A Week of Celebration

Monday started gray and a little chilly. Everyone who could, slept in and the morning got off to a slow start. Of course, I was up at my usual time and so were Stacey and Hannah who had to go to work. The rest didn’t begin to stir until around 9:00. After that, things got moving quickly. Breakfast was a drawn out affair as people drifted in – the early children, the later children, and lastly, the adults. There were morning chores for the children (mine were done long before that) – beds to make, tasks to complete so they could add another sticker to the chart.

Hanging out with Russell.

I had jobs to do outdoors, but it was too dewy to do anything until almost 11:00. I enlisted the children to do some weeding. There are only a few places where I trust them to weed and pull up the right plants – not the flowerbeds. The corn patch seemed the perfect place. You can definitely tell the difference between a corn plant and a pigweed. They did okay with it except they were not careful about where they were stepping and I had to monitor them closely to keep them from trampling the corn rows. Standing there, giving orders to them while they labored, made me feel like a prison guard overseeing a juvenile chain gang. But they got a good deal of work done with minimal damage.

Weeding.

After that, I did some solo weeding in a part of the garden where I didn’t trust anyone to help me. I have a long row out in the big garden dedicated to dahlias, gladiolus, and poppies. That’s what I weeded. It took me four hours. When I finished and came back to the house, I found that everyone had gone swimming without me. I didn’t mind too much. I would have only gone along to watch and take pictures. I don’t swim anymore.

Swimming.

Russell.

That evening after dinner, we went over to join the Shilligs for Family Home Evening. Stacey gave a great lesson about our family. She pointed out interesting relationships, for instance, Henry is the first son of a first son for eight generations, and Juniper was the second child of a second child for seven generations, etc. One of the most impressive ones was that Ellie, Gwen, and Henry are the sixth generation of children born in the covenant on Joni’s line. After that, because it was July 1st, Julie, who was born in Canada, gave a presentation on Canada Day complete with Canada themed dessert.

Canada Day at the Shillig's.

Russell with a Canada Day cupcake.

It was a little chilly when I went to bed that night, but I was shocked when I woke up on Tuesday and the thermometer was at 37°! In the 30s in July is not what I want. I had to dig out a jacket when I went down to do the morning chores. I could see my breath. A few degrees lower and we could have had a frost, which would have been disastrous.

Tuesday Geoffrey and his family went on a Church History excursion up in Palmyra. They visited the Hill Cumorah, the Smith Farm and Sacred Grove, and the Grandin Press. After that they drove over to Niagara Falls and rode the Maid of the Mist. They were gone all day.

At the Sacred Grove.

At the Grandin Press.

On the Maid of the Mist.

Here at home, the children spent the day playing. They went swimming again in the afternoon. I spent a few hours mowing. By then, the temperature was almost at 80°. That’s quite a difference from the almost freezing morning. I was glad things heated up again. It is July after all.

Playing with Grandma's dollhouse.

Wednesday morning, as I went out before dawn to take my walk and do the morning chores, I realized again how much I love the mornings. A new day in its first hours is both calming and exciting. I love to witness the world as it stirs at the sun’s approach. It is quiet in a noisy way with birdsong and frog song the only sounds I hear. I love the sky on a summer’s morning when the high clouds begin to lighten. Usually there are pale colors, mother-of-pearl shades of pink and gray and violet. Some mornings the colors are vivid, fiery orange and red. And there are mornings when the sky is overcast and the light is slow in coming. To walk out on a morning and think of all things that lie ahead, the possibilities the day holds, is exciting and sometimes overwhelming. As I walk the gardens and the orchard, I list the things I want to accomplish, while in the back of my mind I remind myself that my tasks are my own and no one else’s. If I finish them, fine. If I don’t, there’s always tomorrow. I like that thought.

A quiet morning last week.

With company here, I find I enjoy the brief quiet of the mornings even more. It isn’t long before the house is awake and all the activity begins – breakfast, chores, games, activities – and the quiet turns to the happy, continuous noise that goes on through the rest of the day.

Doing chores with Russell.

Wednesday we had plans, a friend who paints rocks was coming to have an activity with the children, but she couldn’t come at the last minute. We had to come up with an alternative. Instead they painted shirts. It was a warm day and I spent a few hours weeding. Sarah and Tosh arrived at 2:00. At 3:00 everyone went swimming except for me. I used that time to do a little resting.

Painting t-shirts.

Painting t-shirts.

Thursday morning, Independence Day, I was up early, as usual. After I took my walk and did the chores, I sat down and read, as I do each year, The Declaration of Independence, the document that created our nation. I’m always impressed by the revolutionary truths it sets forth, truths that were not acknowledged by any government on the earth at that time – that our rights are given to us by our Creator, not granted to us by the government – that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed, and when a government fails to do this, it is the right of the people to change their government. The Declaration goes on to list the government of Great Britain’s injuries and usurpations that led the colonies to declare their independence. Several items on the list sound familiar and current – refusing to enact laws the people deem necessary for the public good, appointing judges that it controls, creating numerous bureaucratic offices with swarms of officers to harass the people, imposing taxes without the consent of the people, depriving them of the benefit of trial by jury, overriding the state legislatures and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate in all cases whatsoever. The Founders fought a war to correct these abuses and then created a Constitution designed to prevent the new government from becoming tyrannical in like manner. I think many of us have forgotten this or are ignorant of it all together. I think the Founders would be shocked to see what we’ve become.

