We are in a very full season of life with so much going on and so many things I could share, but I can’t seem to sort these things into words.
Wishing you the best,
-A
A glimpse of each day
Category: Life according to Angela
Jury duty
I was a juror for a criminal case this week. I lost my mind with worry before the trial, but I survived. Our bailiff, who was in charge of guiding the jury, brought us snacks and lunch, and he was personable and kind. He said there was a lot of sadness in a courthouse, and he felt it was part of his job to cheer up the jurors. I was impressed by the judge’s demeanor and that he visited the jurors after the trial to thank us in person.
The people in the courtroom stood out of respect each time the jury entered and exited. I felt the gravity of our task each time this happened. The charge was a third degree felony, and we found the defendant guilty. Yes, this was a heavy responsibility.
Here is a small part of the thank you letter from the judge,
I appreciate your conscientious an dedicated service. I don’t extend this praise lightly, because jury service can be frustrating, exciting, disappointing and, at the very least, inconvenient. But now that you are a “seasoned veteran” of jury service, I ask that you encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to serve when they are summoned. The quality of justice that all of us enjoy in this country ultimately rests upon the quality of those who administer and participate in it.
Our jury system affords a greater protection of individual rights than any system of justice in the world. We can be proud that important questions of right and wrong, innocence and guilt are decided by everyday citizens speaking for the community…
Jury service is tremendously important, and should therefore demand the attention of the best in society. I hope that your juror service will produce a lasting memory that you will remember with a sense of pride.
Family quotes that matter to me
The most extraordinary thing in this world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.
G.K. Chesterton
The end of all activity in the Church is to see that a man and a woman with their children are happy at home and sealed together for time and for all eternity.
Boyd K. Packer
Many who knew her, thought it a pity that so substantive and rare a creature should have been absorbed into the life of another, and be only known in a certain circle as a wife and mother. But no one stated exactly what else that was in her power she ought rather to have done…
Her finely touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature…spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life.
George Eliot, Middlemarch
Sights of the week
Fitted to their talents
President Emily Freeman quoted Churchill last night in a devotional for youth, leaders, and parents about education.
I think the Lord taps us on the shoulder many times throughout our lives to help others based on our gifts and preparation. President Freeman’s words caused me to reflect on the times I needed to step up to do something special, unique to me, and fitted to my talents. Here are some of the things that came to my mind.
Mothering Paige, Daniel, Timothy, and Mark
Teaching homeschool
Speaking to congregations as a sister leader
Leading church and community groups
Writing family stories
Using my gift of listening
What positive things does this quote bring to your mind about your own unique contribution to the world?
September favorites
My goal to listen to a different piece of classical music each day this year has been fun, but it means that there is a lot of music that I am trying to remember. These were some of my favorite pieces from September, and I am posting them here for personal reference. If you listen to one and enjoy it, too, that’s wonderful.
Date night
We are big fans of Nate Bargatze. Clean comedy, yay!
A day
Our car has been hit twice during the past two weeks, once at a stoplight where someone backed into us, and the other time, with a panel flying from a truck on the freeway. Richard was driving alone on the freeway, and was not injured. This is such a tender mercy. There is a lot of damage to the bumper and hood, and the car is being repaired. Things could have been so much worse if the debris had gone through the windshield.
The day of the accident, Richard’s burden grew with two more projects at work, and we were scheduled to host a youth activity at our house that evening. Mark and I set up the activity while Richard finished some work in his office before the boys began to arrive.
The boys chopped wood and made a fire in our solo stove, and cooked hot dogs, marshmallows, and biscuits. Happy sounds echoed through our neighborhood as the boys played kuub. Night fell too early, and soon, there were only adult voices coming from outdoors. I sat in my living room and thought about the good things that happened throughout the day.
A text from a friend.
Time with Mark.
A compliment from a young dad on our home.
A conversation with Paige as I worked in the yard.
A yard full of boys having fun.
Protection from harm. Knowledge. Peace.
Golden hour
Projects
At the beginning of the month, I made a general list of things I wanted to accomplish in September. Most projects are long, and can’t be done in one day or one week.
So far, I have been able to check off just one thing from the list. I play my own version of hopscotch, with sequenced, short steps to do each day for my goals. Some of this is catch-up after a rough summer. Some of this is in preparation for a busy fall ahead. Some of this is because I am in the stage of life when it’s time to part with things. Most of it is study, though. I sit at our kitchen table and read and write through the mornings on most days. Lucky me to be able to do that.