This is what we have to show for our family’s efforts this summer, a party full of lights and people, a celebration for Daniel and McKenna.
So many people helped us, and I have kept a record of the tender mercies that got us to this day.
Richard is the one who plans our adventures. He likes to make the most of every minute. He tips well. He buys the souvenirs. He drives. He makes dinner or brings in takeout when I am not feeling well. He gets us up at 4:45 am because that’s what it takes get us to the best tide pools at low tide. He found the best whale watching tour in a Zodiac boat. How dull our lives would be without his energy. This trip to Oregon, with its four stops and activities at each place, was not an easy thing to plan. He did a great job, I think his best work yet.
Richard brought in a bowl of fresh raspberries from our yard, and within two minutes he was eating them on top of ice cream.
This week I got a call that my dad’s books were ready. Mark and I hauled out the heavy boxes to the car and took them to my dad. He hugged the one I handed to him and said it was pretty. The books ARE pretty! I also took a copy to Paige who illustrated the book so beautifully.
At church on Sunday, a bishop took time to acknowledge my work the past year with baptisms. With Covid, we needed to schedule baptisms individually, which meant a lot of coordination with bishops and families and many trips to the church. This was a huge piece my life for a year and someone noticed and took time to thank me publicly for some very behind-the-scenes work.
Richard and I have been working on an Eagle court of honor for Tim and Mark. Because of the pandemic we decided not to gather last year to honor them. Last night we finished the slideshows of their Scouting years. Richard’s steady presence in their journey was evident in the photos and videos we sorted. And they grow up right before our eyes in these slideshows.
Life has felt burdensome lately, and these harvest moments have given me a needed lift.
This is literally all I can find to show for this fun weekend reunion with 35 people. Maybe our kids have some photos. I’ll let you know.
There are few dependable things right now, but if I had to choose one creation on which I could depend, it would be the sun. The sunsets this month have been glorious and encouraging.
We are working on home improvement projects this weekend. It’s a domino game: if we want to create a better home office, we need to schedule carpet installation before we move in the furniture. So, we need to finalize carpet choices, a process we began 1 1/2 years ago. When we shop for carpet, we remember we want a new medicine cabinet. As we look at medicine cabinets, we remember we really want to replace the bathroom sinks and one of the faucets. When we take down the old medicine cabinet, we realize we need to patch the walls. You know.
I guess that another thing on which we can depend is the avalanche effect of home improvement projects.
This post is brought to you today by Daniel. The 4-wheelers, planning, and execution of this trip were by Richard.