A rough few days for sure, but "Halfway" lifted spirits!

It's been a rough few days. There's no way around the fact that the recent SCOTUS decision rocked my world. I've wavered, minute by minute, between anger and disbelief. How could this happen in 2022? How could this court take such a giant step backward and dishonor and disrespect women so blatantly? What does this mean for the women and girls in my family and in my circle of friends? All the feelings.

Still, we tried not to let it ruin Halfway Christmas on Sunday, and though the topic definitely came up, we had a nice celebration. As always, I set up my little Charlie Brown tree and played my favorite Christmas music in the background. We each opened one small gift from whomever drew our name. Jane got a pizza toy to chew on; teething is not for wimps. Theodore got a silver Lamborghini, and Swen got a bright red one. Kennedy got a LOL Mystery Doll, and Seth got a Steam gift card. Amanda got Pop Tarts and a 3-wick candle from Bath & Body Works. Eli got Mtn Dew socks and some actual Mtn Dew to drink. Shulamith got a plant, and Gerald got a Little Caesar's gift card. Mathew and Isaiah don't participate in Halfway Christmas (What is their deal, anyway?), so they got nothing.  :-(

And then there's my gift, carefully wrapped in bath tissue. Hooray! Gerald drew my name, so everyone assumed he'd ask Shulamith what to get me, and all would be well. And as the story goes, he did. But then he didn't wait for her answer. Instead, he ordered me this little mini vacuum designed to vacuum up crumbs on my desk. "She hates crumbs!" he explained to Shulamith. Well, yes, I do hate crumbs, but I also don't really produce any when I eat. What I hate is sweeping up other people's crumbs! So my hope is that Gerald will use my gift to clean up his own crumbs, and if he does that, mine will be the absolute best gift of all. I'll keep you posted.

Because we didn't get to celebrate Seth's birthday last week, we extended Halfway Christmas to include it. I cherish my kids' birthdays because they remind me of how much I love being a mother; celebrating with them makes my heart happy. I'm so grateful Seth was born and that Heavenly Father sent him straight to me!

Look at my baby. already 22! I can't figure out how that's even possible, but alas....

It was a rough few days, but "Halfway" lifted spirits.

I ordered four days of rain; the gods obeyed!

Anyone who knows me knows I love rain. I even wrote about it once here. And here. And here. I really think it could rain every single day and I'd never tire of it. So every time I go to Oregon, I order rain. I usually get it, at least one of my days there, but this time, I was careful to be specific about my request. 

I ordered four days of rain; the gods obeyed!

I arrived at the rainy Portland Airport Friday afternoon. I got to walk in the rain to the light rail station and then again when I transferred to a different train and again when I arrived at Clackamas Town Center. People think it's embarrassing when I dance in the rain and twirl around with my arms extended, so I tried not to do that too much, but ooooh, I felt so happy.

It was my first time back in my hometown of Portland since before COVID. And it was raining!! I chose last weekend, specifically so I could attend a reunion of my former Rainbow assembly, Kellogg #92. Rainbow Girls is a bit hard to explain to those who aren't familiar with it, but here's a post from our 2016 reunion where I make a stab at it. While super fun, neither of our former reunions in 2016 and 2018 compared to the one Nancy Rae planned for this past weekend. Wow! First, she decorated a table with the colors of the rainbow, on which she laid out all sorts of rainbow memorabilia, including Rainbow Bibles, Worthy Advisor gavels, scrapbooks filled with pictures, and even the actual minutes from our meetings way back when. Then she hung up pictures of all the Worthy Advisors in order from the very beginning of Kellogg #92. Can you find me???

It was a delightful afternoon filled with rain, and also so much laughter and so many memories. From Mrs. Frack serving us dessert in cat food cans to the Order of the Pillows at Grand Assembly, we reminisced of a simpler time, the story of our adolescence, the foundation of lifelong friendship. Eli texted me at one point while I was there: "Do you even remember these people?" Oh yes, Eli. I do, indeed. We grew up together. We spent parts of every single week throughout our teen years doing stuff for Rainbow. The connection is hard to explain, but we are sisters in every way except blood. Any one of those girls would be there for me if I needed her. 

A highlight for all of us was the chance to visit with our first Mother Advisor and her husband, MaryAnn and Ken Frack. I hadn't seen them in over three decades, and the full warmth and nostalgia and love of all 30 of those years were wrapped up tight in two, very long hugs. I will always love you, MaryAnn and Ken.

But Nancy Rae wasn't finished with just that one afternoon. The following morning she planned a non-kidnap breakfast at Elmer's Pancake House. Backstory: each year Mrs. Frack would kidnap us early in the morning and take us to Elmer's for breakfast. She'd come right into our bedrooms, wake us up, and whisk us away; we weren't allowed to fix our hair, apply makeup, or even change our clothes. This tradition became a favorite among us, so several us us showed up at Elmer's Sunday morning dressed in PJs. We stayed four hours! At one point, an employee politely asked us to please move out of the earshot of other nearby tables. Haha, what can I say? The Rainbow bond is forever.

Along with Rainbow activities, I also got to visit my family, which included dinner at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen. My brother's oldest daughter, Leslie, loves this place as much as I do, so every time I get to Portland, the two of us plan a dinner there. Here's a post from when we were there in 2018. This past weekend we were accompanied by Leslie's husband, Silas; her mom, Jacqueline with her husband Mike; and my mom. Such good food and even better company. Thanks, Leslie!

Another trip to Oregon for in the books (in the blog?). I ordered four days of rain; the gods obeyed!

My mom came to visit...

 ...and here are some pics: