—1—
What did you do on 4th of July? We were torn. The kids all have PTSD from last year when we had to wait for an hour and a half to get out of the parking garage after the fireworks show, so that was out.
We were thinking about buying some fireworks for home use, but we didn't get our act together in time to make it happen. So what we did was grill hot dogs in the backyard, and then we voted on a 4th of July movie to watch.
Of course there's Independence Day, but it's maybe a little too intense for my 9-year-old. So we ended up watching An American Tail.
I haven't seen it since I was a kid, and it was... interesting. Definitely not what I remembered. Every time we watch an 80s or 90s movie with the kids, the older ones look quizzically at Phillip and I like, "Is this why you are the way you are?"
It's okay, their own kids will do it to them someday.
—2—
On Saturday we rented kayaks and a canoe, and went for a nice trip down the river. It was a beautiful day, and we kept seeing turtles sunning themselves on rocks and fallen logs near the banks on the way out.
 |
| My view on the way back. |
We rowed to a historic bridge about 35 minutes from us, then took a break on shore. The little ones played in the water and complained that we hadn't brought enough granola bars, and then we swapped boats (the ones in the kayaks switched to the canoe) and went back.
It's been years since I've rowed a canoe and it's way harder than a kayak, by the way.
—3—
A little while ago, my 19-year-old daughter applied to serve an 18-month mission for our church, and this week she received her assignment. When you apply to be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you could end up in Norway or Argentina or Michigan. Whatever the assignment, we believe it's made prayerfully by the worldwide leaders of the church, to someplace where the Lord needs you. And my daughter is going to... Nevada!
I'm so excited for her. She starts training virtually at home in mid-September, and will leave at the end of that month.
As a missionary your sole focus is helping others (and yourself) come to Jesus Christ, which requires a lot of patience and consistency. You really do need to rely on inspiration to guide you every day. I was taught by missionaries as a teenager, and I'm so glad that they were willing to put the less-important parts of their lives on hold to focus on the most important one, and share it with me because it's the best part of my life today.
—4—
Wednesday was a very temple-y day. That morning I worked an 8-2 shift at the temple (after accidentally setting my alarm for PM instead of AM and oversleeping by 49 minutes, it was a literal miracle that I could get ready in seven minutes and still make it there in time). Afterward my daughter and I went to the distribution center to buy a few temple-related clothing items, went home for a quick bite to eat, then headed back to the temple so she could receive her endowment.
For those of you wondering "Why was she receiving a financial gift for a nonprofit organization, and why was she doing it at the temple?" it will probably help to know that the endowment is also the name for a temple ceremony in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where you make promises with God that build on your baptismal promises. You do this as an adult, once you're ready to do so. (You can learn more in detail and see pictures in this video.)
It was really special to be there with Phillip and our two oldest daughters. I've gone to the temple many times alone or with Phillip or my oldest daughter, but sitting in the celestial room with all of them and feeling like we were starting to collect our family members there made me feel extremely grateful for this blessing.
—5—
I'm the president of the teen girls' organization at church, and we're planning a retreat at the end of this month. I sat in on a planning meeting over Zoom this week with the other leaders (the meeting timed out and we had to log back in twice if that tells you how long it took) and I think we have a decent itinerary plotted out now.
The theme is "Reset and Recharge" and we're going to the lake house of one of the leaders for a few days. We'll have team building games, swimming, and S'mores. We'll talk about the question "How does your relationship with the Savior help you reset and recharge?" and if I'm able I will make a big fundraising thermometer (except it will be a battery) to mark up every time you witness a good deed being done. If we fill up the thermometer, we'll take the girls to get ice cream for the following week's activity.
—6—
I was talking with a friend about water and how hard it is to drink enough every day. She told me that she used to just sip water all day long, but then she was also peeing all day long which is annoying. (I can confirm; in the fall I did an 8-glasses-a-day challenge and going to the bathroom was my part-time job.)
But instead of just shrugging and resigning herself to her fate, she looked it up and read that a bladder can hold two cups of water, so now she says she drinks two cups of water at a time and goes to the bathroom far less frequently.
Does this work? And if it did, would I be organized enough to do it? I'm actually trying it today, so we'll see.
—7—
I've been struggling this summer to find a rhythm, particularly because my 9-year-old's gymnastics practice requires two 1-hour roundtrip drives, smack in the middle of the day Mondays through Thursdays. And with everyone home all the time, I feel like I spend way more time nagging people to clean up after themselves than I would like and not much time actually planning or doing anything fun.
I think I may need to outsource more, and have the kids take more ownership over meals, grocery shopping, rides, and planning outings. They're happy to do those things when I ask (most of the time,) but it still means that I have to be on top of things enough to ask. And as this summer is proving to me, I'm not.
What are your best tips for getting through the summer when you have older kids? I deeply regret complaining about anything when the kids were too little to have jobs and extracurricular activities and social lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment