An excerpt from The Red Tape Letters

The Red Tape Letters

By Jolene Jenkins

“Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses.”

--Lao Tzu

“Better to have lost and loved than never to have loved at all.”

--Ernest Hemingway

“The heart wants what it wants. There’s no logic to these things. You meet someone and you fall in love and that’s that.”

--Woody Allen

“All is fair in love and war.”

--Proverb

“Love is a battlefield.”

--Pat Benetar

To

C.S. Lewis

Preface

I HAVE no intention of explaining how these letters came into my possession.

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall concerning love. One is apathy or a lack of desire, passion, or emotion about love. To go about in life with an indifference toward love endangers a person to not fully experience life and all that it has to offer. The other error is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy obsession with love or an object or subject of love. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail puppy love or true love with the same delight. The sort of script used in this book can be very easily obtained by anyone who has once learned the knack; but disposed and excitable people or people who are prone to use excessive amounts of glitter, exclamation points, or clichés who might make a bad use of it shall not learn it from me.

Readers are advised to remember that a cupid is often blinded by love. Not everything that Amore, affectionately known as Uncle Ray, should be assumed to be true or right in every circumstance or for every individual. I have made no attempt to identify any of the human beings mentioned in these letters; but I think it very unlikely that the portraits, say of the patient’s mother, are entirely accurate.

In conclusion, I ought to add that no effort has been made to clear up the chronology of the letters. Not because of laziness on my part, but in order to preserve the authenticity of the letters. When dealing with love, time can be lengthy or short, depending on the phase of love, and terrestrial time seems to have no bearing on a cupid. What was going on in the world, except in so far as it happens now and then to impinge upon the relationship status of one human being, was obviously of no interest to Uncle Ray.

Jolene Jenkins

February 14, 2013

I

MY DEAR AMORINI,

            I note what you say about guiding our patient’s Internet browsing and taking care that he doesn’t see a good deal of his happy bachelor friend. But are you not being a trifle naïve? It sounds as if you supposed that argument was the way to convince him to fall in love. That might have been so if he had lived a few centuries earlier. At that time the human still knew pretty well what love was and what it was not; and love was thought of in a favorable manner. They still connected love with unselfishness, commitment, matrimony, and children. They connected love with doing, with action, and were prepared to alter their way of life in order to commit to their love. But what with the media, The Bachelor reality show, Taylor Swift break-up songs, and other such weapons, society has largely altered that. Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies concerning love dancing about together inside his head. He doesn’t think of love and commitment primarily as “good” or “bad”, but as “idealized” or “sappy”, “outworn” or “too contemporary”, “conventional” or “ruthless”. Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in helping him consider love. Don’t waste time trying to make him think love will bring him happiness! Make him think love is fun, or profitable, or popular—that it is the philosophy of the future. That’s the sort of thing he cares about.

A Baby Story Episode 3

This baby story officially begins on October 12, 2012, but there were many things that happened before that day. As I mentioned in another post, I was not feeling well the last part of my pregnancy. For about the last month or so, I was miserable. I was humongous! I couldn't eat very much, I couldn't stand up for more than ten minutes without getting dizzy, I could hardly move, and I was just plain uncomfortable. I was measuring four centimeters bigger than either of my other pregnancies. Normally, my tummy measured the same as the week of my pregnancy, so at week 35 I would measure 35 cm. But with this pregnancy at week 37, I was measuring 43 cm. I was all tummy. Nic liked to joke that I was losing my super spy sneaking abilities because my stomach would arrive 15 minutes before the rest of me. At my 37 week appointment, my doctor was a little concerned and so he scheduled me for an ultrasound on the next Monday. This was on a Wednesday and my doctor really didn't think I was going to make it until Monday. I was getting more and more dilated and effaced and I was having contractions all day and night, and he kept saying, "If you're still pregnant..." 

Well, much to my dismay, I made it until Monday.

