Weekend

We had such a good time! 

I want to record it, but I also need to be brief because it is a super busy week (new practicum teacher starting, parent teacher conferences, 3rd grade come read with me, and I was gone last week so I am still digging out from that)!

Here are the things I loved:

I loved spending time with Adam

We took a little Sunday drive before our flight and visited a national recreation area that used to be a national park.  I felt like it could join a support group of dethroned entities along with Pluto.

I loved being with Adam.  We had a lot of time to talk and just be together and that is rare and welcome.

I loved spending time with my family

We spent a good part of Friday at the National Cowboy Museum, which is a good time, especially with these characters.  We went to Prosperity Junction which is an exhibit of an old time Western town.

Marianne preaching fire and brimstone at the church.

Robert tickling the ivories

Adam, looking for a loan

Mrs. Davis at the one room schoolhouse

My mom, looking very dejected in the jail

Marianne and Olivia rented electric scooters.  (Robert did too, but I didn't get a picture.)

Ammon, Marcos. Liliana and Omar--cuties!

I loved being a tourist in Oklahoma City

Onion burgers at Turner's:  Edgar, me, Adam, Robert, Marianne, my mom, my dad, Liliana. (the boys sat at a different table)

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.  It was so pretty at night.

Not pictured, but we also toured the state capitol, the Land Rush monument, took a ride on a boat in the canal, went to my mom's favorite quilt shop, and dipped our toes in the botanical garden.

I love being Mark and Coralee Dahl's daughter

Love these two!

Olivia, me, my mom, my dad, Marianne

I was proud of my dad.

I wasn't even a little bit biased of course, but my dad's bit was the prettiest thing there.

I loved when people found out I was Mark Dahl's daughter and they said, "Oh!"  In this very small corner of the world, my dad is famous, which is kind of fun.

Here is a thing I didn't love:

I didn't love our rental car fiasco

It was man vs. Avis and we lost.  We were defeated.  We were trounced.

Our rental car broke down on the side of the road. 

Avis administered a series of moves that really took the service out of customer service.  Basically it was our problem.

After 4 hours, 4 separate Uber rides, several phone calls, enthusiastic conversations with the customer service  lady at the airport rental agency, we finally ended up with a pickup truck to drive.  The whole experience was soul sapping and aggravating and all the things, but we survived it, though defeated.

Edgar said, "You look good as truck people."

So there's that.

Here's a takeaway:  don't rent from Avis.  I could stitch that on a pillow.

I would be abysmal at an elevator pitch

So where are you going?

Oklahoma City

Why?

My dad is in an art show.

An art show?  What kind of art show?

He's part of the Traditional Cowboy Artists Association.  It's a show every year at the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City.  My dad is a bit and spur maker.

What now?

Bit and spur.  Cowboys use them.

So, is your dad, like...a cowboy?

Yes. (Then if I really want to dazzle them) I have never seen him wear a short sleeved shirt.

Really?!?

An art show.  Wow.  Well, that's really great.  

They seem to walk away from the conversation in equal parts perplexed and interested.

I can't sum my dad up very easily. 

(It is equally complicating to say where I grew up.)

We are going with my parents and Marianne and Robert and Olivia and Edgar (and 4/5 of their children).  The best part is that Adam and I are going together.  

Strategies for success

 Every teacher's keys clank against their ID badge like we're a tiger that has been belled.  Yesterday, during my prep, I was clanging down the hall and a 4th grader (she wasn't mine last year, but I know her) was hiding around a corner, obviously dodging going to class.

I said hello to her, calling her by name.

She said, "Mrs. Davis!  Hi!  I love your shirt!  It looks so good on you!  It makes you look so pretty!"

I 100% knew that she was using flattery to keep from getting into trouble and it 100% worked out.  I said thank you and she went back to class.

These kids are pretty smart!

Oh boy

 I read a story about Ruby Bridges with my WIN (What I Need) group.  We are a group who is about at grade level, so we read and discuss stories, repeat, repeat, repeat.

We talked about words like segregation, tolerance, discrimination.

I said some of the people were racist.  One boy looked exceeding uncomfortable and said, "Is this appropriate?"

Whenever we talk about racism, I give the example of me only letting people that have curly hair like me go to recess.  It is so ridiculous that they guffaw and I tell them that curly hair is just as random as the color of your skin and it's wrong to be against someone for such a random thing.

There were only two white students in the room and when we read about the fact that the white children wouldn't be in the same classroom as Ruby Bridges at first, one of them said, "I feel bad about being white.  They were so mean."

I said, "Are you racist?"

