On Sunday I snuck out of the house a little before 8am to go see my friend, Courtney, sing in church. It was my first time in an LDS chapel since leaving, and I was so thankful that I did not feel one iota triggered. It felt nice, communal, and familiar. And it turns out one of Lydia’s friends is in that ward. She came over and said hi, and I gave her a hug.
Courtney sang SO beautifully. I wish I could have taken a video. It was so moving to hear her sing. And it was fun to visit with her a little bit before people started filing in for church.
After her song was over I went to Harmons, picked up bread, and stopped by my mom’s for a visit. She was not feeling well but took some bread and a hug. Mom, I am so sorry for all you are going through. You really do not deserve to be suffering. You are such a wonderful woman and mother, and I love you!
After I saw my mom I came home. Abe and I tidied, vacuumed, mopped, and got ready for a brunch with my friend, Stephanie. Stephanie also works at Qualtrics and is Abe’s friend too, so he joined us. We had avocado toast, ricotta toast with homemade applesauce, and some yogurt and muesli.
Stephanie has what I would call a prophetic voice. She is bubbly, bright, and full of life and light. And her mind is, quite frankly, amazing. I loved discussing issues with her and hearing her frank and incisive (and somehow lively and hopeful) analysis of current issues. I hope she starts a podcast or something because I think her ideas need some sort of public platform.
Stephanie is also a professional graphic designer and an artist, so after we were done eating she helped figure out some design issues in my basement.
And as Stephanie was stepping out of the door, Tyler from Community of Christ was stepping in for home church. No one but Tyler came, but we ended up having the greatest evening with him. He had time to kill before his meeting at a church in Provo, so we had him over for dinner. We made more of the same toasts from brunch, roasted some sweet potatoes for a spinach, sweet potato, pecan and gorgonzola salad, and made a lentil soup. Tyler is a foodie and we had fun talking about our favorite cookbook authors and recipes together.
After Tyler left, we cleaned up. Well, actually, Abe cleaned everything. I collapsed after such a long, full day and Abe cleaned while I lay on the couch. I think I might have read a book or two to Ammon and or Clarissa but it is a blur. After he was done cleaning Abe read Harry Potter to everyone and tucked people in for bed. We finished off by watching Ted Lasso together and loved every second of that. Such a fantastic show!