Hermana Heywood

Kaitlynn in the Chile Puerto Montt Mission

Monday Morning Call with You (Chile), April 13, 2026

April 13, 2026 · Herriman / Chile

Monday morning call between you and Mom. Three main threads: Mom attended the filming of a YSA devotional where Elder Stevenson's wife was present and you should watch for her friend Emily; Alexa passed her high school choir audition and Mom held back from scolding her before the tryout; and I still owe you an email with prom pictures you noticed was missing at 2 AM.

YSA devotional filming

Mom asked where we lost you. You said she was telling you about the filming of a devotional. Mom: "So that was all afternoon yesterday. They left at noon and I didn't get home until six. It was fun because Ethan was one of the twelve from the stake - he drove us and we got to be buddies."

You asked if there were just invited people. Mom: yes. The stake had to get twelve people. No more than 300 total - maybe 250 or 180. You had to be invited; they vetted you. There were a lot of instructions on what to wear - jewelry needed to be tasteful, nothing trashy.

You asked what they were filming the devotional for. Mom: "It's the newest Young Single Adult devotional. So if you have the opportunity, you need to watch it and look for Emily - there's a good chance you'll be able to see her." You said you would.

At the end, Elder Stevenson's wife took everyone's hands. Mom: "It was just a really cool opportunity that you don't normally get." You: "That's really... that's not something you get every day."

Alexa's choir audition

Mom had her watch alarm go off mid-explanation. When she went to Alexa's audition, she was sitting on the front row with Alexa and had put her phone on silent. Then Bryson had sent her two videos of his band the night before, and she hadn't acknowledged them - they're having a performance on Saturday. She went to listen to them. It started playing his rock music right there in the audition room. Mom: "I'm like, 'No, I'm the fool.' [Laughter] Thanks for nothing, Bryson, you bring shame to me."

You: "Good job." "Mom." "It's your weird son."

Mom said she felt really embarrassed. The director was nice about it. You: "DeHaan has great kids in all his classes, so that's not the worst thing he's seen."

Mom said Alexa made it into the choir. It went really well. It wasn't one of those where the director was hesitant. You asked if Alexa had to audition in front of everybody. Mom: there were three people auditioning at the same time. They gave Alexa an assignment at church - between now and August she has to sing in front of people. Her biggest problem isn't talent; it's confidence. But she sounded good.

You: "I'm happy for her." Mom: "Thank you. It was a good turning point. This doesn't have to be the stumbling block for the rest of her life." You: "She made it into the high school choir." Mom: "Yeah. And I think it's good she didn't get in without having to work for it. It's something she has to put real work into - you don't take it for granted."

Mom then told the story of the morning: she had told the girls to be ready at 6:30. She wanted to be fifteen minutes early; Alexa had seminary they were missing for this. Then Alexa decided she needed to wake up at 5:15, and then they weren't ready. Then Alexa started eating yogurt and they just poked around, so they got there five minutes before - which wasn't what Mom wanted.

The real hero of the story is Mom, but she can't say that to anyone. Even though they annoyed her, she thought: if I go and yell at Alexa before her tryout, is that going to put her in a good place? Or will it make her do worse? Even if she'd feel good telling Alexa she was being ridiculous - is that the answer?

You: "Mom, so proud of you. You are such a big girl." Mom: "Yes. Big-girl self-control for the first time." You: "I'm so proud, Mom." Mom: "Thank you. Because then Alexa would say, 'My whole life went wrong because my mom yelled at me right before my tryout. She ruined my life.'" You: "'My mom makes my life hard.' Well, now she has no reason to say that - and if she does say it, it's a lie." Mom: "Yeah. My mom's nice."

Hair and cold weather

You: "Mom, I'm so cold. It's starting to get really cold here. Winter is coming." Mom: "Is it winter already?"

You floated chopping your hair off. Mom: "No, don't do it - you'll regret it. You don't like it short." You said you knew. Mom: "Just wash your hair. Don't be weird about it." You said both options are hard. Mom: "I know you can do hard things. Don't cut your hair - you don't like it short, and then you'll be grumpy." You: "Maybe I will cut it." Mom: "No, you weirdo. Stop it." You: "How do you know I don't like it short? Maybe I do." Mom: "Remember all those times I listened to you complain about it?" You: "No, because I'm not you." Mom: "I listened to you complain." You: "Maybe those were dreams you had, Mom. Maybe I'm your daughter."

Forgotten email and signing off

Mom: "I forgot to email you. I'd better go do that." You: "You did forget. I noticed Sunday night." Mom: "Did you notice?" You: "At 2:00 AM Monday morning. I was like, 'Wow, my mom doesn't love me.'" Mom said she would have felt that way. She was going to ask you if you liked the prom pictures she sent - and then realized she hadn't sent any prom pictures. You said she hadn't sent anything. She said she'd go email you.

Mom said she had to get Mason ready for school. She had called him a few minutes ago but thought he just ignored it. You asked if he was going to turn 14 this year. Mom: "No, 13. He's not that old yet." You: "Okay. I keep telling everybody he's going to turn 14." Mom: "That's too old."

Mom said she had to go take care of Mason or he'd be late for school. You said okay; you love her. Mom: "I love you. Love you, Kaitlynn. Bye."

Cleanup Notes