She said, "No!"  She pointed across the room, "She's my best friend and she's brown."

"See?" I said.  "You aren't racist, so you don't need to feel bad.  Just because some white people are racist doesn't mean all white people are racist.  You don't need to feel bad."

I asked the class, "If a brown person was racist, would that mean all brown people were racist?"

They emphatically said no.

When we were discussing the meaning of tolerance, a girl gave the example, "Like, if you have a tattoo, that doesn't mean you were in jail."

Before I could comment, a boy said, "My dad has a tattoo.  And...he's been to jail."

They all started talking about who they knew who had been to or was currently in jail.  And who had tattoos.

I tried to bring it back.  I said, "Tolerance is I don't choose to have a tattoo, but I won't hate people who do have tattoos.  Does that make sense?"

They said yes.

Sometimes I feel all kinds of out of my depth.  Also, I'm glad we're having these conversations.  I just hope I get it right.

Weekend

 Friday I got the very good news that Adam was coming home on Saturday night instead of Sunday morning.  It was only 12 hours earlier, but it was a welcome 12 hours!

Saturday I had a good day. 

I met Emma at the Taylorsville temple, which I hadn't been inside before.  It was beautiful and I always love being in the temple with my girl.  

We were in my grandma's neighborhood, so I knew there was an Old Spaghetti Factory by JoAnn Fabrics (where I wanted to get more embroidery floss--I guess I am a collector at this point).  I think Emma was taken back a bit that I actually knew where something was, so that tells you something about our relationship and who is the navigator in the equation.

We had a lovely lunch of spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese.  At the end of lunch, Emma whipped out her card and paid for lunch!  I tried to talk her out of it, but if you've ever succeeded at talking Emma out of something, I'd like to shake your hand.

We went to Home Goods together before JoAnn because it was right there and we like looking at stuff.  At JoAnn Fabrics we perused the Halloween stuff--for Emma, I wasn't interested--and stopped to smell some candles. We both conceded we needed a candle like we needed a hole in our heads.  I put two candles in my basket and told Emma she was doing a terrible job reminding me I don't need another candle.

She bought a candle too.

I bought my embroidery floss and Emma bought some glass beads because she is working on a bead curtain.  She's always up to something awesome.

(The other day I got a notice from Amazon music that Emma Jayne had released a new song.  I had already heard it (performed live), but I was happy for the alert!

We parted ways and I stopped by Winco.  At the check stand, my fingers fumbled my PIN for my debit card and the lady said she needed to wait before trying again.  I turned to the person in line behind me to give a sheepish apologetic smile and the lady behind me said, "I was just thinking that I love your shoes, but I love your dress too, and your hair!  You are just so put together!"

I said, "Well, except I messed up my PIN."

She smiled and said, "You look great!"

It was a master class in being kind to the dumb lady in front of you at Winco who is slowing the line down.

I came home and shifted around some things to make it feel more autumnal and wound skeins of embroidery floss around little cards and did my Saturday chores to bide my time until it was time to pick up Adam.

We had been home about 15 minutes when the smoke detectors started chirping, which was providential.  I appreciate they waited for Adam to get home.

Sunday evening we had the kids over for dinner.  There were nine of us and we had a good time.  I shared a brief message and "cried like an Egbert" which is my new favorite phrase that my cousin Lincoln used in an email.  Emma led us in singing some of the new hymns while Liberty played the piano.  

Adam introduced us to a new word by asking if the Church had released a new tranche of songs and we sputtered what?!?

It turns out it mostly has to do with finances, but he used it to great effect nevertheless.

We roasted marshmallows because s'mores time is fleeting.  

Sitting around our fire pit, surrounded by trees and people I love is a happy little spot.

Grateful Friday

We had activity days yesterday and two of the boys got in a scuffle over paper airplanes and my partner, Becca, mother of 6 and music teacher and me, mother of 3 and 3rd grade teacher shut it down.

(Mom voice + teacher voice) x 2

Both boys apologized on their own and they are very sweet boys.

When I was leaving, Becca said, "Enjoy your last few days of freedom."

Then she paused and said, "Maybe you don't think of it like that."

I don't.

I miss Adam and I'm so grateful that he will be home on Sunday.  It has been a very long trip.  It's easier than the very long trips he used to take to London back in the day (mostly because I don't have little kids at home), but I miss that guy.

Marianne told me that she and my mom were discussing it and they don't know "where I came from" since I love autumn.

That's a little alarming, because I look like Marianne and wasn't my mom there when I was born?  But I do love autumn.  I love the leaves on the mountain.  I love the mountains period.  I love the feeling it gives me when I'm at recess duty and children are running around like whirling dervishes and the mountains are just standing there, looking majestic and beautiful.  It feels like they're watching over the children and it gives me a cozy feeling.

I'm grateful for this beautiful world.

I'm grateful for my friends and my teacher team.  We nailed down our Halloween costumes yesterday.  I was the driving force behind that, not because I love Halloween, but I love to plan.  Come on, ladies.  Let's figure. This. Out.

I'm grateful for upcoming trips with Adam and upcoming home time with Adam.

I'm grateful we're having people over for Sunday dinner.

I'm grateful it is Friday.

Out of sorts

Every May when we do end of year testing and the third graders have to do their RISE test, it is a nightmare.  The logging in, the passwords, the chaos.

Guess what's worse than that?  Doing it in September....

We decided to do the benchmark RISE tests throughout the year to give them practice with the platform.

How hard could it be?

Very, very hard.

Teacher!  It won't let me in.

You spelled your name wrong.

Teacher! It kicked me out.

You clicked the x and closed the window.  Don't do that.

Teacher! What do I do?!?

What does it tell you to do on the screen?

I felt like a rope that was slowly being unraveled.

I tried.  I had them all get to the same spot before I gave them the test ID.  I told them as much.  I said, "As soon as everyone is logged in, I will give you the test ID.  Raise your hand if you need help."

About ten of the kids whose hands were raised for help wondered what the test ID was.  They neither listen nor comprehend and I was doubting all of my life choices.

We finally got through it, but I felt on edge for the rest of the day.

We had a secure drill.  The official party line is that we do a secure drill in case there is a dog on the playground.  That's what we tell the students.  In reality, we've had actual situations where we've followed the secure protocol.  Once a parent without custody was there to take their child and once there was an armed standoff with police and a neighbor to the school.  We never talk about those scenarios.  We tell them we have these drills in case there is a stray dog.  They still freak out.  

No, this isn't the one where we have to hide.  

They have lots of different scenarios they want answers and reassurance about.  (What if there is a secure drill and a fire at the same time?  What if there is a coyote on the playground and a fire and the door won't open?) They want to talk about school shootings.  They want to know what the plan is and if they're safe.  The bottom line is that they are not safe.  We massage the heck out of that truth though.

I purely hate every minute of those conversations.  Their number one fear is what to do if there is a shooter and they are in the bathroom.  I wish everyone who is hellbent on protecting the right to bear arms would have to answer a roomful of wide-eyed eight year olds who are wondering what to do when there is a school shooting.  There has to be a better way.

I will die on that hill.  (And if there is a school shooting, I may die on that hill.)

We talked it all out in the morning, because I wanted them to be prepared.  In the afternoon, there was an announcement before the drill, explaining what it was.  (A secure drill is remain inside and business as usual.  It is the best one by far.) My little guy who doesn't speak much English understood the announcement enough to be scared and he ran for me and threw his arms around my waist and said, "Teacher! NO!"

I explained it was OK and we were safe.  

Despite the preparation, they startle and look at me for reassurance whenever there is a drill.  We got through it.  

I felt very ratty by the end of the day and I realized my problem.  I miss Adam.

He is the ballast that helps keep me going in the wild world of third grade.

After school I had a school community council meeting.  I was spacing off and not paying attention and then I realized that people were voting and they were voting to have me be the co-chair of the council.  

What?

Matt said he'd nominated me.  Everyone voted in favor. (It's the kind of thing that you hurry and vote for someone while they aren't paying attention and it worked!)  My main job of co-chair is writing the minutes of the meeting and I said that maybe that will help me pay attention.

Here's hoping.

Happy list

There's snow on the mountain.

I wore a sweater to school yesterday.

My 3rd grade team is coming together better all the time.

Mark and I are meeting for dinner tonight.

I had a ministering interview last night which yielded a good conversation with my friend Sue.

It's already Wednesday and Adam will be home this weekend.

I am reading a good book.

My life is super convenient (car to drive, washer and dryer, dishwasher).

I can move desks every day if I need to (and I often do).

It's never too late to try again.

To everything there is a season

Autumn cannot come fast enough.  I love everything about it.

I have noticed a few leaves starting to turn and I've seen some color on the mountain.

It makes me want to burn a candle and start my Christmas list.  Sweater weather is the best weather.

Yesterday was a long day at school.  Monday + I was still tired from my trip.  

I came home and took a nap and did some laundry and watered my plants.  Life just keeps on plugging away.

Yesterday marked 15 years since the passing of Adam's dad. Emma said it was over half of all their lives.

Without him.

