Wednesday, September 2, 2009

smells like home


I love my mother. She sent me some of her famous peaches from the tree in our back yard. Have you heard of the famous Graf peaches? They are incredible. Truly amazing. Pretty much world-renowned.

One of my favorite times of year is when the peaches come on at the Graf house. There's a two week window of opportunity to harvest when they're perfectly ripe. The peaches demand our attention for those two weeks and we must obey, so they don't go to waste. My grandparents come up to help and sometimes my aunts. We spend a lot of time picking, washing, peeling, slicing, canning, making jam. It's a time for peach cobbler, peach pancakes, peaches and cream. It's a time for family, for chatting and laughing and working together.

I love the sweet peach smell when you walk near the trees. I love climbing up to pick the ones that fall off the branch into my hand. I love inhaling that sweet scent, feeling the itchy peach fuzz on my arms. I love walking into the kitchen to see my mom's whole counter covered in giant orange and red fruit. The whole place smells like peaches.

Imagine my delight when I opened this package and was hit with that exact same smell! I stuck my face in the box and breathed it in. It smelled just like home. It's heavenly!


Last week was really tough for me. I felt overwhelmed at my new job (I got yelled at on my first day for not printing a form fast enough - yeesh). I miss the mountains terribly. I came to the realization that this New York thing is really happening, probably for a couple years. I had a tearful meltdown on a crowded street in the middle of lunch hour in Midtown - thankfully Klane was there for a shoulder to cry on. I planned an emergency weekend trip to Utah, then realized it wasn't possible. I realized I'l miss Peach Season at my parents' house! It was a rough week.

I'm amazed at how mindful our Heavenly Father is of his children. So many things happened last week to build me up and give me some perspective. The lesson we taught on Sunday was on overcoming adversity by turning to the Savior. So I spent the whole week studying scriptures about how Christ perfectly understands what we're feeling and is always there for us, and realizing that my trials pale in comparison to the things others have gone through. These verses from D&C 121 and 122 were especially great:


"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

"...Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?"


This week has been a lot better. It's still hard, but I'm going to be okay! This is where we're supposed to be right now, and we're grateful to be here. We'll have our whole lives to live in Utah, but for right now we're going to live life in New York to the fullest. We can't always choose our circumstances but we can always choose our attitude, which shapes our experience. Happiness is best found in the journey, not in a destination.


(But a few fresh peaches from home can't hurt!)

17 comments:

MommaChelle said...

I know how you feel. I miss my family and arizona terribly. But, It does get better, and easier. Im glad you are already doing better. I don't know if i'll ever get to live in my home state again, so youre lucky! Those peaches look so pretty! ooooo and you gotta love sour patch kids!

Sheralee said...

I liked this post Angie. I love the famous Graf peaches and am now craving some peaches and ice cream! sour patch kids are an excellent bonus too. :) Thanks for sharing your testimony and those scriptures! It's been kind of a rough couple of weeks for me too. Some of my favorite scriptures to think of at times when I'm experiencing a hard trial are Alma 37:11 and D&C 78:17-18. I'm just glad that the Lord is in charge and he knows what he's doing. Thanks for helping me remember! I love you and hope this week goes better!

Ashley Seil Smith said...

Angie, we need to go out and have a girl's night or something. Maybe get some pedicures together, anything! We are on the same page in so many ways. I'm glad you had a better week. Mine has been so up and down so far, but I feel like I'm getting used to it more and more. And I get yelled at usually once a week for the most bizarre reasons. Life here is so crazy! But we can make it great!

Ashleigh said...

What a great post! I know we all feel that way in our lives at some point or another. And there are always trials much worse than ours. I agree that attitude is everything. Live New York life to the fullest! You will not regret it and will look back on it with fondness! You are lucky to have this adventure while you are young and child-free! :)

Sara said...

we miss you guys too :) but you have to live there at least another year so we can come intern with you :)

Unknown said...

