colin
Whats in a name?
For Fiona, about 15 seconds: thats about
how long it took us to come up with Fiona. On
5 February 2010, afer an ultrasound confrmed
that we were having a girl, we went to Susans
doctors ofce, in the same building, for the next
appointment. In the waiting room, we started
discussing possibilities for a name. With an
Irish(-ish) last name, and (we think) some Irish
heritage, with thought an Irish-inspired name
would be in order. Te frst name that came to
mind was Sinead. But not only would we think of
Irelands most famous counterculture alternative
and folk-rock musician every time we said our
daughters name, we also didnt think it was a very
nice name (perhaps were too American). Ten
Susan suggested, What about Fiona?
Yes, Fiona sounded right. And Fiona it was.
(Fionas middle name, Claire, came up fairly early in our
discussions on her name, but it took us a litle longer to
setle on it.)
Colins name, on the other hand, was a diferent story.
We thought Fiona Claire Joyce was such a beautiful, perfect
name, so the pressure was high to come up with one that
was just as good. As we mention on page ? in this magazine,
Lachlan and Noah were the early frontrunners. Lachlan
was Irish, like Fionas name, but perhaps it was a litle too
Irish: we would have started a trend, and the names of any
future children would have to follow. Noah, it seemed to
me, sounded a litle too much like Fiona: a long o followed
by a schwa a, with an n thrown in there, too. (And, as we
learned recently, a litle too trendy, too: it was the most
popular boys name in the United States in 2013, displacing
Jacobs 14-year run in frst place.) But they never felt quite
right.
Colin came up again on the second day at the
hospital. Susan had suggested it once, but I originally
dismissed it. Everet had been high on our list as a middle
name and paired with Colin it was as close as we were ever
going to get to matching the perfection of our frst childs
name. It was the perfect name for our perfect litle boy.
dustin
Collin
Caleb
Ephraim
Enoch
Fraser
Graham
Henry
Jacob
Levi
Luca
Owen
Peter
Patrick
Silas
William
Noah
Everet
Lachlan
Seth
Asher
Adam
Dominic
Pieter
Stellan
Pascal
Enoch
Eamon (Aimon)
Mathias
Skylar
Connor
Emery (Emory)
Tobias
Ronan
Rowan
Alden
Anders
Laurence
(Lawrence)
Kieran
Sebastian
Walden
Fielding
Auden
Finnegan
Emerson
Auberon
Hiram
Ansel
Clark
Mercer
Garvan
Levi
Finian
Laurent
Kent
Hudson
Pascal
Gregory
Sren
Asa
Christian
Silas
Arian
Tristan
Deacon
Augustus
Elisha
Elijah
Edison
Steven
Christopher
Fletcher
Duncan
Fisher
Ephraim
Eliseo
Edsel
Jacob
Joseph
Patrick
Killian
Holden
Damian
Forrest
Fraser
Gabriel
Bennet
Benjamin
Benedict
Angus
Aticus
Abraham
Sawyer
Tomas
Seneca
Tornton
Prescot
Nolan
Amiel
Salem
Crispin
Orion
Sirius
Frost
Noel
Casper
Balthasar
Melchior
Timothy
Pieter
Orson
Hugo
Conrad
Fergus
Phineas
Adlai
Albion
Anselm
Lincoln
Auburn
Solomon
Kenelm
Abiel
Philemon
Gideon
Cyrus
Clement
Linus
Sampson
Abimael
Viridian
Flynn
Ibsen
Irving
Luca
Upton
Tadeo
Baptiste
Aram
Stellan (Stellen)
Ansgar
Aloysius
Our list of possible names for Colin. Some, such as
Lachlan, we considered much more seriously than
others. (Frost? Seriously? Tat was on the list?)

DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4

16
O
n Saturday, 28 December, we were
sitting around watching a movie or
something, and I was having lots of
contractionsevery ten minutes or so. Tat seemed
promising. It lasted for a few hours, and then stopped.
So much for going into labor.
Tat Monday, I went to the doctor for a
non-stress test. Everything was fne. Te midwife,
Liz, asked when we would like to schedule the
induction. Our answer: ASAP. I was ready to go. So
uncomfortablesize-wise, kicking-wise, mobility-
wiseand so sick of having contractions all the
time. Some of them were starting to get painful.
Unfortunately, the hospital wasnt scheduling
inductions on New Years Eve or New Years Day,
and the next day was full, so mine was scheduled for
Friday, 3 January. Sigh.
On New Years Day, I woke up rather early
having regular, and painful, contractions every ten
minutes. I thought, Tis could be it! So I stayed in
bed to rest, fguring I would need all the rest I could
get. Tey got a little closer together. Afer about two
hours, I got up and started walking around, and they
quit. I was so irritated.
Te next morning, I woke up at 4.00, having
painful contractions again, every ten minutes. Ten
every eight minutes. At this point, I was convinced
I wasnt going to go into labor on my own. So afer
a little more than an hour, I got up to walk around,
certain that that would make the contractions stop
so I could go back to sleep. Instead, they almost
immediately started coming every four minutes.
Hmmm, I thought, Im supposed to go to the hospital
afer an hour of contractions every four minutes. I
walked around our apartment for twenty minutes,
17 J ANUARY 201 4
COLINS
ARRIVAL
17
Colins coming into our family on
Tursday, 2 January 2014, was a
watershed moment in our lives.
Heres how it happened.
BY SUSAN
16.28, Friday, 3 January
Our very own garden gnome,
geting some beauty sleep. (And it
worked, because hes awfully cute!)