That feels like an impossibility, but it's true.

We exchanged memories and messages in our family group chat last night.

Mark remembers him the least.  I sent Mark this picture.

I told Mark he was the red-headed prince of the family.  Grandpa Linn loved him so much!  He loved all of them.  I like to think that he and Raelyn are together (we just marked her birthday on Saturday).  I don't know what they're doing, but I like to picture them together, patiently biding their time until the next grandkids' night.

Weekend

 It was no one's idea of a restful weekend, but we had a good time!

I left school during lunch on Friday, came home and grabbed my stuff, picked up Emma and headed to the airport.

We were early, which is part of the flying with Thelma experience.

We went on Spirit airlines, one of those budget bare bones situations.  Emma said, "Whenever you hear about drama on a flight, it seems like it was Spirit airlines."

She is clairvoyant.  

The family in front of me had brought dinner and the daughter that looked like she was about in 5th grade, spilled her ranch dressing on the flight attendant's shoe accidentally and you would have thought that it was the end of times.

The family didn't apologize which peeved the flight attendant and then she ended up yelling at the mother who sobbed for the remaining two hours of the flight.

It was something.

I kept hoping to see the family at Disney World, to see how they were doing, but we never did.

I told Emma that if everyone just learned two lessons that I try to teach my students, all would have been avoided.

1- Apologize when you hurt someone even if it was an accident.

(Your daughter spilled ranch dressing on her shoe.  Say you're sorry.)

2- When someone does something wrong, that doesn't mean you should do something wrong.

(They didn't apologize, which was sort of rude.  Get over it.)

I don't tell my students to stop crying, but I think it regularly.

We were happy to see Adam.  We went to Portillo's for dinner, which was delicious.  Then we took Emma with us to the Gaylord Palms where the conference had been and where we had a room.  It was incredibly beautiful.  Adam and I love Spanish style architecture and the lobby was amazing.

We had another room at Coronado Springs, which is a Disney Property so we took Emma there.  That girl loves Disney stuff.  It was a great hotel and a great room (it had one and a half baths!).  Adam had a third room at another hotel, but he and I stayed together at the Gaylord.

We had our own drama Saturday morning.  We thought we were supposed to meet our group at 8:00.  That felt really early, since it was 6:00 mountain time.  Adam and I decided to get up at 7:00 and just hurry over to Coronado Springs.  Adam didn't set his alarm properly so I woke up about 7:20 and we had a full on panic get ready for the day.  We zipped to Coronado Springs, getting there just a hair past 8:00, which was kind of amazing.  Emma was there, but no one else in the group was.  Adam called them and we were actually meeting at 9:00!

But, the jolt of adrenaline was nice to get the day started.

There were a total of 8 of us going on the VIP tour.  We had a very nice tour guide who was as unflappable as she was knowledgeable.  We had her from 9:00 AM-6:00 PM.  She was there for whatever we wanted and we decided we wanted to try going to all four parks.

We started at Animal Kingdom, which we had never been to.  We went on some rides there (I sat out the roller coasters which is also part of the Thelma experience).  We enjoyed that park.  There is great atmosphere there and the safari was fun.  It was also fun to be driven to the backlots and never wait in line.

Will we be able to return to Disney as a civilian?  (We'll have to be, I think this was a once in a lifetime experience.)

We went to Hollywood Studios and Epcot and every time we changed parks we were met at the van and presented with a selection of free for the taking snacks.  Our guide also bought us drinks several times and did a complimentary Starbucks run for us.  They had a strawberry lemonade that revitalized my flagging spirits!

This is in Hollywood Studios:

It was 90 degrees with all the Florida humidity and it was a lot for us desert dwellers.  So hot!

We ended at Magic Kingdom, which was where I mostly wanted to be, but it was open the latest so it was good to end there.  We hit lots of favorites and our guide was going to take our group to Tron for the last ride with her (no lines) and Emma asked if she and I could go to Haunted Mansion instead (which is Emma's favorite).  Our guide took us through a back entrance and Emma and I were the only two people in the stretching room.

Emma snapped a picture and I was in motion so she said I was mid being possessed by a ghost.

After that, we met back up with Adam and the three of us ate a big dinner in an air conditioned space.  It was divine.  We'd only been snacking and walking all day.

We went to Small World...

...and Pirates of the Caribbean and then Adam and I were done.  Emma was not and she is an independent girl if she is anything.

Adam and I went back to our hotel (we stayed at the third hotel that night--part of the traveling with Adam experience) and Emma stayed until the park closed.  It was exhausting but also really fun.

