Summer highs and lows

I know I'm untypical, but summer is not my favorite. I find the sun to be highly overrated, and I'd prefer rain every single day. Feeling a bit meh this evening, I decided to acknowledge both the highs and lows of the summer of 2022. Just keepin' it real.

Highs

1. Frequent thunderstorms bringing lovely rain and the misty, gray skies I adore. And sometimes, I'm even free to enjoy this. Sometimes. Other times I'm stuck in a windowless classroom on the campus of UVU, helping students learn to write rhetorical analysis essays (but that would put this in the "lows" column, so let's focus on the times I'm not at school). Someone on our family group text will message everyone: "Rain!" If I'm not in class or asleep, I book it outside to feel the rain on my skin and to breathe in the cool, moist air.

2. A visit from one of my closest friends from Billings, Montana. Trudy was my walking partner the whole seven years we lived in Billings, and fortunately, she comes to Utah semi frequently to visit family. Last weekend, she and her husband were here for just 36 hours, but she still spent three of those hours with me Saturday morning, as we took a long and much overdue walk through the streets of Daybreak. Yes, we got lost. We always get lost. Keep in mind our walking trail in Billings was one, distinct path with no turns. We literally walked one direction for two miles and then turned around and walked the two miles home. No way to get lost. Daybreak, in contrast, has twists and turns, hills and valleys, little bridges, a big lake (pond?), and neither of us is familiar with any of it. But Trudy handled it like a boss, pulling up a map on her phone, leading us right back to our cars.

3. The opportunity to teach Gospel Doctrine to the coolest Sunday School class ever! I've taught adult Sunday School several times, but never in a year that we were reading the Old Testament. I'm seriously in love with the Old Testament. Like I'm actively looking for some way to get to the Holy Land and see these places in person. The stories, so rich in covenant language and messianic symbolism, are delighting my soul. The people in my class have brilliant insights and do a fabulous job applying the text to their own lives and to our common goals as followers of Christ. Thank you, Bluffdale 16th Ward Gospel Doctrine class!

4. The next four days! Yep, in the middle of the arduous summer session, I get a 4-day break. I never teach on Fridays, the temple is closed this Saturday for Utah's pretend holiday, Sunday is a Relief Society/Priesthood lesson (no Sunday School), and Monday is the day they actually observe the fake holiday, so schools are closed. Hallelujah! My plan? Thoroughly clean my super dirty house, make progress on my current Netflix binge, go see Where the Crawdads Sing, and read! Too many essays have cut my reading time way too short recently, and Imma kick ball-change that situation real soon.

Lows

1. Summer session. Is crazy exhausting. We condense a normal 16-week semester into just eight weeks, which means double the workload for students and double the time in class for both them and me. It's hard. What I get in return is all of May and half of June completely off, which makes it worth it but still not easy. As of this moment, there are two weeks left of class. I'm trying to remember the advice of Tony Horton, the P90X trainer on the videos I used once upon a time to work out in preparation for Shulamith's wedding: "Finish strong!" he would always say in the final 10 minutes, when I was dripping in sweat and about to die, kinda like how I feel right now.

Come to think of it, that's really the only summer "low." But it's a pretty low low. I'm tired of this schedule; I'm tired of essays; I'm tired of students who plagiarize (well, I only have one who did that, but he's causing me way too much angst and anger); and I'm really tired of my dirty, disorderly house.

That said, I get the next four days off to catch up, and then just two more weeks till done. Will I make it? 

What do you think?

Fourth, tonsils, and embracing change

Change. Have I mentioned I'm not a fan? I had a close friend when we lived in Washington who loved change. She embraced it with all her might. I remember once when we had a bishopric change, followed by what seemed like total reorganization of the ward, my friend's response was "Change is always good!" while my anxiety brain was busy imagining all the horrible "what ifs."

So you can pretty much guess my reaction when I received a call a couple months ago from the coordinator of my lovely Friday afternoon shift at the Jordan River Temple. "Hello my friend, I have to ask you a question, and I'm really hoping for a particular answer. Your address on file with the church says you live in Bluffdale. Is that right?"

"Yes!" I replied, which was not the answer she was hoping for. When I began working in the temple, we lived in Sandy, which is part of the Jordan River Temple district. A year and a half ago we moved to Bluffdale, which is in the Oquirrh Mountain district.

"Really? Because I was crossing my fingers you'd tell me Bluffdale was an old address, somewhere you used to live."

My dear friend Trina proceeded to tell me that I could not continue to serve in the Jordan Temple because I live outside its district, and I would be released the following day. I wouldn't even be allowed to come to my Friday shift one more time to say goodbye. 

Silence. 

Eeeek, this was hard for me. I didn't cry, but I was close. Blindsided, mostly. And so, so sad. Goodness, I loved my Jordan River Temple, my Friday afternoon shift, and all the people there. Sensing my distress, Trina instructed me as follows: "When we hang up, I want you to text your bishop immediately. Don't wait until tomorrow. Tell him what happened, and ask him to begin the process for you to become an ordinance worker at Oquirrh Mountain." That I did, and my wonderful bishop expedited that process, so I only missed one week of temple service. Thank you, Bishop Auna!

And now? Now I'm determined to be like Joanne and embrace change. I will adjust to this new temple, and I will love it! All will be well. Most importantly, I still get to serve in the temple.

On the heels of this big change came birthday season in our family, soooo many birthdays, and then the 4th of July. Right in the middle of that, Shulamith's daughter Kennedy needed to get her giant tonsils removed. The night before, Shulamith and I took her out shopping and for dinner.

