The One With All the Scare-coronas

I happened across an article in the local news about a walking art show in Northside (a neighborhood just northwest of downtown Cincinnati). We have never been to that part of town and taking the kids for a walk to look at other people's yard decorations sounded too good to pass up.

We went.

And we loved it.

On the way back home I commented to J that I like Northside better than the part of Cincinnati that we live in. It feels like a very artistic part of town, it has personality, people were friendly and open to chatting (six feet apart, of course), and it looked like it had a lot of neat shops and restaurants (since we're social distancing and didn't have our face masks we didn't go inside any). Much better than the ugly strip malls that we never go to in our part of town.
When all this is over I want to go back.

In typical Cincinnati fashion it has been hot and humid the last couple days.
Hulk was dying during the walk.
Viking Girl actually stayed in the stroller (never happens).
And Teddy took a nap (typical).

I am grateful for a community that was willing to creatively express their frustration.
I am grateful for the friendly people sitting outside their houses willing to chat with us.
I am grateful that we live in such a diverse town.

And now here's a picture dump:

And my sentimental favorite <3

Happy Mother's Day

This week started out rough but ended well. My feelings about Mother's Day oscillate from year to year. Some years I feel stressed, frustrated, and under appreciated. Other years I am able to relax and enjoy the holiday. 

This was one of those years. 

As an introvert, I would appreciate the holiday more if I didn't spend half my day calling all the mothers in my life to wish them a happy mother's day.

But that's really selfish of me.

I should be grateful that I can still call and talk with my mothers (and that I have a good relationship with all of them).

A friend shared a picture of her baby girl last month and said that today she is grateful to her daughter for making her a mother. This friend also has two step-sons. 

I am of the camp that every woman, in some way, is a mother. You don't have to physical birth a child to influence others. To me, a mother is someone who teaches, mentors, and guides others. While this is most often her own children (biological, step, or adopted), it could be the children of friends, relatives, or her children's friends. It could be the children you coach on a regular basis or the random child you stop when you see them running into the street after a ball. 

I have friends who hate mother's day because the day tends to glorify the idea of the "perfect mother" which leaves real mothers feeling inadequate and guilty. There's a good post from Thus We See that puts my thoughts on this topic into words much better than I could. Sure, there may be "better" mothers than me out there in the world but I am doing the best I can with what I have been given. No one can expect more from me than that and I consciously do my best to not compare myself to other woman. So when I hear stories of "perfect mothers" I listen politely. If there's an idea in there that I like and I think will work with my kids I try it out otherwise I move on with my life. This may not work for everyone but it works for me.

The one thing that I consistently don't like about mother's day each year is the consumerism. If J bought me jewelry for mother's day (or candles, or blankets, or wind chimes, or whatever else is being marketed that year) I would through a fit. I have a birthday (and there's Christmas) buy me stuff then. For mother's day, make my day easier by cooking dinner and playing with the kids so I can take a nap. THAT'S IT. That's all I want. 

And maybe some flowers but a bouquet not a plotted plant that I then have to care for and feel guilty about when it eventually dies.

J did have the kids sit down with me to take pictures (and they mostly behaved). 

It was a good day.

Now to go pick up the toys that the kids didn't put away and clean the kitchen. 

There are no breaks in motherhood.

Campbell Family Church

Since churches were closed at the beginning of the quarantine (along with schools, restaurants, libraries, museums...) we have been participating in church at home.

J and I have tricked to mimic a typical church experience - I print programs with an activity page on the back for the kids, J provides the sacrament, we have a speaker (by J or Hulk), share testimonies, sing songs while I play piano, and then do a primary lesson (by me) for Hulk and Viking Girl while J puts Teddy Bear down for a nap.

We have really enjoyed this experience.

Last year, our church came out with a new teaching program called Come, Follow Me. It emphasized the importance of teaching the gospel at home and then coming to church prepared to participate in the lessons by sharing thoughts or experiences related to the topics.

J and I have felt that church, like school, is meant to facilitate teaching in the home (not replace). It is our job to teach our children (and ourselves). Church fills in the gaps. You learn a lot through discussion and church provides a place for you to come and to talk and learn from other people. It is a community where we can come together for support and help each other but the majority of learning should be done at home.

Come, Follow Me also gave focus to the lessons we were trying to teach the kids.

So we've really appreciated the program. Especially now, when all church is at home. I particularly appreciate how the lessons we have been going over during this quarantine are uniquely appropriate to the current situation.

In the spirit of honesty, before the quarantine we only sat down with the kids to go over the Come, Follow Me lesson once or twice a week. We wanted to do more but always seemed to get side tracked by something else. During this quarantine we have gone over the lessons almost every day (I think we've only missed one day).

Today, our ward participated in Sunday School through a Zoom conference. That was a great experience. As an introvert that prides herself in being independent I had not realized how much I missed my church family and listening to their insights on the gospel until then.

I am grateful for a modern prophet and leaders who were inspired to shift gospel learning to the home, to change the Visiting/Home Teaching programs to a ministering program that did not require home visits, and to remove the one year waiting period members who were married civilly in the United States had before they could be married in the temple. I feel like all of those changes have prepared us for this unique point in our lives.