18
It was 9.20, almost two and a half hours after we had arrived.
In labor and delivery room 10, I settled back into bed and they
reapplied all those monitors. It was starting to hurt quite a bit, but
still not like it hurt with Fiona. When I was in labor with her, my
entire abdomen felt like a red-hot citrus juicer covered with dull
razor blades was being jammed into it. Tis time, it was just the
lower part, below my huge belly, and I dont have an analogy. It just
hurt a lot. At this point, I have no idea what Dustin was doing, since
I quit paying attention to him. Some of the time he would pat my
knee while I was in pain. Afer what seemed to be a very long time,
the anesthesiologist and the intern showed up, and the intern gave
me an epidural with the guidance of the doctor. I tried not to think
too hard about what was happening, especially the part where it
seemed like they were scraping my vertebrae. Dustin stood in front
of me and talked about stuf to distract me. I will say, the scratchy
sponge-thing they used to clean my back ahead of time felt great.
And then they covered my back with some sticky-backed plastic,
which they peeled of afer putting in the catheter, and I said I was
glad my back was nice and exfoliated.
Te epidural worked well. I could still feel the contractions, but
they werent terribly painful at frst. And it was a walking epidural,
so I could move my feet (although I didnt attempt to walk). Afer
it had kicked in pretty well, Dr. Swenson came back and broke my
water, then calmly told us that he had passed some meconium,
which (she said) is pretty common when babies are late, so they
would call the pediatrician to suction him of really well immediately
afer he was born. I always thought that passing meconium in utero
was pretty dangerous, but she seemed to think it was not that big a
deal. I suppose you have to practice being calm about things like that
when youre a doctor.
Afer a while, it started to hurt a lot. A lot. Still not like it was
with Fiona, but a lot. Te nurse told me to call her when I started
feeling pressure. I was amazed at how suddenly it happened. I would
have thought that would develop over a few contractions, but no, it
was just there all of a sudden, so Dustin pushed the call button, the
nurse came, and all I could get out was, Pressure! She said she had
already called Dr. Swenson. I told Dustin to get ready, and then I
started shaking uncontrollably, just like I did with Fiona. Te doctor
said that, indeed, it was time to push, so they got the bed all set up
and we got started. Afer two pushes, I asked Dustin what time it
was: 13.43. Im glad I asked, because the whole thing didnt take
long, and Im pretty pleased with myself for being so quick about it.
It was very diferent to be able to feel what was happening.
Once I started pushing, it didnt hurt anymore, just like with Fiona
(I think with her, they dialed down the epidural when I started
pushing, but as long as I pushed through the contractions, they
didnt hurt; it was when I had to stop pushing that it started to hurt
again).
I could feel my belly defatea very weird feeling. I didnt see
him at frst, probably because I had my eyes closed while pushing,
and also because they were suctioning his mouth and nose out.
He didnt cry until they fopped him on my stomach and I sort of
awkwardly draped my arms around him. Te frst thoughts that went
through my head were:
Wow, hes slimy. (He was covered in goo. Mucus? Tinned-out
meconium? I have no idea.)
He has hair just like Fionas.
Oh yeah, he just started crying.
What does that mean? (Te doctor said, Wow, I think he beat
his sister! Which apparently referred to his size, but I couldnt tell
and then the contractions were coming every two minutes. So much
for a full hour. I woke Dustin up at about 5.30 in a conversation that
went something like this:
Me: Ducks. Ducks! Dustin!
Dustin: Hmm?
Me: Im having lots of contractions.
Dustin, in that voice people use when they are not really awake,
but they know theyre supposed to be: Oh! Okay. Um. What do you
want me to do?
Me: Um. I dont know. Just get out of bed and well fgure it out.
Dustin: Okay. Um, itll take me a minute to make sense.
Me: Right, okay.
I set up the laptop in the kitchen to start timing contractions
(yes, theres an app for that, of course): every two minutes, lasting
for about thirty seconds each. I was a little concerned, since babies
are actually born when the contractions are two minutes apart, but
they didnt hurt that much, so I didnt think birth was imminent. I
called Liz, who was on call, and she said to come in to the hospital
soon to beat rush hour, so I walked around and got stuf in bags in
between deep-breathing, while Dustin got dressed and made some
phone calls to fnd a place for Fiona and get a cab to our apartment.
When we woke up Fiona to tell her Baby Brother might be
born today, she was pretty excited. Her face lit up and she did her
Whaat? Tats amazing! gasp. She got ready to go. Her suitcase
was packed with changes of clothes and some toys, and we added
her string blanket, pacifer, monkey, and family picture. Te taxi
arrived around 6.30 and we hopped in. Our frst stop was to deliver
Fiona to the Shulls house, a family in our branch. I stayed in the
car while Dustin took her inside. And then we were of to New York
Methodist Hospital.
We got to the hospital around 7.00, we went up to the fourth
foor. I had meant to actually check ahead of time to see what foor
labor and delivery was on, but I forgot, so we showed up without
having any clue where to go. Fortunately, it wasnt hard to fgure
out, as I was obviously in labor, and Dustin asked someone. Once
we got there, I found a lady in an ofce and asked if I was in the
right place. She gave me a HIPAA
1
form to sign and then took us to
exam room 6 and gave me a gown. We sat there and sat there. Well, I
would sit for about one minute, then stand up to have a contraction,
then sit down again. I was too tired to stand the whole time, but the
contractions hurt too much when I stayed sitting. Te whole time,
we could hear some other lady in another triage room moaning and
wailing, which was unpleasant. Nurses would wander in to get stuf
out of cupboards, and then they would leave.
