Thankful......and Exhausted!

As I lie in bed at just 7:30 on this lovely Black Friday evening, I feel thankful. But so, so tired! It's fine. Shulamith assured me that it's fine; it's okay to be simultaneously thankful and exhausted after three full days of holiday celebrations. First.... the thankful!

I'm thankful that four of our five children live here in the Salt Lake Valley: Isaiah in Salt Lake City, Seth in Orem, Eli in Herriman, and Shulamith just around the corner. They were all here Wednesday afternoon and evening, as we celebrated "Fakesgiving" (aka Thanksgiving one day early) in order to accommodate their various schedules. And not only that; they all slept overnight here, so we had even more time together. 

I'm thankful for their friendship with each other. Four diverse personalities they are, but one unbreakable bond connects them. You can feel it when they're together, and it's my happiest of happy places.

I'm thankful for their friendship with me. I know that some children grow up, make their own lives, and see their parents only occasionally. These four are some of my closest friends, and I see them often. This is a gift I never take for granted.

I'm thankful for the two who married our children, Mathew (Shulamith) and Amanda (Eli). Matt brings his unique humor and love for all things awkward; life would not be the same without him. Amanda is the "girl" Shulamith and I always dreamed of and wished for. 

(Before much celebrating began, Amanda and I made a Diet Coke run. Shulamith had this great idea that if we each bought two, they would last the whole day. Brilliant!)

I'm thankful all these amazing people are sealed to us by covenant. My anxiety causes me to worry more than non-anxious moms, and I'm working on that, but I know they will be with me eternally. I recently had a sign made for our home, after studying/teaching the Book of Proverbs. It is Proverbs 31:21 and reads, "She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet." Indeed!

Next... the exhausted!

Wednesday was devoted to cooking, cleaning, and decorating. Shulamith's daughter, Kennedy, was here all day, and thank goodness she was because I couldn't have done it without her. She literally decorated our entire house by herself, including climbing a ladder to trim the very tall tree. Then she made stuffing and helped me prepare and baste the turkey hourly throughout the day. Dinner was good; everything turned out well. Afterwards, we played "The Game of Things," and  (wait for it.......), I actually won! I never, ever, win. Board games are just another of the hundreds of things I suck at, so this victory needs to be memorialized here in this blog.

Thursday (aka the real Thanksgiving), I got up and made breakfast for everyone, bacon and cinnamon streusel french toast. Then we headed out to see a movie: The Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and I'm pretty sure those were the only 120 minutes I sat down in the whole three days. Movie was good, not great, but good. Then back home to make soup from the turkey carcass. It was also good, not great, but good. In Isaiah's words, "Tastes just like everything else we ate growing up, bland!" Yep, cooking is on that list of hundreds of things I suck at. Later, though, Eli fried scones for everyone to eat while the bros played video games, and those were actually great! Thank you, Eli. 

By 10:30 last night, I was wiped. Isaiah and I were playing with Eli's one-year-old baby, Jane, but I had to take her back downstairs to her parents, so I could fall desperately into bed. Because the following day...today(!)...would be arguably the best day of the year: BLACK FRIDAY!! It's true. Shulamith and I look forward to this day with excitement and anticipation all year long, as we stash cash away in envelopes and dream of hot chocolate, Diet Coke, crowds, Christmas music, and an entire day of shopping! 

We set alarms for 7:00 a.m., dressed quickly, and I was at her house by 7:20. We hit Target, Costco, Fashion Place Mall, Ulta, and Deseret Book, with lunch at Cheesecake Factory in the middle, a seriously awesome and productive Black Friday!

And now I lie here in bed, thankful and exhausted, beyond ready for some "me" time, some down time, some time to read the second half of The Alice Network, which has taken a backseat recently to dumb essays that need grading. But not tonight. 

Finally, I am thankful for all of you my dear readers and friends, every one.

Happy Election Day!

At our house, election day is a holiday! This is especially true in presidential election years, but yes, we even gather to celebrate the midterms. This is mostly because both Gerald and Isaiah love politics, but the rest of us are definitely more engaged than most, as evidenced by the fact that Isaiah's boss was only vaguely aware an election even occurred Tuesday, and she had no idea what was on the ballot or even if this was a presidential year. Not kidding.

I was worried about how the night might go. There was far too realistic a chance that Republicans might win back the Senate. They didn't. I am so grateful! Based on current numbers, they will likely take the House, but assuming things shake out as expected, Dems will retain the Senate, and with VP Harris' vote, President Biden will still be able to accomplish good things, as he has thus far. He won't have an easy two years, but hope remains. He might turn out to be the best president of my lifetime, and that's saying a lot because I'm pretty fond of President Obama. 

These two were glued to the TV and to their laptops throughout the evening, as they always are on election night:

The rest of us were in and out, asking for updates and clarification. Isaiah, who (according to Seth), knows "everything about everything," told us about all the close races, the candidates, and the expected results. As numbers came in, we watched several key states closely--Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania--hoping for Democrat victories. 

I went to bed around 10:00 p.m. because I'm kind of a wimp like that; Gerald and Isaiah were up until the wee hours. I awoke to a text from Isaiah: "Dr. Oz has LOST." Go Pennsylvania! My friend who lives there said it was way too close, but still, I'll take the win. Glad to have a guy like John Fetterman in the Senate, especially considering the alternative.

As for Utah, we had a glimmer of hope that Evan McMullin might succeed in unseating Mike Lee, but that glimmer faded all too quickly as the numbers came in. I guess we didn't have enough babies (Lee's solution to global climate change). Regardless, Dems will likely retain the Senate majority, so I'm a happy girl.

Until next time....Happy Election Day!