Usually the first week of January is my least favorite week out of the entire year. Christmas lights and joy are over, my entire family leaves early in the morning for school, and I am left alone in a rumpled house to find my rhythm again under dark gloomy cold skies. The first week of 2025 was different because my Mom came to visit! She and my Dad both came last weekend for Jay's priesthood ordination, but my Mom stayed all week after that. Mundane tasks like driving, cooking, and cleaning were magically transformed into fun quality time.
We did all of those chores and more together but also slipped in fun treats like watching a few extra k-drama episodes (we watched 12 episodes!) and going out to lunch two times. We had meaningful talks and hugs. My Mom is a dish-ninja: she did the dishes on the sly, when I least expected it, and they were always done! I felt so at ease in my kitchen while she was here because there was never a sink full of dirty dishes, haha. We went to one of Jay's swim meets. Mom played at least a dozen games of dominoes with Rose and Amber. We did nothing fancy, but doing regular activities with my Mom really spruced up the first week of January. I love my Mom so much it aches because I know how lucky and blessed I am to have such a loving one-in-a-million BFF Mom. I missed her the minute she disappeared into the airport on Friday morning.
Jay swam so well in his meet on Tuesday! He was the top score-er on his team! (Just like in track and cross country, swimmers get points based on their finishing place in each race.) Jay swam four events: the 200 yard medley relay (the backstroke leg), the 500 yard freestyle, the 100 yard backstroke, and the 400 yard freestyle relay. Whew, I had to check the weekly swim team email five times while writing that sentence to make sure I got the info right. Swim is still such a foreign sport to me in so many ways! The way I feel when I go to swim meets helps me begin to understand how bewildered many parents feel when they show up to watch their first few track or cross country meets. But this is Jay's second season of high school swim, so I felt able to explain a few things to my Mom, since it was her first time going to a high school swim meet.
Back to the swim meet: Jay reclaimed his school record in the 500 freestyle! He dropped his PR from last year by 22 seconds and finished in 6:35. It was so exciting! He got second in his heat but beat two of the three schools from our league in that event! Jay's 100 yard backstroke time was 1:20. I wish I could say more about it...but I don't know anything else to say! Haha. He looked so smooth and strong in the water, and I loved watching him swim.
One more noteworthy event of the week: Jay blessed the sacrament in church for the first time ever today! He said both the bread prayer and the water prayer in English. Two other boys said the prayers in Spanish. Before church, Jay said he didn't know if he was going to have to do it, but he knew it was a possibility. He had to say the bread prayer twice, and the water prayer once. There is something about blessing the sacrament that just seems so...advanced. Jay seemed so grown up at church today! I was so impressed with his willingness to say two sacrament prayers on his first time ever doing it. My motherly heart was warm and happy. We love our Jay!
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My grown-up, capable, intelligent, compassionate daughter still melts my heart with her wonderful self. I love being with you Shainađź’—
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