Monday morning I went in and did the ultrasound. I wasn't too excited about it because supposedly I was supposed to drink 30 ounces of water for the ultrasound. My bladder was not at its best, and I could hardly drink a half glass of water without needing to go to the bathroom, so I was a little skeptical about 30 ounces. Let's just say I did my best (around 10 ounces)! The ultrasound was really neat because we've never done an ultrasound when I was so far along. You could actually tell that it was a baby! We got to see little Pumpkin's face and everything. Nic had been teasing me that the original ultrasound was wrong and that I was going to be surprised with a girl, but I was able to reaffirm that I was indeed having a boy. And we reaffirmed that the baby was Nic's kid because we have a picture of the baby flipping us off. It was a fun little pre-meeting with our little boy. From the ultrasound, we learned that the baby's head and chest were measuring big and the baby was estimated to be around 8 lbs 10 oz. We also learned that I had a lot of amniotic fluid. All the joking that I did that Mark had installed an Olympic-sized pool when he was in my tummy, came back to get me. My doctor called me shortly after the ultrasound. He was concerned with the baby's size. I wasn't quite 38 weeks along, and the doctor was worried that Pumpkin could get up to 9 lbs by the time I gave birth. Dr. Smith also worried about the large amount of fluid that I had. Apparently my body was acting like I was diabetic, but all blood tests came back normal. Dr. Smith said that because of all the fluid, if my water broke, it would be like a dam breaking, and could cause some problems like flushing out the umbilical cord or rupturing my placenta. Because of the big baby factor, my history of having some difficulties with the other two babies, and all the fluid, my doctor told me to consider a c-section.

I then proceeded to freak out over the next few hours. I was so miserable and so done being pregnant, but I was also terrified about having the baby. I wanted to do what was best for the baby. We don't know if it was birth trauma that caused Mark's brain bleed (we'll probably never know what caused it), but that was something weighing heavily in the back of our minds. After much trepidation, we decided to do it. We were scheduled for that Friday.  Again, the doctor didn't think I would make it. At my check-up on Wednesday I was dilated to a high three and 70% effaced. But again, we were dealing with one of my boys, and they are as stubborn as their daddy!

Thursday night I had contractions all night but no baby. There were a couple of times that I really thought it was time to head to the hospital, but then every thing would calm down. Early Friday morning we headed to the hospital to finally meet our little Pumpkin. Here I am in all my huge glory:

I have to say, I was really, really nervous! The nurse that first started prepping me for surgery was at the end of her shift, and not the kindest nurse out there, but oh well. We were about to have a baby! I was so done with being pregnant and uncomfortable and so excited to meet my little guy that it didn't matter. The worst part of everything was the IV. The nurse tried three times to do the IV but couldn't do it. According to her, my veins were really small and difficult. She called in another nurse to try who also failed. By that point, just seeing them come at me with that needle would make me cry. I don't like needles anyway and really didn't like being a pin cushion. Eventually, they called in the head nurse who got it on the first try. She couldn't see what all the bother was about. I think from here on out, I will request experts right from the get go.
The nurse who ended up being my delivery nurse was super nice. She took good care of us and was really sweet. The anesthesiologist came in and explained things to us. At first, I was intimidated by him because initially he was all business. We told him how I had passed out previously from my epidural and so he was really intent on that not happening again. I was shaking so bad when I got the epidural. It's actually not that bad (not as bad as the IV, that's for sure!), but I always get so scared. But it's always surprising how fast it takes affect.

My doctor came and spoke with us, Nic got suited up, and then it was time. I was laughing because the nurse asked Nic if he had eaten anything yet. He told her he was fine, and she proceeded to tell him that he was going to eat some crackers or something because she wasn't going to deal with a fainting daddy.
Here's my doctor who delivered all three of my babies:

And here's my sexy husband, suited up and ready.

