Last summer, while sitting in Relief Society in my mom's ward, I was especially struck by the lesson given on creating a family motto. Not every lesson hits me hard, but as I sat there listening to the teacher, I had a profound and urgent feeling that our family NEEDED a family motto and we needed one now.
Mike and I talked over what we wanted our motto to be and decided it needed to say who we wanted to be as individuals and as a family. It needed to address the aspects we believed were most important to us and it needed to be written succinctly, clearly and be short enough and catchy enough that it would be something our kids would never forget. I also knew I wanted to display it prominently in our home. I wanted it to direct our life, form our traditions and help set our priorities.
We prayed for inspiration as we pondered what our family motto should be. We went through draft after draft before coming up with something we loved. To break it down, it says:
THE ROMNEYS: We felt it was important to have our name on our motto because it unites us as a family and shows that we believe in who we are as individuals and as a group of people who love and support each other. We are proud of our name, our relationships and our heritage.
DO HARD THINGS: We hope each of our children is unafraid to tackle difficult situations and push themselves to be the best person they can be. We understand this is not an easy task. As our kids started getting older, we would hear them whine, "It's too hard." During this time, Mike attended a conference for Young Men's leaders in AZ where the General Young Men's President introduced them to the book, You Can Do Hard Things. We both felt it was counsel our boys needed to hear, practice and make a part of their daily lives, especially in a era of underachievement. Not only that, but Mike and I needed to be examples of people who are unafraid to "do hard things." It might be being the only Mormon in a group, standing up for someone who is being picked on, walking away from inappropriate things, studying hard for something that doesn't come easily, telling the truth, holding your tongue, trying unfamiliar food, introducing yourself to a new friend, having patience, physically pushing your body, or breaking a bad habit. We want them to remember that when the little voice inside says, "You can't," that their family is cheering, "The Romneys Do Hard Things."
PUT OTHERS FIRST: Mike and I both believe that life is better when you put others needs and even wants above your own. We want to raise a family that looks outside themselves and sees what needs to be done in their family, school, church, community and world. When you are putting others first you are cleaning up your own mess, you are sharing your things with your brothers, you are playing fairly with friends, you are being respectful of teachers, you are showing up to events others have planned, you are fulfilling your church calling with a smile, you are attending your brothers' games and cheering them on, you are donating your time and money to worthy causes, you are giving to the person who has less, you are aware of the world around you, you understand other cultures and respect the way others choose to live, you are looking for opportunities to serve. We hope that anytime one of us feels like, "It needs to be about me" or "How come I...." or "It's not fair" that we will remember, "The Romneys Put Others First."
LIVE WITH GRATITUDE: We know that a grateful home is a happy home. We are infinitely blessed, regardless of our immediate situations and we always want our children to recognize how beautiful their life truly is. When you live with gratitude you recognize all you have and pay no attention to what you do not have. You live a life of optimism and happiness. Living with gratitude means being thankful to your family, the kids for all the parents sacrifice and do for them and the parents for the kids and their good deeds. It means as husband and wife we are constantly saying "thanks" and verbally expressing our love to each other. It means being grateful for your siblings and noticing the good. It means sending thank you notes for gifts and fun events. It means genuinely expressing appreciation for kindness and help and accepting it graciously. It means quick emails or phone calls expressing love, and kind words to the coach after every game and practice. It means reverence for those serving our country and respect for church leaders. It means treating our bodies right because we're grateful for all they allow us to do. First and foremost it means expressing our gratitude to God for an incredible life and world and recognizing how blessed we are to live in a free country, to have the gospel, to have a loving family, to have healthy bodies, to be able to go to school. It means being aware of what others are lacking and understanding the bountiful blessings we enjoy. We hope that when we are faced with others who seem to have so much more or when we are wishing for things we don't have or are feeling entitiled, we will remember that "The Romneys Live With Gratitude."
AND FOLLOW JESUS CHIRST: For us, every other line leads to this. We want to be disciples of Jesus Chirst. We want to live as He lived and do as He did. We want our home to be a place where people are making choices that make our Father in Heaven happy. We want to be His hands and His voice. We want others to feel of His love in their lives because of the way we are living ours. If we follow Jesus Christ we sincerely pray; we have faith in His plan; we read from His words; we follow His prophets; we serve His children: we keep His standards: we spread His gospel: and we support His church. If we are following Jesus Christ, the other 3 things just automatically happen. This is not an easy task for any of us and something that must be in the forefront of our mind daily if we are to succeed at it. We hope that when our kids are faced with difficult choices, uncomfortable situations or temptations, they hear in their mind the refrain, "The Romneys Follow Jesus Christ."
I am so grateful for the inspiration we had in creating this and I cannot wait to display it in our home. I sent my words to Heather, from Simply Fresh Designs, along with a drawing of what I was hoping it would look like and she created this print for me for $20 (on my blog it's a little fuzzy because I had to compress the photo, it's actually really crisp and perfect). She was amazing, fast and patient and I'd highly recommend her! I love it!
I'm having it printed on a 18x56 canvas and stretched so it can hang prominently in our home. I can't wait! I'll post pictures when it's hung.