Finally, afer an hour and ffeen minutes, a doctor came and
asked how long we had been there. Apparently the lady who put
us there hadnt told anyone. Te doctor and nurse immediately
apologized and went to work and said, Wow, youre a trooper!
Tey made me lie down in the bed to check everything, and it
turned out that lying down hurt less than sitting up, anyway. IV,
blood pressure, pulse, contraction and heart rate monitors, cervix
check, and so on.
My doctor, Jill-Ann Swenson, arrived and asked if I wanted
an epidural. I said yes, although I felt like a wimp anytime I wasnt
having a contraction. (When I wasnt having a contraction, I felt
pretty good, so why would I need an epidural?) But I knew I would
be wanting one later. She said that once we got to our room, they
would call the anesthesiologist, and then she would break my water.
Tey asked if I could walk to the room or if I wanted a wheelchair.
Ill walk, thanks.
19 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
how big he was.)
Its a good thing I wasnt really thinking about
the crying, because I think it took long enough for
him to start crying that I would have been worried if I
had noticed. Dustin immediately grabbed the camera
to take a picture of the clock, which read 2.00pm, the
time he was born. I suppose we didnt really need a
picture of all the slime.
Afer what seemed like just a few seconds, they
whisked him away for cleanup, weighing, and I think
some more suctioning. Dustin went along and took
some pictures, and they announced the weight9
pounds, 8.6 ounces (4.325 kilograms)at which
point I fgured out what the doctor was talking about.
Yes, thats pretty big. He didnt feel that big coming
out, though. Tat was a pretty good epidural, I must
sayin the end, probably better than the one I had
with Fiona, since I could tell what was going on and I
could probably push better. It occurs to me now that
I only pushed through about eight or ten contractions
at most. So efcient!
I was pretty with-it and aware of what was going
on, I think. Baby Brother got cleaned up and diapered
and wrapped while I got stitched up. While the
doctor was stitching, I asked about the placenta: So,
am I done? Is the placenta out? I hadnt noticed if it
was. No, it was still in there, so we took care of that.
And then the nurse came and started massaging
(a.k.a. squashing) my belly. And then they brought
him over to me. Super chubby cheeks and tons of
dark hair. Dustin took a turn holding him while I took
a few pictures. Ten, I believe, he had a bath.
Earlier in the day, we had found out that Fiona
had been taken to the Larsens house to stay with
Amanda and Teo for the day. Dustin needed to
leave to go pick her up, especially since a blizzard
was coming. We called Amanda so that Fiona would
be the frst to hear the news about Baby Brother.
She did her excited gasp, but wasnt really interested
in chatting. Dustin was ready to leave to go get her,
but we kept waiting for me to be moved. Finally the
room was ready, but the anesthesiologist still hadnt
taken the catheter out of my back. So Dustin went to
Barnes and Noble to buy some newspapers for the
day and a book for me to read, and the intern came
back to remove the catheter, and Colin and I rode up
to the ffh foor in a wheelchair. On the way there,
we went through a crowd of people in pink t-shirts
some kind of fan club for some twins that were being
bornand they cheered for us. Baby Brother didnt
seem to care for that. We also went through a group
that was on a hospital tour, and all of them said,
Awww! It was all sort of strange. At some point, I
called my parents, and maybe also Karen, although I
dont remember exactly when that was.
But then we arrived in my room and, much to
my pleasant surprise, I discovered that not only was
it far larger than the shared rooms at Sibley,
2
I would
have the bed on the window side, AND there was no
one in the other bed! Deluxe! Plus, Baby Brothers
bassinet cart was this awesome retro solid-wood
number with drawers. Super cool. Dustin came back
a little while later and quickly headed out. Since it
was our second baby, I felt totally fne just being lef
in a room alone with him. Im not sure I would have
felt that way with Fiona. Well, I know I wouldnt have
felt that way; I was clueless. But this time, it was no
problem. He just slept in his bassinet, and I tried to
feed him, and I read some of the hospital stuf they
lef for me. No problem.
Tat night, I sent him to the nursery once and
had them bring him back to me to feed him. He has
the same suck as Fiona, which is more of a chew than
a suck. Pretty awful. I was amazed at how not-baby-
friendly Methodist wasthe nurses brought up
the subject of formula on their own, unprompted,
before I even mentioned his suck. I had them put one
bottle in the drawer of his wagon, just in case. By 7.00
the next day, I realized I just needed to give up on
breastfeeding for a while or I was going to end up in
the same situation as with Fionaso formula it was.
COLINS ARRIVAL
A TIMELINE
Tursday, 2 January
4.00 Susan wakes up with
contractions
5.30 Realizing that this may
really be it, Susan wakes up
Dustin
6.30 Car service arrives
7.00 Susan and Dustin
arrive at New York
Methodist afer dropping
of Fiona en route
7.15 Susan and Dustin taken
to exam room 6
8.15 Tree nurses arrive.
Finally!
9.20 Susan taken to labor &
delivery room 10
14.00 Colin is born
14.51 Susan and Dustin call
Fiona so she can be the frst
to know that Baby Brother
has arrived
Friday, 3 January
16.30 Fiona comes to the
hospital, with donuts in
hand, to meet Baby Brother
for the frst time
Saturday, 4 January
13.40 Colin leaves the
hospital and enters the
outside world for the frst
time
14.36 We catch the subway
to come home
15.47 Colin is home
9.45 | 2 January
In labor and delivery room 10, ready for Baby Brother to arrive.