It was another early-ish morning on Sunday (mostly because of the time change) and we were back to the airport.  There was a little more drama on the return flight where some passengers wouldn't move like the flight attendant wanted them to and Emma had her AirPods in so she'd missed the altercation.  I typed it up on my phone and passed it to her and I loved seeing her eyes bulge from my description.  I'm always entertained by some melodrama.

Emma is a great traveling companion.

She knows the best way to get from here to there and is up for almost anything.  She is like her dad in that way.

I was so happy that I got to see Adam.  I have another full week ahead of me with no Adam, but we were able to have a packed exhausting weekend together and I'll take it!

Grateful Friday

 I feel like I have a lot to be grateful for today.

First, I'm finished with my master's degree.  That keeps making me really happy whenever I think about it.

I'm grateful that I get to go see Adam.  I miss that guy.  We talk every night when we are both tired and yawning.  He has full days and finally gets back to his hotel around 11:00 and that is 9:00 for me and I'm also tired, because that is close to my bedtime.

It will nice to be together-though briefly-when we aren't exhausted.

(Although we're going to Disney World, so we might be exhausted.)

I'm grateful I get to go to Disney World!  It's an unexpected delight in my life.  

I'm grateful Emma is going on the trip with me.  I get anxious about flying, especially without Adam and it will be nice to have her there to keep me afloat.

Once when we were in France in a cave (which I hated), she talked to me in soothing tones and got me through the horror.

Daughters are a good invention.

I'm grateful I get to be a teacher.  They are still kind of killing me.  I don't have it figured out with this group yet.  I'll keep fighting the good fight though.

And I'll keep rearranging desks.

I'm grateful that I am an activity day leader.  I feel like I'm getting away with something that that is my calling.  We had our first activity at our house last night.  Four very cute boys came over and jumped on the trampoline and played corn hole and ladder golf.  We roasted s'mores and chatted.  One boy said, "I have a confession to make.  I like roasting marshmallows, but I don't like eating them."

I told him if he roasted one, I'd eat it.

It was a very nice symbiotic relationship.

One boy had me guess what he is allergic to.  I listed everything I could think of and he kept saying no.  I finally said, "Girls?"

He was taken aback.  "I'd better not be, or I'd be dead by now."

(He has four sisters.)

They're cute and earnest and well-mannered and I think I'm going to love it.

I'm grateful for my people.

Yesterday Raul, who I went to high school with and had a good chat on the phone with the other day, is the local electrician we needed for the Home Place.  He was going yesterday to fix some lights and I texted my mom and sisters to see if anyone could meet him.  They were all so willing and I felt grateful.

Last night I was on the phone with Emma (not an every day occurrence, that girl hates to talk on the phone).  My doorbell rang and I ignored it because I thought it was a sales bro.  

It was Marie Louise!  She texted me that she had left me an "airport snacking bag."  She is the best!  I'm so grateful for my dear friends.

Owl done

 I got the very good news yesterday that I had passed everything for my master's degree!  I am so happy!  It was a lot of work and I had a very nose to the grindstone summer, but I did it!

I had this message on my student portal:

The mascot for WGU is Sage, the owl.  As in night owl because a lot of people work on their degrees while having full time jobs.

I texted my family and Mark and Emma sent this:

My children know that I think Future Thelma is "an incompetant cow," which is why I don't like to  procrastinate.

Also, Emma, let's do it! (We're going to Disney World with some of Adam's co-workers and yes, I will be bragging to them about my graduation!)

This weekend feels like it will be a very good celebration.

Braeden called last night to congratulate me.  He said, "Both my parents have master's degrees!"

I said, "Your dad's is a little different than mine."

He said, "What yours lacks in prestige is made up in speed and lack of student debt."

He's not wrong.

Then we talked about the presidential debate which is expected when your son is a political science PhD candidate.

Brothers and sisters

She told me her brother was, "so annoying."

He told me his sister was, "not that smart for her age."

Every day after school they meet up halfway between my classroom door and the door first graders leave from.  They clutch each other's hands tightly and walked together to meet their big brother and then walk home.  The big brother has a long suffering look on his face when he meets them, like he can't believe this is his lot in life.

He is also watching for them intently over the heads of shorter children.  Aggravated as he looks about having to wait for them, I get the sense he'd do battle to protect them if needed.  

If that's not what it is like growing up with siblings, I don't know what is.

***

I had Relief Society last night, which was perfect this week with Adam away.  It was a progressive garden party, which is something you can do in Utah County for Relief Society.  We started in one lovely yard and had salads.  We walked next door and had sandwiches and then walked next door and had desserts.

