Monday

Wasn't the weather just glorious today? I was fortunate enough to spend most of the day outdoors, starting with my first early-morning run of the summer, then on to chaperoning at Sara's 8th grade picnic at Centennial Lake, then a walk along one of the paths near our home with a dear friend and lastly, watching Evan try to get through his first swim team practice (of his life) without giving up and going home. It was a bit overwhelming when the coach told a large group of about fifty 11-18 year olds (which meant there were kids there twice his size) to just jump in for a 100-yard warm up with kick-turns at each 25, then on to one-armed butterfly drills. Huh? He tried his incredibly valiant best, but he did end up stopping early because he was clearly the least experienced there and there was no provision or instruction for someone his age with his level of inexperience. Everyone else had been on the team before and knew the routine. He was definitely at a disadvantage. He has committed to try again, and I'm plenty proud of him for trying, but MAN, I would have been scared out of my wits. He is now thinking maybe of joining the Howard County Jr. Striders because, in his own wise words, "Humans were made to run more than they were made to swim." I'm inclined to support him in that decision.

Highlights of today:

• Sara voluntarily introduced me to her friends at the picnic. That was a really pleasant surprise for me. Then one of her other friends recognized me from a trip to the mall (I am one of those medieval parents who won't let my kids run free in the mall-I go with them) and actually came up and gave me a hug. Voluntary, positive attention from teens always makes me happy.
• Evan was terrified (several of my kids have my fear of crowds) and discouraged and out of breath and feeling stupid because he didn't know how to do what the coach asked, but he jumped back in anyway. What a trooper.
• The other adults at swim team practice and all of the darling teen-aged coaches were so kind to Evan and encouraged and praised him. A couple of these stellar folks even got him to smile through his frustration. That warmed my heart.
• My friend and I got to walk and talk in the golden afternoon light. That is always a good thing.
  

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The Eagle and the Seminary Teacher

Tonight was Johnathan's Eagle Court of Honor. He shared the evening with our dear friend Joseph and it was a lot of fun. Friends and family were in attendance, there was a ton of great food shared with love and it was a great evening. Of course it was punctuated by moments of humor like the fact that I was literally GLUING merit badges onto Johnathan's sash at 5:45 pm and had to hunt all through the house for a scout shirt that had the right patches on it. I just have to laugh because why should his Eagle court of honor be any different from the rest of his scouting career-lots of hard work and good times but a little fuzzy on the details. Oh, well, we all have our strengths, and maintaining a scout uniform just doesn't seem to be one of mine. Fortunately, because of all the amazing people that my sons have come in contact with in the scouting program, the uniform issues and the lost merit badges and the many, many GLUE episodes somehow came together for good and they turned into Eagle Scouts anyway, so I'm inclined not to be too hard on myself. Several of the other moms and I had a very, very good laugh over that whole issue and it was warm and comforting for all of us to realize we were in it together.

Today was also the last day of seminary, the daily scripture study class I teach in my home at 5:50 am, which means I have my early morning hours back to use as I wish and approximately 1-2 hours of lesson prep each afternoon and evening that are also mine again. With these two big things off my list, tonight's ceremony and the seminary year wrapped up, I feel really free and unencumbered right now. I like the sensation of not having something major just over the horizon. I took a 3 mile run and spent an hour working on my poor neglected garden to celebrate, because those are the two activities that I am mostly likely to say get sacrificed to the cause of preparing my lessons and teaching each day.

So, here's to milestones, both big and small. And just in case you were looking for something to fill the next 6 minutes or so, here is the video I made for Johnathan and Joseph that we showed tonight. It's very Eagle-scouty, but it's fun.

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Georgia on My Mind

Today is Sam's birthday. Sweet Sixteen. Happy birthday to my dear, quiet, strong boy. Here is one picture, and I'll post more about him later, in my mega-May birthday extravaganza but I need to reminisce for just a minute. This day takes me back to when we spent two very happy years living in Georgia. We moved there when Johnathan was two and even though we were in a new place and on our own, I knew it was time to have another baby. So we did and by the time he was born, we were so blessed with friends that I had two showers (even though he was my third son) and meals and babysitting help for 6 weeks, seriously. It was my favorite neighborhood that I've ever lived in-a true "backdoor" community, where the moms literally just popped in the back door to chat after the kids got off to school or down for a nap. Those good women welcomed me like a sister even though I know some of them had deep concerns about my religious beliefs (We were deep in the Bible Belt and on an institutional level, so-called Conservative Christians don't have much good to say about Mormons). We grew to love each other though, and we would put the kids down for naps and then drop off our baby monitors to each other and run errands knowing that our kids would be safe and happy with our beloved neighbors (yeah, we really did that kind of stuff 16 years ago-different world). It was a unique time in my life because I had as many close friends in my neighborhood as I did at church. For a shy gal like me, that was a really refreshing experience. I've kept in Christmas Card contact with many of them and still treasure that happy time we had in Marietta, one of the chief reasons being that we came home with our darling Sam, but also for all the wonderful memories I have of days as soft and warm as a southern accent, the tree that grew right through the middle of our deck, magnolia blossoms and women taking care of each other.

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Interesting Article

Thought I'd share this article about members of my church who become famous in one field or another.

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A Fun Time with Evan, a Missionary, and a Service Project

I am back from Camp Letts. It was, overall, really fun. The only real downside was the rain we had yesterday, but even that didn't ruin the experience. I'm glad I got to go with Evan and see him interact with his friends. I'm also glad I got to go and meet and really talk with some of the teachers and other parents. I so prefer to be behind the scenes or on my own when I volunteer, and my weird shyness takes over when I meet people for the first time, that I've never really taken the time to get to know very many other moms at school. Maybe being in the rain all day and the fact that we were all shapeless and soggy acted as an equalizer and I felt perfectly comfortable with all the other adults at the camp. Everyone there was really great, really focused on the kids' safety, and just impressive. For all the faults of the school system, this was a chance to see things go really well. I was happy that the principal of the school went along and took the time to interact with the kids. He knows most everyone's name, which is, in my book, a good thing. I don't know him well, and haven't had to go through any really difficult situations with him, but he seemed hands on, at least in this situation. Anyway, here are a few photos. Luckily, there is beauty to be found through the lens of a camera, even if the trail to find it is muddy and wet. Notice how different the camp looks in the rain and in the sunshine. Needless to say, today was glorious.



In other news, we got this photo of Jeff out on the Causeway near the entrance to the Panama Canal. He looks mostly the same except his hair is incredibly light from being in the tropical sun, and his hair is parted and gelled down. Usually it is soft and sort of left to its own devices. Other than that, he remains the Eric-clone he's been since the day he was born. Stay tuned for baby pictures when I do his birthday post. He comes home 7 weeks from today.

I forgot to post about the service project on Saturday, but it turned out to be a nice time. Our church Stake (sort of like a diocese or Parish) organized a service day where women could choose one of several service projects to participate in. My SIL Alex joined me and we went to visit an Assisted Living facility. We gave hand massages and chatted while some ladies sang oldies to the residents. I also made one of the flag quilt tops but forgot to take photo. I brought one home to finish, so I'll take a pic of that when it is done. I had heard about these from my pal Betsey on the Nook, so I was really excited to have the chance to try one. I want to make more of these because they are a really fun and worthwhile project and will satisfy the little longings I've been having to get back into quilting but have been squelching because of everything else I have my fingers in right now.

My new friend Irene: I gave her a hand-massage and we chatted.

The lovely singers.

Soldier Quilts. I love flags, and I know and love a lot of soldiers, so this is an especially fun project for me.

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