Reupholstery exasperation

During Christmas break, I started the process of getting some of our furniture reupholstered.  There have been frustrating delays in the interim.  They've had our furniture since early March.  It was supposed to be for a week and a half.  Instead we got excuses.

My wife had a baby.

A worker had a death in the family.

Someone had to go to a funeral.

(You already used that one....)

Finally FINALLY our furniture was delivered yesterday!  Adam and I were both gone and Emma received them.  She said they will email me the final invoice.

They haven't yet.

Raise your hand if you're surprised.

Here are the before and afters (because who doesn't love a good before and after?):

Linn reupholstered the chairs for us about 15(?) years ago.  None of us wanted to see them changed because he had done them but they were getting very worn.

Emma texted me that the new upholstery looked good with the rug.  Weird.  It's almost like I selected them on purpose to look good together....

The couch and loveseat had been relegated to the basement because once we moved to Utah they started flaking because of the dry weather.  They are bonded leather instead of actual leather and apparently bonded leather and deserts aren't friends.

I bought ill fitting slipcovers that worked/drove us crazy for the last five years.  Structurally all the furniture was in great shape so reupholstering felt like a good choice.

Here is the after:

I am 99% happy with the whole thing.  The top of the couch is a little wonky which bugs me.  I took pictures last night to text to the upholstery people.  There is no way I'm sending them back to their shop that is an abyss furniture never returns from, but I wanted them to know that I knew it was wonky and I wondered if there was an easy fix they could do.  Here.

Adam noticed Emma's expression and said, "Emma, you're not old enough to be confrontational."

She said, "No.  I hate confrontation.  I do anything to avoid it."

I said, "Wait til you're older."

So we got our furniture reupholstered.  I'm glad we did.  The furniture looks and feels better.

Do I have an upholsterer to recommend?  No.  I do not.

Mask life

There are two types of people in the world:  those who can sew masks and the rest of us.

I went to a doctor appointment yesterday (for the recurring and persistent cyst on my wrist that has resisted less invasive efforts--trying to see how many -ist sounds I can use in a sentence).  I am going to have surgery, in June.

Anyway, I had to wear a mask for the appointment and I took a picture of myself in the exam room in honor of the occasion.

Let's not talk about my hair because it does what it wants (sort of like my cyst).

Before the appointment, I asked Emma for a bandana.  She produced this one and said she had taken it to multiple Girls' Camps.  She said, "It definitely went in the lake a few times and I don't think I ever washed it."

It felt bizarre to wear a mask even though every other person I saw at the hospital had one as well.  I felt like I couldn't breathe (maybe that was part of lake residue).

Life is strange.

We're all in this together

Our Relief Society president is seriously one of the funniest people I know.  Last week I went to a ten person social distancing kind of birthday party for her.  We sat on her deck and sipped lemonade and chatted and laughed and it was heavenly.

She said that she wanted to make a video with people in the ward council but she didn't know if "the guys" would do it.  I said, "Adam would."

Which is the kind of thing that I do and then Adam says, "What?!?" but he will really do it because he's Adam.

Terri wanted us to create a sort of music video to "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical.  We didn't really know the song, besides Emma, so we created our own interpretation.  Terri edited it all together and it makes me really happy.

(Terri is the one at the beginning and the Young Women are the dancers on top of the water tower. Also I need to text our bishop's wife and ask her where she got that calendar because I love it.)

Here is the video.

Adam's happy place

I grew up living on a dirt road but Adam is the one who loves driving on dirt roads.  Since our trip the previous weekend had been canceled courtesy of my head-ache, we went on Saturday.  This time it was more of a spontaneous decision and we didn't have everything ready.  It just took minutes to marshal the troops though and pack a cooler and a water jug and a bag of snacks.  Kids this age are kind of a dream.

What we didn't take was our map.  We have this big atlas that we bought when we went to Oklahoma because we forgot to take our map on that trip too.  We keep our atlas in the garage so we will remember to take it.

It isn't working.

We headed west and eventually hit a dirt road.  We had downloaded a map on Emma's phone because we knew we would lose cell service and we did.

