From the archives...

Happy Birthday Camille! We love you! Our family celebrated yesterday up the canyon... we went sledding, and oh, was it beautiful. If you haven't been up to Tibble Fork Reservoir for sledding, it is a must. one big hill, excited kids, fast sleds, and lots of snow. We were the only ones there. It was truly the funnest day of the year so far. Spence and Camille did so well. Even Amber had a go of it. Way to go, Amber! So maybe we will post some pics or video of that later.

RANDOM: I had a prompt to post a piece I wrote a couple of months ago.
The history on this piece is thus: In my zoobie days (BYU 94-98) I took a class about health education and substance abuse. During that class I had an idea for a campaign against smoking... actually a couple of ideas... but this is one of them. It wasn't until 2 months ago when I actually took the time to put it to paper (computer). Hope it is useful for someone somewhere, even if it is just to generate more publicity for not smoking.

I have entitled it "Addiction", but I am open for suggestions on a better name for it. here it is...

Ad Diction

Will you choose a companion who constantly smells bad, daily bugs you for your money, for your attention, for your companionship every minute of every day for the rest of your life? A companion who stains your teeth, destroys your lungs, steals your health and even years of your life? Every night, every meal, every event, every flight, everywhere, every day, this companion will be with you. And getting rid of him may be the most difficult thing you do in your life. And you still may not be freed from him. He may cost you your life, he may cost you one of your children. He may cost you thousands, even hundreds of thousands in merchandise costs and health-care costs. And you will never have to have him for even one minute if you choose never to smoke.

And what age could you choose this life-long companion? Some at age 8, most in their teenage years, but others in their 20s, and occasionally later. Most people regret the decision to commit to this partner, spend hundreds or thousands trying to get rid of him, and generally end up giving in and accepting his ignominious companionship.
What a huge commitment for a mere 12 year old to make… deciding to have this companion for the rest of their mortal life.

This companion will be on every date with you, reminding you that he is there, with his stench and his frequent breaks from anything or anyone that your attention would rather have. His greasy, dirty odor that is not only killing you, but anyone who you are with. You may become accustomed to his smell, but others can always smell his horrendous odor, even from a couple of cars away at a stop light. People will look at him and think, what a horrible smelling creature. How do you let him in your life, let alone your car? But he will be yours, for life. You will drop his defecation out the window of your car, collect it in glass containers around your house, and your breath, clothes, hair, and everything around you will smell of his fetid excrement.

He will require that you pay him every single day, and he gets more expensive every year. He will require your payment whether you have money or not. You may go to pay for your child’s medication and realize you already paid your companion and have nothing left for your child. When you want to be intimate with your spouse, he will be there, reminding you that he is waiting for you... he is next. When you are enjoying a movie, he will be there, urging you to leave and be with him only.
The first person you see in the morning will be this unkept companion shackled to your mind and body, in the bathroom, in the bedroom, in the kitchen, everywhere. You will not be able to escape his presence.

More and more public places are not allowing you to bring him in, so you must make him disappear, but he will still be with you. You will need to continually hush his constant nagging in places he is not allowed. But his voice becomes louder as time passes, and only you can hear, can feel, the pressure of his prod. You know if you try and ignore him, you will feel uneasy, lose concentration, be irritable and shaky. Only his deadly presence can help you feel relief from these intense feelings of discomfort.

If you get sick, he will make you sicker, for longer. At times, he will be the cause of your illness. If he is not already illness enough, he may make you cough incessantly, destroying your capacity to breath, possibly until you die. He may even make you carry his friend, oxygen tank, everywhere you go, for the rest of your life. He is even a more expensive escort. You will sleep with both of them, eat with both of them, attend every event with both of them: two burdens, much larger than yourself, always. Or even worse, the first may take your lungs out of your chest one night and never give them back.

He will make your heart have to work harder. He will fill your body with toxins that can cause cancer and kill you.

And if you try to get rid of him, he may leave for a time, but he will visit you often. You will need to firmly dismiss him, but it may be the most difficult thing you will ever do. And you will always live with the need to have this obnoxious, smelly, killer that we call smoking with you, like it or not.

Don’t start.