Christmas Eve Rumination

This holiday season has been a little rough. Not only have we had regular life swirling around us, with the violin lessons and play rehearsals and work and school and church callings, but then we've added in Christmas traditions and parties and performances. On top of it all, I got pretty sick on December 10th. To say I never get sick would be false, but generally I get a cold or a stomach bug that passes pretty quickly. I rarely get sick like I did this month: sore throat, fever, chills, achy muscles, headache, cough. I was sick enough to miss a day of work, and then I lost my voice which made more an exciting few days in the library (it's hard to read books to kids when you can't talk). Even up until the 20th I was feeling pretty miserable. I also managed to develop pink eye, because of course I did.

This is all to say: I spent most of the Christmas season feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

I so enjoy Christmas. I enjoy the cozy feeling of love and peace that settles over me as I sit and look at the tree, or sing Christmas carols, or read scriptures with my family. I was too tired to sit and not sleep, had no voice for singing, and while we did read scriptures, it felt like a chore to talk about what we were reading. It felt like a chore to stay awake, for heaven's sake. Not to mention, when you're sick, a lot of other things fall to the wayside, like making meals and doing dishes. Christmas is a time of great food and I had no appetite!

This morning, Christmas Eve, I woke up at 5:30am, after dreaming that we were at the airport and my purse went through security, but I was being driven across the airport. (I rarely travel, and yet I have the worst airport dreams all.the.time.) I figured since I was up, I might as well take a few minutes to pray, and to listen. (I often get the words out, but don't often sit and listen for a response. I'm working on it.) I prayed to feel more of that Christmas joy that I'd been missing this year.

Immediately I thought of one of the songs my ward choir sang this year, Come Lord Jesus. It's a song I had never heard before (I guess it's from Savior of the World: His Birth and Resurrection), but the words went straight to my soul and filled me with that joy and hope that had been missing:

1. Come, Lord Jesus, to the manger;

May we see thy tender face?

Great Creator, here a stranger,

Infant in this humble place.

Darkness scatter, morning swell;

Come, dear Lord Immanuel.

Come, Lord Jesus, to the manger;

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

2. Come, Lord Jesus, to the wounded,

Broken heart and bended knee.

Worthy Lamb, thy love unbounded,

Bid our souls to rest in Thee.

Come in glory to the earth;

Come to us to rule and reign.

Ready us to kneel and greet thee;

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

3. Come, Lord Jesus, great Redeemer,

Light of morning from the East.

We will be Thy children ever;

Dry our tears, all weeping cease!

Come in glory to the earth;

Come to us to rule and reign.

Ready us to kneel and greet thee;

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

I mean, isn't that just beautiful? Our Savior came to scatter darkness, to dry our tears, to give us hope! This, right here, is what it's all about, not just Christmas but LIFE. 

That peace and joy I feel every Christmas did come, just a little late in the season. Now I feel ready for the holiday, ready to spread love and peace and hope and joy. Ready to welcome Him into my home and into my life. Come, Lord Jesus, come!  

40 by 40 #10: Go to Music and the Spoken Word

I lived in Salt Lake City for the first 18 years of my life.  Then I moved all the way to Provo for the next 4 years.  I spent another year in Salt Lake, and another 2 years in Provo.  That's 25 years.  After that, we lived in St George, and visited the Salt Lake area on a regular basis.  Once we moved to the Midwest we spent less time here, but we still made the trek back once a year.  And now I've lived in the Salt Lake Valley for 2 years.  And you know how many times I went to Music and the Spoken Word?  Once.  One time.  That's it.  All those years, all that time living in Salt Lake, and I only went once.  So I slapped it on my 40 by 40 list.

And then my awesome friend Larrie saw my list, and said she would go with me.  This by itself would be a wonderful thing, because it's always better to have company, and especially someone like Larrie.  But even better: Larrie's mom is the Concertmaster of Orchestra at Temple Square!  So we got to sit up close, like 3rd row close.  I don't think I've ever even walked up that close in the conference center, let alone sat there!  It was magical.  The music was beautiful, the spoken word was uplifting, and it was a wonderful addition to my Sabbath day worship. 

It's been almost a year since we went, and now I kind of want to go again.  Maybe take my kids so they don't repeat my mistakes.

40 by 40 #10: Go to Music and the Spoken Word: 🗹

40 by 40 #5: Go Paddleboarding

Last summer, I decided we were going to make this paddleboarding thing happen.  We live close to a lake, and thanks to our HOA we have access to a number of kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards that we can take on the lake, for FREE!  I love free!  So we headed to the lake to check this one off my list.