Also, a combination of a really and truly warm day and everyone being stuck at home resulted in a BUSY road.  The place was packed with ATVs and pickup trucks pulling trailers of ATVs and little cars that struggled to navigate the dust choked road and slowed everyone down.  There were serious washboards in the road and we couldn't go very fast at all because we kept getting stuck behind slow vehicles.

We stopped along the way and looked at a few Pony Express station markers.

Adam took this picture.  It was at Simpson Springs.

I have always been fascinated by the Pony Express.  It feels like this mix of genius and craziness.  Adam had me tell everything I knew about the Pony Express to our kids like I was some sort of expert.  I'm really not.  But they listened appreciatively so we all pretended.

We finally made it to Fish Springs, our destination.  It is a wildlife refuge in the very middle of nowhere.  There is water there where birds stop mid migration.   We saw lots of ducks and some Canada Geese and sparrows and lots of coots and red-winged black birds.  (I didn't know the coots were named coots but I googled it when I got home.)

The most amazing thing was the pelicans.  Pelicans in the middle of the desert!

Adam took this picture through the binoculars.

The pelicans stayed away from the little road that skirted the ponds but we did see one flying near us and we saw one swimming nearby with a fish in its mouth.  It was so incongruous with the dusty remote drive we had been on that it was delightful.

It was a beautiful spot.  Spring is much later there.  It was all still brown with not much green showing yet.

I loved hearing the birds.  Some of them were familiar sounds that I've heard a lot and some of them were completely unfamiliar.  There were hundreds of different kinds of birds and I had no idea what most of them were.

We decided to head home a different way.  We didn't want to face the congested dusty road again and knew that it would probably be even more congested with people heading home too.  There was a way to go south to Delta but we weren't exactly sure which road was the best and we didn't have cell service or a map.  We looked on the map programed into Adam's navigation system in his car.  It isn't great but it gave us enough of an idea to give it a try.  We slowed down on the dirt road when there was a road heading south.  I read the faded barely legible sign that pointed to Delta.  Why not?

Adam was almost giddy.  Not only were we on an unfamiliar road but we weren't 100% sure where it would take us.  It's the kind of adventure he loves.  We had 3/4 of a full tank of gas and plenty of food and water so we went for it.  At one point, Adam said, "Did we tell anyone where we were going?"

We hadn't.

It was a great decision though.  We went through this lovely mountain pass and then soon enough we were on paved road!  The paved road took us all the way to the freeway.  The return trip was longer mileage wise but felt much faster and more pleasant than the trip there.

It pays to take a risk. (sometimes)

And also, we should remember to take our map!

Grateful Friday

Insomnia moves in and out of my life with random abandon.  The other night when I couldn't sleep, I decided I was grateful for my comfortable bed.  Not everyone has one.  Then I gave up the fight and went to read in my office.  It wasn't terrible.  I'm grateful that I don't have to get up early for school when I don't sleep well.

When we dropped off our movie gift bags, Nola and I were talking about getting older and she said her body is slower.  She went running and saw a young whippersnapper run past and she thought, "That used to be me."

(It never used to be me.)

We also talked about how great it is to be getting older.  We take less nonsense.  She said the things we think at 40 are the things we just go ahead and say at 50.  I'm grateful to be getting sassier and to have friends getting sassier along with me.

Along with Liliana and Ruben, Mark is taking an online accounting class from my mom.  My mom has never not looked for more projects to do and mostly they are for the improvement of people she loves.  I reminded Mark before he started, "You know Grandma Dahl doesn't do anything halfway.  You're going to have to work hard."

He said, "I know."

He likes it though.  He has always been interested in money and I think he likes checking in with his grandma and cousins too.  They chat a little but mostly get down to business.  Because, my mom.  I'm grateful for my mom who is smart and driven and selfless with her time.

Tonight we're meeting our girl Desi, who is in Provo for a few days, and Braeden and Anna for a picnic.  There's nothing about that that doesn't make me grateful.