The procedure actually went really quickly, something like twenty minutes or so. My doctor had another doctor assisting him, and that doctor said something like, "Wow! She has a lot of fluid!" And the nurse said, she has never had to get a second bag for the fluid before me. I was like a queen-size water bed! The nice thing was that I lost thirty pounds in twenty minutes. =)
At one point, I almost passed out. For some reason, when I'm pregnant, I am really sensitive to laying on my back. Pregnant women aren't supposed to anyway because it cuts off circulation and what not, but even a minute or two on my back, and I will get sick and black out. I think when the doctor was trying to draw the line for cutting, he needed me to be flat on my back, and suddenly the room was spinning. The anesthesiologist was right in my face almost the whole time encouraging me and keeping me focused. The c-section is the weirdest thing. They put up a curtain so that you can't see what's going on (I don't know whether or not it would freak me out to see my insides), but Nic was able to watch the whole procedure. He said it was interesting but hard at the same time to think that the person that they were cutting open was his wife. I could feel things but it didn't hurt. It just felt like pressure here and there, and I could feel things being moved around. Oh, they just moved my liver...It was such a weird feeling!
Apparently, the doctor still had to use the vacuum a little. My babies just like to nestle high up right in my rib cage. But Pumpkin finally made his big debut. I was so excited to meet him finally. He was perfect and handsome right from the start. The hardest thing was that I wasn't able to hold him right away, but Nic brought him over and introduced us.

We got to hang out in the recovery room for a little while which was a nice little time to get acquainted with our new little guy. I feel bad because my mom had been at the hospital the whole time and was waiting anxiously in my hospital room. It seemed to be taking a long time and she hadn't heard anything and was getting really worried. But she was very relieved and happy to finally meet her new little grandson.

Nic's parents arrived just as Nic and baby Pumpkin were heading to the room so they got to meet him in the hallway and help escort him to his room. Pretty soon Grandpa Dee, Nanny, and the brothers arrived to meet the newest addition to the family. Sam was really excited about this new baby, which surprised me because he wasn't too excited when Mark came along. Mark was too sure about the baby at all. Whenever he got close to the baby, he tried to give him a good brotherly bonk!

Mark with his new little brother--notice Nanny is holding Mark's hand to keep him from hitting the baby!

Sam with his newest little brother. He wanted to hold the baby and has been fascinated with him from the start.

To make the meeting a little better, the baby brought gifts for his brothers. Sam and Mark both got big brother back-packs filled with toys, books, and treats. They also all got matching brother shirts that mommy made for them. This seemed to help them like the little guy a little more.
Sam's shirt said: Biggest Brother--So good...they gave me another!
Mark's shirt said: Big Brother--Recently Promoted
And the baby's shirt said: Little Brother--Newest Addition

I love these pictures of Nic and the boys. They really capture life at our house these days! In one picture Mark is picking on Sam, in another he's eating a pen. And then you have Sam being a character, and Sam playing on the I-phone!

Mark especially liked the giant drawers in my hospital room.

After a three day stay at the hospital, it was time to go home. Before we went home, our last nurse had to remove my staples on my incision. I was a little nervous. All of our nurses the entire time were super nice and good at what they did. They all took good care of us. We even had the nurse who was my delivery nurse with Mark one day. However, my last nurse was very nice and excited about everything, but she seemed a little dotty. So when she came into the room with a pair of pliers, I was a little nervous (scared for my life). But it went alright, and I didn't die, so kudos to her! =)

As usual, the only thing that delayed us from going home was deciding on a name for our new little guy. We started the three name tradition with Sam, decided to keep it going with Mark, and so had to come up with three names for this new baby boy. Once again, we plastered the white board in the room with name ideas. Nic and the baby had a couple of interviews to try and decide on what his name should be. After a few hours of deliberation, Nicholas Cole Christopher was ready to go home. Nic was excited to share a first name with our little pumpkin. Christopher is the name of one of Nic's really good friends, and Cole was just a good western name that we liked. In fact, Cole wasn't even on any of our early lists of name ideas, but this baby just seemed to be a Cole, and that's what he goes by now.

