I had a fun time with family recently. Before round three my Uncle Leo, Aunt Teresa, and two of my cousins Ganae and Jeshua. The Osorios what a quirky family, I love those guys. It's nice to have fun with family. We did a lot of hiking, food, and games. It was such a nice get-away for me from the mundane norm of school, work, and chemo. On our first hike I learned a great lesson from my Uncle Leo in Snow Canyon State Park. We were exploring around the red rocks and he has a fear of heights. That crazy Colombian was all over those mountains, ever seen an ant hill get knocked over and ants go crazy? Yeah it was like that but a one man ant frenzy. He picked out the highest points and like a bat out of hell scrambled up the rocks to reach the top never really looking down until it was too late and he was on top of his little world of fear at the point of the mountain. His wife at one point called up to him "what were you smoking up there?" and he quickly answered back "fear." That's right, fear. How awesome is that. Is there something that you fear? Well put it in your pipe and smoke it! Another Colombian lesson I learned was that lemons fix everything. Apparently lemons are the elixir of life. He told us at dinner about how lemons heal anything and are so good for you. After everyone squeezed their lemons in their water he ate the lemon slices rind and all. The weird part was that I think he swallowed them whole. He popped the whole thing in and only chewed three times and swallowed. I don't know about you but I can't chew lemon rind in three chews. He told us, true story, that he had an eye infection or something like that and solved that problem by literally squeezing a lemon in his eye like eye drops and ran around like a possessed man and problem solved. Lemons saved the day. We also went to the hotel that I work at and they were staying at, we played games and watched the BYU football game. Just a good time.
Family is so important, no matter how disfunctional it still serves a purpose and a function. I like that I married into a family who's family motto is this "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." I like that a lot. President Gordon B. Hinckley said "Life is to be enjoyed, not endured." I think I've used this quote as well by Elder Joseph B Wirthlin, "Come what may and love it."
I remember watching this General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and this was a great talk given by an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful message. Difficult times come to all of us in many different forms. We can learn to find happiness in all things. That is one of the things that I love about being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The things we can come to know and the relationship you build with your Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ are essential necessities in life if you want your life to be easier than it has to be. Life can be difficult, but it was never meant to be faced alone. Remember that, you never have to face anything alone. I don't care what it is. I have come to realize that I have never been alone and neither have you. There is always someone there worrying about you, praying for you, thinking about you.
Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me and helping me as I overcome my trial in life. Cancer is never fun. Chemo is definitely not very fun. But this has come to be one of the best experiences of my life. If you ever need someone to talk to or just to hear you out with difficulty that you're having, hit me up. That is one thing that I've decided to do for the rest of my life. I am here for you. I have lots of people that have been there for me. Just so you know if you need anything (besides money I don't have any of that haha) come on over and I'll hear you out. Thanks everyone again for all that you've done helping us out. It really means a lot, a day doesn't go by that I don't express my gratitude in prayer for all the help and support we recieve from friends, family, and even strangers.
Remember the Crazy Colombian Uncle Leo, when it comes to fear, climb the highest scariest mountain put it in your pipe and smoke it.