14.23 | 2 January
A frst photo of Baby Brother (who was as yet still unnamed).
20
That day, he ate and slept, ate and slept, ate and slept,
and his sleeping lasted a good long while, so I slept too. It was great.
My recovery this time around seemed like it took about ffeen
minutes, as opposed to the weeks it took for me to stop hurting afer
Fiona was born. I took one ibuprofen pill in the hospital, but mostly
just because I thought I should, not because I needed it. And, less
than twelve hours afer he was born, I ventured out to fnd a place to
refll my own water pitcher.
Dustin and Fiona arrived around dinner time with donuts in
hand, a treat inspired by my own familys trip to the donut shop
when I was born. I was so happy to see my little girl. I had really
missed her. I had been thinking to myself, Why did we do this? How
am I going to take care of another baby? Wasnt Fiona enough? I
was feeling a little bit overwhelmed at frst. And I was also missing
Fiona because I was so used to being around a little kid who knows
how to talk and carry on a conversation and has good ideas, and
suddenly I was sitting with a newborn who looked at me cross-eyed
half the time (if he was even awake). Tey got there just as Baby
Brother was about to return from the nursery, where he had gone
for some tests. I gave Fiona a big hug and asked if she wanted to sit
in my newly spacious lap, which I had been looking forward to for
months. She wasnt really interested. But she did tell me about her
new snowpants, which had been Zoe Larsens when she was little.
And then Baby Brother returned from the nursery, and Fiona sort of
giggled, then clammed up when the nurse tried to talk to her.
Fiona was delighted to meet her new little brother. She had
brought along her own baby, which she proceeded to swaddle in
one of the hospital blankets. But she was very anxious to hold Baby
Brother, so we made space on my bed next to me for her to sit while
I helped her hold him in her lap. She carefully inspected his face
and his hair and his fngers, while he mostly remained unaware that
someone new was holding him (or of anything else, for that matter).
But it was calm and peaceful, and our little family was all together
for the frst time.
Ten it was time for some donuts. While celebrating Baby
Brothers arrival with little rings of fried dough with icing on top
the best way to fete such watershed moments, reallywe discussed
what his name should be. Up to this point, we had discussed dozens
of names, and a few had risen to the top, but nothing seemed to be
quite what we were looking for. We had sort of narrowed it down
to Noah or Lachlan, and Fiona had decided on Lachlan. In fact, she
had been calling him that for months. Fiona once told someone at
the bus stop, I will call him Lachlan, but my mama and daddy will
call him Noah. We couldnt really imagine calling him anything else,
even if that name didnt seem quite right.
We called Grammy and Papa, because I had discovered that my
mom had been calling Baby Brother by some name. She just didnt
want to refer to him as the baby. As expected, she refused to tell
us: Oh, Susan, you do not need my help. Oh, yes, we do! But she
wasnt going for it. All she would tell me was that it was a name she
considers Irish. I admitted defeat on trying to get my mom to tell us
the name and hung up.
Ten I said, What about Colin? Hmm. Colin, it seemed,
might be just right for this little fella. We asked Fiona if it would
be okay if we gave Baby Brother the name Colin. Afer months
of hearing the name Lachlan from her, we felt we needed her
permission to call him something else. She said yes, and our jaws
dropped. Up to that point, she had said she liked other names, but
not for Baby Brother. I wanted to make sure she really felt okay
about it.
Will you be sad if we name him Colin instead of Lachlan? I
asked.
No.
I was still a little unsure, because it was such a great story, and
it was hard to let go. Do you think we should be sad if we dont call
him Lachlan?
No. Dont be sad. Just be happy! Fiona beamed, and we knew
Colin was it. Probably.
We decided to rest on it and see if Colin still seemed the right
name in the morning, when we had to turn in the application for his
birth certifcate. (Even though we could have lef the name blank
on the application, we didnt feel right bringing him home from the
hospital without a name.)
It was getting late, so Dustin and Fiona started to head home.
Baby Brother and I accompanied them as far as we could down the
corridor, to the spot beyond which the alarm on his ankle would
go of. Colin (?) and I said our good-nights to Daddy and Big Sister
(though Baby Brother seemed thoroughly unaware he was doing
so), and of Dustin and Fiona marched through the big double doors
leading out of the maternity ward.
In the middle of the night, another patient joined me in
my room. But I still had tons of space, and a window. So it was
acceptable.
The next day, a Saturday, dawned bright and sunny and
coldtime for Colin to come home. Dustin and Fiona arrived, and
14.34 | 2 January
Susan holds Colin.
15.37 | 2 January
Dustin holds Colin for the frst time.
21 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
we all sat down to fnish of the donuts from the day
before. We discussed the name a little more, and
Colin it stayed. We made it ofcial when I flled out
the application for his birth certifcate: Colin Everett
Joyce.
Dustin dressed Colin in something other than
hospital attire for the frst time: feece pajamas
with white, brown, and gray stripes with a raccoon
face on the belly. A nurse came in to give us some
instructions for when we got home. Most were
obviousagain, this was our second child, and we
more or less knew what we were doing this time
around. But one stuck out in our heads. Maintain a
household temperature of at least 75F (24C), the
nurse instructed.
What?! Dustin and I turned to each other
afer the nurse lef. Dustins objection: Seventy-fve
degrees?! And, what, die because of the heat? Not
to mention go broke paying for that? My objection:
Seventy-fve degrees?! Dont they pay any attention
to the research on SIDS? (We kept our apartment
at 62F [17C] for most of the winter, even afer Colin
came home.)