Here's Cole's first kitchen sink bath at home. He was a little nervous at first, but discovered that a nice warm bath was quite nice. Maybe he will end up being my little swimmer, since he spent the first nine months of his life swimming around in my tummy swimming pool. And I know that they say that babies don't smile at first, that it's just gas, but I don't believe it. This little guy has been smiling since he was just a few days old. Sometimes it's just great big goofy smiles, and sometimes little smirks.

My sweet little miracle--Nicholas Cole Christopher. Welcome to the world, sweet baby!

Updates

Let's see if I can catch up a little here...
Mark
Mark is now the big boy. He's really starting to hit some big milestones. I was starting to wonder if he was ever going to go mobile.He wouldn't stand on his legs, and he would get angry when you put him on his knees. He would roll around a bit, and I was impressed with how quickly he could get around by spinning around on his behind.  But for the most part, he was perfectly content to be carted around. However, it has been getting harder and harder for mommy to carry him. Then about a month ago, he started getting frustrated that he couldn't get around and go where he wanted to. And then about two weeks ago, he just decided to crawl. He didn't really practice a lot; he just started to crawl one afternoon. Now he is all over the place. I am constantly trying to childproof the house, but then I've got the anti-childproofer, Sam, who is constantly leaving little things like pennies where Mark can get them (despite our many discussions on the matter). I'm not sure how well the house is going to hold up. I couldn't keep up with Hurricane Sam, and now I have Tornado Mark as well. Mark is just as talented as his brother at destroying a clean room. I am outnumbered, so if you should come by my house don't worry if it takes me a minute to get to the door...I just have to unbury myself from the chaos!

I don't know if I ever mentioned that Mark ended up getting a shunt last December. It was something that we were trying to avoid, but the swelling on his brain kept increasing, so it had to be done. And I have to say, that it has made all the difference. Basically the shunt is a tube that runs from the ventricles between his brain halves down into his stomach cavity and drains extra fluid from the head into the stomach where it's just absorbed by the body. While he may not need it for his entire life, it's something that he will probably have for the rest of his life. It's just easier to leave it in, and there's extra coils of tube in his stomach that should supposedly unroll as he grows. Isn't medical technology incredible!? Mark has a little bump on top of his head, but for the most part, you would never know he has the shunt. It was night and day when he got the shunt. He immediately became more interactive and he started putting on weight and looking so much more healthy.

Now he only has to do his regular pediatrician visits and see his neuro-surgeon once a year. His neurologist was so impressed that she said we don't have to come back unless there are any problems. We also have an early intervention specialist, Melinda, who comes to the house once a month to work with Mark. She helps us monitor his progress and helps us to set goals for him. For example, last month our goal was to work on getting Mark used to being on his knees. She was so impressed when she came this past week to see him crawling all around. Mark loves to show off for her too! The doctors told us that the brain is a complicated thing, and we may never see any issues from Mark's early struggles or something may pop up one day. You just never know. But for now, Mark is perfectly normal. He's a smart kid, full of personality, and very interactive. In fact, I think he's going to really give us a run for our money! He's cute, and he knows it.

Mark doesn't talk much yet. He says "dadda" (he's a total daddy's boy) and "uh-oh" and just this week he's started doing the sign for more. But he loves to make sounds and interact with people. He loves to make silly sounds. And he's always watching his big brother and trying to copy him. That could be trouble! =)

Sam
Sam is almost three and such a smart cookie. He knows his alphabet and can count to twenty. He is a mini-Nic in so many ways. Not only does he look like daddy, but he seems to be mechanically inclined and loves numbers just like his dad. He loves to take things apart to see how they work and is so curious about everything which sometimes/often gets him in trouble. But it's fun to discover the wonder of the world with him.

