Portraits of Mormon Women: Pauline

I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine through some photos that capture a little about her.

Where to begin?

First I could tell you that she’s a wife of a scientist, a mother of two girls, a college graduate (statistics was her field — yes, they are smart ones in their house). She serves as the secretary of the Relief Society in her ward congregation. But I don’t have photos for all of that. So I’ll tell you that…

…She’s a whiz in the kitchen. I’m the lucky taste tester for many of her creations. Here, she is making freezer jam. YUM.

Oh, I almost forgot. When I took these jam-making pictures, she sent me this disclaimer to include:

I do not make jam because it is on the “Righteous Mommy Checklist.” I make it because store-bought jams taste “burnt.” Freezer jam to me is fresh strawberries in late January. When Michelle posts my pictures also take note of the REALITY in the background – there is a mess at my house.  I was making jam – not being June Cleaver – there were no pumps or pearls!

(I guess I don’t need to say that she has a sense of humor — and is not afraid to be human! Nor does she do things for pretense. She does things that for her make sense.)

…She’s smart (ah, yes, I already said that), organized, and resourceful. She not only has a great food storage (the story of how she got going on food storage will have to wait for another day, but it’s a faith-promoting one), but…

…She also uses it. (Again, she will often use it to bless others, like me. Here is the bread she made for us a while back for General Conference weekend, sharing their family tradition of “General Conference Bread” with us. (Her hummus is also to die for. And I’ll need to ask her if I can share her granola recipe. More YUM.)

I love how she has a vision for things and makes things happen. I wish I had a photo of her with her tool belt on…she’s very handy and can fix anything. She frequents hardware stores and other places where she can get different materials to improve her home, whether that means adding light to a room or sawing wood to create storage shelves or taking metal strips and hooks and turning them into a wall decoration.

…She paints. Also tucked away for another day are photos of more of her paintings. She likes watercolor in particular.

She quilts. She pieced this together from a pattern in her head.

This next painting represents something else she is working on right now — her family history. This painting is from a photo of her grandfather on his farm. She’s working on a book that includes information, photos, and patriarchal blessings of her ancestors. She’s doing this as a gift to her children and her extended family. I’ve really enjoyed hearing about the progress that she is making on this project.

…And she serves others. I’ve been the recipient of her kindness more times than I can count. (But I don’t have to, because she doesn’t keep score. Yet another reason I appreciate her.)

Not too long ago, while a friend of ours was dying of cancer, she helped put together a quilt, and — again creating something with mostly just a pattern in her head — made this awesome card holder so our friend could read notes from people who cared about her.

(This is Pauline with our friend who recently passed away.)

Pauline is the kind of person who does things quietly, not wanting praise or pats on the back. So I know this post is going to make her squirm a little. She only let me take these photos and post them here because she knows how important sharing about the lives of Mormon women is to me.

I hope she also knows how important she is to me. Thanks, friend, for what you do and are.

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In the comments, tell us about a friend who has made a difference in your life.

And, if you know a Mormon woman you’d like to let us get to know, please let us know! We’re at gmail, username ‘mormonwoman’