Ten we lef. We dropped of the application for
his birth certifcate, and the nurse at the front desk of
the maternity ward told us to have a good day. And
that was that. No one had to push me to the front
door in a wheelchair, and there was no confusion
when we just walked out and down the street to the
subway, unlike at Sibley, where the idea that someone
would take their newborn home on transit lef their
heads spinning.
Te day was cold but not very windy, and the
sidewalks were still partially covered by snow from
the blizzard two days earlier, in spite of plowing and
shoveling. Te warmth of the sun had turned street
corners into a snowy, slushy mess. On our way down
7th Avenue, Colins alert system went of. In other
words, he started crying. We thought he might be
hungry, so we stopped by CVS on 9th Street to check
into buying some bottles of formula. Ten I decided
to investigate his diaper. Source of alarm discovered.
(Te thing about babies is that its the same alert no
matter the problem, so sometimes fguring out the
solution takes some sleuthing.) Which was great,
because those bottles of baby formula at CVS are
pricey.
Ten we continued down to 4th Avenue and the
subway. Tere are lots of great things about the New
York City Subway, but handicapped accessibility and
elevators are not one of them.
3
Here we faced, for the
frst time, the challenge of how to get Colin and his
stroller down to the platform from the street. Dustin
decided it would be easiest if he just picked it up and
carried it down, and there we were.
Colins frst subway train arrived shortly, and we
were on our way. We took the N
4
to Union Square-
14th Street, where we switched to the L (and where
the transfer, thankfully, was assisted by elevators).
Te L whisked us back to Brooklyn and to Myrtle-
Wyckof Avs. From there, we walked the few blocks
to our house.
We brought Fiona and Colin up the stairs to our
apartment, and hauled everything else inside. Fiona
was anxious to show Colin the bedroom they would
share, which had been furnished with Fionas lof bed
and Colins crib, along with plenty of stufed animals,
toys, and clothes. It was the last time it would be
clean (though, so far, thats not Colins fault).
Fiona was once again anxious to hold her new
little brother, so she hopped up in the chair in their
room, with a pillow under her arm for extra support.
We put Colin in her arms, and she fed him and
admired him. And Dustin and I admired them.
Colin was home. d
NOTES
1. Te Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
1996 which, among other things, protects patients privacy.
2. Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., where Fiona
was born.
3. In the subways defense, according to Wikipedia the system
currently has 97 accessible stationswhich is more than the
total number of stations in the D.C. Metro, a fully accessible
system.
4. Te N normally runs express through this segment and
skips the 4 Av-9 St station but was running local this day.
16.55 | 3 January
Fiona meets and holds Colin for the frst time. It was love at frst sight.
12.10 | 4 January
Dustin gets Colin dressed and ready for the trip home.
Seventy-fve
degrees, the
nurse instructed.
Maintain a
household
temperature
of at least 75
degrees. Dustin
and I looked
at each other
incredulously. Do
they know how
hot that isor
how much that
costs? Have they
seen the research
on SIDS?
22
BY DUSTIN
S
Te seed of tesimony
Growing up Mormon means you get
early experience with public speaking.
WE BELI E VE I N CHRI ST
Primary, Charlote 3rd Ward
Early 1990s
ince the theme for this month is about showing
respect, honor, and love, I thought I would talk about these
three things. To respect means to show care and concern.
Honor is similar to respect in that to honor is to show care and
concern. In Exodus 20:12 we are commanded to Honour thy father
and thy mother (emphasis added). To love is to show devotion,
compassion, service, gratitude, kindness, and reverence. Love is found
throughout the scriptures. In John 3:16 we read, For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begottenSon, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (emphasis added).
And in 1 John 4:2021 we read, If a man say, I love God, and hateth
his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he
hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this
commandment have we from him, Tat he who loveth God love his
brother also (emphasis added). Love is the foundation for peace and
righteousness in this life and for salvation in the life hereafer.
W
Primary, Charlote 3rd Ward
Early 1990s
hat is reverence? Reverence is showing respect,
honor, and love for our Heavenly Father, for his Son, Jesus
Christ, and for all of his creations. Some people think
reverence is just quietly sitting during meetings. But it is more than
that. Reverence should be a way of life. It should be in everything
we do. Reverence begins in our home with our families. Prayer is
an important part of learning reverence in our homes. We need to
have family prayers, scripture study, gospel discussions, bearing
of testimonies with our families, and personal prayers. By learning
reverence in our homes we learn to be reverent in other places. One of
the most important places is church. In Leviticus 19:30 we read: Ye
shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
We all should work together as families to learn reverence in all that we
do.
If anyone deserves to list public speaking
as a skill, it is those of us who grew up in Te
Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. In
a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith in
1832 and 1833, the Lord commanded Church
members to teach one another the doctrine
of the kingdom (Doctrine and Covenants
88:77). Instead of the professional, trained
clergy of other faiths, Later-day Saints are
expected to teach each otherand to know
the scriptures and the doctrines of the
Church well enough to be able to do so with
the guidance of the Holy Ghost.
For many of us, such experience begins
at an early age, in Primary. During my later
years in Senior Primary, in the former
Charlote 3rd Ward, each Sunday a child was
asked to share a scripture, another to give a
talk, and two others to say the opening and
closing prayers during sharing time, when all
the Senior Primary children met together.
Miraculously, over the years, I was able to
hold on to the original hand-writen copies
of my talks. Eventually, I transcribed them
into my journaland Ive somehow been
able to hold on to that, too, over the years.
Tats where I got the text from.
