By Rommyn Skipper

Rommyn wrote this column while he was working at the Sun Post News in San Clemente, CA. Jan 1999. I don't ever remember reading this one. I know I did, I just can't remember. It does show Rommyns sense of humor though.

Resolutions I can keep

             It's the big day. The one we've all been waiting for. And it's finally here. The day that marks the first day of the rest of our lives.

              And on such a momentous occasion, I have to be sure to plan appropriately so that the rest of my life is something worth living for. Which brings us to the yearly ritual of setting resolutions for what we plan to change in the coming months.

             Too often, resolutions are nothing more than pie-in-the-sky dreams with no more basis in reality than the sweet nothings President Clinton whispered into the ear of an anxious Monica Lewinsky. Resolutions end up making us feel good for the moment while all the while we know they're not really going to affect our future because we're not going to keep any of them.

              But a resolution's a goal, and goals, to be effective, have to be written down and then accomplished.

              Well, this year I'm writing them down and sharing them with you readers so you can hold my feet to the fire throughout the year and make sure I keep them all. I think I can do it. Here goes:

               1) I will not run down Avenida Del Mar on March 21 scantily clad in a tutu singing Christmas carols and wearing a sombrero and snorkel. (All other days of the year are fair game.)

               2) I resolve to lose a few pounds. And this year I won't accept removing my keys, change, pocket knife, comb and belt as satisfactory weight loss.

               3) When I feel the urge to do a good turn and wash the neighbor's cat, I will remove it before the spin cycle. (No wonder the lint catcher is such a mess.)

               4) I vow to make the bed each and every day. I will make the bed a place I retire to frequently and for extended periods of time.

              5) I will be kind to my fellow man. Kind of rude, kind of condescending, kind of obnoxious.

              6) In exercising my democratic duties, I will elect leaders who will stand tall while not bringing others to their knees.

                7) As a father, I will be stern with my children and make sure they are properly disciplined. (Unless McKay pokes out his bottom lip and gives me that little "puppy dog" look or Kaisey tilts her head to one side and says softly, "Daddy, I'm sad," or she unleashes her most potent weapon: "Daddy, your my best friend.")

               8) As a Husband, I will do whatever it takes to make my wife happy -- as long as it's not during March Madness, doesn't interrupt my reading the paper, doesn't involve messy diapers, and doesn't interfere with my Saturday nap time.

              9) I will be courteous and polite to everyone I meet, regardless of how much ridicule they may deserve.

             10) I will not take life too seriously. Period.


Happy New Year!
_______

• Rommyn Skipper is the City editor of the Sun Post News. He resolves to be less sarcastic in future columns.

             

Adventure Awaits You -- New Beginnings 2015

Our New Beginnings for this year was based around the Theme for the year for the Young Women and Young Men. Doctrine and Covenants 4:2

Therefore, O ye that EMBARK in the SERVICE of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

We were going to with an Up theme but then I found this wonderful picture on Pinterest.

It is from Susan fitch design. You can find the sign here.

I added our theme to the top of the poster that I printed out.

Adventure Awaits You As You EMBARK in the SERVICE of God.

I also wrote on the suitcase different ways you can EMBARK: reading scriptures, temple work, missions, helping others.

I didn't get a picture of the program but it went something like this.

Opening Song: Hymn # 228 You Can Make The Pathway Bright

I (being the YW President) gave a short talk on the theme, then showed the video from the LDS website of the song of the year.  (Which you can find at https://www.lds.org/youth/theme/2015?lang=eng)

Then there were 2 talks by our YW who received their YW medallions this past year. They spoke on how they Embarked in Personal Progress to get the medallions.

Next was our Personal Progress Leader who spoke on ways to Embark in Personal Progress and the Values.

My 1st Counselor talked on Embarking in service through girls camp.

Last my 2nd Counselor welcomed the new girls.

Closing song Hymn #223 Have I Done Any Good?

I also found this cute little Adventure Kit  (on Pinterest of course) or the girls to take home. You can find what she put in hers here. We put in ours the 7-up, suckers, a rubber bracelet that had the theme written on it, gum, and a bookmark with the theme on it and lifesavers. We didn't do the journals.