It did not come easily for me to make friends in our ward.  I am introverted and if I don't know someone, I would rather not.

I'm glad that I kept trying.  I'm glad that things like callings and ministering assignments propelled me along, because I have friends.  I sat by someone different in every yard.  I heard about a scary diagnosis in a hushed aside from a dear friend.  I complimented someone else on her jeans.  Someone asked me how school was going.  Someone told me about her job.  A teenage son wandered in and his mom told him in no uncertain terms to leave.  We all said he could stay, but she gave him a very firm no.  Then she told us that he was there to sell something to raise money for a school trip, right in the middle of the guest speaker.

It cracked us up because we are also mothers and we get it!

There was laughter and chatter all along.  Highs and lows and everything in between.  We had a guest speaker in the sandwich yard.  She gave everyone one of those glow stick bracelets and said that we should let our lights shine.  In the waning light, up and down the rows of chairs, women helped put the bracelets on each other, because it was pretty impossible with one hand.

If that's not what it is like being a sister in Relief Society with stellar women, I don't know what is.

Monday

It was quite a Monday.

Some days I'm just grateful to go home with my sanity and patience intact.  Sometimes those little darlings really push it.

I moved a lot of desks because students are just so chatty.  I spent my entire recess picking crayons up off the floor because a student had had a come apart and had thrown my entire bin onto the floor.

We didn't have specialties.

Maybe it's good that Mondays are the hardest days because the rest of the week will be easier.

I met with my team after school and I said that my reading group during WIN time was boring and I didn't know how to spice it up.

Alissa shared some gross reading passages with me.  They are about things like earwax and boogers.  She said students love them and I don't doubt her.

I'll give them a try.

We're all just doing the best we can.

As a counterweight to a manic Monday, I assembled a little shelf for my plants.  

It made me happy.

Weekend

 It was a good one.

Saturday I talked to Olivia (nice), had a phone call with my instructor from WGU (helpful) and worked on my capstone.

I told Adam I am like a horse who can see the barn and I want to be done. My last bit is the multimedia presentation.  I could never be a podcaster.  I don't like the sound of my own voice.

I also watered and pruned my plants which is restorative to me.  I like the rhythm of it and I like checking in on everybody and seeing if I need to make any adjustments.

Adam sat down with me and taught me how to record myself presenting my powerpoint slides.

Later in the afternoon we went to Provo.  I dropped Adam off at the Provo Rec Center and he and Emma and Mark swam.  I went to the library and worked on my capstone.  Then I got to a stopping spot and my neck was feeling a little stiff so I decided walking around would be the move.  I went to JCPenney and maybe I just need to go with my grandma and sisters again.  I used to love going to the mall with them and now it is just kind of lame.  I walked around, uninterested, and went next door to Target and bought some prizes for my classroom from the little dollar aisle.  

The store clerk was very enthusiastic about my purchases.  She said everything was so cute.  I said, "I teach 3rd grade and these are for my prize box."

"Of course you do! They are perfect."

Maybe she is an 8 year old on the inside.  Maybe we all are.

I met up with the rest of them for dinner and we had a very good time visiting. 

Late Saturday night, when I was almost going to bed and Adam and I were contemplating the sadness of him being gone for two solid weeks, he said, "Why don't you fly to Orlando next weekend?"

We'd talked about it a few times already and it felt like a long ways to go for a quick weekend.

Adam found some flights that would only cause me to miss Friday afternoon.  We texted Emma to see if she wanted to go too.  We got intermittent responses from her since she was at a concert--one of her main pastimes. 

We decided to go!

You wake up in the morning, anticipating a long quiet slog of home alone for two weeks and you go to sleep with a trip in the near future! The consequences of being married to a spontaneous man are many and varied.

It makes the prospect of Adam being gone for two weeks much more palatable.

Sunday afternoon I drove Adam to the airport and then stopped at Emma's to eat and plan our trip.  

I won't be golfing when we are there.  I talked to Adam this morning and he was looking out his window at the golf course and there was an alligator in the water hazard.

Gives whole new meaning to the hazard in water hazard....

Grateful Friday

 I had a headache all week.  Wednesday I did the fun Tylenol, Advil, Excedrin thing at school and it made it so I could get through the day, but not...well.

Adam heroically rubbed my shoulders and tried to help, but I was kind of a wreck. 

I took my sumatriptan, which had never failed me before, but I was awake for hours during the night with a splitting headache.

Finally in the 3:00 hour, I wrote sub plans.

How coherent do you think 3:00 AM sub plans are?  I'm guessing not very.

I felt bad about missing school so close to the beginning of the year, but also, everything hurt and I was dying.