Kennedy is actually intrigued by medical procedures, loves to get shots, and especially likes to go to the dentist, so she wasn't scared at all, but true to form, when the day came, she was entirely running the show. Because they knew it was her birthday weekend, the nurses who were with her just before surgery asked if they could sing "Happy Birthday" as the anesthetist put her to sleep. Now Kennedy is a bit of an introvert, much like her dad, and doesn't like to be the center of attention, especially around people she doesn't know.

"NOOOOOO!!" was her reply to the nurses, so they just said "goodnight" and she was out.

Her recovery has been relatively easy: lots of rest, low-key activities, and a diet of ice cream, yogurt, and eggs. Our Fourth celebration was also fairly low key; Mathew smoked pork all day, and it was so yummy! Matt should be a chef. For real. Recently, he baked Shulamith and me some sourdough bread, filled with white chocolate and pecans, just like they make at Harmon's only better because we got to eat it right out of the oven. Picture fresh, chewy sourdough bread, with white chocolate melting through it, together with crunchy pecans. Mmmmmmm. (Uh, total food digression right there. Sorry. Back to the Fourth.) We all enjoyed delicious pork tacos as we played a rousing game of "What Do You Meme?" and ended the evening watching the neighborhood kids light a few, smaller fireworks. Lighting fireworks is illegal in the zone where we live, so they couldn't do any big ones. Not one bit disappointed here. Those things scare the heck out of me, though I've never been able to win that battle with my three pyromanic sons.

July will end the birthday season in our family (hooray!), and we'll be good until October, which is of course, the very best month to have a birthday. 

Am I right, Jane? 

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:

"Shop the walls first!"

I used to be able to keep track of life. COVID changed that. The past two years feel like a time warp. Like we lost two years or experienced those two years in a parallel universe. How many times have I used the phrase "pre-COVID" in my normal conversation? "When did that happen?" "I don't know...sometime pre-COVID." 

I don't mean to imply that the virus is gone. Many are still testing positive every day. But not nearly so many are dying, and whether that is because as the virus mutates, it loses strength or because science blessed us with effective vaccines that provide at least some protection against the new variants, I don't know. I'm just so grateful.

One clear consequence of this wretched virus is that many of us missed seeing our extended families for way too long. This is true for both Gerald and me. Neither of us saw our original family for over three years. That changed for Gerald two weeks ago, when we traveled to Everett, Washington to visit his mom, sister, and brother. Here are the four of them:

It was a short trip, just two days. Gerald's nonagenarian mom, Violet, enjoys walking as much as I do. We took several walks around her condo and then down on the waterfront. The weather was nearly perfect the first day and absolutely perfect the second when the rain I ordered finally arrived. I'm hoping my 25-year dedicated walking regimen serves me as well as it has Violet when I'm her age.

That second day we also got to visit Gerald's brother and sister-in-law, Glenn and Monica, at their home, where Monica's incredible artwork lines the walls. "Shop the walls first," she suggested, as she generously let me choose several pieces to bring home to add to the two others she already gave me. I think there's a name for this art form, and I think someone even said it while we were there, but I can't remember what it is. Anyway, I LOVE it, and this time I got to share it with Shulamith. Here is her daughter, Kennedy, with the piece she chose for her room:

Here are the two I kept for myself, one for the entryway to our home and the other for my half bath:

COVID changed our lives so much. Some of those changes were positive, as we learned to find joy at home and as we grew to recognize all the "fluff" we could live without. Ironically, it brought us together in many ways, while it separated us physically. But it also left many grieving for lost loved ones and fearful for the future. I didn't lose anyone close to me, but a friend of mine lost her beloved father. It's critical that "post-COVID" (if that time ever comes), we don't forgot the relentless spread of this virus; its random, unpredictable effects (You may have no symptoms at all, but you may die); and the millions who are left grieving.

I'm thankful life is "normal" enough that we were able to visit Gerald's family. 

But where are the tulips?

It was hard to know where to begin. As we navigated the winding path through seemingly endless fields of tulips in an array of vibrant colors, we asked ourselves, "Where should we stop?" Searching for the best photo spot, we finally landed in the middle of a giant field of bright yellow tulips, with another to the left filled with deep red ones, the perfect contrast for our pictures. Systematically, we placed one kid after another in the middle of these glorious flowers and shouted, "Say, 'cheese,'" as we used our analog camera to capture the beauty of both the tulips and the children. 

This was an annual tradition for many parents who lived in the lovely Skagit Valley in northwest Washington. We were there 11 years, and I have albums of pictures of my children sitting in tulip fields to prove it. One day I'll cross off the item from my never-ending, mental to-do list that says, "Organize physical pictures and scan the ones you want to keep to digital files." One day. Meanwhile, maybe I can find you a generic picture. Yes! Here you go...

Last Friday, a few of us headed down to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point, near Lehi. I'm not sure what I expected, but memories of the Skagit Valley tulips clouded my reality. 

"But where are the tulips?"  

A bit of hyperbole for sure because, yes, there were tulips, imported ones. They lined the walkways and this waterfall, and they were definitely pretty, just not quite what comes to my mind when I hear the phrase "Tulip Festival." 

Still, it was such a fun day, with perfect weather and even more perfect company. Here are Shulamith with Kennedy and Theodore, followed by Amanda and Jane and me.

I'm forever spoiled by the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, and one day I'll return to see it again, but for now, I'm grateful for this smaller scale, but still lovely, option.