Looking Down and Up

I cannot continue this blog without looking down and up. The purpose of my “looking down” is looking down the lineup of my siblings...way down the line...to the only other sister that I have been blessed with in this life; my dear sister Liz. Is it possible to look up to someone who is almost ten years your junior? With many other families, this would not be possible, much less desirable. I mean, why on earth would you ever want to let a younger sister know how much you hold them up as a role model and ideal? Don’t you always want to be the one they look up to? How is it, then, that I can look down at my sister and still look up?
One way is that my little sister Liz is taller than I am. She must have gotten the Hanks genes, while Jann and I got the Remington genes. She also got the beautiful blonde hair with curls, while Jann and I got the STRAIGHT fine brown hair that breaks off when any rubber band wraps around it. Everyone doted and loved this precious little girl. After all, who wouldn’t love this little darling who was parked right in the middle of four onry brothers? I know Jann and I were some of the chief doters. We were so thrilled to have another little sister after three brothers.
Being almost ten years older than Liz, she wasn’t very old before we were off to college, leaving her alone to fend for herself among her brothers. She had to learn to be tough and to be strong. Her independent little spirit helped her survive growing up. She was one of the first ones of our siblings to go off and get a job. I remember watching her take off to walk or drive down Lakeside Estates Dr. and across Westheimer to work at Target. She loved the work and loved the money. She worked her way through college, and helped get her husband through college.
Over the years, this independent spirit of hers, coupled with a great work ethic has served her well. She is a sharp business woman, starting up two successful businesses out of her home, one in the medical transcription business and one in the photography business. This has allowed her to be at home with her children while supporting her sweet husband Kent in his work, schooling, bishoping and raising 4 great kids. She is highly respected and loved everywhere she goes, whether at work, at church, or at home. Her talents with music, children, and photography (she's the best!!) are awesome!!
However, I will tell you where I love my sweet sis the most. Although I wasn’t home through a lot of her growing up years, I did move home the summer after graduation from college and before I got married (Jann was married). Liz and I shared a room together. I was able to rediscover this fireball that was my little sister. She was around when I got married and became her Young Women’s President. We lived just a few miles away from home, and as we had our babies, Liz was the first one there to hold them, bathe them, babysit them, and love them. Now it was her turn to dote. Do you know what that does for a mom? Wow, I loved this young woman who was blessing our home!!
I have loved staying close through the years...watching her raise her two cute boys and two darling girls. I have definitely taken advantage of her computer and Word Perfect skills.
Most of all, I just love being around her. She has a sense of humor that is contagious, infectious. She has a genuine love for all people and is a natural and easy conversationalist. She always makes people feel comfortable when they are around her.
I would have loved to have had Liz come to earth as triplets with Jann and I. However, she had a greater mission, and we have all been blessed because of it.
Liz, when I’m older, can I grow up to be with you someday? I know you will always be my little sister, and I will always be your older sister, but I am so grateful we are linked together for eternity. Like the pillow says that you gave me, which is prominently displayed on my bed:

I smile because you are my sister.
I laugh because you can’t do anything about it!

Love ya, sis!!

My best friend

How does anyone claim they have one best friend? Personally, I have been blessed to have several best friends throughout my life. My husband is one of my best friends and I love him dearly... my children are some of my best friends... heck, even their spouses have become some of my best friends!! I especially love and honor my mom and my dad. Once I grew up enough to not be a pain to them, they have become a couple of my very best friends. I love my siblings and their spouses and would do anything for them, and they me. I love Kyle's sisters that I have had the fortune of attaching myself to through marriage. Each of these people, as well as many wonderful friends who have blessed my life, I treasure dearly.
However, before I came to this earth, Heavenly Father must have known that there was one best friend that I would need by my side...one that I could not make it in this life without. He knew that I would make mistakes. He knew that I would need a loving support, a guiding hand, and I would need it right from the very beginning....
He knew that I needed Jann.

I can picture Jann sitting up in the pre-existence waiting for the mission that would be assigned to her. This mission she must accomplish when she came to earth. I would hope that when she was told that she would come to this earth as Jill's twin sister, she didn't groan and mumble something about..."o must I?" Instead, I picture the two of us as having had so much fun in the pre-existence, that she jumped up and down with her arms waving in the air shouting, "ME, ME, ME" when Heavenly Father asked, "whom should I send down to keep an eye on Jill?"
Of course, early on, I wondered what her real intentions were when I came out of the womb with the cord wrapped around my neck...or, as a little girl, when Mom tied Jann and I to a tree outside so that we could enjoy the beautiful Utah weather without escaping, Mom looked outside the window to find the cord, once again, around my neck.
However, if it meant leading the way, or joining in the mischief, I could always count on Jann. Jann was nine minutes older than me and had a much more outgoing personality, so she had that much more of an edge. I quickly learned that she would take the rap for me if I just sat back and tested the waters. So, as little girls, we would pull out the lard and sugar on top of each other, or take off running in different directions after church, or, as teenagers, announce ourselves at parties, and she could make all the mistakes. Then if we got away with doing things, voila! I'm in the clear! If we didn't get away with it, there was always someone else to get in trouble with.
Have you ever wondered what having a twin sister by your side meant? It meant never having to show up for YWMIA alone, or having to meet your new roommates at college by yourself. It meant going on double dates together or studying for classes together. It meant having someone else stick up for you when you felt like the rest of the world was against you. It meant even being there to have a good knock-down-drag-out, honest-to-goodness kicking and pulling hair fight when your hormones were getting the best of you. It meant sharing a bedroom and birthday parties all your growing-up years. It meant having someone explain to your boyfriends why you didn't like them as well as they wanted you to...or consoling you when your boyfriends didn't like you as well as you wanted them to. It meant wearing matching dresses, even after we were married for 30 years. It meant being able to perform in public together and never having to sing a solo. It meant answering to either Jill or Jann, and having her do the same. It meant sharing our friends, our thoughts, our voices, our looks, our memories, our families, our love.
Jann has led the way for me my entire life, and she continues to do so. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he assigned Jann to watch out for me. I am grateful for this miracle in my life.

A Happy Day

A Happy day
Anyone who's ever played games with my husband knows what a competitive player he is. I love to play games with Kyle, because he really gets into the game. He is smart and catches onto games quickly. He's good at it, and he often wins.
Case in point: One of the reasons I know I fell in love with him was because he caught on so quickly to our long-time Bassett-honored tradition of Texas 42. I learned this game when I was a teenager. After we moved to Texas, someone told our family we just couldn't be Texans until we learned this game. We, as a Bassett family are big game players, and this game, played with dominoes, really caught our fancy. We learned how to play it together and we played often. You could hear laughter and the clinking of dominoes on the dining room table many nights into the early hours of the morning.
When I started dating Kyle, it soon became apparent that he was going to have to learn Texas 42 if he wanted to be accepted by my younger brothers and sisters. He passed with flying colors. He learned the game quickly. In his own competitive way, he could stand against the best of the Bassetts. We very quickly learned, however, that although he loved playing for the thrill of the game, he also loved to win.
We are game players, and over the years of our marriage we have played many games. I love watching Kyle, because if he's losing, it's almost guaranteed that he will want to keep playing until it's either impossible to take the lead or he wins. Dee and I remember one night early in our marriage with fondness. Kyle was losing at a particular game. The time was moving past midnight...past 1 AM...past 2 AM. We were getting so bleary-eyed that we tried to lose the game so that Kyle could win. No matter what we did, we kept winning and Kyle would want to keep playing. Finally we succeeded! Kyle took the lead and we were able to go to bed.
Now I have to admit that I also love to play games, and yes, I am pretty competitive as well. I do love a good win. However, I enjoy playing as much for the sake of playing with loved ones and friends as I do winning. I enjoy the laughter, the comradery, the quips and the fun of sitting around a table sharing each others' lives.
That is why yesterday was such a happy day for us. We enjoyed a good movie, a good dinner, and then played some Boot and Bonnet together. The best part of the night was that the point tally was very close, and in the end, it came down to the last round before we knew who would win. Then blessed day! Kyle won!! Yes, it was a very happy day!!

Miracles in Jill's Life

Good things and bad things happen in life. That's the way our Heavenly Father designed it. Whatever happens in life, though, can be looked at with the glass half-empty or the glass half-full, so to speak. I choose to be grateful for the good things in life and recognize them as miracles that have blessed the core of my being. I choose to classify the bad things that happen in life as the lessons that I need to learn. As I gain experience in this life and as I learn the lessons Heavenly Father wants to teach me, I gain depth... I gain wisdom... I gain a greater appreciation for the good things that have happened in my life. Hence, everything in my life becomes a miracle.
Come along with me as I remember and explore...the miracles in Jill's life!