Mother's Heart

Hi Michael!

I hope you had a great week and were able to find some people to teach despite finals week and the holidays. It sounds like you are learning a lot and every day is an adventure. I hope things are going well with your new companion. I know there are some things that frustrate you, but I hope you can learn from his unique experience and talents.

Happenings at home:

1. Dad has been sick for about a week. He has been sleeping downstairs in your old bed and is desperate to prove to me that he is no longer contagious. But he keeps making horrible hacking sounds and I’m not quite ready to share a bedroom with him again! The sickness is making a slow creep through the house. Tate had it first. Then Dad, then Blake, now Ethan. I'm holding out and and repeatedly scolding people for not washing their hands. I’m too busy right now to get a stupid cold just before Christmas! There are a lot of nasty bugs going around. I talked to Gabe Griffin today. He said they had to take Connor to Primary Children’s Hospital for two days because he was having a hard time breathing. Noah got the same cold a few days later, but luckily they were able to treat him earlier and he didn’t have to be admitted to the hospital. I think they are both feeling better now.

2. I’m at the stage of my Christmas prep where I just want to curl up in a ball and hibernate until spring. I’m so exhausted. Seriously. I made a gazillion batches of Carmel popcorn for friends in the neighborhood. I’m going to write myself a reminder to never do that again. It’s just too much work for so many people. Something easier next time. I also got your Christmas package in the mail. It would be really great if you could shoot me just a quick message to let me know when it arrives. I put one small thing in your package for Elder Hawley, so keep an eye out for that. You should also get a few things delivered through Amazon for Christmas morning. You should let us know what your plans are for Christmas Day as well. Maybe you could even call us tomorrow on your P-day? (Hint, hint.)

3. In order to make my life even easier and more fantastic, the PTA decided this would be a great time to do spirit week at the elementary. So every night I got to search the house for things for your brothers to wear to school---like festive socks, hats, and ugly sweaters. Oh the fun. Jett insisted on dressing as a “twin” with Ethan on Thursday, and I spent at least an hour searching the house for matching outfits for them. Nobody asked me if I thought this was a good idea. Bah Humbug.

4. Jett is on a super long streak of wearing his shirts backwards. I have drawn the line and do not allow him to wear his pants backwards or inside out. But I did catch him wearing his shoes on the wrong feet. He wants me to call him by his new nickname, “Drip.”

5. Tate is still being a royal pill. He is fully potty trained and knows how to use the toilet. But right now he’s just choosing not to. Last Sunday he peed all over the stairs, so I got to scrub the carpet by hand. There’s another spot I just found in the toy room, and his room smells bad, so I’ve got to clean the carpets there as well. The other day he was throwing things and just being downright naughty. Jett told him to be nice and he responded that he liked being mean. Then Jett said, “Tate do you know who Jesus Christ is? He is the one who made us and everything in this world. He wants us to be nice.” What a cute moment. Jett has such a pure heart.

6. On Friday I got to go to Ethan’s class and help with he class party. The night before I stayed up past 2am planning a craft for the kids to make Christmas cards. Stupid for me to leave it until late, but honestly it was the most relaxing several hours of me week. I slept in the next morning and forgot to send Jett with his homework, or the teacher gifts that I had wrapped up a whole week in advance so they would be ready to go. A+ parenting right there. When I went to the class party, one of the girls asked me who’s mom I was. When I told her I was Ethan’s mom she said, “Oh! Ethan is the smartest kid in our our class. Also…the kindest.” What a sweet thing for her to say. I think my mother’s heart just melted into a puddle.

7. Speaking of my mother’s heart…it was tested this week. Ty was in a car accident. He was not injured, but the truck was totaled. He called me right after the accident—sobbing and extremely upset. If I understand correctly, he was trying to pass a semi truck on the left side. The semi moved into his lane, smashing him between the semi and a concrete construction barrier. He honked and hit his brakes, but the whole side of the truck was damaged. We are SO RELIEVED he wasn’t hurt. It was just a very frightening situation. The semi didn’t even stop. This is the second time in two weeks I have wished for a dash cam because a week ago I was stopped at an intersection and there was a car crash right in front of me. A video could have been helpful. The cost of repairs is over $12,000, so we are sure the insurance agency is going to want to total the truck, and we are all a little bereft at the thought of losing the truck. Ty is so angry at that semi driver. Dad wanted that truck to last until Tate. We are hoping to get a rental car on Tuesday while we sort this mess out. But it's a terrible time to be car shopping because prices are so high and availability so low. Not sure what we are going to do yet.

