Such a clean house! (Memorial Day Weekend)

 The Lasts & the Dobbins came for Memorial Day weekend. We all went to the Hanaike family party, and enjoyed an afternoon at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve beach after church. But most noteworthy of all is that the adults worked together to do some deep cleaning in the house: washing windows, walls, sweeping, cutting the grass, cleaning the bedrooms, checking the smoke alarms, cleaning the basement. I so appreciate it, and with only 3 of us home after they left, it has stayed clean. Can't wait for Reggie to come home and see all of their hard work!

I noticed that our current 2 year old granddaughter has graduated from parallel play. As is a natural transformation at this age, she is now playing with her cousins rather than next to her cousins. They had quite the dramatic play going with the toys. It was adorable to watch.

family get togethers

 Last week was interesting in the fact that Reggie was visiting my family in South Carolina while I was attending a Hanaike family party here at home. I think that part of "becoming one" in a marriage is that you truly become a part of each other's family, and the fact that you can comfortably be with your in-laws without your spouse present is a testament to that. 

I know Reggie really enjoyed shooting the breeze and catching up with my nieces especially. He was able to tell me about their kids and what they are like now, since I haven't seen them in years. I got a kick out of some wheeling and dealing he did with one of my grandnieces. Hooray for social media (blogs in this case) that kept me up to date on a crafting project she is doing and selling. I asked him to ask her if he could buy some bees she's been crocheting and selling.  I'm still waiting for him to get home with them! We will eventually give them to one of our granddaughters who is always telling me she learned about bees in preschool. 

At the Hanaike family party some of us "Old-timers" reminisced and happily owned up to our roles in the family. I guess they will always remember Auntie Nancy as a maker of cookies. I talked country music with my brother in law Steve, and told him to go listen to Darius Rucker's "Never Been Over" as we are still astounded by how many high-school-sweetheart marriages there are in the family and friend circles. (I hardly ever share this song because I don't want to make anyone whose marriage or relationship has not lasted feel bad. But it is a song that means a lot to me in my situation). 

So anyway, I am grateful for our happy in-law moments and look forward to more.

Here is that song I mentioned. Like I said, it means a lot to me. And by the way, I sure do miss that husband of mine. I just keep thinking about the everyday days to look forward to, and the trips we have ahead of us because of all his hard work.

More Blue Water

 I had some time in-between errand running and picking Samantha up so I explored the Oyster Point area, near her work, a little bit more. It's a beautiful reminder of good things to come!

In my middle-school world

 Boy, did I study hard these last few days to prepare for the 7th graders Science Test, Social Studies Test and the 8th graders math test. Even with the answer sheets I needed to understand the material and help the kids with their test corrections; to not give them the answer but to help them get to the right answer. My biggest fear is that they come to me for help and I send them away with the wrong answers and a failing grade!

The effort was worth it. I especially enjoyed learning about the Maya, Aztec and Inca people. Such fascinating information, and the textbook includes beautiful pictures.

I've been reflecting on my career, never imagining it would take me to middle schoolers and special education. But I just love it and am grateful that life sometimes takes you to good places you never dreamed of. As Rachael Lynde would say "You're never safe from surprise till you're dead".

season 35

Our family used to enjoy watching The Amazing Race together. But then we got out of the habit - the kids grew up, moved on, etc. Recently, however, the Dobbins visited and watched several episodes of season 25 with "Soul Surfer" Bethany Hamilton. They've read about her and so were especially interested. (Fascinating story/person).

I was surprised to realize that new seasons of The Amazing Race are still being made. I watched the intro of a few seasons and decided to watch #35. It has been very fun and motivational for me. Every team is made up of family members or best friends. Every team tries their best, does amazingly hard but fascinating things, and keeps a great attitude the entire time. Every team talks of knowing how lucky they are to be doing this, whether they are eliminated or not. Every team is decent to the other teams and each other with hardly any fighting, bickering or that kind of drama. It has made me feel motivational about life, about being resilient and experiencing joy in the journey.

Last Day

Glossary for this post:  

Ward - a congregation of our church based on boundaries, who meet together according to where they live

Callings - jobs/responsibilities in our church that one takes on according to need. It is all volunteer but the Bishop & others keep track of the needs and ask people to take on the callings. 

Released - when someone no longer has their calling, according to their own needs or the needs of the church

Dissolved - ended; sent elsewhere

Church Records - data about you that goes with you wherever you live. It is a way of keeping track of how many people are in each ward, who is available to take on a calling, who needs help, etc.

It feels so strange to be going to church just on time today. Since I have no responsibilities there is no need  to get there early. It feels even more strange that everyone in our ward is being released today, together. A mass release, so to speak, of all ward callings. 

This is because our ward is being dissolved, and today is our last day together. There are new boundaries now, and about half of us will be going to the Sunset Ward, in San Francisco. The other half will be going to the Crystal Springs Ward in San Bruno. Our family is right on the border - half way between both buildings. But since our address is Daly City we will be going to the Sunset Ward. Of course people can go and are welcome any where they want. But your records are sent to the ward you live in and it helps keep track of your needs, the ward's needs, etc. 

Since the pandemic our ward has not been very big. So many people have moved out of the area now, as they can work from home in less expensive places. Though I am sad that we will not be seeing a lot of our friends every Sunday anymore, I am grateful for this change. It is definitely time. In fact, a few of us have been praying for this - that we can join together with other wards and spread out the callings more easily and just sit in a chapel full of people again. Our ward was small but mighty, and continued to do wonderful things these last few years. I so appreciate the smiling faces week after week and those who continued to keep the faith and just kept going. And especially with my calling, I know that the children in our very small primary were absolutely ADORED. And now we will continue in that spirit, with some familiar faces and some new faces. 

The church is alive and thriving in the San Francisco Bay Area and will continue to bless people's lives. As the song says "All is well, all is well".  (Here are just a few pictures of our family enjoying the Oakland Temple throughout the years.)

ps, after writing this I reflected on my memories of our church building in Pacifica that we are now leaving: our family wedding receptions, funerals and parties (the church is so generous with their buildings); my sleeping on the couch during early morning seminary; endless volleyball games; dances (even as far back as mine & Reggie's teen years); the list goes on and on. I am so grateful for all the blessings being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has brought to my life. Looking forward to more, no matter where we are!

reminders

This might not be an easy time. 

There's rivers to cross and hills to climb.

Some days we might fall apart, and some nights might feel cold and dark.

But nobody wins afraid of losing, and the hard roads are the ones worth choosing.

Someday we'll look back and smile, and know it was worth every mile.

I think one reason the above lyrics are so profound to me is that they are honest yet hopeful. They remind me that difficult times are inevitable, but not the end of the story.

So, on the agenda for today: Print these words, put them on scrapbook paper and hang them in the office. Then get to it - work on that to do list: the tasks I hate and the ones I almost look forward to, with music or old tv shows playing in the background. Finally, finish the night off with some baking and episodes or a movie I haven't seen. (Luke and I have been having a Planet of the Apes marathon).