A Birthday

I'm realizing that I never did a final recap of my 40th birthday, what with everything else that has been going on.  But my dad loved birthdays so I'd like to think that he'd appreciate me jumping right back into the everyday and reflecting on what another year of life has brought me.   :)

(In honor of my 40 Before 40 list, the girls came up with this birthday cake for me.  In case you can't figure out what it is, its a 40 Before 40 list with "Great Mom" checked off.  😊)

In short, my birthday week was awesome!  My gift to myself of not making dinner any night that week will definitely become an annual tradition because I loved it so much.  Hahaha.  As for my actual birthday day, Scott took the day off of work to hang out with me (and Isaac) and then that evening, we were able to go out to dinner without any kids.  The next day -- which was conveniently a Saturday -- we had our family celebration with cake and presents.  The girls did an awesome job making my cake -- and following in my footsteps -- and I loved the theme they came up with!  I think Sophie is the one who came up with the concept, and Grace was the main baker/frosting maker, but I'm pretty sure all hands were on deck to knock it out of the park.  All in all, I wouldn't mind turning 40 EVERY year.  ;)

(The one picture I have of me from my actual birthday day.)

(Scott tried to help me out with finishing off my 40 Before 40 list, and the funniest gift of all was a Pull-Up so that I could check doing a pull-up off my list.  Hahaha.)

(A Haiku for day 2 of my birthday week from Grace:

Ur the greatest mom

You help us everyday

Ur the bomb dot com)

(My sister, Emily, knows I love personality stuff so she sent me this book!)

(And Scott's parents sent me this sweet "Love of Learning" figurine.)

The past few weeks in particular have made me acutely aware of what a precious gift this life is.  Specifically, though, I think the biggest life lesson I've (re)learned this year is that life can be hard but God is always good.  And even when it seems like we're not getting any of the answers we feel like we should be getting or we are angry with Him and think life is so unfair, He is with us still.  And with love and compassion and kindness, His bowels are ever filled with mercy towards us.  The Psalm of Nephi has been my mantra this year, and I want to close with the last two verses:

O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever.  I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh.  Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh.  Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness.  Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God.  Amen.       (2 Nephi 4:34-35)

In Memoriam: A Eulogy

My dad was born on 1 July 1953 in Elko, NV  to Alfred William Hansen and Dorsmae (Hinze) Hansen.  He was given the name Alfred Lee Hansen in honor of his father and grandfather who shared the Alfred moniker.  To distinguish from the other (already distinguished) Alfreds, he was quickly dubbed “Freddie” and the name stuck until adulthood when he started going by “Fred” instead.  (Although, most of his immediate family lovingly called him Freddie his entire life.)

His childhood and teen years were spent in Chowchilla, CA where he graduated from high school in 1971.  After leaving home to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, he took a 2 year hiatus from school to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Brazil Porto Alegre mission. 

Upon returning from his mission, he finished up his studies at BYU -- with a major in history and a minor in Spanish -- and then went on to study law at Tulane University in New Orleans with a wife and young baby in tow.  For the next two decades, Fred was proud to call New Orleans home as he practiced law and served in his Church and community -- and added six more children to the mix.

The last decade and a half of his life was spent in Fresno, CA, where he continued his lifelong efforts to help immigrants find their footing in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  

The Fred Hansen that many people saw was well-educated, highly intelligent, and professional.  But he was much more than just that. Those who knew him best know that he also had a fantastic sense of humor and loved a good joke (or prank, as the case may be).  One of his favorite movies to watch with his kids was “Dennis the Menace,” and whenever we got to the part where Mr. Wilson had chicklet teeth in his dentures, he would laugh so hard his face would turn red!  

Another example of his patented brand of humor would be the way he would occasionally draw pictures on our arms with a ball point pen while we were sleeping and then try to convince us when we woke up that aliens had done it.  More than anything, though, he got the biggest kick out of his children and whatever shenanigans we got into. I’m pretty sure that one of my dad’s favorite stories to tell was of the time when I was maybe 7 or 8 and used peanut butter to hang some of my drawings on the wall because I couldn’t find any tape.  

As my siblings and I have been exchanging stories and memories over the last week, the common thread in all of them was how proud he was of all of us, even when it wasn’t necessarily merited. THAT is unconditional love.

Some of our favorite memories we’ve revisited this week are: the way he always smelled like cloves thanks to the healthy stash he kept in his pocket so that he always had some on hand for chewing; and the way he would cleverly use manilla folders to wrap our text books in rather than some run-of-the-mill ordinary brown paper bag; how he ALWAYS had an assortment of rubber bands in his desk, should any emergency arise; and that he was the KING of vocabulary (some of my fondest memories as a child are of him quizzing me on the “Word Power” segment in the Reader’s Digest); and of course, there’s the fact that Squirt was his favorite drink and the hard-to-find Big Hunk was his favorite candy bar; and how can we forget about his epic Barnes & Noble trips, where he’d sit and read a whole book before it was time to go?;  and then, there’s the way he loved to honk and wave at every person we passed on the street as we drove to school, even -- or perhaps especially -- if we didn’t know them; and how endearing it was that he used what seemed like an entire roll of packing tape to wrap up each package he sent our way as adults and the hordes and hordes of candy he used in place of packing peanuts. Honestly, I could go on and on forever!  

In short, he was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life.  It seems almost impossible to represent him in full measure, but I hope I’ve given a good enough approximation here today.  While we are heartbroken that he has left us so soon, we take comfort in knowing that he is now free from the burdens of the physical and mental ailments that plagued him in his earthly life.  His spirit is at rest and the peace that brings is powerful. How good it is to know that families are forever. I’m positive that his reunion on the other side of the veil with his beloved mother was a joyous occasion.  And I’m grateful to know that instead of a forever good-bye, we can leave today with an “Until we meet again.”