I dont remember the exact dates I
gave these talks, but I still have the memory
of those days. Not a vivid memory, but just
enough to picture myself there in front of
everyone reading my talk from the small
piece of lined paper I had writen it on with
my motherthat morning before church. I
also remember afer the frst one, a member
of the Primary presidency, Raydene South,
who was a good family friend and conducted
sharing time that day, said to everyone that it
sounded like I had spent a long time working
on that talk. Afer Primary, I revealed to her
my procrastination. She didnt fnd the irony
of her statement as funny as I did, replying
in her gentle, sof-spoken way, Well, I guess
youll just need to plan ahead next time.
But her advice was well taken (if not always
applied in the years since).
A few months afer I graduated from
Primary, I had my frst opportunity to speak
in sacrament meeting. Te occasion was
the 165th anniversary of the restoration of
the Aaronic Priesthood. It was defnitely
one of those moments where I probably
learned more from writing the talk than
the congregation did listening to it: it
was the frst time Id learned about the
structural organization of the quorums of the
priesthood. A later talk codifed what I knew
about temple-recommend interviews, which
I had experienced for the frst time myself
just a short time before (see article about my
frst visit to the temple).
Giving a talk in church is intimidatinga
feeling that doesnt go away with age or
experience. But Im grateful to be a member
of a church that gives me that opportunity,
and that expects each of us to know what we
say we believe well enough that we can teach
it to others.
Respect, honor, and love Reverence
23 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
Sacrament meeting, Charlote 3rd Ward
15 May 1994
he priesthood is the power and authority of our
Heavenly Father. We must have the priesthood to act in
the name of God when performing sacred ordinances of
the gospel, such as baptism, confrmation, administration of the
sacrament, and temple marriage. Te priesthood is divided into
two parts: (1) the Melchizedek Priesthood; and (2) the Aaronic
Priesthood. Today I will be talking about the Aaronic Priesthood.
Tere are three quorums of the Aaronic Priesthood: (1) the
deacons quorum; (2) the teachers quorum; and (3) the priests
quorum. Te deacons quorum consists of up to 12 deacons. Te
presidency of the deacons quorum is called by the bishop from
among the quorum members. Te teachers quorum consists of up
to 24 teachers. Te presidency of the teachers quorum is called by
the bishop from among the quorum members. Te priests quorum
consists of up to 48 priests. It is presided over by the bishop of the
ward to which the quorum belongs. Whenever the number specifed
for a quorum is exceeded, the quorum may be divided.
Now I will talk somewhat about the history of the Aaronic
Priesthood.
In Doctrine and Covenants 84:18 we read: And the Lord
confrmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout
all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth
forever with the priesthood which is afer the holiest order of God.
Because the Israelites failed to observe the gospel law administered
by Moses under the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the
Lord gave an additional law of performances and ordinances and
confrmed a priesthood upon Aaron. We get the name for the lesser
priesthood, Aaronic, from the name Aaron.
Te Aaronic Priesthood continued with the house of Aaron
among the children of Israel from Aaron until John the Baptist,
who was a priest in the Aaronic order, and by this authority he
prepared the way for and baptized Jesus. Nineteen centuries later
this same John was sent from heaven as a resurrected being to
confer the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery. Tis was done on 15 May 1829, 165 years ago this very day,
near Harmony, Pennsylvania, along the banks of the Susquehanna
River. At that time John outlined some of the duties, privileges, and
limitations of the priesthood, specifying that the Aaronic Priesthood
holds the keys of the ministry of angels and can perform baptisms by
water, but has not the authority to confer the gif of the Holy Ghost.
Although the Aaronic Priesthood is conferred in the Church
today without restriction to the lineage of Aaron, the keys of this
priesthood rightly belong to the frstborn of the seed of Aaron, and
in the restoration of all things the ofce of bishop (president of the
priests) will once again be conferred on one of that lineage, as it is
designated by revelation to the president of the Church.
Te Lord has promised great blessings to righteous priesthood
holders who use the priesthood to bless others.
Te Aaronic Priesthood
T
Sacrament meeting, Charlote 3rd Ward
Date unknown, but likely 1995 or so
ood afternoon, brothers and sisters. My talk
today is on preparing and being worthy to enter the temple.
Heavenly Father has set high standards for entrance into
his holy temple. You must prove your worthiness to enter the house
of the Lord during an interview with the bishop and the stake
president. Te interview is conducted privately between the Church
member and the bishop. Te bishop has the responsibility of making
inquiries into our personal worthiness. Worthiness is determined
solely on the basis of personal righteousness. We read in Doctrine
and Covenants 50:34, He that receiveth of God, let him account
it of God; and let him rejoice that he is accounted of God worthy
to receive. To enter the temple, a person must be morally clean,
obeying the Word of Wisdom, paying a full tithing, and living in
harmony with the teachings of the Church. If a person is not keeping
the commandments or there is something in their lives not in order
it will be necessary for him to repent to gain his worthiness. Once a
person has proven his worthiness to enter the temple, he is issued a
certifcate called a recommend. Te recommend is signed by both
the bishop and the stake president. Afer you have received your
recommend, you must keep the commandments and maintain your
worthiness to be able to enter the temple. d
Preparing and being worthy to enter the temple
G
Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood: John the Baptist ordains
the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to the lesser
priesthood on the banks of the Susquehanna River near Harmony,
Pennsylvania, 15 May 1829. (See Doctrine and Covenants 13.)
DEL PARSON/THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
24
hen I came back into the living room, I saw Susan
sitting on the futon looking forlorn and a bit weepy.
