A (Much Needed) Day of Rest

After yesterday’s lengthy trek through the forest and our later than planned return to the townhouse, we were all tired. We found a sacrament meeting that met at 10 a.m. so we had a bit of a sleep in and then went to church. Anyone who know me well musically knows that I hate singing hymns too slow. It is one of my pet peeves. Reverent is not the same as slow, but I think most people equate one with the other. As a result, we spend far too many meetings plodding through ten minutes long hymns that have us snoring by the end. The opening song in the ward we attended today was “Let Us All Press On.” The recommended tempo marking on this hymn is 92-108 beats per minute with a note stating “With vigor.” This particular hymn is almost always sung slower than that and definitely without vigor, so imagine my glee when the chorister took off at a dead run. When I counted, we were singing at about 220 beats per minute. I was a bit breathless by the end, but I liked it!

The enthusiastic opening hymn was not enough to keep all the weary travelers awake for the entire meeting, however. Except for my parents (who did not take the insane drive with us), I think Malia was the only one who stayed awake the entire time. And after lunch, we all took another nap. When we had all snoozed a bit, I felt like getting out and actually walking around a bit would do us all good. There was a nearby park that was supposedly full of running and walking paths, but when we drove down there, we could not find a way into the park. I’m sure it was there, but the streets in Seattle don’t all go straight, they don’t all go through, they don’t all go both directions, and they don’t all make sense. Luckily for us, our attempts to get to the park eventually led us to the shore of Lake Washington and a small stretch of sandy beach. I assume the sand was not native to the location since most of the shoreline was rocky, but it still gave us a chance to take off our shoes and wade in the water.

Matthew and Malia were shoeless immediately, but it took the big boys longer to decide it was worth a try. Daniel stood and watched for a good half hour before he was ready to take the toes only plunge, and Nathan was about ten minutes behind him. Malia loved the sand and water but hated the algae. Once she learned to avoid it, she was perfectly content and was thrilled to find a few small seashells. Since we had not planned on being in the water, I had to keep reminding Matthew not to get too wet as we had no towels, no changes of clothes and no water friendly footwear. Otherwise, I think he would have been pretty soaked by the time we were done. Daniel and Nathan were less enthusiastic than the younger kids, but they were both glad they had experienced the beach and seemed to enjoy it.

Today was a calm, relaxing day and after yesterday’s adventures, it was a welcome one.