Humming along

Yesterday I picked my mom up from her treatment in the morning and we went to lunch.  We had a bit of time before we needed to go to Fallon for another appointment, so I said, "Let's drive over and look at the capitol building." It was a few blocks away.

The same mom who arranged for us to have behind the scenes tours of McDonalds, the police and fire stations, and the bakery at Albertsons one summer when we were taking swim lessons in Elko, pulled a pamphlet out of her bag that outlined a tour of historic mansions in downtown Carson City.

I loved it.  I'm a sucker for old homes.  My mom would read me a brief description of each home, complete with what ghosts were said to haunt them.  

I would take any of those gorgeous houses, ghosts and all.

Neither of us are all that good at directions and we would both look at the map and try to make sense of what we were doing.  It was OK though, because we had time.

We drove to the hospital in Fallon to meet with a surgeon about getting a port.  Everyone at the hospital was very kind and once they knew my mom's last name, it was a who's who of the Dahl family. The surgeon went to school with several of my cousins and was listing all their names and he said, "And everyone knows Harvey Dahl."

I imagine he meant my cousin Harvey Dahl who grew up in Fallon and ended up playing for the NFL, but a lot of people know Harvey Dahl my larger than life grandpa too, so it works either way.

The lady who walked us down to the surgical center where we needed to fill out forms told us the Dahls she knew and that lady who talked us through all the prep for the surgery went to school with my cousin Molly.

My mom is getting the port tomorrow morning and we are glad.  It's been a struggle to get one arranged and she needs it to continue her treatments.

Our whole family is praying for her and I feel like our prayers are being answered in little ways all along.

I am enjoying my time with her: my pleasant and kind and faithful mother, who may or may not have information about historic mansions in the area in her bag.

My mom

My mom has me help her wrap her arm, where she has her midline, before she showers.  She brought left handed scissors for me to use to cut the tape.

She elevates motherhood to a whole new level.

I took my mom for her treatment yesterday.  She wanted me to come in so she could introduce me to everyone.  I think they probably had little interest in meeting me, but I dutifully went inside.  I'm glad I did, because what I saw was my mom shining her light in every direction.  She greeted everyone by name.  She introduced me, "This is my middle daughter."  They all met Olivia last week; next week they'll meet Marianne.  It's kind of a billy goat gruff situation.

We walked into the room where two other women were sitting in recliners, huddled under fleece blankets, hooked up to complicated IVs.  My mom cheerfully said, "Hello friends!"

She instructed me to sit down and visit.  She asked them all about their Thanksgivings and their families and she knew the details of their lives.  One of the women, who is here alone, told her all about a National Geography documentary she had watched and my mom acted fascinated.  Besides introducing me to them, she didn't say one word about herself.  She was only interested in them.

When my mom and I were driving here on Sunday we talked about how people become more like their spouses as time passes.  (I was once again grateful for Anna.) 

Joan was very dirty from Starr Valley and I told my mom, Adam would go find a carwash.  Then after I left her at the doctor's office, I decided to go and find a carwash.

My mom is right about most things.

Live from Carson City

Last week Olivia had the same blogpost title and this week is my turn.  I am in Carson City with my mom.  We had a nice trip, visiting and listening a little to the Follow Him podcast.  We couldn't have had better weather, which was good because it had snowed in previous days.

I also had a good weekend.  Yesterday when we were packing up, I told Adam, "I feel sad every time we leave here."  And it's true.  It is restful and happy there.  

In backwards order, my mom taught Relief Society and I was happy to be in her lesson.  I love the Wells Ward.  They've stopped acknowledging me as a visitor and I like that.

Our kids went home Saturday night with Clarissa.  She wanted to practice her songs for the Tabernacle Choir, but like Adam said, our kids are really good at tuning people out.  I think they were happy with their headphones and music.

Also on Saturday night, Robert and Marianne and Carolina came over.  Carolina wanted to hear our courtship and engagement story.  You've never had a more enthusiastic and captive audience.  It was fun to recount it for her.  I am forever grateful Adam and I ended up together and I loved the ways that Marianne and Robert are entwined with our story. 

Then we played Qwixx.  Always a good time, especially when paired with the Yacht Rock playlist on Amazon music. 

Speaking of playlists, I finessed my Christmas playlists on Saturday.  Christmas playlists are not to be taken lightly and I have 5 so I am ready for whatever mood strikes.  Adam and I went to Elko on Saturday and bought some heat tape for our roof (the ice!  the snow!).  We also bought more pins for those ring ding ornaments because I am a masochist and decided to make more to use the rest of the sequins.  

Friday we had Thanksgiving leftovers dinner at Marianne's.  I went over early to help her and she was all ready to go. 

She is a precrastinator.  I get it.

So that's me, up to date.  I am happy to be with my mom, happy to be enjoying a bit of leisure away from school and grateful for this holiday season.

Grateful Friday

Hours late because I woke up with a migraine.

I don't know about the migraine.  I am generally feeling so much better after my physical therapy and also still having migraines sometimes.

I'm still feeling grateful today (mostly because I'm finally feeling a little better).

We had a very good Thanksgiving.  It was a combination of Marianne is amazing and many hands make light-ish work.  (I was pretty tired when it was all said and done.)

Olivia and Adam and I took a walk in the morning and then Olivia and I went and helped at Marianne's a little but she was pretty much ready.  Hyrum said she had been baying for blood at 9:00 AM and got her children helping.  They are a lot of help and she is a great leader.

We all gathered for lunch a bit after noon. Everything looked and tasted fabulous.

Olivia and her boys had made these darling pumpkin place cards.

I was very grateful for the carefully thought out gluten free designations.  It makes me feel loved.  The whole day made me feel loved.  I enjoyed being with my people.  After we ate, we made our ornament craft that I had come up with which was painstaking and sort of annoying, but everyone was nice about it.  We had our talent show and I cried during a poem Clarissa shared she had written and that didn't help me not cry during two family history stories Adam and I wanted to share (we wisely had Mark read them).  

And I was impressed by those talented kids.  Marianne and I both lectured Olivia and Tabor for chatting in the corner during it.

Once an older sister....

After that we played Nauvoo bingo.  I was sitting between the troublemakers, Olivia and Tabor this time and we had a good time.  We had a Ghanian and Venezuelan guest for Thanksgiving (an Argentinian too, but he had left by then) and they played Nauvoo bingo with us.  I wondered if they would think this is something all Americans did on Thanksgiving and Tabor said the Venezuelan was probably grateful he didn't understand most of us.

Ammon was the Bingo caller (he stepped in once Enoch moved--although we miss Enoch and Jennifer and family!) and he called in both English and Spanish.  Everyone got a prize when they got bingo and everyone got a prize when they got blackout.  Then my mom told everyone to take one more prize.

It's no wonder everyone is very enthusiastic about Nauvoo bingo!

We pulled out all the food and ate dinner and I was not even a little bit hungry, but I didn't let that get in my way.  Everything was just so delicious!

Yesterday morning I took a picture out the window.

This morning I took a picture out the same window.

Snow fell in time just for my Christmas playlist.

Adam took the kids to town to go to a movie with their cousins and he is going to do some shopping and I am in a quiet house surrounded by snow and quiet and I am not sad about it.

Grateful for my family

Yesterday Mark and I drove to The Home Place (rebranded, it's a semi long story).  We had a nice drive and he kept us in good music.  When we got here there were flies to clean up (and my dad had already cleaned most of them) and all the stuff to bring in and Mark was vacuuming and hauling stuff and helping me make beds and he set up the internet and then sat down to work on the forms for his job he will start in January.

Adult children are kind of a marvel.  They go from grudgingly doing what you ask to saying, "What can I do?"

The grudgingly doing what you ask is still fresh enough that I appreciate this new stage!

Clarissa and Robert were out on a walk and they stopped by to say hello.

We went over to visit my dad and Katie and Charlotte (they were there as Charlotte is recovering from a tonsillectomy.  I got my mixer lamp and helped my dad vacuum a few flies.  He said, "No, you can't!" and I asked why not and he said, "Because I don't want you to!"

I said that wasn't a good enough reason and I owed him.  There are more flies than usual this year and if you live in a wooden house, you vacuum flies.

My mom and Olivia were driving home from Carson city and I invited my parents and their guests for dinner.  "Not you," I said to Olivia.  I didn't have enough.

Emma and Adam arrived later and I loved that we were all together.  Mark and I had FaceTimed with Braeden and QE earlier and we miss them and Anna, but I am grateful for modern technology that keeps us in touch.

We cooked some frozen pizzas (a dinner invitation to our house is never that fancy, especially here) and my parents, Katie and Charlotte and Ammon's family came over.  They had just arrived from Utah.  They had already eaten or we would have had really small pizza pieces!

It was nice to visit with everyone.  

I love being here and it is beautiful, but the main reason is family.  This place wouldn't mean as much to me without memories of my grandparents and growing up here.  Also every visit here is immeasurably enhanced by family.  I love visiting and having visitors and being interconnected to people I love so much.

Today we will all gather at Marianne's.  I told my dad yesterday that I would have wanted her as the oldest child too.  Whatever planning in heaven for that was a good idea.

We will miss the ones who aren't there and enjoy the ones who are.

I am also grateful for Adam's family and I think fondly of the Thanksgiving days we spent with them.  I feel doubly blessed in the family department.

When Mark and I drove yesterday we talked about the ways he is like both grandpas and Emma is like both grandmas.  

They could do so much worse!

Here is my grandma Jaynes's mixer in my grandma Dahl's kitchen that my dad made possible with an idea I got from Adam's mom.

I couldn't be happier about it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grateful for my job

I love the place where I work.  I love that I have real friends there.  It's not super easy for me to make real friends, but when I do, I don't really ever let them go.

I love real friends.

I love that there is a Christmas tree in the teachers' lounge with ornaments that are part of a giving tree for some of our students.  I love that you have to get them early before they are gone.

I love that Miriam came back to visit yesterday during lunchtime and she was swarmed with hugging teachers.  She cried when she hugged me and I almost but not quite kept myself from crying too.  It was just so good to see her and so good to see that she is on a healing trajectory.

I took a picture when she was swarmed with her students.  They said things like, "I've missed you!" so sincerely and earnestly that it melted my heart.

I love the connections we make with these little people who frustrate us but also wind their way tight around our hearts.

I love my students.  They are funny and brave and aggravating and smart and frustrating and lovable.

I love that we had a party after school for Elsa who is going to stay home with her baby boy and for Maren who is going to have a baby.  Jamie spearheaded the party so everything was beautiful and amazing.  Someone asked if they could hire her to cater their children's weddings and she said, "I'm not for hire."

We are so lucky to have her for free.  She is my go to for everything and I love that her office is around the corner from my classroom and she always has advice and cold soda and candy and nuts and Advil and pretty much anything you could need.

I love that Jordan said at the party, "Well look who the cat dragged in!" and in walked our old principal Jami, who we all love.  It was great to see him and great to have Matt now too because he is such a good principal and what we need.

When Matt sees me, he always asks, "Thelma, how are you?" Last week I told him I had a grievance.  I said, "It's not about you."

He laughed and said "Is this a it's not you, it's me?"

It was more about last year, but he committed to solving the problem.

I could go on and on, but I need to get on the road with Mark for our adventure that awaits.

Just, I love where I work.  I love the people I work with.

Life is good.

Gratitude

Yesterday I called our bank because we had a kerfuffle with an online bill payment.

They said, "You're not even authorized to pay bills online."

I said, "Well I do.  All the time."

They said, "You haven't signed into the bank for over ten years."

I said, "I sign in as my husband."

"That is against policy," was the very curt reply.

I said, "We have a joint account."

"Doesn't matter.  You have to sign in as you.  Oh, and you will have to re-enter all the information for each place you pay online."

I said, "OK, I will do that. Can I just ask you my question?"

He said, "Is your husband sitting there next to you?"

I said, "No."

He said, "Then I can't answer any of your questions."

Ugh.  So that was a pain.  But I created a new sign in (ten years ago is apparently an eon so I had to start from scratch).  When I was all signed in with my newly minted password and security questions, I got the message that I was not authorized to have online bill pay.

I called the bank again. And if you think it is easy to get to an actual person, it isn't.  I finally found a person.  She listened to me and said in a sort of patronizing way, "I can get you set up!  I will walk you through it."

It wasn't like I didn't know how to use the internet.  It said I wasn't authorized.

She said, "Oh, it says you aren't authorized."

So now she saw the issue.  She said, "Just a minute, let me look into this."

She came back and said, "You are not authorized because you aren't a tax owner."

"What does that mean?"

"You aren't the primary account holder so even though you have a joint account, you can't do online bill pay."

I said, "So I can't access my money?!?"

She was really nice about it.  She said, "Yeah, that seems really weird.  Let me see if I can ask more about this."

She came back and checked on me.  "I'm still working on this."

I felt like I was in Victorian times and had no rights because I was a woman.  I said, "Don't other people have joint accounts?  This seems crazy."

She said, "I know."

Finally she came back and said, "It may reset overnight.  Try again tomorrow."

I said, OK and that's an hour of my life that I won't get back.  When I told Adam about it, I said, "What if you were in some grievous accident and were unconscious.  I just couldn't use the bank?!?"

He said, "Well, you should be taking care of me and not worrying about things like that."

I didn't think he was very funny.

He also said, "If we have to, we'll close the accounts and set up something else that we can both access."

Yesterday I told my students about the magic of gratitude.  I told them that being thankful for what you have helps you feel happier if you don't have something you want.

I had them hold up their hands.  I said, "Look at that!  You have two hands!  Some people don't have two hands."

I think gratitude helps even when you're in a frustrating loop of phone conversations that have no resolution.

I'm grateful that the lady at the bank was very nice and helpful.  I'm grateful that I am not in actual Victorian times and I can get this worked out.  

I'm grateful I have two hands.

Weekend

Early autumn changed to late autumn.  The leaves are falling off the brilliantly colored trees.  There's snow on the mountain.   I pulled out my Christmas sweaters for an assessment of inventory.  I told Adam to stop me if I decide to buy more Christmas sweaters.

I made an enormous packing list for our trip.  I'll be gone ten days.  My lists are falling into place; I've been training for this my whole life.  My sub plans are pretty much done, just need the final touches of prep at school.  I have the food more or less sorted for the trip.  I have set aside everything that I can do after I return.  

My mind spins with to dos and since I think future Thelma is incompetent, I want to do everything now, now, now.

I am getting better at believing in future Thelma.  You can think about that in December. 

I am looking forward to the hustle and bustle and quiet calm and connection of the next two weeks.  

Adam and I had a nice weekend together.  Friday night we went to Costco and Trader Joe's, Saturday we went to Walmart and Winco.  (Saved the Ws for Saturday I guess.). We delivered medicine and Powerade to Mark.  He and Emma both have colds (Mark's was worsened by a bad night's sleep because of a faulty sensor) and Adam and I don't.  I have to think that living among children who cough and sniffle and sneeze at me all day has bolstered my immune system to new heights.

We had a quiet Sunday.  Adam was in our ward because President Porter went out of town mid morning.  I am always very grateful to have him next to me at church.  Mark was sick and none of our other guests could come so it was just the three of us on a quiet and rainy day.  

We did talk to Braeden and Anna and QE.  That is always a highlight to any day.  She had bucked her nap and was zooming around. We read a few books to her and she read a frenetic version of Amelia Bedelia to us, flipping the pages and jabbering.  Nothing delights us quite like she does!

Grateful Friday

I'm grateful for the little hero in my class who I aspire to be like.  How lovely that I get 9 months to try to learn from him.

He is one of the kindest people I know.  

We've had a school wide kindness challenge.  My class earned a party (we are having it today) by filling a jar with marbles.  Every time someone was kind (they couldn't self report; someone else had to notice) I put a marble in the jar.

This boy is responsible for about 1/3 of the marbles.

He goes around helping everyone during clean up.  He is terrific at origami and he not only teaches anyone who wants to learn, but he makes amazing little origami creations for everyone.  I have a whole shelfful.  He stays behind to line up the reading books when people are putting them away after reading time.  He checks on kids when they're sad.  The other day I saw him across the playground at recess pick up a kid off the grass who had fallen in the soccer game.  He put his arm around the other kid and made sure he was OK, then they both ran back into the game.  He never leaves for the day without coming up to my desk and saying, "Good-bye Teacher.  I hope you have a good day."

He's just so kind.  He's also smart.  He is a whiz at math and a good reader, especially considering English is not his native language.  Like my other students who speak better English than their parents, he carefully listens to announcements that involve his parents or family and he asks earnest follow up questions.

I have a student who is not so very kind.  Through no fault of his own, he has had some pretty major adverse childhood experiences that have not helped him be successful in school or socially.  He has kicked the kind boy's soccer ball on the roof and also over the fence.  (We have Riley who is the hero in instances like that.) He has been suspended regularly for violent and inappropriate behavior.  It's been rough.  

He's been gone all week and yesterday, before school, my sweet little hero asked me, "Where's XXX?  I haven't seen him."

He had a look of genuine concern on his face. I felt a little humbled.  I knew where XXX was, but I have not missed him.  I could learn a lot from my sweet student.

Also yesterday, Katie, our wonderful community outreach person called my kind boy out of class. His family was flagged for our Giving Tree at school. She told me later that when she asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he told her what he wanted for his little brother and also for his mom.

She pushed him, "But what do you want?" 

He finally told her.  I love my association with people like him.  I hope he rubs off on me! (And I'm going to tell Katie that I want to be the one to get his gift!)

Inside outside upside down

There's what I think and what I say:

I am ready for you to leave.  Go home.  Go home. Go home.

Of course I will help you find your sweatshirt.

It is two weeks past the deadline for the form to be turned in.

I will ask if you can still do Battle of the Books.  

If you would listen, you would understand it.

Come over to my desk and I will help you.

Sometimes I don't do such a good job editing what I'm actually thinking and it accidentally comes out of my mouth:

Quintessential Tattletale Girl:  Teacher, the lights in the girls' bathroom are turned off. 

Me: Do you know how to use a light switch?

Quintessential Tattletale Girl (looking chastened): Yes.

Another super day

I woke up yesterday with a headache.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either.  I dragged myself to school.  (Teachers have oodles of sick days that we never take because it is not worth the sub plans and fallout.)