I think the first day, we had an old guy doling out the boats, who said it was too windy for a first-timer.  We were sad, but we took a kayak out instead, understanding how wind could make things more difficult.  The next time we went, we had someone I'll call Doofus.  Doofus seemed to be completely annoyed that we were there, making him get up from his cozy chair to get a paddleboard out.  Getting the boats and boards out doesn't seem that hard, so I couldn't figure out what his problem was.  When we first approached, he explained that he had heard thunder, and we had to go an hour without thunder before we could go on the lake.  This was fine, we went home, and came back an hour later (during which we distinctly heard no thunder).  Neither had Doofus.  But he said nope, no paddelboards, but he'd be happy to give us a kayak.  We explained that we didn't want a kayak, we wanted a paddleboard.  He nodded, and went to get a kayak.  We again explained that we didn't want to go kayaking, and he basically indicated that he wouldn't be letting us use the paddleboards today.  No explanation, not even a fake one.  So we left.  Clark sent a strongly worded email to the HOA (which he received no response on).  I was not impressed.

We went back a few days later, Doofus was there again.  His attitude remained the same, but he reluctantly got out a couple of paddleboards and let us on the lake.  To this day I have no idea what his problem was, but I have thankfully not seen him since then.

ANYWAY.  The paddleboarding itself was awesome!  It was much harder than I thought it would be, but in a good way.  Clark and I both paddled out while kneeling, then stood up after a lot of effort (and a little confusion, how are you supposed to stand up without tipping over? I still don't know exactly how that happened...), and made our way around the lake.  It was great!

I didn't get a picture of this activity because, hello, my phone would go right into the lake.  Plus, I had to use all my appendages (and my core) just to stay on the board.  But trust me, it happened, and it was fabulous.

40 by 40 #5: Go paddleboarding: 🗹

40 by 40 #35: Eat Pie From Burr Trail Grill in Boulder, UT

I'm pretty sure you all know how I feel about pie. I might just be a tiny bit obsessed. Someone shared with me a list of the best place in each state to get some pie, which is when I first heard of Burr Trail Grill.  I said to myself, "Um, there's no way this restaurant in the middle of nowhere is the best pie in Utah." But then I heard it straight from someone who had been there that it was, in fact, amazing. Thus began my quest to get to Boulder. 

Where is Boulder, UT, you ask? Well, it's close to nothing in the middle of nowhere. When we planned that trip to Capitol Reef, I noticed that Boulder, UT was only 53 minutes away, which is the closest I'll ever be, and so I made it priority to get. that. pie. The rest of my family thought I was crazy to want to go so far out of the way for a piece of pie, but I insisted.  And let me tell you, none of them thought I was crazy after they tasted this pie. 

I got the peach, since peach is my favorite. Oh my heavens, it was fantastic.  The crust was so flaky, the peaches were so sweet and delicious...it was most definitely worth the drive. I don't know when I'll be back, but I plan to be back.

40 by 40 #35: Eat pie from Burr Trail Grill in Boudler, UT: 🗹

40 by 40 #25: Visit Capitol Reef

 Last summer (August 2018) we headed down to Capitol Reef with my extended family for a little vacation.  Clark had to stay behind because he started working (happy day!), but the rest of us had a great time.  We camped in a tent (a first for the girls), went hiking, saw petroglyphs, and even harvested some fruit from the orchards in Fruita.  I had never been to Capitol Reef before, and it was amazing!  All that glorious red rock that I love so well, but without all the crowds you find at Arches and Zion.  We really need to go back, with Clark this time!

 40 by 40 #25: Visit Capitol Reef: 🗹

40 by 40 #40: Go to Gilgal Gardens

  

For our anniversary last year (2018) we took an excursion into town and stopped at Gilgal Gardens.  Because nothing says true love like a jaunt through a weird sculpture garden!

But I jest.  Gilgal Gardens has a reputation of being a weird place, but I actually really enjoyed our time there.  It helped that we had a pamphlet to guide us, giving us insight into the symbolism behind all the sculptures.  It was really quite beautiful, even the Joseph Smith sphynx.

But one of my favorites was this one, the swords and spears changed into plowshares and pruninghooks.  Possibly because the scripture this is based on (Isaiah 2:4) is one I find to incredibly hopeful: "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."  I can't wait for that day.

Plus, we saw the Face of Boe, so....

40 by 40 #40: Go to Gilgal Gardens: 🗹