Grateful Friday

Yesterday I was dropping off my students at lunch and one of the aides was managing the lunchroom (which is not a job I envy at all).  She sighed and said to me, "This is the longest week ever."

And it has felt like that.

I haven't slept well and with the weather warming, the students are getting amped up (as opposed to when they were amped up because the weather was cold and we kept having inside recess...).

Testing is upon us and that brings its own stresses and unpleasantness.

I wish I could take away my mother's health challenges.  

There is a lot to be thankful for though.  Here's a quick list:

The weather is gorgeous and trees are blossoming and turning green.  Spring after a long hard winter is here to remind us to have hope.  Nothing lasts forever.

I slept really well last night and feel like I have a new lease on life.

My students, for all their struggles, have improved this year.

I love seeing my former students in the hall.  Some of them hug me, some of them duck their heads shyly and smile, some of them yell my name.  It all adds up to making me happy.

Adam is home and will be for the foreseeable future.  His huge work project is largely done.  

We found out about some good gluten free donuts.  Awhile ago, Mark said that if he didn't have celiac, the first thing he would eat was a donut.  We tried out the gluten free donuts and he loved them.  He said, "These taste so good they scare me.  I'm afraid they have gluten because they're so good."

They didn't have gluten; he didn't get sick.  It's not like a donut is going to change the world, it was just a little thing, but getting my boy a donut kind of made my day.

Talking to QE + videos of her also make my day.  Last night Mark and I FaceTimed them and she zooms around like a bumper car and then grabs the phone and hangs up on us or carries us around on a wild ride around the room and we are here for all of it.  Her blowing kisses could just about save us all.

I continue to love the podcast Follow Him.  I love delving deeper into the New Testament and I feel like I'm learning.

One of my student's preferred mode of transportation across the room is to somersault.  We're working on it.  Yesterday, when I was driving home from school, I saw his mom riding a bike along State Street on her way home from work (she was wearing her clothes from the restaurant where she works).  She was singing for all she was worth.

There is joy to be found.

Boys

 I make students take off their hats and hoods during school.  The hoods are the real battle.  

"But whyyyyyyy?" one of them whined.

"Because."

Days later, when we were working on our old nemesis, opinion papers, I said that they had to have reasons and "because" wasn't a good reason.

A boy said, "But teacher.  Remember when you said we couldn't wear hoods in class 'because'?"

Well, I wasn't writing an opinion essay at the time....

But I said, "Yes.  So I will give you my reasons.  It is not polite or appropriate to wear hoods or hats at school and when you wear a hood, I can't see your face."

I smiled sweetly.

"And I want to see your face!"

Sometimes the more bugged I am, the nicer I act.

Not always though.

The boys want to wear their hats or hoods when they "have a bad hair day," which is 3rd grade code for they rolled out of bed and have major bed head.

The other day a boy took off his hood and he had some wild hair going on.  Another boy teased him and I said, "Oh, I don't know.  I think it looks kind of cool like that." (Because in actuality it doesn't matter at all in the scheme of things if a third grader has bed head.)

Right before recess, he grabbed his scissors, those little student safety scissors that barely cut paper? He lopped off a big hunk of his hair that was sticking up, carried it outside and released it in the breeze.  I didn't say a word.

What does one say in that situation?

***

I have another boy whose behavior was so egregious at recess that he had to miss two recesses per the principal.  I had been in communication with his mother and she is the kind of mother that got down to it.  He came to school with a card for me outlying his apology and his plan for the future.

With a mother like that, the kid will be OK.

Yesterday he was with me during lunch recess.  He said cheerfully, "This is not the longest I've ever had to miss recesses.  In second grade, I had to miss a whole week once."

***

They are third grade boys.

They are good at it.

Girls

I've been negligent on my blog here, but I think Marianne has been too busy to notice.  Monday was a packed day with no margins.  I had LETRS training at school (the last one!  hurray!), I left that early, still logged into Zoom on my phone and went to Mark's endocrinologist appointment.  I had to stay logged in to get credit and you can't turn down the volume all the way or it disconnects from Zoom.  During the appointment, I had an AirPod in one ear and I was listening to the doctor with the other.  Mark's A1C which is a measure of the last 6 months of glucose levels was 6.1, which was the lowest it has ever been.  That was a celebration.  Dr. Swinyard always compliments me and I always deflect it back to Mark.  It is all Mark who manages things.  

Dr. Swinyard leveled his kind eyes on Mark and said, "You are doing a splendid job at something that is really complicated at a hard time of your life."

I could tell that praise mattered to Mark.

I finished my training about the time that was over so I went to my grandma's.  My mom and dad, Aunt Mary, Marianne and Olivia were there and things were underway.  Mary's daughters arrived so it was the girl squad, which was exactly what my grandma would have wanted.  We were her Girls.

Among other things, piles were created for each grandchild and they were numbered and photographed.  At the appointed time, a group text was sent out and everyone selected their first choice and then there were drawings if there were ties.  