If I'd been able to have a different sort of job, where I could sit sedately and not be around loud children, it may be have been OK, but I quickly crossed over to migraine territory.

Please don't yell, I said.  

It didn't matter.

My hearing is fine, I said.  You don't need to be so loud.

It didn't matter.

I had one of my migraine pills in my desk drawer, like one of those pills a spy carries in case of emergency.  I didn't want to take it because it makes me feel so weird and dizzy and awful, but it is better than a migraine, so I finally went for it.

It was a wild ride.  I had to sit down for a while, but I powered through, like you do.  As time passed, I felt a little better.  My headache was gone and I was just slightly dizzy.  

Then writing happened.

I had assigned them books on Native Americans on Epic, a website with digital books they can read.  They were to look through the books and decide which Native tribe they wanted to write about.  This is the exact same thing I have done every year, with zero drama or problem.

This was not like other years.

The books I assigned were about specific tribes or areas where tribes lived, like Native Tribes of the Southwest.  There were also some general books about Native Americans.  

I had about 5 kids come up immediately and tell me they had decided which tribe they were going to write about:  Native Americans.  They would point proudly at a book titled, Native Americans. 

That isn't a tribe.  They are all Native Americans.  Pick which tribe.

They said the tribe they wanted to do was Crazy Horse.  That isn't a tribe.

More of them said Native Americans.  That isn't a tribe.

One girl wandered into a different collection I had assigned earlier about weather.  Hurricanes, she said.

That isn't a tribe.

It shouldn't be astonishing, because it happens so often, but I am always astonished at times like that:  How is this so hard?!?

3rd grade

We went on a field trip to the Orem library to watch the Timpanogos Symphony.  The kids generally liked it and were generally well behaved.  My impulsive can't stop talking friend was positioned strategically next to me.  I tried to keep him facing the right direction and at least whispering and then he asked, "Can I go to sleep?"

I said, "Yes."

And it was blissful.

Would it be bad if I just let him sleep every day?  Because he is otherwise talking....

One of the girls wanted to sit by me on the bus.  She told me all about her cousins and her uncle and her church.  It was a lot to listen to and to keep straight but mostly I just needed to smile and nod.  There was no quiz.

I started a new book yesterday, The Lemonade War.  I love that I have a class that likes to be read to again.  They cheer if I say I'll read one more chapter and they groan when I'm done.  Reading to children is my love language.

They have told me all about their holiday plans.  It is clear they are not clear on the details.  We are leaving....Monday?  Next Monday?  This Monday?  Wednesday?  I don't know.  We're going to my grandma's.  Then another student raises their hands.  We're going to visit my auntie in California.  We are going to be gone for 8 days!  Well maybe.  Maybe we're leaving in 8 days?

After a few minutes of travels plans sketched by Picasso, I say we need to move on with the lesson, but maybe they can tell me later.

I'm teaching them the Christmas song that third grade sings for the Christmas Sing.  They love it.  They also love the Mexican Hat Dance.  We have music time every Monday and I love that they enjoy it.

They pretty much delight me.

Weekend

My students are usually obsessed with Mark and I don't know why.  Adam said it is because I tell them stories about Mark, but I don't think I really do.  And I mention all my kids in equal measure, which is not that much.  I don't know.

Friday morning, one of the students who I had seen at Pizza Pie Cafe said to me when I opened the door to them first thing, "I saw you last night.  And Mark."  

I acknowledged the truth of that statement.  When they see me in the wild, they always tell me at school. 

Then she turned to all her classmates and told them individually, not wanting anyone to miss the fact:  I saw Mark.

Hours later, she came up to my desk and asked, "Who was that girl sitting by Mark?"

I said, "That was Emma."

She pointed to my family picture on the wall and asked, "Is she the one next to you?"

"Yes."

Mark is the lead and the rest of us are just extras.

He texted Friday and said that their apartment was without hot water and he was going to go home to shower.  He left his calling card on the kitchen table:

I had said earlier that there would be no new LEGO sets for Christmas because they hadn't finished the one from last year.  (Adam said there would be a new LEGO set and he is usually the one that buys it against my better judgement, but I wanted to try to draw a line in the sand.)

So Mark finished the LEGO set.

(How many of these does one family need?  Asking for a friend....)

It was a nice weekend.  We did all the weekend things.  We tried to watch a movie Friday night and I fell asleep during it.  We successfully watched a movie Saturday night:  An American Pickle which was homework Clarissa had given me.

I took some pictures of the sky:

Autumn is my favorite.

My dad sent me this picture:

He texted it with one comment:  It needs a shorter lightbulb. 

I love it!  My grandma's mixer, brought to life!  My dad is a wizard.

