(What a young man!)Yesterday was a very special Mother's Day, it was Devin's first time passing the Sacrament. Like the nervous mom that I am, I spent the entire ordinance looking like a pew gopher, sticking my head up as high as my neck could stretch to keep an eye on how he was doing. I held my breath hoping that he wouldn't drop the tray, miss a row, get lost or run into another Deacon. In retrospect, it probably looked like I had little faith in him but he did wonderful and I was so proud to the point of giving him an awkward, one-armed bear hug when he returned to sit with us. I got a little something in my eyes and the head cold I've been fighting for the past week suddenly got all sniffy. He gave me his quirky smile and then proceeded to move to the wall end of the pew before I had to reach for a tissue.
Chicken enchiladas and salad for dinner, F.H.E with Maddy giving an excellent lesson on how to give a blessing and then it was time for the presents! D.J. made me a card, he called it the 'slave' card. It had different flowers in a pot and on each stem was written a chore that he would do whenever I asked. Very sweet. Maddy got me a Bakers half-sheet so I can make my yummy cinnamon rolls (a la Charity) and Devin gave me a squishy mouse pad, a much needed gift!
Hope you had a very Happy Mothers Day too!
(Of what little remains of my sanity!)
Twenty-four people (22 at one time), 10 days and occupying every inch of my 3,205 sqft. home. At least a dozen rolls of Charmin extra-soft, 12 liters of soda, 8 gallons of milk, 16.8 lbs. of pork, 20 cups of rice, 6 boxes of cereal, 2 Party-sized Lasagna, 3 garlic bread loaves, and enough snacks to stock a theaters concession stand during the opening weekends of all six Star Wars movies and I haven't even begun to cover the lot of it. (To really "feel" that paragraph, say it in one exhausting breath with total disregard for grammar and punctuation.)
Important things I learned from this experience:
1. The sparkling cleanliness of my home that I worked so hard to perfect was officially D.O.A. (Destroyed on Arrival) the moment the doorbell rang. Wisdom gained: Next time leave the house in disarray and forgo all pretense that you're the reincarnate of June Cleaver.
2. I can control the level of happiness in my guests just about as well as I can control the weather. Wisdom gained: Happy is as Happy does; always keep your raincoat, umbrella and galoshes handy and just go with the flow and sing in the rain... or cry, which ever comes first.
3. The moment my youngest left the baby/toddler stage is the moment that I apparently forgot what real 'baby-proofing' is. Size and height is all that matters. Wisdom gained: If it's smaller than a bread box and not stamped with Fisher-Price on the bottom, it should be placed at least 7 1/2 ft. from off the ground plus the height of the nearest possible ladder a wee farmer can devise.
4. Having plans is like playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Tie a big black sash across your eyes, spin like a figure skater and try to walk upright in whatever direction makes you look less like a drunken sailor after a six month, wartime cruise in the Gulf. The moment you lose sight is the moment you realize that coming within the general direction of where you should or wanted to be is miraculous. Wisdom gained: Kiss your tail-less ass good-bye and refer to back to number two.
In the end, D.J. was baptized, Devin now holds the Priesthood and nobody died. What more could a girl as for?
One person, 10 days on a private beach in Hawaii, 12 pina coladas, 6 bottles of sunscreen, 2 trays of decadent desserts, a pillow soft lounge chair and absolutely nothing I have to do or remotely think about during said period of time.
I survived!
(What a young man!)
(Of what little remains of my sanity!)
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