A Week in Neal's Life.

For those of you who care, something happened to me this week: Life. It was, by most accounts, an ordinary life, but it happened. Of course, just because it was ordinary, that doesn't mean that it wasn't noteworthy. Life, because it happens to us all the time, is easily taken for granted, but it's still a precious gift. So I think, from time to time, life's passage deserves some introspection and appreciation, no matter how ordinary it seems. Here, then, is how my life unfolded.

Just in time for my family's return from their long absence, it was my turn to spend time away from home. Not a half day after Shannon and the kids pulled into our garage after a 10-hour drive and eight days away, I was in the office drawing sketches for my next freelance project. I despise freelancing; it dramatically restrains my already limited family time, but Shannon and I both felt like we needed to take the job. I'm designing web marketing collateral (An esoteric graphic design word for "stuff"), for a company called Live2Mobile. They have a subscription service for mobile phone content like tv shows, news programming, etc. They’re a spanking-new company without even a trademark to their name, but I’m in charge of making them look like the Wal-mart of the mobile content subscription world. No biggie. I don’t have the software I need at home, so I have special permission to use my work computer. The only problem is, I have to use it after-hours. That means I had two early mornings, two super-late nights, and five hours on Saturday to pull it all off. I worked hard all week, but I’m still not nearly far enough along. With a little faith and a lot of prayer and midnight oil, I hope to get back on track this week.

If nothing else, this week has reinforced the fact that accomplishment depends more on a decision to accomplish than on available time. Shannon and I decided that, no matter what, we had to attend the temple. Our resolve was strong enough that we invited our friend Todd and Natalie to come with us. So Friday night, despite considerable drowsiness, we made it. I love the Timpanogos Temple, especially the Celestial Room, and after a particularly hectic week, the peaceful spirit in the room was just what the doctor ordered.

I also learned (drum roll please) what my season is. Growing up, I always made fun of my mom for calling one friend a “spring” and another a “summer,” but Wednesday night, I finally learned what the babble is all about. For those of you who don’t know, I’m in my Ward’s bishopric, which means that I occasionally tag along with our young women and their leaders for their Mutual night activity. That night, they brought in a color consultant. I realize that receiving a color consultation puts me in serious emasculation jeopardy, but in the name of finally understanding my mom, I took the risk. Oddly enough, I found it mentally rigorous and surprisingly fascinating. Our young women’s eye patterns were first scrutinized under the largest magnifying glass I’ve ever seen, following which, various fabric swatches were placed under their chins. Several times, I had to scrunch my nose in concentration as we studied the effects of each color on each young woman’s face. Even as a designer, I’m constantly impressed by the very literal effect of color. It was a fascinating study that broadened my understanding of color theory. Oh, and by the way, I’m a spring. They told me I’d look good in peaches and pinks, but I think I’ve already put enough of my manhood on the line.

More life happened this week, but that’s your random sampling for now. Stay tuned for more!