We picked out things for the great grandchildren and took a million trips up and down the stairs.  It took discipline to not want everything.  Sometimes there was something I didn't necessarily want, but I didn't want it to go to DI.  This was my grandma's stuff!  It is precious!  But I kept reminding myself that she is not the random casserole dish or knick knack.

I gratefully came home with some things that matter a lot to me.  My grandma's clock was top of my list and a few other really important things too, like some of her plates.  I got the pink floral sheet set that used to be on the bed one of my sisters and I would sleep in.  Someday QE will sleep under those sheets and I'll tell her about my staying at my grandma's.  We also got some furniture and things that will help feather our Starr Valley nest.

I got home late (for me) and didn't sleep well because I was worried about my mom and the Herculean task of it all.  Also, I think it is pretty emotional, the dismantling of my grandma's house.

Yesterday was back at school with students and I don't know if it was the warmer weather or what but it seemed like the entire school was on one. I wish we could harness that energy and give it to the teachers.

After Mark was done with work, we headed to Liberty's with the intention of helping deliver my grandma's piano to her, but we hit every light and they had the piano all moved by the time we got there.  A random kid walking along offered to help which tells you what you need to know about BYU. 

Clarissa was with us too and we picked up a dresser for her (I say we, but I did nothing except chat with my mom) and delivered it and a couch from Liberty (musical furniture!) to Clarissa.

Mark and I also shared our strong opinions about furniture placement.  You can't be my son and not have moved some furniture or have opinions about it.

We ended it all with a lovely dinner at JCWs.

I drove home pretty tired and I told Mark as much and he blasted Eye of the Tiger, which got me home.  In Joan was a bin my mom had given me of a few more treasures from my grandma.  (Including but not limited to some pans for Pleasant Hill.)

It all leaves me feeling pretty grateful.  I'm so grateful to have a grandma I love so much who continues to bless my life and will for eternity.  I'm grateful for my parents and the team they are that have always been  such a support and help to all of us.  I'm grateful for my powerhouse sisters.  They definitely did more of the helping with all the things than I did and I appreciate them.  This darn job of mine takes up my time!  I'm proud to be one of my grandma's Girls and those two sisters of mine elevate the whole group and make it seem like a pretty nice place to be included.

Weekend

Adam was gone most of the weekend and I missed him.  It's harder to have him gone on weekends than during the week, because weekends are Adam time.

Friday was a taxing day.  I sought meetings with everyone who had frustrated me the day before in an effort to smooth things out.  Everything ended amicably and better, but it was still taxing.

I decided to go to Costco on my way home from work.  I was frazzled and I wanted to get it out of the way and then just go home and stare at a blank wall.

Well, Costco wasn't the solo introvert experience I was expecting.  Fridays are jeans day at work and I was wearing an "It's a Great Day to Learn" t-shirt.  Many people commented on it.  "Hey, I'm a teacher too!"  "You're a teacher!" "I like your shirt!"

No more Costco for me after work.

Too people-y.

Saturday I was up early and zipped around energetically getting all my work accomplished.  Then I was done and spent the day on enjoyable pursuits, but I was also kind of lonely.  Next time I'll go slower.

Braeden and Anna and QE called in the evening.  FaceTime is maybe one of the most important things in my life.  I gave her a board book of A Child's Prayer for Easter and it is one of her favorite books now.  I sang the song to her and she looked at the book.  She kept looking at the phone like it was kind of incredible that I knew the words too.

There's a picture of Jesus in the book and she lingers over it and gives a happy little laugh every time she sees it.  I'm not sure what nonbelievers would think about the fact that babies are so drawn to pictures of Jesus.  I noticed it with my own children and now with QE.  They remember Him; they were just there.

Adam woke up in Washington, D.C. on Sunday morning (granted very early) and through the miracle of air travel, made it to church with me at noon.  I was happy to have that kid back in town.

In the afternoon we took a walk with Mark along the Murdock Canal trail and checked out the Lindon Temple progress.  It is right next to the trail and I can't imagine how it has changed the view for the people who live above the trail.  They used to have a vista of the valley and lake and valley and now they have a huge temple.  

Could be worse.

Also, they may need blackout curtains.

We found a baby toy in the couch that QE left there.  I wish we found more toys because that would mean she would come more often.

Clarissa and Emma came over for dinner which is always a highlight.  I gave a little demonstration I had seen on instagram but I adapted it to a gospel message.  And also I made a mess.  We visited and enjoyed each other and played Qwixx while listening to yacht rock because that is the only way to Sunday around here.

Adam leaves for Tempe tonight.  It's a short trip and then he's home for a while.  And I'll be glad for that because I miss him.

Grateful Friday

The baseline at school is my class is something of a zoo.  Yesterday I also was pretty frustrated with adults and that feels worse.  I talked to Adam and both sons and that's a pretty good situation to make me feel better.  Enoch even called me and we chatted a few minutes.

They all listened and gave me encouragement and that helped.

I'm grateful for the people in my life that are the ballast I need.

Here's another thing that shined up the day (before it turned into a dumpster fire).

We got a new third grader, a refugee from Ukraine who doesn't speak English.  He isn't in my class, but I had recess duty and I was watching him interact with some other boys.  The boys were laughing and having a great time and I realized that they were communicating by dancing.  The new boy is the son of world-class ballroom dancers and he clearly has had some dance experience.  He knows some ballet and would stand up on his toes and kick his leg in a graceful arc that was incongruous with an elementary school playground.  The first time he got up on his toes, the boys were very excited and said, "Like Michael Jackson!" and they all tried to imitate him.

One of the boys did some hip hop moves and the new boy did a pretty good imitation.  One of them would do a dance move and the others would follow.  These boys are all pretty good dancers anyway.  Some of them are islanders who have moves and one of them is African American and can do hip hop like it's his job.  It all made me pretty happy.

Earlier in the day, the school play was presented to the school.  4th-6th graders were involved and I loved seeing some of my former students shine.  It gave me all the drama mama feels.

Even a trash day can have some really bright spots if you know where to look.  

3rd grade versions

3rd grade version of dressing for the job you want, instead of the job you have:

"I wore this t-shirt and shorts because the weather is supposed to be warmer this time of year." 

(OK, but it's not....)

3rd grade version of making someone feel loved:

Me: We're going to make cards for Mrs. Conlin (our student teacher) because she is graduating and this is her last day.

Student:  Who's Mrs. Conlin?!?

3rd grade version of listening:

All of them, all of the time, after I already said it three times:  What are we doing?

3rd grade version of going with the flow: 

"Wait, what?!?  You did NOT tell us this was going to happen!"

3rd grade version of lining up:

I don't even know how to describe it.  It's not good.

I'll wait.

3rd grade version of mercenaries:

ALL year I've been trying to get them to write an opinion paragraph.  State their opinion, list three reasons (with transitions!), restate their opinion.  That is all.  It has been such a struggle.  Yesterday I offered a penny (for the Skittle machine) to anyone who could do it. 

Guess who can suddenly write opinion paragraphs?

Everyone.

I'm not over it

Talking over with my mom about the destination of my grandmother's belongings, I want everything.  And the house. Please and thank you.  I want to keep it all intact exactly how my grandma left things, maybe cordoned off with some velvet ropes like a museum.

But not really.  

What I really want is my grandma.

I want to sit with my feet dangling from a barstool while I eat pop tarts and chat with her while she bustles around her kitchen.

I want to try to keep up with her at the mall during marathon shopping trips.

I want to pore over the newspaper, trying to decide which "show" to go see.

I want her to show me one more time how to frost a cake so it looks nice.

I want her to show me one more time how to make her Thanksgiving stuffing.

I want to sit next to her during one of my siblings' basketball games and be a little mortified by how invested she is.

I want her to micromanage me decorating the Christmas tree because it matters.

I want to hear her call me "honey" and hear her introduce me to someone as her "little namesake."

I want to play Rook with her and eat her Swiss steak.  I want to eat vegetables that taste delicious because she has drowned them in butter.

I want her to insist I have candy and ice cream and scold me for not giving Adam a bigger piece of pie.

I want to read her handwriting on a card for me.

I want to call her or have her call me.

I want to hear about "the game" and pretend I even know which game she is talking about.

I want just one more hug and kiss.

I want my grandma.

Monday Monday

The third grade team had subs and we spent the day collaborating.  We talked about what worked well this year; what we want to improve.  We ordered things for next year and decided decided decided.

It was a productive day, plus I was with my friends, so it was a good day.

I had to go to the special ed room at one point because one of my students had a come apart.  I crawled under a desk and read her a story and we got through it.

I made the mistake of walking down the hall right when my class came in from lunch recess.  They were in the hall getting drinks, but mostly involved in shenanigans.  They ran up to me and hugged me and exclaimed, "Mrs. Davis!" like 1) I was their favorite person in the world and 2) they hadn't seen me for months.

Today, when I'm in the classroom, they'll act ambivalent toward me.

I asked my sub how the day had gone.  She said, "Well...YOU know your class."

So that well, huh?

After school Adam and I had dentist appointments.  I didn't have any cavities or any treacherous teeth dying on the inside.  I need to floss better.

In the evening we had a YEN (young empty nesters) dinner.

We could bring whatever side dish we wanted and I brought cookies.  I know to stay in my lane.  I'm not about that salad life.

Adam and I sat across from Shannon and Chris.  We talked about everything from taxes (the woes!) and politics (Shannon is waaaaaay right wing) and food, because we like to introduce each other to new food and Chris has a new curry pizza place he wants us all to go to.  Shannon is hesitant and I told her she can rally.

Greg and Jenn joined us from the other table and we all started talking about TV shows and movies.  Shannon gave Jenn and me homework of what she wants us to watch.  "I'm going to want a report!"

We got talking about something else but Jenn and Terri, down the table started singing their school song (they both went to Timpview--so did Kim, but she doesn't know the song).

Shannon went to PG (unlike all you carpetbaggers, she said) and sang the song and Adam gave a rousing rendition of the Wells High school song.

What can I say, I married well.

I feel like YEN is breathing new life into our social lives.  These are our friends and we have fun.

Weekend

I don't know if I was in 7th or 8th grade, but I didn't have a lot of friends and I was invited to Tracy's slumber party.  It was a Big Deal, because I was maybe, finally, in the group?

It turned into a bad situation and the next morning I had one desire:  escape.  I went in the kitchen (where the phone was attached to the wall--remember those days?) and called my mom.  I asked her to come and get me.  I started crying.  When I got off the phone, I told the other girls that I was "sick" and my mom was coming to get me.

When we got home, my mom's half eaten cereal bowl was still on the table.  She hadn't finished breakfast.

That's pretty much everything you need to know about what kind of mother I have.

Jennifer Garner said, "I know enough to know when you're in a pickle...call Mom."

I would add and Dad.  

50 years old and I needed my parents on Saturday.  Every time I've called them while in distress, they've said the right things, they've comforted and bolstered me.  They've helped.

It all makes me really grateful and it makes me want to hold the line and pass it on.  The legacies of generations have strengthened and taught and helped.  Their good choices bless my life every day.

I taught Sunday school yesterday.  

It was stressful.

I get so nervous and hopefully I will get less panicky the more times I do it.

Adam is my emotional support.  I wanted to show some videos so I had my laptop.  He helped me get a TV from the library and while we were walking to the room where I was supposed to teach, he kept saying over and over, "It's going to be great."

The good news is that I survived it and the people in the class are my friends (I don't know why I forget that and they seem so menacing in my imagination) and they also make lots of good comments.

Also I prayed a lot and that helps.

We did a FaceTime call with Braeden and Anna and QE.  She cracks us up.  It's just fun to watch her live her life.  

Emma came over in the afternoon.  We had dinner and I taught my lesson again to Emma and Mark (after all that prep and worry, I might as well get some mileage out of it).  Adam and I drove to Salt Lake to see my parents.  They are working on the process of figuring out my grandma's belongings.  It's a lot.  They'll be back at it next week and my sisters and I are going to have a playdate and help.

It wasn't exactly a carefree weekend, but I'm grateful for all the help I constantly get along the way.  My safety nets have safety nets.

Grateful Friday

Sometimes I just think, is this my life?!?

Yesterday my diabetic went way low again and I was dealing with that and another student had a come apart and just left the room, like she does.  And I had, you know, twenty other students who weren't exactly model citizens that I was dealing with at the same time.

I had a girl sobbing after recess because the sidewalk chalk I let her play with got on her pants and her mom told her that if she keeps ruining her clothes she will have to buy her own clothes. (Imagine that last part being wailed inconsolably.)

I explained that chalk dust will wash off.

She countered that paint and markers don't wash off.

I agreed, but said that chalk dust will wash off.  I tried to play the "I'm a mom too, so I know these things" card, but she was not buying it.

I had Emily tell her that chalk dust will wash off.  She seemed more credible I guess because the sobbing stopped.

Then she said, "OK, but will you email my mom and tell her?"

So I did.

I have about 8 boys who are such rascals.  I had them turn around three times and go back to the classroom to try walking again to PE.  

During math, while they were seated on the rug, one of them complained that another was smelling him. (What??!) Another complained that someone was slurping in his ear.  They all like each other and they are just messing around, but they are making me crazy!

After school I compared notes with Miriam and Janelle, like we do.

Miriam had one girl dislocate another girl's arm at lunch recess.

Janelle had a girl throw up allllllll the way down the hall to the bathroom.

I guess you wouldn't be irrational if you wondered why one earth we chose this life.

But here's the thing:

A girl asked me if she could take one of my books to recess to read if she promised to be very careful with it and bring it back.

This is a girl who goes to special ed for reading and struggles so much in every way.  I said yes!

Also, yesterday there was a collective groan when I stopped reading aloud to them.  Let me tell you, that was a hard fought groan with this group.  It made me happy.

They also make me laugh all day long.

My reading group (that is composed of four of those rambunctious boys) have created their own house rules to a phonics game I have.  It involves winning if you are the toilet king and losing if you end up with poison.  They decided the poison was covid.   

Speaking of poison, I was regaled with dramatic stories about food poisoning from gas station food. I heard about the very exciting event of a grandma surprising them by showing up on their spring break trip.  She knocked on the hotel door and said, "Room service!"

The student said, "We didn't even order room service, but we opened the door and it was my grandma!"

One of Miriam's students is in a different reading group I have.  He has been in Mexico for the past few weeks so I was asking him about it.  He told me about the good food he ate and the things he saw.  Then he said in his enthusiastic, if slightly broken, English that they went to where Jesus was...he searched for the word in English for awhile, then finally found it...crucified.  He said, "And then we had a big party."

I'm pretty confident a thing or two was lost in translation for what actually happened, but I loved how excited he was about it.

My very hardest student got 100% on his math test yesterday.  That has never even come close to happening before (although he is a smart enough kid).  I made a big deal out of it and later he sheepishly asked me, "Are you surprised I got a 100% on my math test?"

I said, "I'm not surprised because I know how smart you are.  I am impressed that you got 100% though."

About three more times throughout the day, he would say to no one in particular, "I am impressed I got 100% on my math test!"

This is my life and I'm grateful for it.

Take a minute

I have a complicated relationship with one of my students.  She is super cute and charismatic.  She is witty and bright.

She hardly ever does any school work.

She shuts down and refuses to look at me.  It's like her bones disappear and she just slumps.

Other times she is representing our class in the spelling bee.

Almost daily she  comes up to my desk and says, "Miss Davis! Miss Davis! Miss Davis!" and she tells me some big or small important happening in her life.  Her megawatt smile brightening the room.

She hides in the classroom and won't go to specialties.

She does what she wants and she exhausts me.

Her home life is even more complicated.  

She came in hours late for school two days in a row and I felt bugged by her parents.  I didn't know if it was her mom's week or her dad's week, but why couldn't they get it together and bring her to school on time?!?

In a quiet moment when she was at my desk and I was trying to get her to do some school work, any school work, I said, "Hey, why have you been so late for school?"

She looked up at me and said in a small voice, "I was at a funeral yesterday."

"Oh no!" I said, "I'm so sorry."

She smiled a sad smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Whose funeral was it?"

"My uncle's."

Oh sweet girl.  

Then she added in an even smaller voice.  "And today was just a rough morning."

It was reminder number 12,000 that I need to give people the benefit of the doubt.  I need to take a minute and seek understanding.  Or just assume good will.

She is ALWAYS in trouble in library.  She crawls away and hides under a table when the librarian is reading to them.  She won't sit where the librarian wants her to sit and is obstinate just because.  Every week.  

Pam, the librarian (who has an enormous and loving heart) said to me, "I can't understand her.  It's like she just has to be in control."

I said, because it had honestly just occurred to me, "Her home life is pretty chaotic.  Maybe she just wants to feel in control of something."

Pam squeezed my arm.  "I'm sure that's right.  Poor girl."

Then Pam walked over to my student and showed her a book and spoke kindly to her and they were both grinning.

It just took a minute of understanding.

I can always be a little kinder and hopefully writing this will help me remember that.

Making me angsty

Monday I felt pretty good all day about school.  I attributed it to having had a break, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

When I was walking to lunch, I hoped that since a certain student was absent, that wasn't the reason I was feeling footloose and fancy free.

Well, the student was back yesterday and it mattered.

And it wasn't just that student.  I had students be mean to others.  They were chatty.  My diabetic went WAY low and that was a bit of a panic situation.  I had a student just cross out every problem on her math page and turn it in like that.  I had whining.

Why is it always such a struggle?!?

Speaking of things that are always a struggle, I was making copies on Bertha (the copiers all have names and personalities).  There was a misfeed and jam.  I opened up all the little complicated doors and retrieved my mangled paper.  It still wouldn't work so I went and told Camie.  That's usually the end game with the copy machines.  We make our problem Camie's problem.

Camie said, "Ohhhh Bertha."

My student teacher needed me to fill out some forms on a BYU website and every college website I've ever dealt with is THE WORST.

It was unable to log me in so I called the fresh faced young kid (I'm guessing) at the BYU IT desk.  He reset something and I was able to get into the website.  Then, my student teacher wasn't associated with my name like she is supposed to be.  

She contacted her supervisor and the supervisor's advice?  Your teacher will have to call someone about that....

By that point, I had given up for the day though.  I'll try again.

Adam had meetings so it was Mark and me for dinner and I didn't have any ideas for dinner and I didn't feel like eating anything anyway.

I went to the store on the way home from school and patched together a menu for the rest of the week.  Gluten free, moderately healthy, moderately easy to prepare (nothing labor intensive on a school night please and thank you).  Also, it had to be something that...you know...tastes good.

Ugh.

I'm out of ideas.  Can someone just tell me what's for dinner every night for the rest of my life?

I had a weird hodge-podge of stuff in my cart and I got in a line.

The single senior citizen in the county who still writes checks just so happened to be in front of me.

Long sigh.

We got through that whole process and then her address on the check didn't match her address on her drivers license.  They had to call over a manager.

The manager explained the problem.

She said, "Well, it's not going to match until 2024 because that is when my license expires."

So there we were at an impasse and they eventually just said OK.

I went home to the train wreck that is my house that still isn't put at rights since our trip.

Everything doesn't always go so very well.

On the other hand, I have daffodils blooming in my front yard.

Maybe that balances everything out.

Making me happy

All of my students aren't members of the same church as I am (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), but enough of them are that I know I am teaching in Utah County.

Over spring break, the third grade teachers had a reading challenge for our students.  Here's what one of my students returned and reported with:

***

Yesterday was "student appreciation day" at school so a bunch of us stood out front with little pom poms and some were blowing bubbles and we were all enthusiastically welcoming the students to school and to walk through the big balloon arch the PTA had provided.  Bleary eyed children would stumble out of their parents' cars and be greeted with eager zeal.  Several of them gave me an, "OK crazy lady..." look.

Riley, the head custodian was out there like he is every morning.  A student walked up who has been a pretty extreme behavior problem for years and who is one of the ones Riley has adopted as a helper.  Riley said, "Hey!  You're here on your birthday?!?  Happy birthday!"

The little boy grinned and I considered how lucky I am to work with people like Riley who knows the birthday of the student who is always finding himself in trouble.

***

While we were gone, my new computer cover arrived.  

I've decided to name my new computer Vinnie.

***

I had recess duty yesterday and it was sublime.  The sun was shining and the grass was free of snow and it was even green.  The mountain is still full of snow and that makes me feel like I have money in the bank.

It's the little things.

Weekend

Saturday was full of chores at Pleasant Hill.  Adam cleared out the ditch some and diverted it so it babbles through the yard like it's supposed to.

We rebranded it as a brook, because that sounds a lot prettier than a ditch and it is very pretty.  I love the sound of it burbling along.  

The snow is melting, exposing tender green grass just poking out. There are some steadfast crocuses making an appearance by the back door.  They've been pummeled by snow and ice and they don't care.

We cleaned the entire house and I walked over to my parents' house and took a walk with my mom.  I borrowed clippers from my dad and tamed the Virginia Creeper that is by the front porch.  I cleared some leaves off of the hens and chicks.  Everywhere I look, I see the work of my grandparents.  They planted this.  They built that.

I didn't want to leave.  The longer I'm there, the less I want to leave.

We kept working; I even washed three of the windows.

Just three. 

Gotta pace myself.

We made 4 batches of funeral potatoes for the Easter feast and cooked 3 dozen eggs for the deviled eggs.

Emma and Mark arrived and we put them to work/they played loud music.  Then, they both went and took naps.  Adam and I walked down the road and looked at things.  The world is awakening.

My parents came over for dinner.  We were having chicken tikka masala, which I wasn't sure my dad would like, but my mom brought some pizza so it was kind of a potluck.  I crowdsourced my next Sunday school lesson and asked everyone what they thought about the topic and we had a good discussion.  

We sat around the table to talk because we don't have other, more comfortable furniture to retire to.

It is a work in progress.

After my parents went home, I enlisted help washing the dishes.  Emma said, "Or you could get a dishwasher."  We have one and it is me, but she dried. 

We brought Qwixx so even though I was tired from all the things, we played one game after the dishes.  We had some Jelly Belly jelly beans and even though I don't like jelly beans, I kept eating them.  Someone would eat one and try to decide the flavor and then we'd all find the same color and try to decide the flavor.  

I kept saying, "I don't like jelly beans."

And someone would hand me one and say, "Is this blueberry?"

And I would eat it, because I was curious.

I love the peaceful quiet when it is just Adam and me and I love the more vibrant energy when our kids are there too.

It's a good place.

I woke up early Sunday morning and sat by the fire and thought about Easter and worked on my Sunday school lesson. 

When you're terrified, you over prepare.

Easter was a lovely day.  We went to church in the Wells ward.  I told my mom after sacrament meeting that I was related to about everyone on the program: sisters, niece and nephews, second cousins and their children. 

We hustled home and it was all hands on deck to make the deviled eggs and a big fruit salad.  Adam had set up the oven to cook the potatoes while we were at church.

It turned out I made more food than I needed.  I was calculating the number of people and multiplying them by Braeden, but Olivia's boys don't even like deviled eggs. 

Marianne made ham and had the feast at her house (which was remarkable considering she had returned from South Carolina the night before, but Marianne is remarkable).  Olivia made rolls and brought steamed carrots and my mom made a big salad.  It was all delicious.

We visited briefly and then headed back to our house to strike camp.  It's a process, but it was helped by Emma and Mark being there.  We loaded up the cars and battened all the hatches.  The sun was shining and the brook was babbling and the birds were chirping and I didn't want to leave.

The seasons definitely changed in Utah.  It was 61 degrees when we got home in the 8:00 hour and my weather app has an avalanche warning.  I don't think we're in any danger where we are, but we haven't seen 60 degree weather since last fall!  

Ready or not, I'm back to school.  I'm hoping that I left detailed plans for myself because I can't remember what we're doing at school today. 

Grateful Friday

Like all good holidays, this one is moving too fast.  It's been so nice to wake up when I wake up and move gently through my To Do list.  

Yesterday, while Adam worked, I went on a walk with Olivia and my mom (Marianne is living her best life on a trip to South Carolina).  I did a little laundry at my parents' house.  I did a little cross stitch.  I built an end table from IKEA (and kept having to wait until Adam finished his meetings so he could help me tighten things).  I messed up the drawer runners so he fixed it at the end.  I said I wouldn't try building anything else.

Except in the evening we built two nightstands.

In full disclosure, while I'm talking about interrupting Adam, I got a little stuck backing out when I was driving over to my parents' and he came and pushed me out.

I think having me here is really helping his productivity.

Among my other projects, I am going through my computer and cleaning up things.  I was deleting photos I no longer want and saw a picture I enthusiastically took of the first snow in October.  I was so young and innocent back then!

I also saw pictures I took of my students on Halloween.  As ready as I was for a vacation, I miss those little faces.  I'll be happy to go back to be with them.

I'm grateful for this beautiful little spot we have to be together and find respite.

I'm grateful to be close to my family and to have easy daily interaction with them while we are here.

I'm grateful Emma and Mark are coming tomorrow to spend Easter here with us.

I'm grateful for Easter.  I'm grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I'm grateful that He suffered for our sins and sorrows and is able to understand and strengthen us.  Here's another thing I found, that I had saved on my computer:  There is a success that can compensate for failure in the home, the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  

I don't know who said it; it was from Women's Conference at BYU in 2015.

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

Icicle dreams

Yesterday we traversed the green verdant fields of California, the steep snowing canyons of the Sierra Nevadas, the high desert that is uniformly the color of mushrooms this time of year and landed back in our dreamy Pleasant Hill.

The icicles weren't exactly welcoming, but Adam knocked them down.

We unpacked and ate dinner sitting at the counter.  We talked about how we could improve the lighting.  We sat by the fire and Adam finished reading our book aloud.  

The moonlight made the icicles outside the window above our bed glisten and shine.  I've always thought it was magical sleeping under a full moon.

This morning the sun was lighting up the icicles.

Today Adam is going to do some work and I have a list of projects to feather our nest around here.

If we can't have spring, we might as well have icicles.

Guh, Guh, Guh!

Yesterday was more time with QE.  We hung out at their apartment and played at the little playground and just watched her, which is very entertaining.  Braeden got home from class and QE was sleeping so I stayed with her and everyone else went to Mr. Pickles, a sandwich shop Adam and I discovered, and brought back sandwiches for lunch.  They are the best sandwiches I've ever had!  

I read to QE and she was very calm and seemed sleepy so Anna was ready to put her to sleep and Adam and I snuck out to let her nap before the next adventure.

She didn't nap.  She just kept saying, "Guh, Guh, Guh!"

We went back over and our girl was a little delirious in her overtired state.  (She reminds us so much of Emma!  Adam calls her Emma a lot.  Emma acted the same way when she was overtired.)

Anna had a school assignment she hadn't realized was due so soon, so we took Braeden and QE on an adventure.  We drove over beautiful green farmland to Yuba City and walked around the Feather River temple which will be dedicated later this summer.  It is beautiful, like all temples are.  QE had slept on the way so she was ready to party.

We drove to Lincoln to a Chinese restaurant that was highly recommended by Cameron, who works with Adam and grew up around there.  He told Adam he has had his mom overnight him food from there.

Braeden loved it and said he wanted Cameron's mom to send him food from there too.

There was a nine month old baby at the table next to ours and she and QE were very interested in each other.  She is just a happy and friendly baby!

I had sat in the back on the ride there and Adam sat in the back on the ride back.  (Next to the carseat is prime real estate.) Braeden drove us back to their apartment.  Usually I don't really like riding with our kids driving (and they don't like it either).  Braeden is I guess a fully grown up man now, because I didn't mind riding with him driving at all.  We listened to music and talked and it was so good to be with our boy.  I told him I was proud of him and the way he is living his life.

He said, "Well, I married really well.  That helped me a lot."

I said, "She married well too."

What else is his mom going to think?

We said our good-byes and were melancholy grandparents heading back to our hotel.  Today we will head back to Nevada and snow.  Braeden is so busy with school and work and we don't want to stay too long and disrupt their lives too much.  Company and fish start to smell after three days.

Still.  

It's hard to leave those three.  

At the Feather River temple, Braeden held QE up above the construction fence and showed her the temple.  I told her that because of temple covenants, we were all sealed together forever.

What a blessing that is!

Weekend + Monday

Last week Adam got his brakes and some other work done on his car.  Friday when he was driving home from work, all the electrical warnings started flashing on his dashboard and the safety sensors were shut off and cruise control wouldn't work.

We were supposed to leave the next morning.

Early, Adam got up, put on his Subaru shirt for luck, and went to a Subaru dealership.  The guy said he couldn't have a technician look at it until Tuesday, but he climbed under and jostled the wires and everything worked again.

We loaded up and headed to Nevada.  We were about an hour away from home when everything started happening again.

Instead of going to Starr Valley, we went to Elko and went to Les Schwab.  They said it needed to be plugged in and they fixed it.

So we were happy about that and headed to Starr Valley.  When we pulled into our driveway, all the warning lights came back on again!

We unpacked and listened to conference (we listened to conference while we drove too).  

After the Saturday evening session, we went to Marianne's for my mom's birthday party.  Carolina had made this amazing meal (complete with a sugar free dessert since my mom isn't eating sugar).  We enjoyed ourselves and visited and everyone told what they loved about my mom and I cried.  At one point, Edgar went outside and came back.  

Out in the dark and cold and snow, he'd climbed under our car and took a picture and investigated and figured out what was wrong.  (Too bad we hadn't had Edgar from the start!)

The next morning we went to my parents' house before the Sunday morning conference.  Edgar met us there too and he used this special glue my dad had and repaired the plug, which was cracked.

We were on the road and everything has been working fine!

We enjoyed listening to all the sessions of conference we heard.  It is so wonderful to hear from our leaders.  I felt strengthened and encouraged and happy.

We realized there was a Safeway in Lovelock so we decided to stop there and get something for lunch.  We went into the Safeway, which was retro and tiny and had neither a deli nor a bakery so it wasn't much of a lunch option.

I looked on Trip Advisor and saw there was a Pizza Factory with a lunch buffet.  It had pizza and a salad bar.  So that seemed good.

Then we pulled in and it looked like this.  I was not in favor of going in, but you can see that Adam was.

We walked into the liquor store, which had two tables in the corner for the "lunch buffet."  There was a cold pizza under a light and a small salad bar.  Adam said we'd take two lunch buffets and he went to use the bathroom.

So there I was, not wanting to eat there, but not sure where else we were going to eat.  Besides, I had seen on the sign outside that the price had changed and they had covered the old price with a piece of cardboard.  Then the price had changed again and they'd covered the cardboard with a piece of paper.  Maybe we should just eat before they covered the paper with another smaller piece of paper.

I put salad on my flimsy paper plate and sat at one of the tables.  The guy came and told me, "We don't have a soda machine, you can pick something there."  He indicated a gray plastic tub halfway filled with warm soda cans.  

I picked a Coke Zero and humbly asked for some ice.  The guy brought me two cups with ice.  We ended up not using one of them and I only took one drink of my soda.  It tasted bad.  Adam checked the bottom of the can and it had expired in September.

I guess they don't get a lot of customers willing to root through the tub of warm soda....

The guy asked what kind of pizza we wanted and Adam said, "Make whatever is your favorite."

He made us a combo pizza and it wasn't bad.  So all in all, it wasn't a terrible lunch.  It just wasn't a good lunch.

And it was memorable.

Driving over the Sierras was also memorable.  So. Much. Snow.

We drove through miles of snow canyons.  I hope it melts in a measured way!

We finally got to Braeden and Anna's.  It was wonderful to see them and to see the Queen of Everything (QE).  She is walking now and gabbing about everything.  She recognized us and was happy to see us, which is pretty much the best feeling in the world.  How can this grandparent gig just keep getting better? I don't know, but I'm here for it!

We ate dinner with them and visited for awhile and read a little to QE (although she was too busy to sit for long).

Monday morning, Braeden texted that she kept saying Guh, Guh, Guh insistently.  That is her all purpose word for grandparents.  She says it when she sees us and when she sees the Carlsons too.

She took her morning nap and then Adam and I took her out on the town.  Braeden had school stuff and Anna had a test to take for the masters degree she is working on.  

We couldn't have been happier with our role.  We went to a sandwich shop for lunch.  Anna had packed lunch for her, but I gave her little bits of avocado and tomato from my sandwich too and she loved them like the little California baby that she is.

From there we went to Target and bought her some shoes and a ball.  Geri had texted us that she thought QE needed a ball.  Like I told Adam, we are novices at this grandparent gig.  We might as well learn from the experts. 

She loved her ball.  She's not quite interested in rolling it back and forth on the floor, but she loved carrying it around and talking about it.  She wasn't quite sure about the shoes.  She walked like someone had attached cement blocks to her feet.

Adam had a little bit of work to do, so we went back to our hotel.  I found some measuring spoons in the kitchen and they kept her entertained.  I was sitting with her on the little couch in our room and Adam had his back to her, sitting at the desk.  She kept trying to get his attention and he would turn around and she would erupt in a big smile and say, "Guh Guh Guh!"

It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.

We got her home in time for her nap, then went back to our hotel for me to take a nap and for Adam to do more work.  One of us is lazier than the other, is what I'm saying.

We had dinner with them again and then took a walk and had a FaceTime call with Stella from a park.  Pretty much the whole town feels like a park.  It's lovely here.

Earlier we had been driving around and Adam said, "Maybe we should buy one of these these little houses and move here."  I could be a teacher here and Adam could work remotely and QE could come over every day.

It's tempting.

I totally understand people moving to live by their grandchildren.