Life giving

These things are life giving right now:

Daily walks-- I listen to podcasts that I got behind on because I wasn't driving to and from work.  I share really enthusiastic greetings with any neighbors I happen to see.  I look at the blossoming trees and blue blue sky.

Routine-- I feel like I finally have one after a few weeks of floundering to establish one.  I am a person who thrives with routines.

Acceptance-- This one also took a little while.  I have adjusted my mindset that I am an online teacher now and I need to learn how to do that instead of petulantly waiting until I can be a "real" teacher again.

My family-- I love texts and phone calls and tech support (at lunchtime, from Adam) and Emma popping in my office to tell me her progress on her finals/papers and me popping into Mark's Lego lair to ask him if he is done with whatever he is supposed to be doing.  (Also Emma finished her last essay last night.  Yay Emma!)

Silent reading time--  Every day, after lunch.  It's Mark and me and unlike when he was little, I don't have to keep him reading.  (I do interrupt him sometimes though to tell him what is happening in my book or to ask him exactly when World War II ended because I can't take much more of the carnage in my book.)

Warm springtime-- I am looking forward to summer and sitting on the deck.  We have pretty much had hard things happen every summer since we've moved here and I feel a little apprehensive about summer too, but isn't it about time we have a good one?  I think we're due.

Stephanie-- She's posted a few stretching videos on Facebook and I love them.  She understands how our bodies work and how to fix us and I also love her calm warm voice and I miss taking daily walks with her!

Movie gift bags-- We took bags of candy and microwave popcorn to 5 of our neighbors.  We included some movie recommendations because we take movie night very seriously.  (If there's something that we can give an exaggerated importance to, we are here for it.  Adam's movie reviews cracked me up.  He used the word yum.  Twice.)  Some of our neighbors weren't home but we stood on the porch and chatted with some of them and it felt good to see them and connect a little.

Surviving

Mark's sensor needed to be replaced and even though it had been over two weeks since we ordered supplies, they still hadn't arrived.

He'd had a few rough nights with his equipment malfunctioning and keeping him up.

Self isolation is the worst.

So Mark wanted to go for a drive after he was done with his school work and I said sure.  He needed to feel in control of something even if the something was just a car on a bumpy Pleasant Grove road.

Then he came back with his arms full.  He said, "My drive turned pretty adventurous."

He brought his haul up to my office to show me.  His drive had made a pitstop at Target.

he doesn't even look a little bit sorry

We had a conversation (for the one millionth time) about how he should be saving his money.  We made (another) plan about what portion of his money he should put into savings.

Sigh.

With nowhere to go he hasn't been spending much money on gas or food.  So he just blew it all on Lego sets.

This is not high peak performance parenting.  This is surviving.

(And he promised me--again--he will save more money in the future.)

Still a teacher

I have been reading the stories my students wrote. They are awesome! They have typed their stories and I go into editing mode on Google docs and make corrections. Most of my suggestions are related to grammar and punctuation--particularly quotation marks which are hard for third graders to master. It cracks me up when they reject my suggestions. I admire their spunk and confidence in thinking, Nah, I think I'm right, not Mrs. Davis. If I were there with them in person, I would tell them, "I promise this is the right way to do it." They might believe me.

Since I'm not there in person and my typed words are easy to ignore it will probably be up to their 4th grade teachers to convince them. I'm OK with that.

(Because I have to be.)

I have been delighted by their creativity. They have created characters with names like Crunchedy Crunch and Killer Litch.

Some more good characters:

Bob, Bobby, and Glunk were in the dark spooky forest. Well, not one of them. Glunk got lost. He had no brains.

Some rather violent problem solving:

Once upon a time there was a boy born without eyes. He needed eyes at least for a little while, so they killed a cat for its eyes.

At once heartbreaking and a perfect description of motherhood when your children are sad:

Every night after school he would run upstairs and lay on his bed and cry. It would tear his mother down every time he got sad.

Could you sum up a beast better?

Once upon a time there was a beast named Vrez. He loved distress and hatred.

