Suits, Rings, and Other Things: What "frenzy" really means!

In the VIPKID world, there's this thing call the "frenzy." On Sunday evenings at 10:00, Chinese parents are able to view each teacher's upcoming week, find open slots, and book their children's lesson times. So most Sundays, Shulamith texts me to remind me to check my VIPKID schedule and make sure my open slots are exactly the way I want them, prior to the "frenzy."

Only for me, it's not much of a frenzy. I do this job as a side gig, because it's fun and brings in a bit of spending cash. I don't open very many slots; I generally get 4-6 bookings in the frenzy and then maybe pick up a couple more through the week. That's all I want.

But let me tell you about a real frenzy, and it has nothing to do with teaching English to cute Chinese kids. A real frenzy exists when you try to help your senior through his final two weeks of high school, while beginning to prep that same senior for a foreign mission. I've never done this before; my other two missionaries were in college by the time they received their calls. And have I mentioned that they served in the states? Where they didn't need passports, visas, or a bunch of extra vaccines?

For some reason, I feel all this pressure to do everything immediately. He doesn't leave until August 28th, but I have a pressing desire to get all the shopping done. Maybe it's because shopping is such a great stress reducer for me, right up there with blogging and eating. On Wednesday we ordered his suit. When he tried it on, he said it made him "feel like an elder." Haha, to me he looks like a little kid dressing up like an elder. What do you think?

Gerald gave me $65 to use for mission stuff, so today I bought four white shirts, Seth's favorite brand/style from H&M. He already had one, so we now have five of the ten shirts required. When we ordered the suit, we also got a pair of Ecco brand shoes (every missionary's favorite) and a ratchet belt. I also ordered two pairs of golf pants and some waterproof boots from Backcountry, where Gerald's discount is saving us tons of money.

Yep, pretty sure this shopping is what's keeping me focused and distracting me from worrying about him catching some terrible disease or dying of starvation. It also helped that a father of a kid currently serving in the mission posted a bunch of pictures of a recent zone conference. All the missionaries looked super enthusiastic and happy and (most importantly) very non-dead.

So just as I thought my anxiety was easing a bit, Seth received a packet from the church, with information on visa applications and the FBI background check. Ahhhh!

But a few days ago, in the midst of this marvelous frenzy, Shulamith gave me a late Mother's Day present. I've always said that late gifts are the best surprises, and it's absolutely true. Just look at this beautiful ring! It's rose gold and has black lettering with the initials "L, S, I, E, S" for my five children. I can't even tell you how much I love it. You should probably see it in person, but for now, just look here:

Onward. We have senior awards night Thursday, Vocal Ensemble POPs concert Friday, graduation the following Tuesday, and seminary graduation the following Sunday. Frenzy, indeed!

In the meantime, Seth and I will continue trying to learn a little more Spanish each day.

And I'll continue to shop.