A Good Day to Be A Historian

A few weeks ago I got invited to attended a luncheon with Pulitzer Prize winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.  I assumed a bunch of graduate students were invited, and I accepted the invitation with only the passing though of  "She's actually kind of famous, for a historian, that would be fun."  In the back of my mind I knew it was connected to a conference they are having tomorrow on Women in the LDS Church, but I didn't really think about it.

So I show up today to discover that am I one of only a fairly small number of students that got invited, and in addition beyond this amazing historian (who I was impressed with, she managed to be gracious even when skewering people) this small group also included Church Historian Elder Steven E. Snow.  Elder Snow handled a difficult question with such humility and tact, while still being absolutely true to the gospel, that it made me delighted to be a member of the Church.  I was a little star struck and am still not entirely sure why I was lucky enough to be invited.   I even got to ask a question!

I also got to reconnect with one of my grad school buddies whom I look up to and who has meant a lot to me over the years. 

Beyond the sheer amazement I had at being in a room with those people, the discussion was extremely interesting and relevant to a number of things I care about, both as a historian, an archivist and as a Mormon woman.  It was one of those days that reminded me why I went into history in the first place. 

High Speed Warp and Awesome People

Yeah, that title is redundant, but it's an accurate reflection of the last two weeks.  I've been finishing a dissertation chapter, prepping to teach a class of 165 students, getting used to a radically different and time-intensive church calling and trying to remind myself to breath.

Thanks to several of these things (which are all blessings by the way) and a few extra not-so-fun things I woke up really out of sorts today and a bit taken aback that I would need to face 165 undergrads who didn't really want to be in my class and somehow make history interesting for them (while simultaneously scaring off the perma-slackers) -  honestly I wasn't sure I could do it.

Just as I was starting to freak out a little I got a short but sweet text from my Mom, who is being particularly heroic herself these days, and I remembered some supportive things my Grandma said to me last night on the phone.  They made me think, "Yeah, I can do this."

Then for the last hour I've been fielding finicky start-of-the-semester e-mails and was once again overwhelmed.  Hoping for a virtual breath of fresh air, I got on a friend's blog only to discover that she said some really nice things about me. 

Plus I had super-positive texts from Tracy and another friend which kept the day going as well. 

They always say Heavenly Father doesn't give you more than you can handle, and that's true, but only because I think He also gives you people to help you handle it.