I also felt so discouraged.  This darn neck of mine is both a literal and figurative pain.  In the neck.

Before going to work, Adam said, "Go to the chiropractor."

I went faithfully to the chiropractor for years, but then quit when physical therapy helped so much.  Adam said, "Your neck is...messed up.  It isn't muscular."

I called the chiropractor, barely croaking out my words, still in my pjs.

She said, "Can you come right now?"

I said yes.

I threw on some clothes and avoided the mirror altogether.  I am sure I looked like someone who had been up with a migraine most of the night.  I drove to the chiropractor, they got me right in and gave me a hero's welcome.  The prodigal daughter had returned.  (I think they mostly missed my every two weeks payments.). He confirmed that my skull was sitting on my spine in an unfriendly way and fixed me. 

For the rest of the day I moved gingerly and felt like I'd been hit by a truck (the aftermath of both the migraine and the sumatriptan), but I wasn't in excruciating pain and I will take that.

I finally felt hungry and Jersey Mike's has a drive thru so around lunchtime I texted Adam and asked him what I like at Jersey Mike's.  He catalogs all my favorite things from restaurants in that big brain of his.

He always either knows what I have liked in the past or can parse out what I'm in the mood for.  

He texted me this:

He wasn't wrong.

I alternated ice and heat on my neck and drank water and read and worked a little on the last assessment for my degree and talked to Marianne and felt grateful.

I'm grateful I can take a day off and the world doesn't stop spinning.

I'm grateful for chiropractors when you really need them.

I'm grateful for Adam.

I'm grateful for ham and provolone because it is what I wanted.

Heart and soul

I talked to a friend in our ward (my co-activity day leader--we already met; we are not going to let any grass grow between us and getting started!).   She is the music teacher at the local neighborhood school.

I told her we didn't have music at my school.

She was surprised and I said, "Maybe the PTA pays for the extra specialty teacher at your school."

She said, "I don't know about that, but I know there are 13 pianos at the school and the PTA purchased 12 of them."

It staggered me.  The PTA at our school is this small but mighty group of women who are amazing and most of the dues come from teachers (and their husbands).  Adam is a member because I signed him up.

We have one ancient and generally out of tune piano at Bonneville.

There aren't many pianos, but we still have heart.  And soul.

Yesterday was picture day.  Even though I told them multiple times that it was optional and they didn't have to buy pictures and even though I texted their parents it was optional and they didn't have to buy pictures, some of the students were worried because they didn't bring any money.

My little guy, who is new to the country and speaks wobbly English, had come running up to me before school started and said, in his adorable accent, "Good morning, Teacher! It is cold, Teacher!  So cold!"

It was in the 60s and I don't want to tell him about January.

He came up to me and said, "For photos," and handed me two wrinkled five dollar bills.  I looked at the order form and the cheapest package was $12, plus tax.  

When Matt came to tell us it was our turn, I explained and said, "Can I just pay the difference?"

He said, "Tell the lady taking money," so I took my credit card down to the gym.

I explained the story to the lady whom I had never met and who knows nothing about this earnest and charming and maddeningly chatty little guy.  She said, "Just give me the $10.  That's enough."

It was so kind.

He wondered for the rest of the day where his photos were.  I kept trying to explain and then I gave up and asked two Spanish speakers to explain.  (Why I didn't do that hours earlier is beyond me.)

Shortly before the end of the day, Matt wrecked read aloud by announcing that it was Chick-fil-A night.  (The PTA has monthly restaurant nights and some of the proceeds go to the school.). This time, the Chick-fil-A cow was there to greet the kids after school.  He said, "Be gentle with the cow."

The kids lost their ever loving minds.  I couldn't read another word.  They were so excited!  One little girl said breathlessly, "I've never seen a mascot!"

Another girl wondered why it was a cow if it was Chick-fil-A and I said, "The cow is to convince you to eat chicken instead of burgers."

She said, "Ohhhhhhh," like it was the most clever thing she'd ever heard.

We didn't get into the fact that the Chick-fil-A cow is a Holstein, which always bugs me.  Shouldn't it be a Hereford or Angus?  

Many of my students wondered if it would cost money to go to Chick-fil-A.  I was so sad to tell them yes.  I wish I could just buy some chicken for every kid.  Put it on my tab!

They have never cleared out so fast from school.  I followed them and snapped a picture.

I love this school and those kids. 

Who needs 13 pianos anyway?

When you can't make this stuff up

 During math, they were working in groups on whiteboards and one girl had spent the entire time writing the group name very decoratively and hadn't done any math.  All the other groups were finished.  I erased the name and told her to do the math.

