Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I’m sure y’all noticed that I did NOT post on Friday as planned. I had two sick/anxious/sad kids home from school, though, and the day got away from me. Here I am now, however, so let’s do a recap…

I don’t believe I mentioned that my son’s first regular (as in, not jazz) band concert was the 12th, but it was a lot of fun. Fall break started on Thursday the 15th, and in the afternoon the girls and I headed up to Idaho, dropping my son off at his cousin’s house on the way. His dad picked him up there on Friday, they went to the BYU/Notre Dame game on Saturday, and drove up together on Sunday afternoon.

The girls and I, of course, got to Idaho on Thursday evening, and we spent our time with family. We did what we could to help my mom, we spent time with the great-littles (nieces and nephews) and their parents as they flowed into town, we ate salmon, we watched the game (it may have taken a few years off of our lives), and we zoomed our own sacrament meeting for a missionary homecoming before attending my mother’s with all the great-littles’ families.

Monday, of course, was the funeral. It filled my heart to see all of the cousins who drove from Utah and Washington–our family felt so loved. I gave the life sketch at the funeral with just a few thoughts, but my siblings and oldest nephew spoke, as well as a family friend from RI, and listening to their talks was incredibly healing. It gave me back my dad, shifting the real person to the forefront of my memory and moving the shell he’d become before he died to the back. We set up a memory table at the church with all kinds of things from his life, and we visited with family and friends all through the luncheon afterwards. After a few hours of chill time back at my mom’s we had dinner at my brother’s house, and the next day (Tuesday) we all trickled back to our homes.

A neighborhood friend brought us dinner Tuesday night–so kind, as no one ever wants to cook after driving for hours–and we triaged the unpacking, etc., before getting off to bed. My youngest was so anxious/sad/still getting over her cold the next morning, though, that while she went off to the bus stop, she came back home before the bus came. I had her go to the last few periods of the day–it was the first day of her new elective, and I was afraid that missing the first day would make going back eventually considerably harder–but she missed the next two days with an iffy tummy; her brother missed them as well, except that he caught her cold (or one from someone else at the funeral) and so was simply home sick. (He’s still home today, actually. Because apparently a return to normalcy is not in my immediate future.) On Saturday we buried my dad–I spoke again, as did my sister, and my brother dedicated the grave. I’m grateful for divine help as I spoke, too, because I spent the night before with my 17-year-old instead of writing anything down. (First at her dance performance, then talking to her about her boy issues. It’s been a rough weekend for her.) I did a lot of thinking, though, and I definitely felt blessed. My mother wasn’t feeling well and was unable to attend, but she made it to the luncheon that her siblings so thoughtfully provided. Once again, it touched our hearts to see family and friends and feel their love and support.

Yesterday was my youngest daughter’s very last Primary program–Primary being our church’s children’s organization–because she’s turning 12 next year and so graduating to the youth organization. It was lovely to watch her, and afterwards we took the day to decompress and relax (I dozed off more than once). Which brings us to today…only I still have a child home sick plus a missionary home because her sites are closed, so I suppose this is all I’ve got the concentration for. Signing off!