8. And once again my mother’s heart is broken and grateful and relieved. This week we learned that our friends the Allens (remember Jacob and Linn from our Lake Powell trip?) have a niece (Maddie) who had gone missing from Snow College on Monday night. My understanding is that she has some disabilities and mental health problems—doesn’t even have a driver’s license. The weather has been cold here, and as the week went on with no news of her we were all sick with worry about where she could be. Late last night we heard the news that she had been found alive. I am fully convinced that Jacob and Linn and their family willed that child’s safe return through their faithful prayers. If I’m ever in trouble, those are the people I want praying for me. They are incredibly inspirational. Today we learned that the police have arrested a man that met her online and took her from campus. The situation sounds truly horrible, and I just want to warn you again to please be so careful with strangers you interact with online. I really hate that you have to use Facebook as part of your missionary work, but I know it is just part of what you are expected to do. But please, please use good judgement and discernment---especially with people online.

9. I didn’t have much time for the news this week, but once again, its not good. Omicron is wreaking havoc in Europe, and it is coming here. Covid outbreaks delaying games in the NFL, NHL, NCAA. European countries are headed towards more lockdowns. Meanwhile, people in the the parts of the country damaged by tornadoes are staying in crowded shelters, with low vaccination rates and zero covid precautions. Also, the “doomsday” glacier is the size of Florida, and may soon break off into the ocean, leading to a foot and a half rise in sea level. Its a big deal, and people have no idea. Today Senator Joe Manchin announced he will not vote for the President’s Build Back Better Bill. This is a big blow. Locally, we can smell smoke in the air again. I’m just seeing reports that a house in Hunter’s Creek has just burned and is completely lost. A week before Christmas. Can you imagine?

10. Ok. This is a real downer of a letter. But I’m going to leave you with a feel-good story. This week I was reading a thread on Twitter from a lady who had just taught her Relief Society lesson about lifting up the poor. Her whole thread was fantastic, but couple of things that stuck out to me was the idea giving when and what you can, the term “wild generosity,’ and her “Egg Salad Sandwich Prayer.’ She told the story of leaving on a road trip and packing herself The Perfect Egg Salad Sandwich. She packaged it carefully so it wouldn’t get soggy, and was looking forward to eating it for lunch. Later she stopped at an intersection and a man had a sign that read “anything helps.” She didn’t have any cash with her. She heard the words in her mind, “roll down the window. That sandwich is for him.” So she asked him if he like egg salad, and he replied that is was his favorite. The sandwich was his. She tries to look for ways to reach out to people, to listen to the spirit even when it seems silly—especially when it's something she doesn’t want to do. This story prompted me to finally send a note to someone I’ve been meaning to write for over two months and just haven’t gotten around to it. But it's been nagging at me. So I finally just did it. On Monday we had heavy snow. It took me all morning to get the driveway cleared. Dad wasn’t feeling great, but he helped a bit. And so did Mike Bird who cleared that spot at the bottom of the driveway where the snow plow makes a mess. Anyway, I was exhausted and I had a lot to do that day. But I could see the Hewitts hadn’t been out to shovel yet. Mick has back problems and Natalie has started a new job this fall. I decided I could be generous with my time, and I went and shoveled their driveway too. No big deal. Really it wasn’t. But, the next day Mick posted on Facebook that his Dad had had a heart attack Monday morning while shoveling his own driveway. It was so nice for him to come home to see his driveway all cleared off. I felt so good that I was able to make his terrible day a little bit easier. We don’t always get to see the impact we make on others, so this was just a nice rewarding experience. Listening to the spirit and acting on it takes practice, and I know you are working on it all day every day! Keep it up!

Well. It is past my bedtime. Here’s to a better week, more sleep, and less stress!

Love you, Mom

Ps. Not that it matters, but I was wrong. The snow came Wednesday morning. It started Tuesday night during the ward Christmas party. The ward planned a lovely nativity program outside at Bishop’s field and had hot chocolate and a donut truck. It was a lot of fun until the rain started to pour mourned 7:30, and then it snowed the rest of the night.

I also forgot to mention, but probably your dad told you that Uncle Adam was made a bishop a week or two ago.

And finally, grandma brought over comfort food of cheesies and apple juice after Ty’s accident. The cheesies were awesome of course, but I am once again reminded that you boys have a grandmother who loves you more than life itself. She is wonderful.