Emily Romrell

Live The Vibrant Life

Rain

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Rain Dances

Estimated Reading Time 2 MinutesA million tiny blue droplets water the morning. A woman with brown hair and kind eyes looks up from the Times crossword puzzle she has finished.  She gazes out beyond the glow of her kitchen window. She has experienced a multitude of wet days just like today. Watching the water trickle down the window pane takes her mind back to a simpler time, and a younger version of herself. . . She is sixteen years old.  Frank Sinatra sings on Dad’s worn out record player.  The rain keeps time with the music. They are in his bookstore.  He peruses the rare books section while she does inventory. This is their Friday night ritual. Suddenly, a hand is on her shoulder.  She looks into her Father’s smiling eyes.  He takes her out to the middle of the store’s faded wood floor.  They dance.  He croons, “Don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky…Stormy Weather. Since my gal and I ain’t together…”  She laughs softly.  Everything is just as it should be; just the two of them suspended in that moment in time. No one can dance like Dad; not even Fred Astaire. Thunder takes the…

Seasons

Estimated Reading Time 1 MinutesTo everything there is a season, Someone wiser than I has said. Spring when you wake in the morning, Winter when you go to bed. I’ve seen babies with December eyes, When surroundings frost too soon, Yet others though their hair is gray, Have stopped the clock at noon. The changing times are constant, The paradox alludes, Whether inward soul knows Spring or Fall, Is really up to you. Still after Spring has sprung, And Autumn falls away, There’s a longing to go back again, To relive long lost days. While looking back is very fine, It simply shows where we’ve been. There is joy in the here and now, New memories about to begin. The trick is to live in the moment, Drink in the present scene. Don’t worry about what’s ahead or behind, But enjoy what this season brings.

When I Opened My Mouth to Sing

Estimated Reading Time 1 MinutesThe light was bright and the room was quiet. Hundreds of faces, some familiar and some not, were turned towards a small girl who stood on a stage. She wore a blue dress, simple and elegant, and her caramel hair was smooth and straight down to her shoulders. She was not beautiful, but her face was kind and laughter was in her eyes. In the back of the stage someone started to play the piano. The melody was simple, but it became sweeter at the sound of the girl’s voice as she suddenly started to sing. She sang a high note here and a low note there. She sang of Winter turned into Spring, and of the love a child can bring. She sang a song of hope and a song of sadness. She sang about courage and showing gladness. And as she sang suddenly I stood. I felt her song was my own. When I opened my mouth to sing I found my voice, though not as accomplished, could accompany hers without shame. She smiled at me and we sang together in harmony. Then others were standing around me and joining the chorus. Not a…

Thankful for Temples

Estimated Reading Time 2 MinutesDear Readers, Today I have been meditating a lot about temple work and what it really means in my life. My family and I watched a great LDS movie called, “Mormon Temple: Mountain of the Lord.” (Click the link to watch it yourself).  It is a great movie, and it shows the sacrifices that the early members of the church made to make the blessings of the temple available to each of us. I was able to go through the temple myself almost 3 years ago in November of 2010. It was a very special day. I have grown up in the church, and I always knew I would go to the temple. But when I finally went for myself it was a life changing experience. I don’t know exactly what I expected it to be like. I have struggled with different things in my life, and I guess that I thought if I made it to the temple that somehow those problems would fade away. I’ll tell you right now, that didn’t happen. I left the temple that day with all of the same struggles that I had before going inside. However, I was able to make covenants…

Making a Difference One Person at a Time

Estimated Reading Time 1 MinutesI woke up late this morning, rushed to get ready, and jumped in my car without waiting for the heater to banish the morning chill. As I waited at a stoplight, I could see my breath in the air and I was very grateful for the warm air beginning to come through my car’s heating vents. I casually looked out my window and saw a homeless man sitting on a bench. He had a small cart of belongings beside him, and he was much colder than I was. He was very striking with a long grey beard and a crinkled face. As I was watching him, a thirty something year old man hopped out of a car beside him. He walked up to the homeless man with a smile, shook his hand, and gave him a hot meal from a fast food place. The gratitude shining in the old man’s face is something that I won’t easily forget. The young man drove away feeling happy at the chance he had to help another human being. He’ll never know about the difference he made in the life of someone he didn’t even know was watching. I wanted…

Somebody's Mother by Mary Dow Brine

Estimated Reading Time 2 MinutesSomebody’s Mother – Mary Dow Brine (1816-1913)     The woman was old and ragged and gray And bent with the chill of the Winter’s day.     The street was wet with a recent snow And the woman’s feet were aged and slow.     She stood at the crossing and waited long, Alone, uncared for, amid the throng     Of human beings who passed her by Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eyes.     Down the street, with laughter and shout, Glad in the freedom of “school let out,”     Came the boys like a flock of sheep, Hailing the snow piled white and deep.     Past the woman so old and gray Hastened the children on their way.     Nor offered a helping hand to her – So meek, so timid, afraid to stir     Lest the carriage wheels or the horses’ feet Should crowd her down in the slippery street.     At last came one of the merry troop, The gayest laddie of all the group;     He paused beside her and whispered low, “I’ll help you cross, if you wish to go.”…