Luciana here, everybody! Yippee!
Aw, you guys, this is the last post for ADITL! This series has been so fun, and I feel like you’ve all really gotten to see what each of us girls’ interests are. Do you have any ideas for a new series we could do? Comment below, please!
And now, onto my day.
8:00 AM: Rise and shine, everybody! It’s so nice that the sun rises shortly after 7 o’clock now. In the winter, we don’t see it until around 9:30 – but now, I get to have the beautiful sunlight stream through my window each morning. It’s my favorite part about the summers here. I also like to start my mornings with some stretching and relaxation time. I do this with Tessa, since she does it for ballet. We also do a little Bible study in the morning. Today’s scripture comes out of Corinthians:
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Pretty good lesson, right?
9:00 AM: After a quick shower in lukewarm water (to conserve energy, I installed a fixture in all the showers so they won’t run hot water for more than five minutes. Crystal is not a fan of this idea. I’m hoping she’ll adjust), I get out, put on some running clothes, and jog over to a nearby park. This is one of the best places in town to watch wildlife (right now, tiny baby geese!), plus I’m taking water samples home to test the pH levels for my AP Chemistry class (yes, I know I’m in middle school, but hey, I still love science!)
11 AM: I generally don’t eat breakfast because it makes my stomach hurt when I eat early in the morning. This generally results in me eating a big lunch instead. Since Tessa and Grace went to the new French café downtown for lunch, Crystal was put in charge of making lunch.
I’m not sure whose idea THAT was.
As soon as I walk in the door, a terrible burning smell hits me in the face. This is the following conversation:
“Crystal, what’s going on?”
“I’m making lunch, Luci!”
“What is that smell?”
“Your lunch.”
“Why does it smell like that, though?”
“BECAUSE YOUR LUNCH IS BURNING!!!”
An quick inspection of the kitchen reveals that the burning is coming from some failed grilled cheeses. I propose that we order a pizza instead, which Crystal complains will make her feel “bloated,” but I promise to help her clean up the mess in exchange for letting me order out. This seems to satisfy her.
2:00 PM: Emily, Molly, and I head downtown to the museum for the opening of a new science exhibit. The exhibit is about natural disasters in the world, with a special focus on earthquakes and tsunamis, since those both affect Alaska more than others natural disasters. There are videos and pictures comparing the 1964 earthquake to the one we had last year. Both very scary!
5:00 PM: Since the snow is melting outside, my sisters and I decide to have a bonfire in the backyard. We carry out stacks of warm blankets and pull chairs up to the fire. Lindsey and I get a fire going. I try to explain to the girls the scientific process behind starting a fire (exothermic chemical processes, anyone?), but they tune it out for the most part. Morgan kindly half-listens to me, but I’m coming to the conclusion that science is mostly my thing in this family.
6:30 PM: Time for youth group! Crystal, Morgan, and Tessa head to the evening service in the sanctuary, and the rest of us go upstairs. This week’s lesson is from Genesis and the creation of the world. I especially like the part where God creates the moon, stars, and sun:
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
I feel so lucky that we have the opportunity to study the beautiful heavens! Who says science and God can’t go hand-in-hand?
8:30 PM: We stop for milkshakes on the way home. I order chocolate. McKenna claims this is “boring.” Crystal says it’s “classy.” Thus, an argument on whether a milkshake can be classy or not ensues. (What do you think? Can you use the word “classy” to describe a milkshake? Comment below, people!)
9:30 PM: I get ready for bed and then sit at my window for a while, staring out at the stars above. This always calms me down (which I need, since the sucrose from the milkshake is still coursing through my body). Pretty soon, it’ll be too light at night to do this.
9:45 PM: Lights out. Goodnight, friends!
American Girls in Alaska 