For refreshments, as I work in a bakery, I was able to take the picture to work and print it off on edible paper, and made cupcakes that went along with it. 

All my lovely Young Women for this year. I love this calling, and I love these girls.

Taelyn Archery Tournament

Taelyn joined the Archery team at school this year. She has really enjoyed it. This was her first tournament at the school. It was against one other school. Her school came in won by about 3 points. Taelyn came in 14th place with a score of 213. Pretty good for her first tournament. She has another one in a couple of weeks.

Enlightenment By Rommyn Skipper

Here is another one of Rommyn's Columns. This is from January 1997, working at the Sun Post in San Clemente, CA.

Enlightenment

       Enlightenment is a good thing, just ask my wife. I took a six-day vacation at the start of this month, and I came away a new man. Or at least a more understanding man. I think.

       I've always been proud of the fact that my wife stays home with our kids -- 22 month-old Kaisey and 2 1/2 month-old McKay. Although it requires some real belt-tightening at times, we both agree that no amount of money can compensate for the love, attention and morals only she can give our children.

       And I've always had an appreciation for the work she does at home. When someone realizes our situation and naively asks, "Your wife doesn't work?" I quickly answer "Not outside the home." Because believe me, she works.

       But I didn't realize to what extent until my six days of enlightenment. 

       Now I fully believe in sharing the housework, but I have been known to come home and say to Laurie, "I worked a 12 hours today," and then flop on the couch. 

       To which she responds, "That's nice, fold the clothes." After such a long day, that seems a bit harsh. Until the enlightenment.

        I knew that the real intent of my vacation was to give Laurie a vacation, but I had no idea how much work would be involved. I got a taste of juggling (sometimes literally) two kids for long stretches of time. I learned that McKay really likes to be held - a lot - and that it's not that easy to cook or vacuum or even eat a sandwich while holding a 14-pound baby in one arm. And I learned quickly that gravity soon makes that 14 pounds seem like 114 pounds.

        I realized why Laurie likes to shop after I get home from work - alone. During the enlightenment, I was given the duty of watching Kaisey in the grocery store. Even with Laurie taking care of the actual shopping and McKay, I found the whole ordeal more than a challenge. I never realized there were so many individual items on so many shelves. Or that each one is so intriguing to a toddler.

        Now Kaisey's a good girl, and she really does mind, but in her mind, just because I said "Don't touch that" whatever, it didn't mean she couldn't touch an identical item perched right beside the forbidden item. Shopping became an endless nightmare.

        Public excursions became aerobic workouts as I placed Kaisey in her stroller, then pulled her out so she could walk, then hoisted her on my shoulders, then grabbed her before she could slide down my back and hit the floor.

        And when we got home and I thought I could rest, it was time to change a diaper (or two), or fix a lunch, or just hold my kids and let them know they're loved.

        I have to be a city editor for nine to 12 hours a day. Laurie is a mother, wife, doctor, playmate, disciplinarian, teacher, maid, chauffeur, repair woman (the list is endless) 24 hours a day.

        One column doesn't do justice to the amount of knowledge I gleaned from my six days of enlightenment. It hit me forcefully that my job, even with its deadline stress, is a cakewalk compared to the minute-by-minute demands of caring for children.

        Laurie faces constant deadlines: When McKay has to eat, that's a top priority regardless of what's on TV or in the oven. When Kaisey wants to read a book, she needs attention, and "wait a minute" doesn't work.

         So now when I come home from a long day at the office and Laurie says, "Fold the clothes," I try to follow up with "I'll also sweep the floor and take out the trash."

Pinewood Derby

We had our last Pinewood Derby tonight. Maddox turns 11 this year and advances into Boy Scouts. I am sad that he is getting older but SO glad we don't have to make the cars anymore. We have had fun though.

The Cars for the Race. Maddox went with a Batmobile this year.

Quite a few races were this close. 

Maddox WON! At least this race.

All the Cub Scouts of Troop 250

He came in 3rd place. Not to shabby. 

He also got an award for his car being Most AWESOME and Top Movie Themed. 

Glad its over, but I am happy he had the experience of doing it.

