Yesterday, after going to church, I went home, took a nap, and then went to a wonderful fireside full of music. It was good to see all of the young people that had gone off to college or wherever at the fireside.
After the fireside I got to go over to "the house" to sleepover with all of my cousins. As an unexpected plus, I got to go to a Sunday School game night for another ward with the Jarvis brothers and Jessica. The idea of having a Sunday School game night was a concept I have never been exposed to before; it was genius! So we went to Bro. Chamber's house, played Apples to Apples Bible Edition, played songs on guitar, and ate cookies. Oh man, that reminds me. The Christmas diet is, like, the most unhealthy diet ever! It's like Buddy the Elf, only instead of being so hyper and productive you feel tired and gross. Well, that's how it's been for me the last few days. I'll get over this sickness soon though; I think cutting back on all of the cookies might quicken the process...
Anyways, the redwood 14-16 Sunday School class is a pretty interesting class. For starters, it includes the ultimate joker Anthony Jarvis. Secondly, it includes two hyper young ladies named Brittany and Morgan. It was the typical random girl duo, and it made me think of two of my dear friends, Cassidy and Allie, spending time with them. Though I've never been to his class before, I can tell that Bro. Chambers is a pretty darn good Sunday School teacher.
The next morning I was awoken by my cousins at 5:30 in the morning to go work out! Though it felt terrible to do it at the time, it felt great after we got back. Oh, but I was shot all morning; the Jarvis workout routine is brutal! My legs still feel limp and spaghetti-like. It was those lunges...
Today was the big cooking and shopping day for the Jarvis family. Lots of cookies... everywhere... A lot of dollar-store toys too.
Something really hit me today. When we met my uncle Jeff at a gas station to get money, he told us about an accident that happened this weekend. Some of the young men on the local football team were involved in a car crash. Nobody was killed, but one had to be taken to Portland because of some terrible internal issues that resulted. Another young man had all of the ligaments and muscle tissue ripped up in one of his legs; Jeff said the boy was most likely done with football for the rest of his life. Jefferson and Anthony continued to talk more about Josh, which I think was the young man's name. A foster child who had been raised by parents who didn't live together, football was the focus of his life. As they continued to talk about this guy's situation, it really just hit me. It became more of a reality to me. There are so many people whose situations are so low, so terrible. Not everyone has opportunity to learn, or loving parents to guide you along the way. Not everyone is blessed with the knowledge of the gospel in their lives. Not everyone is given opportunities to education. Now that I have internalized this, I feel so sick to have had any speck of self-pity in me. It made me cry, just silently mourn, for a long time in that car. I feel so ashamed. There are so many people's lives to bless; there's no time to be thinking so selfishly!
Well, later today we got to play with the younger boys outside. Cousin Josh, Henry, and Cousin Alex all combined their Nerf gun collections together and had enough stuff to do a 3-on-3 war. Calvin, Anthony, and I were privileged to participate in the fun. At first I was not expecting it too be that much fun, considering my past knowledge of the toys being weak, cheap, and easily broken. The experience I had today changed my opinion of the toy; we had a great time!
I slept through tonight's family night, I'll admit it. I ate a delicious spaghetti dinner, slept, and woke up to the last 10 minutes of grandma's lesson. It was about the calm of the storm and how the Savior can calm us if we just let Him and trust in Him. I love grandma.
Back home now; it is time to go to bed. There's a lot to do tomorrow!
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