Beneath the Wraps

 Last year when I enrolled Jenna for ORCA, they came back with her to enroll as a senior - which sounded absolutely cool to me. But neither Roland nor Jenna seemed particularly interested in advancing her - especially because Jenna wanted the opportunity of graduating with her class mates at the local high school and not online.  This morning she informed me of the death of one of the staff members who just recently died of COVID.  I don't know why she thinks that.  She doesn't seem to have a source. It is too late for us to enroll her back in ORCA.  As I mentioned, the school has been put on week delay from when they were supposed to start.  Oregon has called in the national guard to assist with the problem the state is facing with COVID (more specifically the Delta Variant) outbreak.  The state has made national news.  I wish we would have enrolled her as a senior.  Then I wouldn't feel like I am throwing her to the lions den.

  I suppose it’s my own fault for having a “not exactly stressful day” but “not the way I would have done it day” and it isn’t even afternoon yet.   What’s up with that? Pre-pandemic the Relief Society presidency would hold our meetings on Wednesday either at 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. depending on whether I had accepted an assignment to work at the school.   Meetings were basically arranged according to my schedule.   Ahhh. Then came the pandemic.   It really didn’t matter what time or what day of the week our zoom meetings were.   Even before we had returned back to the two block meetings and held our meetings in person, we had somehow changed to Tuesdays at 10:00 am. which I hadn’t even thought about one way or another until just this very moment. Yesterday I went to the pool for the first time in almost two years.   It had rained before we left and Roland had tried to discourage us from going.   But I knew Carol would be there.   Rain ...

She became aware of boy/girl relationships during middle school.   She thought they were stupid.   All the emotions.   All of the game playing.   All of the drama.   The entire idea of relationships was stupid.   They did not appeal to her and she was fine and secure on her own.   She remained that way throughout middle school and her freshman year. Then came summer. They were friends.   There were generally four of them who hung around one another during lunch.   Not necessarily to eat, but to play games and enjoy one another’s company. He really liked her.   First as a friend.   Then maybe something more.   Not too much more.   He had been in a relationship before.   He did not need another.   And yet he found her to be adorable.   He liked holding her hand and leaning on her.   What’s more, he enjoyed it when she leaned on him. He told her that he would not date her.   Or at le...

          Jenna has early morning seminary.   She started this morning.   Arrangements have been made for taking the students from the church to the school - though I had planned on assisting with that this morning.   From the time she left the house to the time I arrived at the church was one of the quickest hours I have ever experienced in my life.             I had forgotten about her being in seminary or school traffic or buses or how much I loathe driving in school traffic.   I had somehow managed to forget all of that during the summer.   As soon as I pulled out of my driveway and saw a school bus, I thought "Oh, no." And then I had to fight the brightness of the sun on top of that.   Good grief.           How is it possible that my baby had just barely turned eleven before our official move to Ore...