After a few week hiatus, we enjoyed having everyone over for Sunday dinner.  After we ate, we played Scattergories.  Clarissa said, "I've never seen the Davises so competitive."

Maybe Emma and I shouldn't be allowed to play word games in polite company.

Everyone except Clarissa left and we talked about one of her really hard classes at school.  I tried to give suggestions, but I know that even the best suggestions may work for a little while at best.  Teaching is not for the faint of heart!

Grateful Friday

The other night Sue, my RS president and also my friend, came over for a ministering interview.  After we chatted, she said, "Now you painted your cabinets, right?  Can I see them again?"

I said sure and we walked in the kitchen and I was super glad that it was clean.  I said, "I don't want you to think it always looks like this.  Our cleaners came today."

She hugged me and said, "I am so proud of you!"

Later, Adam asked, "Was she proud of you for having cleaners or for admitting your kitchen is not always clean?"

I don't know.  I'll take either.

I am never not grateful to have cleaners.  Besides money spent to...you know...keep us alive, I think paying cleaners every other week is the best thing we can do with our money.  There is nothing quite so lovely as walking into a perfectly clean house after a day at school has kind of beaten me down.

Worth it.

I am grateful for my friends.  Everyone is still pitching in and trying to help with Miriam out sick.  I managed it myself for a few days and I was sort of drowning but I called in the reserves and they arrived!

I'm grateful for our kids.  Braeden called a few nights ago.  He was as cheerful as he always is and he was driving home after helping pack for a move (Elders quorum president reporting for duty) for a few hours.  He didn't have a hint of tiredness or begrudging the use of his time in his voice.  He said, "I've gotta go!  I love you Mom but I just pulled in and I want to see QE before she goes to sleep!" (Except he didn't call her QE.)

I love that boy.

I had dinner with our other two (Adam had to go to the stake center) at Pizza Pie Cafe because it was Bonneville night there.  I try to go every time they have a restaurant night.  

Who am I to cook dinner when I have an excuse not to?

I saw some current students and some former students.  They hugged me and chatted with me.  Today at school they will hardly acknowledge me.  One mom dragged a timid girl up to me who was trying to hide behind her mom.  The mom said, "She wanted to say hi, but she is being shy."

This same girl approached me at school yesterday a handful of times to talk to me and she wasn't shy at all.

Emma and I decided it is like the difference between seeing animals at the zoo or in the wild.  A teacher in her natural habitat....

I am also grateful for Adam.  Braeden learned his willingness to serve from somewhere and it was Adam.  Neither of us has ever had such a busy but invisible calling as Adam has right now and he just does it with zero complaint.

He is inspiring to me. (And he read to me when he got home last night.)

A day in the life

Every once in a while I decide to pay attention to the wacky and lovely things that happen in a day and record them on my blog.

Yesterday was one of those days.  Here are some of the things that happened yesterday:

A girl came up and solemnly asked me if my dad ever had gout.  I said, "No."  

She said, "Mine does.  Polys get it a lot."

What about my pasty white skin makes her think my dad may be Polynesian?

Another girl came into school covered--seriously all over--with chocolate.  She was eating toast with Nutella and it was on her nose and forehead and on both arms of her jacket and all over her shirt and hands.  She came up to me and said "I need help."

I said, "The first thing you need to do is either eat that or throw it away.  She threw it away.  I said, "Now go wash your hands."

Then we got after it with wipes and wet paper towels.

I can't emphasize enough that I never know what to expect.

During the clean up job, another girl told me about the great breakfast her dad had made her with a tortilla and eggs.  She said, "You should try it."

I told her it sounded good, but I usually don't make breakfast for myself because I eat a breakfast bar.

She said, "Oh," in a knowing way.  Then said, "My neighbor is basically loaded and they have breakfast bars."

My breakfast bars are homemade, (I make a batch every weekend) so I don't know if that counts, but am I unwittingly part of an elite breakfast bracket?

We did a little math quiz.  I preempted the inevitable question of what should I do when I'm done, by telling them to sit at their desk and read quietly until everyone else was finished.  I noticed after awhile that two kids were happily reading while the math quiz sat unfinished on their desks.  "You have to finish the quiz before you can read!" I said.  

They said, "Ohhhhhhh." It's like it was their first day at school ever and they didn't know how these things work.

My ten times larger than life boy did a math problem at my desk correctly and he jumped up and did a victory dance that would rival anything done by the NFL in the end zone.  "Come and do the next one," I said.

As I was leaving for the day, I encountered two first grade boys walking in from the playground.  They  were there for Boys and Girls Club.  One of them asked, "Third grade, right?"

I said, "Yes."