Sam is a very verbal child. You have to watch what you say around him. Luckily, he hasn't picked up some of daddy's vocab, but does say things like, "heck yeah!" and "time out! Two minutes!" from mom. We have a list of 'yucky' words like "stupid", "hate", "go away", and "oh my gosh". Sam has tasted soap once for continually using yucky words despite warnings. Now he lectures others when they use yucky words. He's gotten after Grandma M and Aunt Holly for saying "oh my gosh" and has threatened them with time out and soap.

He's also a technology junky. He knows how to work the iPhone better than most adults. He can get on the iPhone and on the TV, find Netflix, find the show he wants to watch, and then watch it. He has a bunch of educational games on the iPhone that he likes to play, and if you aren't careful, he knows how to get more games. I just learned that he got on my sister's phone and bought $6.00 worth of apps. My iPhone used to have a picture of Mark on the sleep screen and a picture of Sam on the home screen. Well, Sam got on there and changed it so there's now two pictures of him.

A funny story, over labor day weekend, my parents went on a vacation with my aunt and uncle to Mt. Rushmore. Well, early Sunday morning, a little before 7 a.m., I was taking a shower when Sam came into the bathroom and told me that he called grandma and grandpa. Sure enough, he had my cellphone and was talking to grandpa. He called my parents all on his own and woke them up. He told them I was in the shower and even let them talk to Mark who was still in his crib, supposedly sleeping. It was their favorite wake up call ever!

One of my favorite things is to spy on Sam when he's playing or during what I call his "bath confessional". Sometimes when he's taking a bath, he'll act out the entire day with his toys. I get to find out things I didn't know he did that day and I get to hear what I sound like all day. It's quite interesting some days! Sam is very imaginative and likes to come up with stories. He'll take characters and story ideas from his favorite TV shows and combine these things with his life. He loves role play. He'll tell me, "I'm mom. You're Sam." And then proceed to act the part. It's super cute.

Sam can be a real stinker with his trouble making and tantrums, but he's also such a sweet kid. He gives plenty of hugs and kisses, and my favorite thing is that he tells us that he loves us now. The other day, I wasn't feeling well and was lying in bed crying. Sam crawled up onto my bed and hugged me. He kept patting my head and saying, "Don't cry, mommy. It's okay. I'm right here. I love you." He's such a tender heart!

The rest of us
Nic is doing well, though he's extremely busy. From work to church to trying to take care of us,I don't think the poor guy gets much sleep. We're still trying to find that perfect balance with everything. I think Nic feels guilty about the time he spends away from the family, but he works really hard to be with us as much as he can. He's been coming home at lunch time lately whenever he can get away to help me with the boys and spend some time with us. I love that Nic is a dad that interacts with his boys. He plays with them, reads stories with them, talks with them. As his dad said the other day, "For all the time he spent saying he didn't want kids, he sure loves those kids. He's a good dad." 

I have about four more weeks left of this pregnancy, and, honestly, I'm just in survival mode. I haven't really been sick or anything, but this pregnancy has kicked my tooshy. A big factor, is that my body wasn't fully recovered from my last pregnancy (Mark and the baby will be barely 14 months apart). I am constantly exhausted. I can't really stand for much longer than 10-15 minutes without getting dizzy and sick. I'm also a lot bigger with this one than my other two pregnancies. I've gained twenty pounds so far which I know isn't much, but is double what I gained with my other pregnancies, and I'm about 3 centimeters bigger. It's not a huge difference, but it feels like a lot on an already tired body. I feel bad that I'm not as active with the boys right now, but I keep telling myself that it's just a short moment in the scheme of things and that the boys are doing okay. I'm lucky to have two boys that can play on their own and keep themselves entertained while mommy rests. I also feel bad because I feel like I'm more whiny these days, and I don't mean to be. I am truly blessed to have this new miracle coming into my life. Some one pointed out the other day that we're getting our invitro paid back now because we're having our third baby and we did three rounds of invitro. Maybe. All I know is that in the past three years, I've gone from wondering if I could ever have children to being the mother of three little ones (soon). And I know that there are so many out there struggling to have babies. It's all in the Lord's timing. We just have to trust in Him, whether it's infertility or surviving three boys under three or whatever it might be. And I'm slowly learning to leave the hard stuff to Him, and to just enjoy what life gives me.