I'm glad that you have UT peaches to overcome adversity! But really, I think you and Klane are the bomb dot com. I wish for the best for you two there in NYC.

And about that person who yelled at you for not printing a form fast enough...I'll need their address, so i can send them a 12 pack of hawaiian PUNCH!

Katherine said...

Angie, you are wise beyond your years. I really admire your attitude and perspective. Even though you miss Utah and your family, you will always cherish your time and experiences in NYC--even the not-so-pleasant ones, because they will just make you stronger. Please pardon the pun, but I think you're a peach! (What an amazing mom you have--she's a peach too.) Hang in there and go make Klane a yummy peach cobbler!

Calee said...

Ang, I'm sure I'll never be able to relate completely, but I just want to comiserate with the overwhelmed-to-tears feeling that we get sometimes. I get that way and can't even deal with myself and I'm sure Jed wonders what he got himself into when he married me!
Hang in there and keep posting these inspirational blogs; I love the scripture in D&C 122, it really helps you to take a step back and put things in prospective. I agree with the previous poster; you're a peach!

Mills Family said...

Ang, I just got done reading this post...and it totally got me so emotional because you share you sweet heart feelings here and totally give us hope as well in how the gospel helps us through our tough times. And the spirit is so much in your post here!....it was ironic....but the whole time I read this, the music from my blog was playing "come come ye saints" and the words kept saying, "all is well, all is well". Ang, that was a good way to start my day today. Ok, brace yourself!...because I have something to tell you!....ok, here it goes.....I AM AT YOUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW!!!! Where are those peaches!...I am totally in the mood now! :) Ang, your mom and dad are so wonderful! We are going to Texas this morning! AHHHH! We're so excited! I totally told Sharla that I was trying to figure out how to pack some boots and a hat into my bag....(I'm just trying to stay true to "fitting in" to the location that I'm in!) Also, I'm working on my accent...the drawl is hard! Love ya Ang! I keep you in my prayers!

emily said...

I know how you feel! I felt that same way when we got to NYC and now am feeling it here in Vegas. Ugh, I cannot believe we live in Vegas. But it's so true that the Lord is really mindful of us and those reminders are what gets us through the hard times.

Jons and Celeste Leigh said...

Aw girl hang in there. I'm glad the serenity prayer helped a bit. Hope things get a little easier. Those peaches would make me happy :)

Abbie said...

I. AM. BAWLING. Did you write this for me? Did you? Because I think you did. I love you and I don't even know you that well (although I kinda feel like I know you pretty well, thanks to the blogs).

We really need to hang out. I had an insane day yesterday (one second I said I never wanted to leave, the next I was crying again. I swear I'm not bipolar), so today I took the day off. Let's make a real plan to hang out. Maybe we could eat peaches. I'm up for any type of food. Levain Bakery! Let's go! I haven't been yet. Tell me the day and let's go! We can rock this New York City thing! And food will make us stronger.

Sharla said...

I Love You and you are so amazing!! Go eat a peach!!

Ash and Matt | A SoCal Story said...

I'm glad you're feeling better about things! I think we all go through that sometimes--especially when we're away from the people we love. Your mom seems to always be so in tune with when you need a package, doesn't she? Those Graf peaches would cheer anyone up :-) And thank goodness it's a long weekend. Hope you get to enjoy it!

Colette said...

I love this post Angie. The great thing about challenging times is that you learn tons, esp about yourself. You will look back at your years in New York and be SO glad for the opportunities you had to grow.

pandorasbox said...

Like the Wizard of Oz...there is no place like home...but you are making the most of NYC...and I hear you on people being cranky at work. Remember that saying...it is hard to soar like an eagle when you are surrounded by a bunch of turkeys? My daughter came home this weekend so she could get away from NYC...we love having her here!

Morgan said...

This relates so closely to a lot of stuff that I've been going through lately. What a beautiful post! I loved hearing what you had to say. Thank you so, so much for sharing this.