Aging

 This week we talked about aging and the various events that occur in our lives during this process.

You are probably wondering why I have all of these pictures on my blog, well these are my cute grandparents. Papa Neto died in 2007 from stomach cancer and Mama Lota died in 2009 from a stroke. Lastly, we have my amazing Mami!

While in class someone made the comment about not allowing their in laws to move in with them when they got older. I was completely shocked when majority of the class agreed. I felt so sad because in my culture it such an honor and responsibility to take care of your family when they get older, there is no question about it that is an unwritten rule in the Latino culture.

Unfortunately, Mami and I couldn't have my grandparents move in with us when they were ill because they lived in Guatemala. But my Tia Carlota took care of both of them  until they passed away. She mentioned it was difficult but it was worth it because her relationship with then was strengthen. I saw the same thing happen when I went to Guatemala for a month to take care of them. I even had the blessing of teaching Papaneto the gospel and sharing my testimony with him.

I don't think I could ever allow my mother or any of my in-laws to be placed in a retirement home and not having their family when they needed them the most. I know that a family's system will change and that difficulties may arise. But I honestly believe that Heavenly Father allows us to grow and be charitable by serving the elderly.

I believe that it is a way to say thank you to my Mami for everything she did for me and for taking care of me when I was younger. Likewise, I believe that it is a way of saying thank you to Heavenly Father for giving me such a great mother and show him my appreciation for allowing me to be her daughter by taking care of her an an elderly.

Parenting

We learned a lot of great things this week regarding parenting. But the most important thing I learned was that we can receive personal revelation. Heavenly Father can really communicate with us through the Holy Ghost. While we were discussing about what discipline meant, it comes from the word disciple, I received an answer to my prayers. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the semester I have been afraid to become a mother. But during this class I received a clear answer from my father in heaven that it is time for Rob and I to have a baby. Yeah, I was freaking out, but I felt so much peace and love from Heavenly Father. I get to help my spirit brother or sister come to earth and obtain a body. I get to help him/her learn about Jesus Christ and teach him/her what they need to do in order to return back home to our loving Heavenly Father.

Finances

A few weeks ago we learned about the role finances plays in a marriage and in the whole family. It has been stated by many family therapists that finances is one of the main reasons why couples decide to divorce. You would think that couples would talk about how they are going to manage their finances prior to marriage but in reality the majority doesn’t. I think that one of the best things you can do before getting married is learning how your partner handles his/her money and have a serious conversation regarding the matter. This doesn’t mean that this will prevent all your troubles but at least you will solve some of them before marriage and it won’t create as much stress to the relationship.

Another thing that we talked about is teaching our children from a young age to be frugal and manage their money. My teacher mentioned that “when kids are frugal they allow mom and dad to be home more often.” I loved that! If parents are home more often they are able to provide to the emotional needs the children and be able to be there to teach them. Also children need to be involved in work in the home; they need that so it builds unity, confidence and so on. I realized that money isn’t everything. We can have enough if we are frugal and we teach our children to be frugal by doing so we can really create a great home and even save our marriage.