So that's about it. We've had a fun summer filled with adventures. There are so many stories to tell, but it's so hard to find the time and energy to record it all. As usual, I will try to do better! It very likely, however, that the next time you hear from me will be to report the arrival of little Pumpkin.

Happy Birthday, Mark-o Polo!

Today my baby is officially one year old. It has been an adventurous and amazing year so far, and it only gets better each day. I love this little guy! He's such a character and a perfect part of our eternal family.
 Here's a look back over the past wonderful year with my sweet angel, Mark.

August 2011

 September 2011

 October 2011

 November 2011

 December 2011

 January 2012

 February 2012

 March 2012

 April 2012

 May 2012

 June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

Some call it a miracle--Riverton High School calls it a Silver Rush

The air was charged with excitement at Riverton High School on Dec. 23 as students entered the gym for their Silver Rush closing assembly.
Riverton High’s Silver Rush began 12 years ago as a sub-4-Santa charity drive and has grown in leaps and bounds since. Each year, for three weeks in December, the student body officers decide on a charity and then the entire school and community work to raise money for that charity.
This year’s Silver Rush kicked off on Dec. 1 with a special assembly and a community meeting that evening. Since then, the students had been working hard, along with the community, to raise money for the Christmas Box House. Now the students were waiting anxiously to see if their hard work had paid off.
When the banner with the total amount of money raised was unfurled, there was a collective gasp.
Raising a total of $107,167.12, the students had set an all-time Silver Rush record. Including this year’s amount, Riverton High has earned over $717,000 over the past12 years for various charities.
It’s a staggering number, but students and faculty at the school are always quick to point out their motto: “It’s not about the dollar; it’s about the change.”
As soon as the amount earned was revealed, the students flooded onto the gym floor where one of the student body officers led them in an impromptu singing of the Riverton High fight song. Emotions were high, and the tears and hugging continued long after school was dismissed.
For the the three-week long Silver Rush, students did lunchtime activities, concerts and performances, door-to-door odd jobs for donations, a food drive, a toy drive, a camp out, and much more to help children at the Christmas Box House. Some students worked temporary jobs and donated their earnings. All around the school, students woreT-shirts and sweaters bearing a quote from Gandhi: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Richard Paul Evans, author of the book “The Christmas Box” and one of the founders of the organization, in his speech to the school, quoted one of the student body officers as saying: “I’m so tired, but what will I do now?”
Evans began his speech by describing a 7-year-old girl who had won a watch that she had really wanted through a contest on Evans’ website. The girl was excited to win the watch, but when she discovered that one of the other participants in the contest was a boy with spina bifida, she contacted Evans and requested that the watch be given to the boy instead.
“How do you get that into a kid?” Evans asked the audience. He then commended Riverton High by saying that that was the kind of people in their school.
“What makes the difference? What makes you different from other schools? You get the concept of respect,” Evans said.
He commended the administration, teachers, parents, and families of the students for teaching these students to have respect for themselves and others.
“Every dime will be used to help as many kids as much as possible,” Evans said.
During the assembly, the winner of the Battle of the Bands contest that was held during Silver Rush, Lampton View, performed a song that they had written for Silver Rush.
Colton Gibson, along with the other band members, Zach Swan, Jordan Higgins, Carlin Smart, and Cory Gunn, wrote the song in an effort to inspire people to donate. The words of the song seemed to capture the feelings of the student body: “It’s a silver rush of charity/This is where I really want to be/A rush of kindness/This is where I really want to be.”
At least 17 local businesses contributed to their efforts. Artic Circle sold a Silver Rush shake and donated a portion from the shakes sold. A spokesperson from Artic Circle told the students at the assembly that the restaurant definitely wants to do it again next year.
Riverton High students really focused on involving the community in their efforts this year. Drew Hunt, a student body officer, described seeing how the school and community had come together as “humbling” and “amazing.”
“Silver Rush has become something that is part of our community, and we’re just trying to hold onto the reins,” Principal Brad Sorensen said.
Sorensen also told the students that Silver Rush isn’t something that ends when they graduate.
“You’ll always be a Silver Wolf. Your contributions and efforts don’t stop just because you graduate,” he said.
Student Body President George Alexander echoed these sentiments when he addressed the student body. “Silver Rush makes us who we are. Continue to be the change—we can change the world.”
Lisa McDonald, a representative for the Christmas Box House, thanked the students for their efforts.
“It goes beyond the funds. You have engaged us. The staff, the kids, the teenagers ... all month long we were aware of what Riverton High School was doing for us ... Because of you guys, these kids will have somewhere to be. They will have a childhood,” she said.