Dialogue that made me laugh out loud:

Then all of a sudden a loud noise broke the silence “Roar!!!” Just then, huge jaws snatched up Ducky!?

“Chomper why did you do that!?”

Then Chomper’s eyes popped open, he had been sleep eating again. “Sorry guys,” he said sadly. 

 “It’s alright, she was annoying.”

Reading their words reminded me that they are terrific and I am still their teacher.  

A few days ago one of them commented on a read aloud:

I have no idea what about the read aloud prompted that. But yes, he has older siblings.

Another student sent me this email:

They aren't making it any easier to be away from them. I want to keep reading their words. I have six more weeks with these wonderful people and I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can!

Weekend mixed bag

Saturday was a lovely day and Sunday lasted about two weeks.

Saturday was Anna's birthday.  We got burgers and had a picnic in a park.  It was mostly warm enough because the sun was shining.

Mark wrote on her card:  You're the best thing to happen to this family since I was born.

We laughed at him and he challenged us, "Name something better?"

We couldn't.  So he's correct.

We adore Anna.

I made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter cups inside.  The breeziness of the day made it hard to light a candle on Anna's cupcake.  We held a fortress up to block the wind.  Mark tried to light the candle with no success.  Braeden tried.  Then Anna tried.  She was successful!  I moved the lid I was holding to look and the candle immediately went out.

I'm like Amelia Bedelia.  Bumbling along and messing things up but then the cupcakes were really good.  She always delivers with a good dessert.

We had a nice visit and I love these kids.

Braeden is sporting what he and Anna are calling a quarantine haircut.  I said give it two weeks.

Sunday we were planning to take a drive into the west desert to Fish Springs which is a wildlife refuge.  We had sandwiches and snacks ready to go.

Then I woke up with a throwing up want to die migraine so we didn't go.  (I told them they could go without me but they didn't.) I haven't had a day like that for over a year and I haven't missed it.

I mostly stayed in my red chair, trying not to die.  It was a miserable day.

In the late afternoon I rallied and we played rummikub and had the sacrament.  I even ate some dinner.

Migraines don't last forever.  Neither do quarantines, right?

Right?

Grateful Friday

Mark did three things when he was growing up.  He ran the neighborhood with Gavin, he destroyed furniture with his light saber battles, and he built with Legos.  The distinctive clinking of Lego bricks while Mark sifted through the pile looking for the piece he wanted is the background noise of his childhood.

We have a spare bedroom now that Mark and I jockey for space in.  I store stuff in there and Mark builds with Legos in there.  He will lose interest or get busy elsewhere and leave a scatter on the floor and I will eventually get tired of it and make him clean it up, then he starts building again.

We reached that part of the ongoing cycle a few days ago.  Mark spent almost all his free time in there yesterday.  I heard the clinking of Legos and it made me happy.  And super grateful.

It reminded me of a year ago when he tried to build with Legos and his back would hurt after a few minutes from bending over.  We soon learned that he had diabetes. It was clear that he had lost so much muscle tone it hurt his back to build with Legos.

I've been going through pictures, trying to clean up the hot mess that is my online photos.

The skinny Mark pictures hurt my heart.  The is Mark, about a year apart.

(And he loves that sweatshirt.)

I'm so grateful a year later that Mark is healthy.  He can build with Legos as long as he wants now.  When we do our daily "active hour" he is back to making the rest of us feel like the out of shape sloths that we are.  Modern medicine is a miracle.  It saved my boy and restored him to energetic and strong.

It should be noted too that Mark, with his eternal love for money, is a little torn about the whole Lego thing.  He keeps looking up what his Lego sets would sell for now if they were unopened and it kills him.

I like the Lego sets opened though.  I like the messy spread of Legos and the amazingly clever and ingenious things he builds.

I love to hear the clinking of him looking for the right Lego piece and knowing my boy is healthy.

'Rona life

Mark said, "I need help with math."

I took calculus in high school.  Adam did too.  Adam is the smartest person I know.  We have no idea how to help him with his math.  (It's not that his math is super advanced.  It's that it is in a different language than math from the '90s plus we don't remember.)

