“1. Be Nice to Dan”

One New Year’s day I was sitting in the kitchen, thinking about all of the areas in my life in which I wanted to improve: family history research, regular exercise, time with my children, home organization—the list was long. As I thought, I felt rather gloomy. Where should I start? I wondered.

I decided to group the list into categories: (1) prayer, scripture study, and journal-keeping; (2) homemaking, laundry, and meal-planning; (3) exercise, diet, and grooming; (4) family activities and time with my children; and (5) books of remembrance, personal histories, and family history research.

Feeling overwhelmed, I asked my husband, Dan, who was standing at the sink, which category he thought was the most important. I then handed the list to him and asked if he would number them in order, starting with the most important.

He didn’t have to look at the list for long before he handed it back, with an impish grin on his face. He had numbered the categories, but he had started with number two. At the bottom of the page he had written, “1. Be nice to Dan.”

We laughed and hugged, and the sun broke out. That number one I could do! I was no longer worried about accomplishing so many things at once. That list became a lifelong reminder, tucked into my book of remembrance, to help me remember his premium priority in my life.—Barbara Workman, Centerville, Utah