Riverton High students offer hope

Riverton High School’s Hope Squad held its annual Hope Week Jan. 23-27.
During the 2005-2006 school year, two students at Riverton High School took their own lives. At the beginning of the next school year, another student committed suicide. In answer to this, the school developed the Hope Squad.
The Hope Squad held daily lunch activities during Hope Week to encourage a positive atmosphere in the school. They also had a special assembly where songwriter and motivational speaker, Michael McLean, performed.
McLean told the students that he wanted to share the background music of his life and some of his experiences.
 “My whole life I have struggled. I have been clinically depressed for 40 years. It would have helped me to have a Hope Squad,” he said.
Through music and word, McLean encouraged the students to hold on through hard times and to not be afraid to seek help.
“When you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to see when it’s time to reach out. It’s okay to get help...You never know when things are going to get better,” he said.
Hope Week culminated on a Saturday morning, Jan. 28, with the annual Hope Walk, a walk from Riverton High School to City Hall.
“This is a walk where we remember, when we keep hope alive in our hearts,” Janeen McMillan, school counselor, said to the group of about 75 dedicated students gathered for the walk.
“We always do [the walk] in January because it tends to be a dark month for people. We put on some color and give people hope,” McMillan said.
The Riverton Parks and Recreation Department works with the Hope Squad each year to help with Hope Week and the Hope Walk. Last year, they donated yellow scarves; this year, yellow gloves for all those participating. They also provided donuts and hot chocolate at the end of the walk.
The Unified Police Department also participated and helped to keep participants safe.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful event. This is a bunch of good kids doing something wonderful for each other,” Chief Rod Norton said.
“It warms my heart. It’s not just the Hope Squad; it’s a community effort,” McMillan said.
Mayor Bill Applegarth spoke to the group at the end of their walk.
“The desire these students have to help each other is commendable. On a very cold Saturday morning, to see this many students walk in a commitment to their fellow students, is tremendous,” he said.
“It has been super amazing. We walk for those who have passed away at our school and for their families. We walk with a purpose,” Summer Bailes, a member of the Hope Squad, said.
The Hope Squad is a student-based program adapted from a similar program in the Provo School District. With the Hope Squad, students are actively involved in helping their peers find hope amidst struggles and to see positive alternatives to destructive personal behavior.
Each year, students, teachers and counselors at Riverton High have the opportunity to nominate cheerful and upbeat individuals who they would feel comfortable turning to in time of need. Applications are distributed and members are chosen from this list of students.
Each Hope Squad member is required to take a pledge and complete a training session directed by the school psychologist and school counselors. The program currently has 80 members.
Parker Young, a member of the Hope Squad and a class officer, described an experience he had while doing door-to-door odd jobs as part of the Silver Rush.
“At this one house, this lady was so excited to see us. The first thing she asked us was if any of us were on the Hope Squad. Then she broke down and thanked us. She had lost a daughter eight years ago, but the Hope Squad helped to save her son,” Parker said.
“I feel like we really are saving lives,” another member of the Hope Squad, Sierra Samowitz, said.

