flynnfamilystorytellers

  My First Job Carrie Keiser My first job was cleaning the answering service building where mom worked nights.  It wasn’t a very big place.  My duties included cleaning and mopping the bathroom, the break-room/kitchen area, vacuuming and dusting the entry and vacuuming and dusting the downstairs area. I would do this job once a week while mom was working which meant that I had to spend the night and get ready for school the next morning there at the answering service.  We set up an area for me to sleep under a counter.  We hung a blanket up to block the light somewhat and then I settled down and slept while mom worked through the night. It was a pretty easy job and I even made a few dollars!  I was kinda fun to see the old phones and switchboards in the entry area.  I might have tried them out a few times, pretending I was an old school phone operator. It was a fun first job. I used a lot of my earnings at the comic book store. By: Ryanne Leavitt Reach...

  By: Carrie Keiser Dear Carrie,  I’m writing to you from the the future, I hope that I’ve successfully sent this back in time to you.  I want you to know that the hard times will make you better. That you will have happiness, in spite of your shortcomings you will have some great kids and adorable grandkids. There will be days that you want to run away.  Stay strong, reach down deep and stand on your feet.  You won’t always know the answers and that’s OK.  Never loose faith, always pray. Do not be afraid to try new things.  You are stronger and braver than you believe.  Stay close to your sisters they will be your strength and your sounding board. Be patient with yourself and others. By: Colleen Holmquist So, you thought you would be a meteorologist or an elementary teacher. You said you would learn German and go on a mission. You also said you would get married in the temple and have a whole bunch of kids did you? And you would name two of your ...

Something I’m Thankful For Nov. 6, 2022 Carrie Keiser I’m thankful for the family I grew up in.  We have a little different dynamics than your average 3.13 family size (who ever heard of a .13 kid anyway?). With 8 children spreading over 22 years, we have never all lived in the same house at the same time. Such an age span has also created an interesting circumstance, giving us the unique opportunity to get to know siblings either older or younger in a different light than those who grew up in the same home for years.  In some ways I think think this is very cool and in other ways quite the challenge. For some there has been a bit of hero worship and wanting to do or be like an older sibling, fading to understanding or maybe confusion as to why they made certain choices. I’ve always said that I don’t really know this or that sibling because of them not having spent much time around me or me around them however you want to look at it. As I’ve grown, I’ve had the chance to b...

  Halloween Story By: Carrie Keiser The constant nightly scratching from under the bed had nearly driven her mad.  She had been hearing it for months and was very cautiously avoiding the floor near the edge of the bed in the darkness.  She had put up an elaborate set of strings to switch on and off the light, because the noises stop when the light is present. She tried to explain it to her parents but they just laughed it off telling her things that go bump in the night and monsters under the bed didn’t really exists. But they have never seen the claws slipping from under the bed and they won’t sit on the bed in the dark to hear the scratching, so she is left alone to deal with whatever resides under the bed. There is a little bit of curiosity nagging on her tempting her to lift the dust cover and peek under the bed to see what the whole the monster looks like.  All she’s seen are the long thick claws that have slipped out every once in a while when she isn’t qui...

Goldfish By:  Carrie Keiser I put the handful of goldfish crackers on the table and slowly placed one in my mouth. The first goldfish after a long time always brings me back to a tiny apartment in Phoenix, Arizona. Ah the days of the freshly married, broke and far from home trying to figure life out at 19! When you’re broke ya eat strange cheap things. We ate a lot of rice and tomato sauce, fresh bread that rose in the sun on the walk in front of our apartment door, and goldfish crackers.   Every time I take that first goldfish on my tongue, it’s like I’m transported for a few seconds back in time…. Sitting on the edge of our bed enjoying the air conditioning. Moving so far from home and learning to depend on the person you’ve chosen to spend the rest of your life will grow ya up (hopefully). We had many fun experiences living there, playing catch in that hot summering fall of 1993, a few ice hockey games, we attended and a NBA game Phoenix Suns versus Seattle Supersonics ...