Have you ever had one of those really awful, terrible days that turn into really awful, terrible WEEKS? It doesn't happen often for me....but boy did it happen to me last month. Want to hear a few examples? Go get your popcorn.
MONDAY:
I decided to take the kids to Old Navy to return some jeans that I had gotten the wrong size in. Leaving the house is one of my least favorite things in the world. Just the "getting in the car" part. Asking Boston to put on his shoes, while fighting Ellie to get ready, then 5 minutes later, Boston still does not have his shoes, asking him again and again, until I'm ready to blow is not my favorite thing in the world....
Finally getting them both in the car, I drive to Old Navy, park, and realize I don't even have the pants I came to return. I wasn't even mad, believe it or not, i chose to have a good attitude, and simply started driving home to get the pants. When turning onto my street, I had to slam on my breaks, because the lady that lives across the street from us is walking in the middle of the road. (She is constantly walking the neighborhood almost all morning because she has arthritis really bad and it helps her to be moving) She was very shaken up, and I of course feel TERRIBLE, but she was nice, and understanding, and kept saying she was glad to still be alive. I kept apologizing for almost hitting her, even though she shouldn't be walking in the middle of the street???? But what if I had actually killed this person? Ugh, the guilt. I pull into the garage and go to get the kids out, because I really don't want to go out anymore. Boston begins to cry, because of course he has his heart set on going to Old Navy....Changing any kind of plans on Boston is pretty much the end of the world. I get back in, slam the door, and head out again, only to get halfway there and realize I still do not have the pants. Are you kidding me smalls??? End of story. No more Old Navy.
(Update: This lady has since moved out of her house....it was like 2 weeks after this happened haha!)
As we get inside, Boston starts coughing pretty hard. I just keep thinking, I cannot handle this right now! I call the doctor, and leave a message, since Boston has only been over his pneumonia about a week. The kids get lunch, go down for a nap, and the doctors office calls back telling me to bring him in ASAP. I drag the kids from their naps back out and to the doctors for more chest x-rays, and they give us a new prescription for the pneumonia. We are then sent to Riverton Hospital for additional respiratory tests and further evaluation. The doctor at the hospital took a long (about 10 inches) thin flexible swab and stuck the whole thing up Boston's nose. He freaked. He has an angry scream that doesn't come out very often, but his whole little body shakes and his face gets really red, and his scream is halfway between a yell and a scream. He let the doctor have it. And then of course, Ellie starts screaming because she is a sympathetic cryer. The doctor just walks out haha. Thanks buddy.
TUESDAY:
I receive a call from the doctor first thing in the morning with the results from the hospital tests(which I later found out cost us $1000 ) Boston has tested positive for: RHINOVIRUS. Which, guess what? Is absolutely nothing. A small cold. I was then instructed to throw away the prescription we just paid $40 for. Deep breaths, deep breaths. I start cleaning the house because my Young Women were coming over for mutual that night. Sometime while i'm cleaning the basement, Boston finds some orange soda, and sits it on the edge of the computer desk. Ellie walks over, and proceeds to dump the soda all over the carpet. Trying to stay calm, I tell Boston to make sure his soda is out of Ellie's reach. I attempt to scrub out the stain that seems to be quickly eating up the carpet. Doesn't work. As I'm bent over scrubbing my brains out, Boston walks up to me and tells me he spilled. My blood is boiling. What? Where?! He points to the sectional and I see a giant orange smear all over the couch. I start pulling off the couch cushions so I can throw them in the laundry and turn around to see his cup of remaining soda tipped over dumping the remainder of the can in a different spot. I CAN'T HANDLE MY LIFE. Time outs for everyone. Boston was banned from Orange Soda for the rest of his life that day.
SATURDAY:
I had been planning on going to the temple with my YW presidency today. We have tried and tried to make this happen, and everytime we plan it, something happens and we end up rescheduling. So finally, the day had arrived. I woke up at 7 that morning, because I kept feeling like I needed to make sure I knew where my recommend was. My recommend is always in the same place so I DON'T lose it. Today, of course, it was not in that place. I tore the house apart looking in all the places I thought it could be. I cried, I prayed... we CAN'T cancel this trip because of me this time.... As a last resort, I had our bishop call the temple and speak to the temple recorder and they got it all worked out. PHEW.