Whats wrong? I asked.
I dont think I really like Christmas that much, Susan replied.
It was the most ridiculous thing Id ever heard her say, and I
told her as much. See, Susan loves Christmas. So for her to make a
comment like that, something must really be amiss.
Our Christmas celebration had thus far been lovely. The
sister missionaries in our branch, Sister Blosil and Sister Shumway,
joined us for Christmas Eve dinner: a delicious meal of roasted
chicken, German potato salad, and greens beans prepared by our
resident chef, Susan, topped of with homemade pumpkin pie for
dessert.
Te next morning, Christmas morning, dawned cold and
sunnynot a white Christmas, but lovely nonetheless. We woke
up and had some breakfast and then went to the living room to
begin unwrapping the piles of presents that had arrivedmostly for
Fionaover the preceding days and weeks.
Ten Fiona had a meltdown about the new gray sweater Susan
had picked out for her to wear. She said she didnt ever want to
wear it. Tears and wailing, a temper tantrum of the sort that only
three-year-olds can have. We eventually got her settled down and
in bed for an early nap (which she clearly needed). It was then that
I learned of Susans startling conclusion that she just didnt like
Christmas.
Susan, thats the most ridiculous thing Ive ever heard you
say, I replied. What makes you say that?
Susan mumbled a few thingsFionas meltdown clearly had
not helped her moodand then added, And my family is down
at my sisters house and were up here and I wont be able to see
them
Well, then, lets go down there, I interrupted.
Do what? Susan asked, incredulous that I had made such a
suggestion. We cant do that!
Why not?
Becausebecausebecause we cant. We havent planned it.
Were not even packed. Susan assumed that two thirtysomethings
with a three-and-a-half-year-old cant be spontaneous. And Im two
days past my due date. What if this baby comes?
our
MOS EXCELLENT and
SPONTANEOUS
CHRISMAS
ADVENTURE
W
(or, how I saved Christmas)
BY DUSTIN
25 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
Well, what if he does come? (Colins name hadnt yet been
chosen [see page 15].) People in Washington, D.C., have babies,
too. Remember? (We ourselves had had a baby there.) Tey have
hospitals and stuf. A baby being bornvery small concern. (Maybe
that was a little hyperbole.)
I continued: And nows as good a time as any for us to be
spontaneous like this. We are, afer all, about to have another little
baby; it will be signifcantly more difcult to be spontaneous with
two kids than with just one, I noted, relying on my scant knowledge
of statistics and probability. And we just happen to have a car thats
free.
It was this last point on which our ability to be spontaneous
most particularly relied. We are, proudly, a carfree household.
And while we love train travel, we also know that it can limit our
ability to be spontaneous, especially given limited Christmas-day
Amtrak schedules and the high cost of getting train tickets at the
last minute. But some friends at church had let us borrow their car
while they were home in Oregon for Christmas. And this car came
with benefts. It was his company car, and his employer paid for all
expenses, including gas. So it was zero cost to usand an invaluable
part of the road trip that I was now proposing.
A car that we can take anywhere, anytime, with free gasthats
not going to happen that ofen, I said, underscoring my point that
its either now or never. Besides, what if this baby doesnt come?
Afer all, Fiona was ten days late. What if this baby doesnt arrive
and we dont go anywhere? I think you would regret that.
Susan started to see my point. True. Butbut, we cant do it.
We cant just get up and drive to a place four hours away.
Sure we can. And were going to. I need to hop in the shower.
When I get out, I would like you to be decided that were going to
go, and start packing. Lets give ourselves about two hours to get out
of here. Under normal circumstances I wouldnt give my wife an
ultimatum, but in this case, trying to convince her to see her family
for Christmas, it seemed allowable. Oh, and dont tell your family.
Okay, Susan said, uncertain of what she was committing
herself to.
As it turns out, two hours was slightly more spontaneous
than two thirtysomethings with a three-and-a-half-year-old could
be. It ended up being around four hours later that we loaded into the
car and got on our way.
Before we lef, Susan wanted to make sure her family wasnt
planning to come up to New York to surprise us (which, rationally,
we knew they certainly were not going to do), so she texted our
brother-in-law. Hypothetically speaking, if some people showed up
at your house in about four hours, would they have a place to sleep?
Susan inquired, hoping we wouldnt put anyone out of their place.
Sure, as long as they dont mind sharing a house with seven other
people, he replied (not realizing we werent being hypothetical, we
later learned).
Before we got too far, we wanted to make sure we had plenty
of gas in the car, so we stopped at Exxon to fll up. As we were
pulling into the gas station, the phone rang. It was Susans mother,
wanting to wish us a merry Christmas. What are your plans this
evening? she asked asked. Susan fbbed, not wanting to give away
our surprise: Oh, nothing, just hanging out at home.
Te journey to Maryland was as boring and uneventful as trips
down the New Jersey Turnpike usually are. Te most exciting part
of the trip was when we stopped at a rest area and had dinner,
which consisted of the Harry & David snacks we had received for
Fiona practices riding her new scooter
at the elementary school down the
street from Karen and Bobs house.
DUSTIN | 12.19 EST, 26 DECEMBER 2013
26
Christmas.
But the most exciting part of the evening was when we arrived
at Susans sisters house, a little afer 21.00. Afer Fiona donned her
Santa hat and practiced saying, Ho ho ho, merry Christmas! we
rang the doorbell. Susans sister answered the door. Her reaction
to seeing us standing there on her doorstep was the very defnition
of fabbergasted. One by one, everyone else, unsure of who would
come knocking at 9 oclock in the evening on Christmas and
wondering what was causing her to sputter so, came to see who it
wasand, boy, were they surprised.
