Birthdays, ballots, and boosters!

October is the best month. For many reasons. It means the heat of summer comes to an end, and the brisk fall air returns. The possibility of rain increases! The holiday season begins. And I get to celebrate my birthday!

This year, that celebration went on for about a week. It began on Oct. 14th, when as one of my presents, I asked any of my kids who wanted to, to attend the temple with me. Shulamith and Eli agreed; Amanda agreed too, but her little Jane was still recovering from being sick, so Amanda decided not to leave her. The three of us participated in proxy sealings at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, followed by dinner at Red Robin. It was delightful, start to finish. I love being in the temple with my kids.

My actual birthday is on the 20th, so that day, Shulamith and Amanda and I went for lunch at Raising Cane's. Our plan was to celebrate with the whole family the upcoming Sunday evening, so I thought that was plenty, but Amanda insisted that I could not be alone on the evening of my actual birthday, so she and Eli and I, along with their little Jane, went to Olive Garden. Super fun!

Finally, Sunday the 23rd, we hoped to have everyone together for dinner at Texas Roadhouse, but Shulamith's son Theodore was still recovering from his recent tonsillectomy and feeling not so great, so Matt stayed home with him. Isaiah and Seth were with us, so I had four of my five kids, and it was awesome. They gave me a gift card to Journey's, so I could order some Dr. Martin's! Exactly what I wanted (Thanks, Shulamith!).

I am no longer the only October birthday in our extended family. Two days ago, Eli and Amanda's little girl, Jane Eliza, celebrated her 1st birthday in amazing style! Amanda decorated the club house on our property to reflect their "One-derful" baby girl and to celebrate big time how one year ago, they welcomed Jane into their family. The first year of a child's life brings so much joy and so many challenges, all at the same time. Amanda wrote on the invitation to Jane's party that part of the celebration was because "Mommy and Daddy survived." Yes, yes they did. They survived chronic sleep deprivation, early issues with jaundice and breastfeeding (which Amanda navigated like a boss), and even Jane's first ever illness, which came just prior to my birthday (see above). But no, they did not simply survive. Eli and Amanda are crushing this parenting gig. They have raised a healthy, happy, hilarious, opinionated, and enormously well-loved one-year-old human!

In addition to two birthdays, October also brings the final stretch into midterm elections. I know I say this every time, but this is an important one, my friends, particularly for those who live here in Utah. This time, there is an actual chance, a fair shot even, to replace one of our current U.S. Senators, who literally stood on the senate floor and claimed that the solution to global climate change can be found in "churches, wedding chapels, and maternity wards....because the real solution to climate change is babies!" Don't believe me? Here it is! Now I'm not a huge fan of Evan McMullin; he's far too conservative for me. But folks, come on! We have a chance to finally escape ridiculously stupid rhetoric like what you see above. Please vote for Evan!

Finally, for me, October brings my annual flu vaccine, and this year, my Bivalent COVID booster. This one targets Omicron sub-variants, AND the original COVID-19 strain, in a single shot. Run, don't walk, to get yours. 

Today, we party hard for Halloween 2022, with parades, pizza dinner, trick-or-treating, and way too much candy. 

Tomorrow, let the Thanksgiving/Christmas season begin!

Fabulous Freedom Friday!

I am in so many ways a duplicate copy of my grandma. No, I don't look anything like her, but we share other more important qualities. She loved her "down time." She loved to lounge in her bed until late in the morning, sip her coffee, eat her slightly burned toast, and study her Christian Science weekly scripture lesson. If you sub Diet Coke for the coffee, and "Come Follow Me" for the Christian Science lesson, the two of us might as well be twins! She didn't always have the luxury of lounging. For nearly a decade in the 1940s, she was a single mom and worked full time in an envelope factory in order to care for herself and my mom. But in 1953, she married the love of her life, and from that point on, she lounged pretty much every morning.

I think of her often, especially on those mornings that I don't have to set an alarm, when I can wake up on my own terms, sneak downstairs to grab an ice cold Diet Coke, burn some toast, then return to my bed and dive right into the "Come Follow Me" lesson for the week. Yesterday was such a day, a Fabulous Freedom Friday, I like to call them. This semester, Friday is my only day that is fully free. The other six days all include places I need to go, classes I need to teach, meetings I need to attend, stuff I need to do. I keep my Fridays free, and they are sacred. 

Yesterday I awoke around 8:10 and lounged in my bed for 20 minutes, dreaming of the day ahead in which my calendar was entirely blank. Lots of people thrive on being as busy as is humanly possible. I am not one of those people. Like Grandma, I love my down time. At 8:30 I met Shulamith for our first walk of the day; we did three miles, so around 6,000 steps. Then I returned home and worked on this week's "Come Follow Me" lesson, the last one from Isaiah. Everyone in my family is a bit weary of listening to me talk about the Old Testament. But really. How can I not? Especially when we're reading Isaiah! This week he teaches so brilliantly on two prominent elements of our faith: the Law of the Fast and the Temple Garment. We don't get to have a Gospel Doctrine class tomorrow, but trust me, you want to read these chapters, at least 58-61.

Mid-morning, Shulamith and I took her kids to visit the Witches at Gardner Village (an annual tradition), followed by yummy treats at Schmidt's Bakery. And we were still home by mid-afternoon, with plenty of time to continue my lounging activities. I graded a few papers, watched the most recent episode of The Patient, and emptied the 10 garbage cans throughout our house. That might not seem like a "loungy" thing to do, but for me, newly-emptied garbage cans are the happiest!

In the evening, Eli's one-year-old baby, Jane, came over to visit. Shulamith and I took her on a long walk, our last of the day; then Jane and I did some serious lounging all by ourselves as we sat on the floor, ate strawberries and Cheerios, and watched Cocomelon, which is hands down the stupidest show ever created, but it's Jane's favorite. She's one, so we'll let it slide.

And that ended my Fabulous Freedom Friday for this week, and I just wanted to share it with you. Thank you, Grandma, for teaching me that it's okay to lounge, that down time is a good thing and that self care is important.