"Goody goody"

Daisy:  My sister, Rose, and I have had a uniquely powerful dad.

Rose:  He was not typical.  He was sometimes found playing his banjo while driving an antique car on the wrong side of the road.  A vacation with him often involved serious mishaps that I learned to call "adventures."  But he loved his family.  He came up with a fun way to make children happy,  called "The Goody Bag."

Daisy: The "Goody Bag" was a bag that he filled with little toys, at least most of the objects could be defined as such.  I don't really remember any new toys they mostly seems like used toys that he found ...who knows where.

Rose:  They were like Happy Meal toys, and some looked like new and were really cool. Some were dirty and broken. The Goody Bag was a mix of everything. A kid would close their eyes, stick their hand into the Goody Bag, and pull out a treasure. The rule was that no matter what you got, you had to say, "goody goody!" Kids were always excited at the sight of the Goody Bag, but after receiving their toy, emotions were mixed. Some kids skipped away, happily playing with their fun, new toy.  Others burst into disappointed tears because their prize did not live up to expectations. Older kids were able to see the humor in the disappointing toys.

Daisy:  Our Dad was a talented teacher and the goody bag taught us that we aren't going to be happy about everything that happens to us in our life but sometimes we just need to say "goody goody" anyways. There can be found benefit in even ugly hard times.

Rose:  One of my favorite talks is by Joseph B Wirthlin, Come What May and Love It.  He says, "How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t [suggest] that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t [suggest] that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life. If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness." 

Daisy: Our Dad was a great example of this. He suffered from depression most of his life but he didn't whine about it or lay on the couch all day. He had the "goody goody" attitude.--- He was a successful dad and a successful businessman. He didn't use his challenge as an excuse. He had lots of unique hobbies, served well in his callings and made gifts for the neighbor children. He died suddenly about 11 years ago but he left a great legacy.

Rose: I try to learn from my dad and the goody bag.  I try to see disappointments as the opportunities they truly are.  That helps me to smile, sometimes through my tears, and say, "goody goody."