He said, "You're....Mrs......"

The other boy said, "Davis."

I asked, "How do you know my name?"

He proudly pointed to my ID badge and said, "I read it!"

Is there anything more exciting than being able to read?!?  I told him he was very smart.  His classmate said, "Yeah, and I can do 2nd grade math."

I said, "What smart boys!" and they grinned their biggest jack-o-lantern missing teeth grins.

The best thing that happened all day was this note I intercepted.  I always capture notes when I see them to make sure there isn't any mean stuff going on and this note about made my day.

How lovely to apologize and forgive.  I called them both up to my desk and said, "I don't like you passing notes but I love how kind both of you are."

They shyly smiled and went back to their seats.

Grateful

Yesterday was a lot.  For one thing:  inside recess because of rain.  They need recess and I need them to have recess and that is all.

I have a student who is struggling so much with behavior and emotional and social development.  It breaks my heart.

I am grateful for the entire team that is at school to help.

I am grateful we had leftovers and I didn't need to make dinner.  

In more trivial news, I am grateful my Swatch watch is working.  It would work and then stop working indiscriminately and since I bought it in the late 80s, I can't really blame it.  Adam took it to Las Vegas on the off chance he'd be able to take it to the Swatch store for repair and he never had time, but for some reason it now works.  It makes me happy every time I see it.  Maybe it just needed a vacation.

I am grateful for my good parents.  They have been weighing options for my mom's cancer treatment and have been prayerful and sought revelation.  They feel good about their way forward.  My mom is going to get treatment in Carson City and my dad and sisters and I are going to take turns joining her.  We argued briefly about whose car we were going to take when I go.  I want to take Joan and my parents want us to take their car.  We were going back and forth talking about the merits of our cars and I played my best card, that Joan has a heated steering wheel.

My dad said, "Well our car doesn't have that.  But you only need it for three minutes."

I said, "My hands are cold right now.  I need it for more than three minutes."

So I think Joan and I have won.

I am grateful for lists.  Thanksgiving, sub plans, Christmas.  I am list making diligently and I appreciate the soothing way they quiet my brain.

Busy

Is anything more boring than listening to how busy someone is?  Probably, but it is tiresome.

And we all do it. 

Last night I was making dinner and Adam and Emma called on their drive home and I just launched into all the things and how swamped I felt.

It didn't help that it was getting dark and I still needed TIME.  It can not be this late already!

One of the things that had me hassled was that I am seriously trying with my ministering assignment and I feel like I am seriously failing.

After having my texts completely ignored, I just decided to stop by at a lady's house yesterday afternoon.  I had a gift in hand, because how can you say no to a gift?

She told me she was busy.  She practically shut the door in my face.

Hmph.

We're all busy.  It doesn't preclude you from basic manners, right?

After I talked to Adam and Emma, I realized the irony of feeling bugged by someone too busy to talk to me when I just lay out all my busy-ness to them.

Ugh.

It's hard to be a person.

I resolve to be a little kinder when other people are busy and a little less frantic when I am busy.

I'll try.

Weekend: headache edition

Sadness.

I woke up with a migraine on Saturday.  That derailed some of my plans, but I took my new migraine medicine which makes me feel better headache-wise but loopy otherwise.  It's a trade I'm more than willing to make.  

Later in the day we got covid + flu shots.  Is that the best idea when you're recovering from a migraine?  I don't know.

In the late afternoon I felt well enough to go with Adam and Emma to downtown Provo.  Ever since Emma went to Snohomish last weekend, I've been wanting to go to antiques shops.  She said there were "a lot" on Center Street.  There weren't.  Little stores come and go on that street.  There was one store and everything seemed way way overpriced.

We went to a guitar store because Emma wants to buy a bass guitar and we went to Hobby Lobby because I'm the self appointed craft girl for Thanksgiving and I needed to buy sequins.  

We rounded out the evening with a stop at Winco and Culver's.  Who knows how to party like us?

We saw the mother of one of my students at Winco.  Emma said, "Do you ever come here and not see one of your students or their families?"  I don't and maybe that's one reason why I grocery shop at Winco.  This mother told me I was a good teacher and "like a mother" to the students and I felt like Emma should pipe up and say that I actually was a mother, but she didn't.

Sunday I woke up with another headache, but not as bad and I think it was related to my shots.  Also it went away all on its own.  Mark, unsurprisingly, had the worst reaction to our shots.  He was nauseous and had a headache and had very swollen glands.  He was too sick to come over for Sunday dinner but Adam took him some food.  Adam and I both felt a little under the weather and Emma felt zero effects.  We told her to stop bragging.  What a show off with her youthful health.... (She wasn't really bragging.)