"What do you need?" I asked with trepidation.  He started talking about sequences and I forgot to listen to the rest because I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Emma!" I called.  She emerged from her room.  She left the class she was listening in on.  She retrieved graph paper (because she just has some?) and sat down with Mark and started explaining.

Earlier, Emma had groused that we didn't have anything good for breakfast.  I had told her something along the lines of deal with it.

Now, with renewed appreciation and gratitude I asked, "What would you like me to buy you for breakfast?"

She knew she was in a position of ultimate power so she didn't pull any punches.  "Reese's Puffs," she declared confidently.

"Done!" I declared.

"What about me?" Mark asked.

"Do your math," I said.

The depths of despair

I just need to buy this shirt and wear it:

Yesterday we found out that we won't be going back to school for this school year and I had a whole Anne Shirley depths of despair episode.  It wasn't surprising, but I had created this whole narrative in my mind where we would be able to go back to school for the month of May.  I cried when I heard the news.  I miss my students!  I miss the parts of teaching that I love most (you know, the teaching).  I am mostly doing administrative things and providing tech support (which is laughable because I know nothing) and recording videos that may or may not ever be watched.  It doesn't resemble a room full of 8 year olds at all.

And a room full of 8 year olds is what I love.

Yesterday, before our dreams were dashed, the third grade team sat outside in the sun and handed out packets to our students who came to pick up their sack meals from the cafeteria.  We chatted happily and were delighted every time we saw one of our students.  One girl brought a pencil cup she made out of a toilet paper roll to proudly show me.  Another girl brought me some Easter eggs full of candy.  One girl angrily told me that Battle of the Books had been ruined.  "I know," I said. "I'm sorry."

Maybe I'll buy her a t-shirt too.

Easter weekend

On Friday we went to Provo to Emma's apartment to hang out again while our house was besieged with paint fumes.  (Adam stayed behind to be at the helm and use the faster internet at home.)

While Emma did homework, Mark and I went to campus to visit Braeden.

They have the same smiles and the same curly hair that needs cutting and the same football team.

They differ in that Braeden is never cold like his dad and Mark is more like me (hence the different outfits).

Every now and then I consider cutting Mark's hair but then I kind of think there's no point because he sees no one except us.  Also, he has SO MUCH hair and I would prefer to wait and let someone at Great Clips tackle it.

Saturday we put the kitchen back together and admired it.  The kitchen is a happy place.

Sunday was a lovely Easter day.  It was by far our smallest Easter gathering.

Just four people around the table (and one very bent candle for reasons beyond my understanding).

In the morning we had the sacrament and read aloud some passages Adam had marked in Jesus the Christ.  We read about the crucifixion and then the resurrection.  We also watched a Facebook live of Liberty and her companion.  How we miss the sweet and talented Liberty!  We decided we miss all the Johnsons--Sundays aren't the same without them.

We drove to a pond in Lehi that Adam inexplicably knew about and walked around it.  It was cold and windy, but the sun was shining.

In the late afternoon we played Quiplash with Braeden and Anna and the Johnsons.  Google meet for the win!

Other than that, we are enjoying being together, enjoying Reese's peanut butter chocolate bunnies (they are 6 carbs each if you have a diabetic in your life) and enjoying spring.

Popcorn is currently popping on the apricot tree.  (They aren't really apricot trees.  I have no idea what kind of trees those are.)

Before and after

I am very happy with the results of our painted cabinets.  I don't know why I love painted wood so much more than regular wood.  Adam said it is because I have a Scandinavian soul.  My Ancestry DNA test pegged me 55% British and only 45% Scandinavian but maybe 45% is all it takes to want your wood painted.

So, here are the before and after pictures:

Bathroom

Mudroom

Kitchen

Laurel branches courtesy of my pruning a few days ago.

Next up, getting the trim and doors painted white this summer.  It makes me tired to think about it, but I will love having it done!

Grateful Friday

I'm grateful to unite my faith and prayers with many others today as we fast and pray for relief from COVID 19.

I'm grateful for a living prophet to inspire and guide me.

I'm grateful that I miss my students and teaching so much.  It is clear to me that I am in the right profession.

I'm grateful to have so much extra time with my family.  It will be hard to give that up someday.

I'm grateful for the beautiful springtime and wide blue sky.

I'm grateful we're healthy and employed.

I'm grateful for good books to read and good movies to watch and good music to listen to.  Creative and talented people sustain us all.

I'm grateful for technology that unites us.

I'm grateful for temple covenants.  Yesterday I was doing family history--Thelma and (Marie) Louise are back at it.  Over the phone mostly.  I found records of four babies who died in infancy.  What a blessing we can seal them to their parents. (We can seal the children who grew to adulthood to them too!)

I'm grateful for this Easter season.  I can't wrap my mind around, let alone express, my reliance on my Savior and my appreciation for Him for sacrificing and atoning for me and those I love.  Because of Him, I am strengthened when I feel weak.  Because of Him, I can repent.  Because of Him, I will live again with the people I love.

God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.

What our marriage is like

We didn't know what our kitchen access would be exactly with our cabinets being painted.  Then I noticed the fridge was entirely covered and taped shut.

And Mark's insulin is in there.

Adam was in his office in a phone call meeting.  I did a quick survey of Lowe's, Home Depot's and Walmart's websites.  I looked at mini fridges.  I saw what hours they were now open.  I recruited Mark as my sidekick.  I had my shoes on, my water bottle in hand, my bag slung over my shoulder.

I interrupted Adam's meeting.  "I'm going to go buy a mini fridge for Mark's insulin," I said.

"Right now?" Adam said, wide eyes.

"Yes," I said.

"Well, hold on," he said. "Let me ask them."

He slipped under the plastic tent surrounding the kitchen.  He explained the insulin situation.  The painters said, "No problem.  Just rip it open and we'll create a flap when we come tomorrow so you can get in and out of the fridge.

So Adam told me that information.  I said, "Oh, OK.  I was ready to go buy one."

"I know," Adam said with a smile.  "You had that look in your eye, Mama Bear."

That has been our relationship.  For 25 years.

Spring break: friends, from distance

Well, the painters didn't come yesterday.  They had scheduling problems because painters have been quitting because of the virus....

They are supposed to come today.

So, that was frustrating when my entire kitchen has been moved to the family room, but not the end of the world.  It was still a very lovely day.

I trimmed the laurel bush that the deer had decimated except only about halfway up so it looked like it was wearing a corset.  (Also, I love pruning!  It has brought dismay to Adam at times when he thinks I got carried away.)  I also cleaned up the front flower beds and saw tiny green leaves at the base of my hydrangea and spoke encouraging words to the spot where the marigolds that I never planted inexplicably grow every summer.  Nola was in her yard, repairing deer damage as well and we chatted (loudly) across the cul-de-sac while we worked and it was nice to see her.

I dropped off a birthday treat for Cortney and we caught up a little on her front porch from several feet away.

I stood outside Shannon's car in the parking lot where the Greek gyro truck is while our husbands stood in an unruly social distancing kind of line.  We all visited and compared working from home notes.

We ate dinner on the deck because it was such a gorgeous day.  Trees all over Pleasant Grove seemed to blossom overnight.

Then, Adam picked the John Wayne version of True Grit for our nightly movie and I sort of felt like I'd spent the evening with my dad and Tabor.

Even though the coronavirus has caused a lot of disruption and mayhem, there's still a lot of loveliness in the world. (And also, the blossoms don't seem aware that so many other things are on hold.  They are still doing their thing.)

Spring break

Months ago I had one friend who was flying to Maine for spring break, another who was flying to Texas.  The Porters were going to Boston and the Schelins were going to California and we were staying home.  To get our kitchen cabinets painted.

Now we are the only ones whose plans didn't fall through.

Yesterday I got ready and this is the entire contents of our kitchen:

Happily I found some enormous empty boxes in the garage.

I'm excited to have the cabinets painted.  My dad said I should be drawn and quartered for painting the wood.

I'm sure he meant it in the nicest possible way....

Clearing out the kitchen reminded me of how much I hate moving.  I'm glad I'm not moving and it was only one room.  I also happily got rid of some stuff, which was clearly necessary.

Emma and Mark were my helpers.  They are at that golden age where they are willing and actually helpful.  Kids go through all the stages of willing but not helpful, then helpful but not willing.  We have made it to the other side!

After lunch, I said I was going to take a break and go read my book for 20 minutes.  Emma said, "Catch your dreams, girl."

I love having Emma home.

Last night was my pick and we watched the new Emma movie.  I loved it.  I love lots of versions of Jane Austen movies because they let you savor different parts.  Mark liked it, although he didn't think he would.  I maintain you don't have to be a girl to like Jane Austen; you just have to be smart and like smart things.

My last movie pick was Sleepless in Seattle and Mark liked it also, to his surprise.

The quarantine beat goes on.

Wonderful weekend

As promised Emma came home.  I think to say she moved home would be overstating it.  She brought very little.

Just the necessities.  A few clothes and her guitar.

I love that multiple times a day she sits down at the piano and plays and sings.  I love hearing her and Mark talking and laughing in the other room or around the dinner table.  I don't know who's happiest to have her back, but it may be Mark.

Every night someone gets to pick the entertainment and she picked watching the new Pixar movie, Onward, even though she had already seen it.  She and I both cried.  We all loved it.

Other than that, we ate good food (my sourdough bread experiment was a success!) and watched General Conference.

I don't have words to describe it.  I always love General Conference.  It is always encouraging and uplifting and wonderful.  This was all that and more.  I think the upheaval in the world made me extra attentive.  Also, I loved the solemn assembly we participated in and the new proclamation regarding the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We wiped our tears and hugged for the sheer joy of it all.  Emma said, "Wait, I've got to see if Mark is crying."

He wasn't.

He has ice water in his veins while the rest of us just cry.

Prior to the conference, President Nelson asked us to consider what our lives would be like without the Restoration.  Even with a tolerably good imagination, I can't picture it.  Because of the Restoration, I am sealed to my family in the temple.  We will be together forever.  Because of the Restoration, I can learn more about Jesus Christ from the Book of Mormon.  Also, I can learn more about repentance and faith and obedience.  Because of the Restoration, we have living prophets to follow.  It brings me unparalleled peace to hear from them.  The entire coronavirus fiasco reaffirms in my mind that President Nelson is a prophet.  For years, our prophets have been warning us to be self reliant and prepared and then there was no food at the grocery store for awhile.  Young men are being ordained earlier to the Aaronic Priesthood and now they are administering and passing the sacrament in their homes.  We were provided a framework and curriculum for Gospel study at home and now we can't go to church.  It goes on and on but it adds up to me feeling reassured.  God is at the helm.

Grateful Friday

Ten things I'm grateful for today:

1-My mom.  Yesterday was her birthday.  She is a blessing in my life and always has been.

2- My dad.  Yesterday wasn't his birthday.  He is also a blessing in my life and always has been.

3- Our kids are doing OK.  The tilted world we live in hasn't thrown them too much for a loop.

4- One of my students who hasn't been online AT ALL got online yesterday.  He didn't do much, but he got online.  My expectations at this point are so low I can hardly see them, but it made me grateful.

5- I'm sticking with my resolve to avoid the news and it's helping my peace of mind.  I'm grateful for options on what I will expose my brain to.

6- We woke up to snow again yesterday but then sunshine.  I love sunshine.

7- General Conference this weekend.  I will be hanging. On. Every. Word.

8- My teacher friends.  I miss them but we are still in touch and they are awesome.

9- Adam.  Multiple times a day I need tech support and he is always willing to give it.  (Actually he can't escape me currently but he is still happy to help.)

10- Next week is spring break.  I'm looking forward to more time.  I have had lots of time at home but most of it has been glued to a computer screen, recording videos and sending them out into the world.  And answering emails.  And trying to figure out what I'm doing.  Spring break will be nice.

Strange times

We are doing all sorts of unusual things.

I taught Mark how to make white sauce.  I realized almost all his favorite foods start with white sauce.

I have sourdough starter on my counter.  It's a grand experiment.  Every day I feed it and stir it and hope it ends up delicious.

I ordered Adam a Christmas gift at 3:00 AM when I couldn't sleep.  I know, I know, he's not really a gift person.  But he will like this gift.  (I always think that.)

I also know it's not strictly time for Christmas shopping.  I know.

We went to a park to play frisbee for our "five o'clock active hour."  I made up a game of frisbee baseball that didn't work at all.  Adam could see from the beginning it wasn't going to work, but he humored me.  Mark said, "This reminds me of when we played balloon badminton (I think that was also my idea)."

I felt uneasy about Emma being gone and just wanted her to move home.  Her roommates have moved home (and their home is about two blocks from ours).  Even for Emma, living alone when you don't even go somewhere and see another human felt too isolating.

I texted her and she didn't seem to want to budge.  We texted back and forth.  She likes her independence and ever since she was one year old and would purposefully switch her shoes to the wrong feet because she could, she does what she wants.

Then she texted she would probably move home this weekend.  Just like that.  She does what she wants.  But we'll be happy to have her.  Like I told her, our matazz needs her razz.

We played Psyche over the phone with her and then we were going to play Quiplash.  Braeden texted and I told him we were playing.  He joined too. (Anna had just returned from work and was having "introvert time" according to Braeden.  Emma and I wholeheartedly understood and I considered that it was lovely that extroverted Braeden understands too.)

Then this happened.

If I'm going to be quarantined with anyone, I choose them.

Community

Yesterday the teachers gathered together--keeping our distance--for a parade!  I had been looking forward to it for days.  I was glad to see my friends and excited for the chance to catch a glimpse of my students as we drove by.  Jamie always has the best pens and told me about the best pencil sharpener (it is seriously so much better than any others) and bought us all the best kind of whiteboard erasers.

So of course she had markers for all of us to decorate our car windows.  In between uses she would take them and wipe them off with Clorox wipes.

The teachers were all a little giddy.  Then we saw how Mr. Dawson, our new principal, was going to ride in the parade:

his wife was his driver

He has instituted fist bump Fridays with the students and called to sing to me on my birthday and said, "How about you don't have to come to school today since it's your birthday?"  (And also since I was supposed to stay home from school anyway.)

So of course this is how he rode in the parade.

We had an escort, lights flashing, which warmed my heart and upped the excitement for the kids.

Not only were all these teachers there because they wanted to show our students we love them, but these great people who serve Orem were there too.

It felt like a proud day for community spirit.

We lined up in our cars and headed out.

here's my friend Jamie

Adam drove me so I could focus on waving.  It made me really happy when students recognized me and said, "Mrs. Davis!' in a sort of excited voice.  Most of them know me minimally, I think seeing me was just a reminder of someone from a place they love.

It made me ecstatic when I saw my own kids.  I would yell their names out the window.  It was one of my girls' birthday and when I saw her I yelled, "Happy Birthday!"  Unfortunately she was out the driver's side window and I mostly yelled in Adam's ear.  He said pleasantly, "Wow, my ear is ringing."

Earlier in the day I had been working in my classroom and Adam brought me lunch.  One of the aides said, "Your husband is so nice."

Everyone knows it, especially me.

I loved seeing families spread out on their lawns or waving from their front porches.

We drove around for about an hour, up and down streets, waving furiously at each other.  I loved seeing people in the neighborhood, who didn't have children, out on their porches waving to us too.  One dad ran up to every car and handed the teachers a cold gatorade and some candy.

"Treat time!" he'd yell.

There were lots of signs, homemade by the students, and like my friend Janelle said, it was clear that a school is more than a building where children go to learn and adults go to work.  It's a community.  It's a fabric of people woven together.  The children may have little more than geography in common.  The adults may have little more than their love of teaching children in common.  But when we come together, we create something pretty magical.  We create a community.