Future Scriptorians

We’re one month into the “Come Follow Me” program. I don’t think we’ve quite figured out the best way to make it work for our family, but we’re getting there. On the other hand, I know it has been good for my personal study. I feel like I’m delving into the scriptures a bit more rather than just skimming the surface. And I think the Lord is using my scripture studies to give me even more insight into my personal progression as I keep asking, “What lack I yet?” Sometimes I start off studying a topic in one location in the scriptures and end up somewhere that’s not even remotely related. Other days I’ll start closing everything up to move on to the next part of my day and then sit back down and get it all back out because the Spirit tells me I’m not done yet. Awhile later I’ll learn something or have an “Ah-ha!” moment and then I can pack it all up. I remember attending a relief society conference of some kind way back when I was in college and having a speaker say that we should all strive to become “sister scriptorians.” At the time, I felt like I was never going to be able to define myself that way. Twenty years later, and despite my continued efforts, my feelings had not changed much. In the past month, I’m starting to think that I just might be on my way to understanding and loving the scriptures enough to be able to describe myself as a “scriptorian” at some point in my future. I’m so enormously grateful to have this program. It is guiding me and challenging me. It is inviting the Spirit into my days and my life. It is teaching me more about the scriptures, the gospel, and myself. What a blessing this program has already been for me.

I’m constantly thinking about how to make it as positive for my whole family as it has already been for me. With the differing needs of each of our children and their differing ages and stages of development, a “one size fits all” mentality is not going to get the job done. So I’m trying to think outside the box. I think we’ll get there. It may just take some time to find our stride. But if nothing else, my kids have approached this change with enthusiasm and are willing to participate in our trial and error as we all strive to learn together. Even Malia has latched onto the learn at home concept and I’m so very grateful. It’s going to be a blessing for us. I can feel it.

Singing with Honor

While all state choir was a thing back when I was in high school, honor choir was not. Apparently, it is also a state-wide choir made up of high school age kids. Nathan was excited to be able to participate. He spent two Saturdays rehearsing and this evening the concert was held in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. Nathan was pretty jazzed about singing there. Rather than being a big mixed choir, honor choir was divided into a women’s choir and a men’s choir, although they did do one big combined number. I’m guessing that all state is for the mixed choirs and honor choir is for the separate men’s and women’s choirs. Anyway, Nathan enjoyed himself and got to sing a number he learned (and loved) for the district middle school honor choir several years back. He also got his first taste of working with the choir teacher for the new high school. The teacher was the accompanist and not the director, but Nathan was still able to develop a favorable impression and that is a good thing.

The kids did a great job. The audience (and the women’s choir in particular) were huge fans of the men’s choir numbers. My family and I took Kevin’s mom out to dinner for her birthday prior to the concert and ended up having a very enjoyable time. Nathan was able to spend some time singing with an entire choir full of people who really wanted to be there and that was super nice for him. So all in all, a great evening.

F(X)=X2(X+1)(X-8)

My boys are good at math. They get asked for help all the time. It comes so easily to them that we have to remind them fairly regularly that math is really hard for most people. There are people who just can’t wrap their brains around it and honestly don’t understand it. Math just makes so much sense to my boys that it is difficult for them to comprehend that lack of understanding. Daniel thinks calculus is fun and Nathan loves physics, which is all about the math. And Matthew is going to be starting 7th grade in the 8th grade honors math class. So yeah, they are good at math.

Recently, Daniel had a classmate ask him for help with calculus. He scheduled his tutoring session on the calendar as a “party.” 😂

A Band Like No Other

Unlike the all state choir where each high school gets to select a certain number of singers (twenty when I was in high school) to participate, the all state band has an audition process. You can’t really fit a five-hundred-member band on the stage at Symphony Hall so there really is a need to cull the number of students who want to participate. Daniel auditioned with his clarinet this year and was accepted. He was thrilled and I was proud. Some high schools had only one student make it in. Our high school had eight students make it. Our band director is fantastic and the success of the kids in the program is just one way we are seeing his effect. He has created an environment where not only do the kids excel, but they feel valued and included. The environment is supportive and inclusive. While he pushes the kids to be their best, he focuses on improvement rather an outcome so as long as the kids give it all they’ve got, they come away feeling like each event was a success. Honestly, I feel very blessed that Daniel has been part of such a fantastic program. His high school experience has been very positive and a large part of that is the support group made up of the band director and all the kids in the band.

The concert was this evening and I have to admit that having a kid play in symphony hall was kind of exciting. Daniel was excited as well. As he begins the last half of his senior year, he is definitely having some amazing experiences and great successes. I think he will come away feeling his senior year was all he could have hoped for.

Behold! A Royal Army

There was much excitement in our house after last month’s announcement that the youth would progress to their new quorums and classes on January 1 rather than waiting for their birthdays. Matthew and Nathan have been waiting (mostly patiently) for the Bishop to conduct interviews so they could join their new quorums. Although it has only been a month since the announcement, the wait has felt interminable to them. Interviews were held last week and today was the big ordination day.

We started off the day by attending the ordinations for two of my nephews (Jacob and Drew). Then we dashed back across the valley so I could teach my primary class before Nathan and Matthew’s ordinations. Many family members joined us, and it was an amazing experience. Nathan was ordained to the office of teacher first so that he would be able to stand in the circle as Matthew was ordained to the office of a deacon. The spirit was strong, so strong, and I know that many in attendance felt the power of it. It is one of those experiences that tells me beyond a doubt that the gospel is true. Hopefully my boys will remember this event and allow it to strengthen their faith, even in moments of doubt.

Today it strikes me that these young men, this generation of youth, truly are like the army of Helaman. Their faith is burning bright in a world filled with ever increasing amounts of darkness. Their conviction is leading them toward righteous choices that defy the ways of the world. They are standing strong against an innumerable foe who would drag them down. And the Lord is leading them on toward a victorious end. I stand in awe of all they do, all they are, all they can become. I’m prouder of them than words can express.

Blessed

As of today, I am 45 years old. I suppose that folks at my age are supposed to be having a midlife crisis or something, but honestly, I think I’m happier and more content with who I am than I have been at any other age. I know a good part of that is the fact that I’m not having a migraine every day. That is an enormous blessing for me. But that is only part of it.

Back in 2015, there was a general conference talk titled “What Lack I Yet?” It struck a cord with me and I decided to follow the counsel given and ask the Lord where I could improve. He answered, of course, and I began my journey by seeking to improve in that one way. Since then, the Lord has given me more gentle guidance concerning ways that I am yet lacking. Some have been fairly easy to amend, others quite a struggle. But through it all, I have felt certain that I was on the Lord’s path. He has helped me see the kind of person he wants me to become and one small step at a time, he is helping me get there. He has also given me a glimpse of how he sees me, which has been both humbling and inspiring.

As a result of all this, I think that I’ve got a better idea of who I am and who I want to be. And I’m less likely to compare myself to others, which is always a recipe for contentment. I feel extremely blessed to have the Lord guiding me on my path through life, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) Not even the reinvention of an average stay-at-home mom.

Relief

Our high school is overcrowded. Student enrollment this year is 3300 and 1800 of those are sophomores. On the first day of school, Nathan was completely overwhelmed by the teeming mass of humanity. And he can see over the crowd. I can’t imagine how rough it was for the shorter kids. This problem is known, however, and there is a brand-new high school opening next year. The new school is one mile from our house which means that we are definitely in the boundary for the new school. School changes can have pros and cons and Nathan has been weighing them for months. The social pressure to stay at the current high school has been enormous, but Nathan has been very unhappy with both the choir program and the theater program (which encompasses stage crew). After much deliberation, Nathan has decided to attend the new school rather than submitting a permit to stay where he is now. He let people know about his decision today and the response from many other students and even the choir teacher (very unprofessional, in my opinion) has been very negative. He knows he has made the right choice (and Kevin and I both support his decision) but the social backlash has been considerable.

This evening there was an open house where parents and students could meet the faculty and staff for the new high school. Not all the hiring is done, but a considerable amount has been completed. Among those already hired are the choir teacher (who grew up down the street from me and is extraordinarily talented and a fantastic teacher besides) and the theater teacher (who is a good friend of the choir teacher and therefore comes highly recommended). Nathan and I attended the open house this evening and he was able to meet many of the teachers, ask a bunch of questions about academics as well as extra curriculars, get some answers, and generally get a feel for what he can look forward to in choir, theater and stage crew. He came away very excited.

I am more relieved than I can express. This decision has been extremely difficult for him in spite of the fact that he has been unhappy all year. He had such high expectations for choir, stage crew, and high school in general and he has experienced nothing but disappointment and discouragement. He has been involved and all that, but the emotional environment has been extremely toxic and he is suffocating under the weight of it. I can hardly wait to get him out of his current situation and into one where he can actually find joy again. Seeing excitement from him was a huge relief. Now the countdown to the end of the school year begins.