Sleep is secondary

Who needs sleep anyways? Summer nights are so short, it's nearly impossible to get enough sleep without the sun peeking in a poking me awake. Add a huge heap of activities on top of that and sleep is even more limited. This week was extra busy for our family of homebodies:

Monday was Independence Day, with all of its back-to-back-to-back activities. (documented in a separate blog post)

There was no swim team practice on Tuesday morning; just cross country practice. For the rest of Tuesday I got a bit of a breather, with only a Relief Society presidency meeting in the morning and my family art club Zoom meeting in the evening.

Wednesday morning brought swim practice and cross country practice for Jeff and the kids, while I ran and showered early so I could get over to the church to help with a funeral. Wednesday afternoon, Jay's chess club met at our house. When I finished at the funeral around 1:45pm, I knew that the chess club still had at least 45 minutes left. Facing six 13 year old boys in my 1,000 square foot house after four hours at the socially, emotionally, and physically draining funeral sounded hard. Plus I was all sweaty from hoisting chairs and tables and lugging supplies all over the church building for the funeral meal, so instead of going straight home, I went to the library to bask in the quiet air conditioned space and wait out the hoard of 13 year old boys. When I got home an hour later, laden with a dozen heavy duty church tablecloths to launder, the chess club was still going strong (having extended their meeting time and moved on to a round of Dungeons and Dragons). Ah, well. They were so happy and having a good time.

Early Thursday morning we were back at swim team and cross country practice. I ran the hill workout at 6:30am on my own before cross country practice so I could have the patience to walk/jog with the beginners during practice. Jay, Rose, and Amber had an hour of swim practice. Jay and Rose then ran 2 miles at cross country practice. We had a long midday break, and then it was back to the pool at 6pm for a swim meet. The visiting team was massive, and there were three to four heats per age group for many events, which made the meet go all the way till 11:00pm. 

Jay swam two events (backstroke and freestyle), and Amber did the 50 meter freestyle in her cute funny stroke, stroke, stop-and-breathe pattern. Once Jay was done with his last race around 10pm, I took him and Amber home so they could get to bed. Jeff stayed on as a stroke judge to the bitter end and got to watch Rose finish her last race.

Rose signed up for every single event at the swim meet and got a whole long list of personal records, including 46 seconds in the 50 meter freestyle. She didn't get disqualified in any of her strokes either, even butterfly! She did her first ever IM, which stands for Individual Medley, which means each swimmer does 50 meters of each stroke, which totals to 200 meters of back-to-back swimming, or down and back twice on our Olympic sized pool. The IM is the last event of the meet too, so Rose did that long haul after already swimming another cumulative 300 meters in all of her other events and relays. She was cruising and so happy about it.

On Friday, Rose was welded to the couch in fatigue. Both girls slept straight through cross country practice, and I was glad because they needed the rest. Jay came to cross country practice and ran FIVE MILES on Friday morning, his longest run ever. Impressive for a 13 year old! 

After cross country practice on Friday, Jeff and I went on a much-delayed, much-anticipated temple date! Due to closures, restrictions, illness, and rennovations, I had been to the temple once in the past two years. Jeff hadn't been at all. We counted back and the last time we got to go to the temple together was December of 2019, 2.5 years ago! It was good to be back there with my very own husband. We were so tired from our long demanding week that it was a struggle to stay alert in that peaceful place, but one of the things we are working on this summer is to GO rather than to wait till we're well rested, whether we're going to the temple or on a hike or a run. Something is better than nothing! In our current phase of life, we're finding that it's rare for us to actually feel rested, so we need to go and do anyways (within reason, of course).

Saturday was another family hike! This time we drove 2 hours to the Denny Creek Trail up near the Snoqualmie Pass in the Central Cascade Mountains. We met Mel and Braxton to hike for the second week in a row, and it was lovely again. Those pictures deserve their own separate post. We were gone all day and got home after 5pm.

Sunday is a day of rest...from weekday activities, not from church responsibilities! Since our Relief Society president is out of town, I left home at 7:45am to attend ward council before regular church meetings. This week with our Relief Society presidency meeting and with helping at the funeral, plus two Sundays in a row of attending ward council meeting, and going to the temple for the first time in nearly a year, I felt this surprising satisfaction in filling my calling--digging in and really serving and problem solving and making decisions and [hopefully] helping those around me. 

I always do my duty and fill my calling, but this week it felt deeper, like I connected to the bigger purpose and really committed to the work of service and felt its importance on a deeper level than I did before. The feeling surprised me, because there is always work to be done in Relief Society and I always feel a little nervous about it and like I'm not doing enough. This connected feeling opened my heart up to see past the mundane logistics of setting up a meal for 75 funeral attendees, etc. to the real reason for all the small dull everyday tasks, which is to serve how Jesus Christ would serve--with love and compassion. 

While I sat at the funeral meal watching the family members eat, my thoughts zoomed out and I saw the amazing miracle of how dozens of people contributed one small dish or loaf of bread, and each item added up into a big meal to fill people's bodies while they were mourning the loss of a family member. That's what Jesus Christ did. He took care of physical needs so that people were able to come unto him spiritually, or at least feel his love. All he asks of us is to go forth, to begin, to give a little bit. When we each try our best and contribute a little, the result is bigger than the sum of its parts. I'm not sure I captured my thoughts and epiphanies exactly right, but this was my best try. Bottom line: yay service!

This week was so busy, but I only have a small handful of pictures to show for it:

The middle school chess club. I was hoping they'd maybe play at our kitchen table since it's on the main floor of our house that is actually, you know, finished, but they set up a folding table in what amounts to my laundry room in the basement. I know that 13 year old boys in no way care about the way a room looks, but my latent inner hostess cringed a little when I saw them in the basement with all of our storage and random stuff everywhere, haha. At least there weren't any bras on the laundry drying rack...

Amber's one and only event at the swim meet didn't start until after 9pm! It was a long wait for her, and she was tired before she even got in the pool. She hates getting her swim cap on so much, she wore it the entire evening, for three hours, before her race began.

Jay and one of his best friends.

Rose was a constant whir of motion at the swim meet: get in line, swim a race, talk to friends, run back to our spot for a drink or snack, then dash off again to wait for another race. I think the only time she sat down all night was in the staging area when she was on deck for another race.

Amber, in the staging area, waiting for her race. They line the kids up in chairs with numbers that correspond to their lane number in the pool. Amber was in lane one of the first heat of her event, so she was in the first chair of the first row. As the heats progress, the kids move up in the rows of chairs. It's quite efficient, and thank goodness, or else we'd be there past midnight! haha.

Rose built this beautiful tree on Friday while she was resting in her pajamas.

Temple date!

Jeff took me for some pad Thai takeout on our way home from the temple (Jeff didn't get any Thai food because it was family movie and pizza night, so he was waiting for that). This particular restaurant a few miles from the temple put orange slices in with the pad Thai, and it was a delicious flavor combination.

Busy isn't always a bad thing--it is a tiring thing, but it can also be good when it involves the right activities. Goal: take more naps.