A Message of Love . . .

Dear Sons of Mosiah,

Hmmm...what to talk about today? Well, a few things have been on my mind...
In my own personal thinking time, I sometimes have random realizations, and my mind has been drawn to one in particular, over and over again. I realized how ungrateful I was for a lot of things at home, and how much I took for granted. Now, I'm not saying I was a completely terrible, ungrateful person who was never thankful for anything! I was grateful for a lot of things, but some things I never even thought to be grateful for, and the things I was grateful for, I feel that I wasn't nearly grateful enough. Yeah...so here's me again applying MY PROBLEMS to YOUR LIVES, hoping that somehow, in some way, I can make some small difference in the world, and allow someone to learn from my mistakes. So here we go.
Let's talk loved ones (family, friends, you name it. People we love in some way or another). How often do we let our loved ones know tha we love them? Do we tell them? Do we show them? Depending on the person, I had different weaknesses in expressing my love and gratitude. I think I told my family I loved them, mostly when hanging up the phone, or leaving the house. I was more of a habit than anything probably. Don't get me wrong, here, I do mean it or I don't say it, but it was just so dry. "Yeah, talk to you later, love ya, bye!" Yeah...now, for some of people giving anything more than that is a little uncomfortable, so of course, we can show through actions. I challenge every one of you to just show up in the kitchen one of these days at your mom's house (if you live with your mom, it's even easier), and just clean the kitchen. As for your Dad...you could do the same thing. Usually that wasn't how I'd express my love to my Dad, but it might work for you. I don't know...I suppose to show my love for my Dad, I'd go have a burping contest with him or something. LOL. Nah, we'd just spend time or whatever. That works for both parents (but for most people I suggest the burping contest only with your Dad). Brothers and Sisters, same thing. Time is a valuable thing. Give some to your family.
Saying "I love you" to a significant other, is usually pretty easy for most of the population, I think. It's good. You should say it, however, I suggest showing it too. Figure out what that means, for each person. Some feel loved most when they are given a great deal of one on one time doing something fun, others feel loved most when they just get to sit down and have a good conversation with the one they love. Some feel most loved when their significant other does acts of service for them, like helping them out with the chores, or homework, or whatever. And of course, there are always hugs and kisses, and such, but I'm not going to get into that right now. You want to know my comments on that, talk to me when I get home...and if you know me well enough, you already know what I have to say about that. Or at least a good idea.
Friends. Saying, " I love you man!" works well for some of you, but not my cup of tea...er...apple cider. Just let your friends know how much you appreciate them. I'd do anything for my bros, and my sisters.
Anyway, I've got to go, but I'm sure I left out other loved ones. Go give your pets a good scratch! Let them know you care! And just appreciate everything you have. Love all of you! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Christopher Petersen