Our brother-in-law, who had been in bed already, came
downstairs and was dumbfounded. I told you that we were
coming, Susan said to him.
But you said hypothetically! he answered.
Wow, you guys totally win the prize for spontaneity. I cant
believe this, Susans sister said admiringly. As we went into the
kitchen for some of their lefover Christmas dinner, she called their
brother. Hey. You will not believe who just showed up at our house.
Susan and Dustin and Fiona! Tey just drove down here without
even telling us! Can you believe that? So, whats YOUR Christmas
surprise?
Susans parents were delighted that they were able to see their
third-eldest child and grandchild for Christmas. Oh, Susan, this is
just such a wonderful surprise. We are so happy that you guys came
down here, declared Susans mother.
Fiona, too, was happy that Christmas had become a little more
interesting than she thought it would be. She was excited to visit
family members that she doesnt get to see ofen enough, but she
was perhaps even more excited to be in a house full of other peoples
stuf that she could play with. She got right to itand proceeded to
drag her favorite cousin and one of her favorite people in the world
along with her for every moment.
Susans mom has the same goal I have: to see every states
capitol. Susans father, mother, and sister had originally planned a
day trip to Annapolis, Maryland, and Dover, Delaware, to see those
statehouses the day afer Christmas. But they changed plans as soon
as we arrived.
Since we were there just to visit family, thats all we did. I did
go out the morning of 26 December, as I do every year, to buy the
next years Christmas cards (because theyre 50% of, of course).
Susans parents had given Fiona a scooter for Christmas, which we
brought along with us. Fionas grandparents got to see her ride it for
the frst time when we took a walk to the school down the street.
Tat evening, we met up with Nana, Randy, and Amanda for hot
chocolate at a Starbucks in downtown Bethesda. And we topped the
day of with Home Alone 2: Lost in New Yorka classic Christmas
movie for anyone who grew up in the 1990s.
By the time we started of on our journey home the next
morning, Grammy, Papa, and Mamas sister had already lef for
Annapolis. For our part, we had seen enough of Interstate 95 on the
way down to Maryland two days before, so we decided to wend our
way on back roads through the countryside back to New York City.
It was a beautiful trip, even if it did turn the normally four-and-a-
half-hour drive from D.C. to New York into a nine-hour adventure.
We arrived home a little tired but glad we wentand still with
only one child. Okay, Dustin. You were right, Susan turned to me
and said. Baby Brother still hasnt come, and if we hadnt gone to
see my family I would have regretted it.
And that is the story of how I saved Christmas 2013. d
Charlote, Fiona, and Grammy
ride a merry-go-round.
DUSTIN | 12.24 EST, 26 DECEMBER 2013
27 DI AL ANN J ANUARY 201 4
evelee Lee Hibdon, born Cylta Sonora Revelee Lee
on 24 June 1920, died 10 November 2013 in Salt Lake City.
Revelee was the born at Lark, Oklahoma, the youngest of nine
children born to Marion Andrew Lee and Delores Ann Crowson Lee.
Revelee was orphaned by the loss of her father before age two, and of
her mother before age thirteen. She married William
Cecil Hibdon on Halloween day, 1936.
Revelee was preceded in death by her husband
and all of her siblings. She is survived by children
Lois Marie Hibdon Seibert of Bakersfeld, California,
by David Hibdon of Salt Lake City, and by Delores
Mae Hibdon of Shamrock, Texas. Grandchildren are
Mitchell (wife Leslie) Seibert of Vernonia, Oregon;
Deborah (husband John) Deegan of Banks, Oregon;
Diana Seibert of Bakersfeld, Karen Hibdon (husband
Bob Gump) of Bethesda, Maryland; Martin Hibdon
(wife Heather McNabb) of San Francisco; Susan
Hibdon (husband Dustin Joyce) of New York City;
and Ellen Hibdon of Salt Lake City. Survivors also
include seven great-grandchildren and two great-
great-grandchildren.
Revelee worked sometimes as a waitress in
Oklahoma City and Bakersfeld while her children
grew up, then moved full time into retail as they lef
home. During the 1960s, she managed a Goodwill
store in Berkeley and sold guns and cameras at the
Naval Exchange on Treasure Island and at Vincents Sporting Goods in
Bakersfeld. In later years she lived and worked near friends or family
in New Mexico, Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma. She retired in the
early 1990s and lived mostly in Oregon thereafer, enjoying time with
grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Revelee began a long fght with progressive dementia about year
2000. She at last succumbed to the condition, but retained a feisty
personality to the last. She expressed pride and love for her family in her
last days, and love for her caregivers on her last day of consciousness,
8 November 2013.
Tis obituary was published in Te Bakersfeld Californian on
4 December 2013. It has been edited for stylistic consistency.
R
IN MEMORIAM
Revelee Lee Hibdon
24 June 1920
10 November 2013
I
S
S
U
E

1
3


J
A
N
U
A
R
Y

2
0
1
4
Announcing the arrival of
Born Tursday, 2 January 2014,
at 2.00pm in New York City
9 pounds, 8.6 ounces
4.325 kilograms
21 inches
53 centimeters
COLIN EVERETT JOYCE
Colins birth was, of course, the
second time such a watershed
moment had happened in our
lives. But it was just as special
as the frst, and a memory well
always keep.
SEE COLINS ARRIVAL, PAGE 16
dialann.org