Sunday of Firsts

Sunday was a series of firsts for us, and it turned out pretty nice, so I wanted to record them here. 

It was the first time our ward had held a testimony meeting in over a year. Half of the ward is invited to attend church in-person each week (masked, sitting in household clusters, 6 ft apart, etc.), and the service is streamed online for those staying home. It was a relief and a spiritual boost to hear from a variety of people in my ward, almost entirely women, publicly sharing their testimonies, hope, faith and struggles. Best ward meeting I've attended in a long time.

It was the first time in a loooooooong time that I got to sit on the couch and read almost the whole day. A good, uplifting book.

It was the first time Matthew took a prominent teaching role in Family Home Evening. We've rotated who gives the lessons since time immemorial, but usually when it was Matthew's turn, a parent would just teach a Matthew-centered lesson. This time, he repeated the scripture, I asked the questions, he called on people to answer, and then meticulously wrote out their answers on the whiteboard while I told him how to spell each word letter by letter. The other kids were INCREDIBLY patient and loving and supportive during Matthew's lesson. Then we played a form of pictionary to emphasize the things we talked about. Again, Matthew took the lead and the other kids supported him. The kids were honest about their experiences with prayer and I felt the Spirit. It made me brilliantly happy. It made Matthew happy, too.

Sunday was the first time Robert lost a molar. It was kinda painful and scary. He needed a lot of emotional support. We snuggled on the couch with a blanket and he just told me everything he was thinking and experiencing as it happened. He needed regular reassurance that this was normal and okay. It was hard for him, but he tackled the pain and endured the unknown really well. His tooth went from slightly jiggly to out in a matter of 3 hours. When he yelled the news to James and Matthew playing outside, they genuinely cheered for him. That made him feel sooooo loved.

This was also the first Sunday that James expressed any interest in fasting. Once a child in our family turns 8 and is baptized a member of The Church or Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we start giving them the option to fast with us on Fast Sundays (they typically fall on the first Sunday of the month). Adults are expected to fast from food and drink for 24 hours (2 meals). Bobby and I have allowed our kids to choose every Fast Sunday whether they will fast with us or not. They choose when to start and end their fast, which meals and how many to fast, whether to fast from drinking, etc. This is their offering, not ours. James decided without prompting that he would fast over lunch on Sunday, not eating or drinking from breakfast until dinner. We talked a little bit about who or what he could fast for, since that makes all the difference between "fasting" and "going hungry." He didn't want to tell anyone what he was fasting for. That drove Matthew nuts, of course, which made the whole experience even more desirable for James (it's important to James these days that other people want/admire what he has, whether it's an object, information, or power). He was really proud of himself in the end. He said he was able to distract himself with other things until dinner. Playing outside helped a ton :)

Last week was also the first decent weather allowing us to walk the kids to and from school on their in-person days. There was grumbling initially, but I feel a difference in our home when the boys just get out and walk that little bit (1.4 miles round-trip). Alice comes, too, and becomes Matthew's walking buddy. She told me on the first day that she felt all grown up taking him to school. The official rules are that James and Robert are experienced enough to get to and from school on their own. If they choose to walk with me and Matthew, that's cool, but no pressure whatsoever. Walking to and from school, attending class in-person a few hours a week...opportunities for the older boys to flex their independence. Love it. Missed it.

Today was my first outdoor bike ride of the season. A glorious 20 miles! I used my "clip less" pedals and didn't fall down at all. Yippee! I know I will eventually fall, yes, because these shoes do that to newbies, but I didn't fall today.

That's a "first" for everyone except Bobby and Alice. Hmmmm...

Everything Alice does is a first for me. I'm her mom, so there are parts of our relationship that will never be like friends, but we've become better friends since Covid. Sometimes all it takes is a look and I know she's thinking what I'm thinking. Oh! We bought her her first "adult size" bike this week. It's a nifty hybrid with an upright seat and disc brakes. It'll get her to and from school for the next 4 years, and straight into college, if she doesn't grow any more than 4 inches taller :)

Bobby went for a run outdoors Saturday morning and got in just over 4 miles without stopping! That's a first for this season. He's run further and faster before, of course, but this was really good considering he had only run outside or on a treadmill a couple times since before Thanksgiving. Bobby also made a big, fantastic dinner in a messy kitchen, while fasting, with no help, while I read my book on the couch. Not a first for us, but I really, really, really appreciate it when it happens. He put up with all of my shenanigans and half-baked experiments this week. Also, not a first. He worked diligently and intelligently to provide for our family...like he always does. I sometimes complain about feeling isolated and trapped, but the kids and I actually have an enormous amount of flexibility due to Bobby's steady labor. I have a lot to be grateful for...the "firsts" as well as the "steady always" in my life.