Sunday, December 1, 2013

Just a Day in the Life

Today at church, Sian was sitting next to me when a man leaned forward from the row behind us and said to her, "Has anyone told you that you look just like the girl in Hunger Games?" Actually, she gets told that a lot. It was even worse before she cut her hair. I don't think there's anything wrong with being compared to Jennifer Lawrence, but Sian does get tired of it. Boo hoo.

After church, I instructed everyone to keep their Sunday clothes on because Husband had signed us up for Tithing Settlement in the afternoon. In the meantime, we tidied up a bit, as the main floor was still in some disarray after our holiday get-together and a sleepover that Joseph had with a friend. After Tithing Settlement (which is when you declare whether or not you are a full tithe payer and receive a statement of your tithes and offerings for personal and tax purposes), we came back home and knelt in family prayer for one of my nieces, who is struggling right now.

Husband and I drove Sian back to school today after an early dinner. It was so nice to have her here for Thanksgiving, and she got to spend some quality time with some of her best friends from the neighborhood. The next time we see her will be for Christmas break, after which she will be living at home again. She has decided to serve an LDS mission, so she will be taking a leave of absence from college and then working to pay for the mission while waiting to turn 19. I find myself getting a little worried about where she will end up serving. Will she be safe? How far away will she be? What adventures will she have? Did my parents wonder the same things when my brother and I were sending in our papers way back in 1992?

On the way to her school, we tried to help her with an upcoming Linguistics assignment. She and her team have to develop a new language, and one of Sian's contributions is to create a history for the fantasy civilization they have dreamed up. This is Husband's particular strength, as he spends a lot of time world-building for the novels he writes. We spent over an hour determining how the first people arrived on an imaginary volcanic island, what their societal structure is, and what events triggered changes in their language.

After we'd dropped Sian off at her dorm, Husband and I turned around and began the lengthy drive home. For a while, we talked about Sian's book idea, which is so good that Husband has wished she would tell him she isn't interested in writing it and let him have it. We also talked about a book Husband just read that is written by a woman who believes that independent reading is the key to helping children love to learn and has her elementary students read 40 books a year. Her students love it because they get to choose their own books, recommend books to classmates, and they don't have to write tedious book reports or analyses after reading. Husband really likes that idea, but wondered how to implement something like that, given that he has to move his classroom every nine weeks or so and cannot, therefore, maintain a large in-class library. Later in the drive, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about a house I've designed in my head, finessing the details and figuring out how to make it work on either a flat piece of land or a steeply sloped lot.

When we got home, Sophia had completed her dishes duty, and the kitchen was sparkling. The kids have put up the Christmas tree and hung some lights on the bush out front. Very festive.

Just a day in the life.

As a side note, Husband told me that he allows his students to play chess after they have finished their work. They love to play chess, and I think it's a great game for stretching your mind and developing strategic thinking skills. He did have to break up a chess gambling ring, however, that was instituted by an entrepreneurial girl in his class. You have to admire her ingenuity, even if it's completely inappropriate.


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