After meditating on The Declaration and the state of the world, I went on into the day determined to celebrate all that is good in this nation, the freedom we are blessed with, our achievements over the course of our history. As the house began to stir to life, I put on some patriotic music to set the tone for the day – marches by John Philips Sousa and other patriotic songs.

The weather forecast said to expect rain early Thursday morning, but it never came. It was warm and muggy all morning and into the afternoon. Then at 2:30, the clouds opened up and dumped rain on us. All outdoor activity stopped abruptly as everyone ran for cover. We stood on the front porch and watched the rain come down in torrents. When I went down to do the afternoon chores, the chickens were all inside the coop, grumbling about the weather in true “mad as a wet hen” fashion. All the umbrellas were in use, so I got soaked going to and from the barn.

Rain on the 4th.

One of the big activities of the day was an Escape Room designed by Stacey. She spent weeks thinking up clues and preparing locked boxes, suitcases, and attache cases. She set it all up next door in the farm house. She took people through in small groups. They had to solve family history puzzles to move from room to room. The prize at the end was an ice cream cone. It was a great success.

Cousins figuring out clues in the Escape Room.

By 4:30 the rain let up. Our outdoor celebration was spared. At 6:30 we gathered next door at the Shillig’s back porch. Kurt had hot dogs, bratwurst, and hamburgers going on the grill. There were all sorts of salads, watermelon, and brownies. Our missionaries joined us. The food was delicious. After the meal, the missionaries left and the celebration shifted gears. Some came over to our house to watch Jaws, which has sort of become a tradition since it is set on the 4th of July. We rigged a projector and screen in the living room. As it got dark, everyone went back to the Shillig’s and  lit sparklers and danced to patriotic music. The air was very still and the smoke hung over us. Then after dark, we sang the national anthem and then we had fireworks. Geoffrey, Tabor, and Chase set up the fireworks and Kurt launched them using the remote control launcher that Geoffrey made for him. The fireworks were great.

The Fosters won the most patriotic outfits award.

The cousins.

With our grandchildren.

On the Shillig's back porch.

Watching Jaws.

Sparklers in the smoke.

Fireworks.

Our fireworks finale.

Friday was another rainy morning, but the weather cleared by midday and it was warm and muggy. That morning our rock painting lady came. Because it was rainy, we held that activity indoors. Friday we went to the movies again, this time for a private showing of Despicable Me 4. All I can say is that the children enjoyed it. Dinner that evening was pizza. Hannah and Geoffrey both made pizzas. We carried them over to Shillig’s and ate on the back porch. Then we celebrated our niece Kailie’s boy Theo’s first birthday. After that we lit the bonfire out on the edge of the orchard. It was a big bonfire and it smoldered on into the night. There was game playing and movie watching until bedtime.

Rock painting.

Rock painting.

Theo's first birthday.

The bonfire.

On Saturday, our revels now were ended at our house as our summer guests all left. Geoffrey, Joni and their children left at 9:00 a.m., the Fosters at noon, and the Thayns at 6:00 p.m. Then we set to work cleaning things up. With so many people here for so long, things were disorderly, furniture moved out of its usual place, bedding to change out, and the inevitable collecting of things accidentally left behind. The house seemed a bit sepulchral that evening. But over at the Shillig’s, they still have a houseful of guests and they overflow to our house a lot, so things will still be festive from time to time.

Good-bye to Geoffrey's family.

Today is the Sabbath. This morning when I went down to do the chores, it seemed especially quiet. Even the chickens and pigs seemed subdued. After chores, I got ready for church. There was no hustle and bustle. Our attendance at church was lower now that our family was gone, but the Shillig’s guests still gave us a boost. Lunch seems so simple. Only four places at the table again.

Poppy.

Another poppy.

Fragrant yellow woodland azalea.

We’re a week into July already. This is when summer seems to surge ahead. With the heat and the rain and the humidity, everything is growing fast, especially the weeds. Somehow as soon as the 4th of July passes, summer seems half gone, when really it has just begun. The garden is starting to show its age a bit. The tall grass in the orchard is browning and I will mow it soon. The roadsides are bedecked with chicory and Queen Anne’s lace. Out in the woodland garden, the summer azalea is blooming and its sweet musky fragrance fills the warm evening air. These are precious, fleeting days full of high summer loveliness, bright flowers, hot days, and warm nights. The house might seem quiet and empty today, but we will be with family again soon. The Thayns are coming up for another visit at the end of the month and in August we have a family reunion in North Carolina. That will be wonderful. But I don’t want to think about August yet.