Friends, she sobbed, sobbed, for 30 minutes.  She had her head on my desk sniffling and shaking and every time it seemed like she was calming down, I would say, "Are you ready to talk about it?" and she would start up again.

It was amazing.

I kind of wished I had Covid (not really, but still.  30 minutes.).

Also during math a student came up to me for help because her pen was stuck in her hair.

These things...happen?

At the end of our phonics lesson (we had been reviewing silent e), I showed them the PBS Between the Lions silent e videos that I will never outgrow. 

One girl said, "Is it OK if you show us these videos at school?"

Um....

I have a worrier who is afraid he won't meet up with his brother so I help him to the meeting spot.  On my way back to the school, two separate kindergartners threw their arms around me.

I have no idea why.  They are not even the apparent younger siblings of anyone I know.

Just another day at my wacky and wonderful job.

P.S.  I submitted my capstone...once it gets approved I have just one more step!

MVP

Adam still has Covid.  He felt better yesterday than Sunday, but still sick. 

He spent the day helping me, which was noble of him, especially considering he is sick.

I needed help creating tables and figures to insert into my big capstone project. (With all the appendixes and everything it is 63 pages long.  How is this my life?)

Also, I created a professional development.  He looked at it and pointed out inconsistencies in my thinking.  He is the smartest person I know and his brain just cuts right through any vague or meandering language and demands clarity.  Years ago, when he was at Yale and we attempted studying the scriptures together, I resisted his challenges and said, "Hey, I'm not in graduate school with you."

So now I am in graduate school. (Not Yale, thank you very much!)

I told him to be gentle and he was and I am also better at being challenged, so it worked.

Then he would ask, "Do you want me to fix this font?"

I would say, "What's wrong with the font?'

And that happened about a thousand times.  I don't notice or really care about stuff like that and Adam notices and cares.

My project is way better because he was quality control.

In the evening we had Mark over for a socially distanced picnic on the deck.  The biggest challenge was to keep Adam out of the kitchen while I was gathering the food.  I kept saying, "Go away," and "Go sit down," and like Lucy, in A Charlie Brown Christmas, that kid wants involvement.

Adam really wanted to invite our nieces and nephews that are around and I kept reminding him he had Covid and they probably wouldn't want to come over and he would agree.

Covid is the worst.

We invited Emma, but she had plans with friends.  Also, it was Mark Monday which is our day to low-key interrogate him about how his life is going (who has more fun than our children?!?).

It was nice to spend some time with Mark.  And now I'm off to a new week of school with all my fingers crossed I still won't get Covid!

Weekend

 It's been a weird weekend.

Adam tested positive for Covid on Friday.  He had been feeling sick and we assumed he got the cold Braeden had (which also ended up being Covid).  I felt really run down and achy so I assumed I was getting it too.

I took a test Friday night and it was negative.  The test said if you were exposed and had symptoms and a negative test, test again in 48 hours.

Maybe it was just too early to tell?

Saturday morning I felt awful.  I was sure I had Covid.  I had a sub for Sunday School and a sub for Tuesday.  Then, by the afternoon I was starting to feel better.  

Sunday, I felt all the way better.  It reminded me of one of the things I hate about Covid, not knowing what to do about it.  It seems like we make choices and analyze risk and we're almost always wrong.

Adam and I watched our sacrament meeting.  I was released from Sunday School and was called as a primary activity day leader for boys.

Being a Sunday School teacher was stressful, but I also really liked how much more I studied the lesson when I was teaching (I know, there's nothing stopping me from studying that much even when I'm not teaching....).

Children 8-11 (which are the ages of the boys) are kind of my jam and I'm looking forward to it.  I told Adam I need a curriculum and a scope and sequence.  There isn't one, but there's a website with activity ideas, so that's good.

I watched some training for activity day leaders that I found online and I did some family history. 

It's a long quiet Sunday when you don't go to church or see your kids.

Adam gets stir crazy when he's home too long (I do too, but I have to be home about 100 times longer than he does before I get stir crazy).  We decided to take a drive.  We talked about the risk of being in a car together.  Did I already have Covid?  Certainly I did after being with him all that time.  He wore a mask and kept the air blowing and we went.  We drove past the Provo city center temple and the demolished other Provo temple.  

One thing about Utah County, there's always a temple to drive by.

Later in the afternoon, when it had been 48 hours, I took another Covid test.

It was negative.

Good news because I want to go to school tomorrow.

Bad news because will I still get it?  I was kind of hoping that feeling sick Friday evening and Saturday morning was going to be my Covid.

Ugh.