Summer Reflections

Late in July, a friend asked me what I was currently working on in my personal life.  I had to stop and think.  A question I could normally answer readily with quite a list left me stumped. 
"I am........resting," I said. 

My life during last school year was pretty intense.  We had a lot of great stuff going on.  And I had chronic sinus infections all winter and into spring.  When I was driving home from Shakespeare Showdown, something happened.   I was driving a van full of kids home from Heber and my mind started to go foggy.  I could tell a supreme headache was coming on in spite of the rare caffeinated drink I had just guzzled.  By the time we got to Spanish Fork, I was making wrong turns and feeling completely miserable.  By the time I got home, I was in full crash mode.  That is not a great way to greet your kids who haven't seen you for 3 days.  I faked it just long enough to unload the van and greet the kids.  My neighbor Pam called and asked if I liked Curry and told me she had made dinner.  I just cannot believe how serendipitous that was!  It was exactly what I needed!  I went to bed and felt much better.  But I was still having the symptoms of dizziness and foggy brain and headaches into the next week.  My body was just done.  It was time for a rest. 

So I rested this summer.  And I needed it. 

If you looked at my June calendar, you would probably not say that it was restful, but it was.  I was home a lot.  I played with my kids and sort of cleaned and sort of cooked. I didn't work on any of the big summer projects I want to do.  I sort of kept my garden alive, but it mostly grew itself.  I went to park days and had a wonderful, relaxing time getting to know so many new homeschoolers.  Dallin was busy finishing his ESL endorsement class.  The boys spent a weekend at Youth Conference and a week at Timberline.  They had a great time at both.  Nathan got his drivers license on his birthday so we enjoyed having an extra driver.  We spent a few days in Idaho just relaxing with Grandma and Grandpa and cousins.  Brandon did a few days of ballroom dance camp, which he loved.  He also took several art lessons throughout the summer.  We participated in our City Celebration with a parade, movie in the park, fireman's breakfast, and fair.  Sarajoy turned 5.  We were plenty busy, but I think I was just thriving on not being in charge of so much.

I was in charge of something pretty big in July: my family reunion!  It was wonderful, though.  We had everyone stay here, either in tents, trailers, or guest beds.  46 people in all!  The only ones missing were our 2 missionaries and our army guy.  It was pretty special to share our place with the people we love the most. On the way to the reunion, my mom was in a rollover accident with 3 of the grandkids, including Simon.  We are so sure that they were watched out for by angels.  Nobody was hurt, other than a few scratches.  Such a blessing to have them here safely.  It was very sobering to hear of the accident and know I couldn't be with Simon to help him feel calm.  Thankfully he was with my mom.
Nathan got a job in a cherry factory working from 7pm to 5am.  It was such a blessing that the kid across the street had the same shift so they could drive together.  It was a really important experience for him.  He hated it, but he loved earning so much money in such a short amount of time.  He also learned that he will be happy with just about any other job.  And he hates cherries.  He was lifting about 36,000lbs a night!  We were all glad when that was over because it was really hard having him on such an odd schedule, but there are no regrets.
We spent a rather miserable day at a lake with some of Dallin's co-workers.  They were so nice, but I was still not really functioning well, it rained, there were not great accomodations for little kids, etc.  Dallin and I had a long talk about whether such outings are even worth the trouble.  They usually are, but we need to be careful to remember the wide age range we're dealing with.   Ruby turned 12 (wow!) and left for girls' camp the next day.  When she got back, we celebrated her and Sarajoy's birthdays with a horseback riding adventure.  Simon was purely miserable with hives and wheezing.  He apparently has a severe horse allergy.  But Ruby and I were in heaven!  I have never been horseback riding like that, where I could actually learn to control the animal.  We were playing soccer on the horses!  It was amazingly therapeutic for me.  I did not want to stop.  I think Ruby and I kept going for almost an hour after everyone else had gone back to the car.  I had no idea I would love that so much!  We had our friends the Mussers over from Missouri for a couple of days.  That was special catching up time!  Then Ruby and I went on a Do-It-Yourself EFY retreat with some of our homeschooling friends and their moms.  It was so much fun!  It was so great to have a closer bond with my own friends as well as the girls.  It is special to get to spend some time where I can just focus on the older kids without distraction.  A couple of us had our husbands and kids join us for a night after the crowd left, and we really enjoyed the amazing cabin we were blessed to stay in. 

In August, I always panic a little because I know I have just a little time to get ready for school.  I was still keeping things pretty restful, but trying to fit in some planning/organizing/decluttering to get us ready for a new school year.  I was beginning to perk up from my crash, and starting to feel excited about plans for our school year.  We went to Island Park for the 3rd year in a row.  We stayed longer than we have ever been able to before.  Dallin and the boys hiked Table Rock next to the Tetons.  We got to go up into Yellowstone and see some hot pots and watch Old Faithful.  Everyone's hearts were warmed by the cuteness of Sulley and his cousin Kenyon playing together.  They can both talk so well that it is just amazing the things they come up with.  We drove straight from Island Park to Las Vegas.  It was crazy, but we decided to go through the night.  We were feeling an urgency to get there and be with the family we have been feeling prompted to be with all summer.  It turned out just perfectly!  Brandon was able to help with Jimmy's Eagle project.  We got to see our friends the Wells in their new house with their brand new baby!  We got to spend some good time with Dallin's family as well.  It was a whirlwind trip.  We got there early Saturday morning and left Sunday afternoon, but it worked out just how it was supposed to.  We stretched out the good times by splitting up so Dallin and Kevin Crandall could visit on the way home in one car while Karami and I were in another.  The trip flew by that way!    Dallin was back to work the next day and Nathan started school on Tuesday.  I still gave myself another couple of weeks to prepare, and I still felt completely pulled under when we started on Sept. 2nd.  We spent Labor Day weekend in Idaho packing in another few days of important events.  We stayed Friday night at the Avenius home after celebrating the marriage of their son Jacob.  He was one of Dallin's first scouts when we lived in New York.  It was wonderful to see how happy Joan and Catherine are and fun to get reacquainted with Jacob and meet his new bride and her parents.  The next day was spent in Shelley with the Crandalls helping them put a roof on their addition.  We got to my parents' house late that night and spent Sunday and Monday with my family, helping wrap up Grandpa's honey extracting experience.  It was a great way to end the summer: being with people we love.  I am so grateful to be cared for by such amazing people. 

It was a great summer!  I don't regret the slow mornings or the evenings chatting with the older kids.  I don't even regret watching a few movies and just relaxing instead of worrying about projects.  We ate a lot of cold cereal and we laughed and smiled a lot.  I grew closer to Nathan than I have felt in awhile because he was home with us so much!  I feel renewed and ready to launch into the next great adventure!