I changed all the clocks, which is my part time job whenever the darn time changes, and taught Sunday School.  My mom asked, "So you couldn't think of a reason to be out of town when it was your turn to teach?"

And I couldn't.

Don't you think I tried?

In other news, I've decided to cull our board game collection.  Adam and Emma, who are always more interested in playing a game than I am, decided we should play each game and see if we want to keep it.

Emma said she would take anything we didn't want and I think that is a grand idea (although I will offer them to her brothers too).

Last night we played Life.  I was a doctor and had no children (but a pet, which I didn't want, but I landed on that spot) and I ended up winning by a long shot.

I begrudged giving Adam a wedding gift.  I called the little blue peg who represented my husband a poor man's Adam.  

Braeden called halfway through and we got to visit with them and I read The Wheels on the Bus.

Overall, it was a good time, but Emma can have the game.  I lose patience with any game when I have to say, OK, whose turn is it?  

I mostly just want to get it over with.

I'm a lot of fun.

Grateful Friday

Here are some things I'm grateful about:

Thanksgiving:  It's one of my very favorite holidays.  I'm looking forward to time in Nevada and time with family and good good food.

My teacher observation debrief went pretty well.  I am grateful Matt is our principal and I feel like he is what our school needs.

I love my grandma's clock.  I still think of her every time it chimes.

Emma and Adam and I watch new episodes of the Great British Baking Show like it's our job.  We stopped mid episode this week though because Braeden called.  We requested a FaceTime call and got to see QE and it was delightful.

I am grateful for the perfect weather.  I really love it.  It's beautiful every day.

I am grateful for an upcoming quieter (hopefully) week and month.

I am grateful that I have physical therapy.  He told me I can only come one day next week.  It is helping and it makes me very happy.

I'm grateful Adam reads to me at night.  It makes me sleepy and it is cozy and I love the book (Book 4 in the Thursday Murder Club series).

The day after

A post without pink.

The day after Halloween: it's the scariest day of all.

I am not kidding when I say I had a student, an 8 year old, come in two hours late holding a cup of coffee.

And that's how Wacky Wednesday began (well a few hours after it began).

Matt announced over the speakers that he knew students had brought candy and he wanted everyone to be careful to pick up their wrappers. 

A girl turned to me and said, "He knows some of our secrets!"

I said, "It's almost like he has been a principal before."

During the day I had a lot of students tell me they were tired or they didn't feel good.  Several times I caught students just staring off into space.  During our vocabulary lesson, the word was estimate and I said that when it was a verb, you pronounce it one way and when it was a noun, you pronounce it another way.

A student said, "Bro, no one says that."

"They do," I said.  "I just did."

(Last year I had a student call me Davis like we were on the same team and this year I have one that calls me Bro.  I just go with it.)

Toward the end of the day, one girl just put her head on her desk and sobbed.

Luckily we had art last and they got to do some 3D printing which caused everyone, even the crying girl, to rally.

After school, a boy said, "I'm going to go home and eat A LOT of candy."

Oh good.

Halloween 2023

It is in the books.  It was quite a day.

First some pictures of what one amazing secretary and her willing teacher helpers can accomplish:

We gathered in the library for our traditional teacher picture.  Matt wasn't there right away and when someone said, "Where's Matt?" someone else said, "He's just Ken."

It was delightful all day long.

Tyler wore beige and someone brought a stick horse for him to carry.  When we asked him where his pink was, he grumpily said, "There are more than one type of Ken!"

Someone said, "He obviously didn't see the movie."

The bell rang and we all went to class.  Then Matt got on the loudspeaker and called us all back to the library again because the 4th grade teachers had been doing traffic duty.

So on the most chaotic day of the year, we left our classes for the fastest picture we could muster.  Matt said, "Get to work!  We have children unattended!"

We had the parade, which is always a fun time.  Every time a teacher saw another teacher, we'd say, "Hi Barbie!"

We did school work (sort of).  The shine wore off their costumes.  I'm hot.  This is scratchy.  Teacher, can I take this off?

Do you have clothes on underneath?

In the afternoon we had our party.  Two moms were coming to help.  I volunteered to run a station.  In the past they've either given me a simple activity to do with the students or I come up with one on my own.  I was ready either way. 

Narrator:  she wasn't ready.

The room mom came in with a paint project and brought it to my desk and told me that I was in charge of that.  

I can't even begin to describe the bedlam.

Our Christmas party is going to be watching a movie.

We have specialties the end of the day and while they were at art, I would have just sat and stared at a blank wall, except I had it on pretty good authority they were going to send us home early.  I zipped around my classroom getting everything done that needed doing and when they played Pink from the Barbie movie over the speakers about 45 minutes after the students left, I hit the road!