I then get a text from a counselor who had a family emergency and couldn't make it. Seriously? Ugh. I debate about rescheduling. I have been feeling strongly like everyone should be there, but what if it just doesn't happen?? Deciding to keep the trip, right as I'm leaving to go pick everyone up, I get another call, as someone else backs out. I'm in tears right now. It shouldn't be this hard, should it? I remember back when Jeff and I were engaged. I remember our two biggest fights were the night before I went through the temple for the first time, and the night before our wedding. I remember my mom telling me that Satan did not want me to go to the temple, and he REALLY didn't want Jeff and I to be married. His whole purpose is to destroy the family, and this was his attempt to keep us from going. Well, it didn't work that time, and I certainly wasn't going to cancel this trip because of him either. I picked up the two remaining women, and we headed to the Draper temple. Even upon arriving at 9:40, we found out they couldn't get us in until the 11am session. I swear, one thing after another, after another. The ladies I were with had to call babysitters and make sure they were ok to stay. Thankfully, we were all able to stay.
I remember searching for something at the temple that day. I'm not really sure what I was searching for after my awful week, maybe just some sort of reassurance that everything was going to be ok, or even that I was cared about.
Totally didn't happen.
Of course I felt at peace in the temple, its always a positive experience, I just still didn't feel great about my week. I remember standing in the celestial room after the session, just gazing up at the beautiful chandelier, and wondering how in the world they clean it. There had to be thousands of tiny little crystals that made up the chandelier....but maybe things don't get dirty in the temple....it is however, the temple ;) I really didn't want to go home.
SUNDAY:
Usually on the 4th Sunday, we head up to Heber to the Tree's home for FHE and family dinner together. This time was different, the Tree's had a flood in their basement, and they asked us if we would host the dinner. I really didn't want to make the drive that week, so this worked out really well.
In Young Women's, we announced a fireside which was to be held that evening. Every quarter the stake holds a youth fireside, always on a 4th Sunday. I wasn't really planning on going, because I knew we would have family here. As we ate dinner, and went through the lesson, I just kept getting small urges to go to this fireside. I pushed the thoughts back, it's just too way too much. Plus, how rude would it be to leave? Finally, about 3 minutes before it started, I turned to Jeff and said, I really think I need to go to this fireside. I excused myself, and got to the fireside in the middle of the opening song. I found out shortly after, that the the main speaker, a football coach from Kearns High, Coach Ballard, hadn't even shown up. I just shook my head thinking, I left family night for a fireside where the speaker didn't even show up for?? A member of the stake presidency spoke for a few minutes in his place, until Coach Ballard eventually showed up, apologizing, because he thought the fireside started at 7 and not 6:30. He spoke on the mutual theme for this year 2 Nephi 31:20 - Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ. He spoke about "pressing forward" through all his trials growing up, losing his mom being his hardest. It really made me realize how silly and dumb these problems I faced over the week sounded. I'm sure there are tons of people who would gladly trade my problems for theirs. I needed to hear this guy speak. He ended with one last story that he almost didn't have time for.
He spoke about the time he was assigned to clean a large chandelier that hung in the Celestial room of the temple.
He went into detail describing the process. The chandelier is lowered almost to the floor, so that each crystal can be removed, and then passed down an assembly line of people, who pass the crystals through cleaning solutions to ensue that the crystals shine their brightest, and then can be hung again. He said the process of cleaning just the chandelier can take a good week.
Such a silly thing, really, to cry over a temple chandelier, but I knew my Heavenly Father was mindful of me. He heard my thoughts in the temple the day before, and this was an answer to my prayers. Really, no problem that we face each day is too small to our Heavenly Father. They seem small to me now, and even smaller as time passes, but he took the time to let me know that He is mindful of me. This is something that I KNOW. I knew it before, I just needed a reminder. We don't always get the answers we want, when we want them. We're all here to be tested, and I needed to be tested that day. Now, everytime I look at either of the bright orange stains that are on my basement carpet, I won't think about how angry I was when it happened... I'll remember the temple chandelier that ended my week, and know that my Heavenly Father loves me!