High school senior shows you’re never too young to beat cancer

There’s a less than 0.01percent probability of getting breast cancer as a teenager. In fact, most breast cancer statistics don’t even show ages younger than 20 because the numbers are almost non-existent. But Morgan Watson, a senior at Herriman High School, knows what it’s like to go against the odds.
In August 2010, when she was 15 years old, she discovered a lump the size of a quarter on one of her breasts. Her mom immediately took her to a doctor. Usually a lump in a teenage girl’s breast is something minor, such as a swollen gland or a cyst. But for Morgan, it was the beginning of a very long and difficult battle.
Morgan was diagnosed with Stage III Triple Negative Medullary Breast Cancer, a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Over the next year, she had to squeeze in normal teenage events such as driver’s education and prom between chemotherapy, doctors’ appointments, surgeries and radiation.
Morgan began her first round of chemotherapy two days before her 16th birthday. She then went through six rounds of chemo, three weeks apart. After the chemotherapy, Morgan opted to have a double mastectomy, because she had been diagnosed with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, a condition that affects the body’s cancer-fighting genes.
With Li-Fraumeni, only one copy of the cancer-fighting genes is working, so there is a small chance of Morgan getting cancer again in a different place.
On Jan. 17, 2011, three days after the surgery, Morgan received the news that she was now cancer-free. It was a huge victory for Morgan, but she still had a way to go.
After the mastectomy, she began radiation treatments, doing five weeks of treatments, every day Monday through Friday. Three months later, Morgan had reconstructive surgery.
Throughout it all, Morgan has been strengthened by the support of her family and friends. Cards, gifts, phone calls, texts, notes and meals poured in during the hard times. Neighbors decorated Morgan’s yard and the neighborhood with pink ribbons and planted pink tulips in their yards to show support.
During her junior year, Morgan was attending Riverton High School and would often be greeted when she came to school by posters showing support for her. One time, the entire football team and their coach came to her first period class and sang the school’s fight song to her. On the days when she had to start her chemotherapy, the students at her school would wear pink to show their support.
After finishing her radiation treatments, Morgan’s family took a much-needed vacation in Mexico. Mom Jana Pendleton remembered looking at her daughter sitting by the pool, along with other teenage girls, and thinking, “You would never know just looking at her, all that she has been through. She looks like a normal teenage girl.”
But ‘normal’ isn’t really the best word to describe Morgan. ‘Spunky’, ‘brave’ and ‘strong’ are the words her friends and family use to describe her. Health-wise, Morgan will never be the same. There will probably always be some scars and leftover pain, and she will always need to be vigilant in taking care of herself. But more than the physical changes, Morgan is a different person. She is a stronger, better person.
“If I could go back, I would still choose to go through it. I am a stronger person. Life has more meaning. I can touch so many more lives now. It has been such a blessing,” she said.
“Everyone has a mom, a sister, a friend...someone who has faced cancer,” Jana Pendleton said. Morgan and her mom hope that they can use their experiences to help people through these experiences and to encourage breast cancer awareness for all ages.
Morgan is currently working with the Susan G. Komen foundation to increase breast cancer awareness among her peers. She hopes to take her message to local high schools.
As she wrote in a letter sent to all the high schools in Utah, “Breast cancer is known as an ‘old woman's’ disease. I want to send this message with the great people of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to alert and notify the public that it is far from it. This disease can affect anyone; daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmas, even men. I hold myself personally responsible to spread breast cancer awareness among young people and educate them about checking themselves.”
And while it is very rare to face breast cancer as a teenager, Morgan hopes to encourage other teenagers in whatever trial they may be facing.
“The teen years are hard, but don’t give up on things. Value your experiences—they make you who you are,” she said.