Crafty Tuesday

I was in a crafty mood today so I thought I would share a few of the crafts I did today.

The first one is a Memory Plate. I made this at a Relief Society Meeting at Church. Pretty much you find something that is meaningful to you and write it on a plate. You use sharpies then bake it for about 30 min at 325 degrees. You can display it or use it, just don't put it in the dishwasher as it will wash right off. There are oil based sharpies as well and they stay a little longer on the plate, but they are a little more expensive. If you have Pinterest you can also find other ideas on there.

I also made this wall hanging today. I had bought the stuff to do this months ago, but finally got around to doing it. It is all the places we have lived as a family. I got an old atlas and cut out the areas we lived. I drew a small heart on each of the cities that we lived in. I then found a picture on the web of  "Home is where the Heart is" and printed it out, put it on some scrapbook paper and put it in the frame as well. It turned out better than I thought it would.

This last one was fun to make. I made it for a sister in our ward that is having a baby I found the idea on pinterest and this is the link to where you can find out how to make it. She said she used one package of diapers but I ended up using almost 2 packs of size 1. It takes about 60 diapers for the wheels. I like the way that Luvs diapers looked because they look like treads on a tire when they are all rolled up like that. 

By Rommyn Skipper

As Kaisey is going into the journalism field of work, I got the articles and columns that Rommyn wrote out so she could read them. I thought I would share some of the columns that Rommyn wrote. This first one is from June 16, 2002. He was working at the Star News in Wilmington, NC at the time. 

Trying to follow in my father's boot steps

      I had known him for 33 years, although the last 10 had probably been the best. As a young child, I remember climbing into his cowboy boots, their soft leather tops slapping just below the knee caps as I wobbled around his house pretending to be a cowboy.

      In my teen-age years, I feed his horses, and again slipped on his boots, this time to go out into his world and walk through the sandy soil into the barn to care for  the animals he loved so dearly.

      We nearly had the same size foot by this time, but the boots were still too large, and my feet slipped slightly as I worked my way up the stairs to the loft, where I dropped hay through the trap door into the stalls below. I had to be careful in the the pasture not to twist an ankle or stumble because I was wearing his boots, and they were a precarious fit on me.

       I grew up and went away to college, then got married and moved around the county. I began raising a family of my own. He and I were still close - closer probably then ever before because, after I turned 19 or so, I started seeing him for the man he was, not the man I thought he was. He was principled and forthright, incredibly strong and amazingly sensitive, simple in his views yet profound in his dedication to integrity.

       It was during these past 10 years that I'd learned to seek his advice on everything from changing brake pads to dating to raising a family. As a child, I'd kept many of my feelings to myself, but for the past few years, my life had become an open book to him. And although he hated to read, he read every page I gave him, and I had begun to give him many.

       Then suddenly one night I was wearing his cowboy boots again. The leather was still worn and smooth, but the tops came up only slightly higher on my shins than they did on his.

        And this time, I was wearing  his coveralls. And they nearly fit, too. A strange feeling seeped from his clothes into my soul as I thought of the years I had spent away from him, only to find myself, literally in his shoes, caring for his animals at his house as he lay in the hospital with wires and monitors around his heart.

        I had often dreamed of returning to his house, but this was a different sensation. I was man enough to wear his shoes, although they were still just slightly too big to fill. And though his coveralls fit, they were a loose skin around me, and I knew I was but an imitation of the life they were used to covering.

        Yet, I knew he would be proud of me, regardless of how awkwardly I wore his wardrobe. Or his legacy. I was walking in his shoes on ground I held dear, and a sense of kinship ignited in me that can only be felt when a boy grows up and knows he has become a man...and realizes that, no matter what, he'll never be the man his father has been to him. 

Rommyn's father's health is fine now, and he spends plenty of time in the barn and riding his horses, as well as teaching his grandchildern to ride. Rommyn volunteers to feed the horses when his father is out of town.

___

Rommyn would be very proud of what his kids are doing now and how they have come to love their Grandpa Skipper and his horses. McKay now helps with they hay and oats, and feed the animals when Grandpa is out of town. Taelyn loves being with the horses as well.