Standing Ovation

Every BYU Homecoming, each college recognizes a graduate who has made significant achievements in his or her profession. The graduate is then invited to present a lecture during homecoming week. It is a little known fact that this year, the College of Family, Home and Social Services chose to acknowledge as their alumnus--


my dad! Congratulations!!! We were able to spend the day on BYU campus, first attending my dad's presentation in the Spencer W. Kimball building. His speech was titled 'Reflections from the Bench: Lessons of Humanity,' in which he eloquently tied several courtroom vignettes into a common theme: hope, humanity, forgiveness. From the bowels of a courtroom which exhibits the dark side of mankind, spring forth stories of resiliance. Ordinary people, suffering imaginably through no fault of their own, make one irreversible choice: compassion and forgiveness for their fellow men. These are people whose lives touched me today, through the demonstration of attributes I am sometimes unable to master on a small scale. I grew with many such stories, especially around the dinner table, without giving thought to their significance. Anyway, a copy of 'Reflections..." will shortly be placed on the BYU website, I think it's worth reading.


After the speech was over, we were able to visit with friends and neighbors I had not seen in years! The question we kept getting asked was, how did the twins sit through an entire lecture without making a peep?


The answer is...stickers!! As you can see, Maddie decorated her right arm beyond recognizable form. She was dropping lady bugs and monkeys left and right the rest of the day. Following the lecture was a luncheon in the Hinckley Center, and then several attempts at family pictures.


Our best one....nobody was trying to do a flip. At any rate, it was a refreshing day of celebration and family. I was glad after all these years I could finally give my dad a standing ovation.