“Just remember, once you’re over the hill you begin to pick up speed.” -Charles SchulzJune 28th signals birthday time for Brent! And I’ve got to give him a lot of credit for maturity because Brent gets to spend his birthday conducting Howard Bennion’s funeral service. And he hasn’t complained a bit! Which is probably why he is the Bishop of the ward and not me.
Come to think of it, Brent never complains about any of the funerals, weddings, ordinations, interviews, blessings, moves, appointments, meetings, missionary discussions, and other sundry events that are part of his church responsibilities. He’s great to take it all in stride and generally Brent will rearrange his complicated schedule to accommodate lots of people who are a heck of lot less busy than he is. Again, I’d probably be more grumpy about endless church to-do lists, so I do respect and admire how generous he is with his time. Even and especially on his birthday!
After overseeing Howard’s viewing this morning, Brent will conduct the funeral, followed by the graveside dedication, and finally back to the church for a late luncheon (complete with traditional funeral potatoes). So, Brent’s day by then (um, birth day, that is) will pretty much be shot. Hopefully we can sneak in a birthday dinner and presents before he has to catch a red-eye flight back east later tonight.
But quite honestly, there probably isn’t anything Brent would sooner do today anyway. He thinks the world of Howard Bennion so he probably doesn’t mind sharing his birthday as we gather to pay tribute to Howard’s well-lived life.
Besides Brent, June 28th is also Anna King’s birthday! If you want to share a birthday with someone classy and thoughtful and genuine, that would be Anna. Anna has a calming personality, she’s someone everyone likes. In fact, I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t like Anna. Whenever Anna has visited she’s been gracious and appreciative and we’ve really grown to adore her. So, birthday greetings to Anna if the Birthday Girl happens to read this!
As for the photo, that is Rachael (Hermana Holland) and I behind Brent playing tennis. Rachael and I didn’t have our sunglasses so we couldn’t see the tennis balls so our team of three (I think we were competing against Paige, Holly, and Connor) was pretty reliant on Brent to dominate the court. It’s not Wimbledon but when it comes to his tennis skills, you’d never guess Brent is turning fifty five years old. He can run around the court for hours without working up a sweat! You Go Birthday Boy!
