Halloween:
In an email Matt told us to bring our A game with costumes. We understood the assignment. I wish I had a picture of everyone's costumes, because they were good.
I stole this from the school district Facebook post. It has weird lighting, but the office staff/admin were The Day the Crayons Quit.
The wonky sign on the counter is maybe my favorite part. These crayons are the people that keep our school going and I am glad they don't ever actually quit.
There is nothing as joyful as elementary teachers getting together at 7:30 on Halloween morning to take pictures and admire each others' costumes.
One of my students was a werewolf so we roped him into our team picture.
Our theme was Reading Rainbow and the hall decorations didn't disappoint.
This was also set up in the faculty room: a cereal killer bar.
Here's my class picture:
What a bunch of cuties. I loved Marty McFly in the front row.
Also, there were a lot of Demon Slayers in the school! It was a very popular girl costume this year.
This student's mom made her hair and I thought it was amazing.
We made our way through the day, doing mildly educational things (skip counting spiders in math and the like). After library, one of my students asked, "So what are we doing now? Halloween vibes?"
I said yes and I had already fanned this out on my desk for them.
I texted my family that Halloween morning at an elementary school feels like the happiest place on earth.
By the end of day, it feels like an overrun Spirit Halloween at closing time.
So many tears; so much smudged makeup. One girl just sobbed because a boy accidentally bumped her and she dropped her cookie. "I'm sure we can get you another cookie," I said.
She wailed, "I don't want another cookie!"
Another girl was miserable and whined a lot because her costume was hot and itchy and uncomfortable. I finally told her that I had not chosen her costume, she had. I don't think she felt any better, but at least she stopped telling me about it.
The boys got increasingly keyed up during the party and kept pirouetting off the kiva. They were actual pinballs.
At the end of the party, I settled everyone onto the kiva and read to them while the parents who had come to help gathered up all their stuff.
I stopped one mother as she was leaving to tell her about all the many things she was forgetting. She said, "Oh my!"
(Her daughter makes a lot of sense to me now.)
A boy was bereft as he was trying to leave because he had too much to carry. I unzipped the empty backpack strapped to his back and emptied the contents of his hands into it.
After they left, I tidied up and took down Halloween decorations. I had high hopes to do more, but I was spent so I left it for another day. (My classroom is patient like that.)
Saturday morning I woke up with a lot of pain in the spot where I had a shot in my stomach during chemo. It was warm to the touch, hard and super painful. It hurt to move. I called my doctor, because what's a Saturday without doing that? The on call doctor listened to my symptoms and I confirmed that it wasn't red (not an infection) and the pain had only just showed up, a week later. He paused a second and said, "That's really weird."
I mean, validating, but....
He told me to apply heat and he prescribed me a steroid for inflammation, the combo helped (and the steroid made it hard to sleep, but still.)
We went to Costco on Saturday. Ugh. Why?!? Saturday at Costco is a young person's game. I got super tired, but then I ran into Lela, who is my sub. She is wonderful and I told her as much. I told her that I can tell after she's been there how good she is. We chatted a bit and it turned into talking about cancer and life in general while Adam and Mark were buying our stuff. I told her that having her as my sub is an answer to prayer, just like so many other helps that I get along the way. She told me that she was having a hard time and that hearing that she was helping me gave her a boost. Before I knew it we were crying and hugging, in Costco. It was really the whole Thelma Davis experience. I hailed Adam and Mark over when they were finished and introduced them. Lela is getting a degree from WGU and Adam asked her program mentor's name, then he took a selfie of the three of us to text to the mentor.
I said, "Will she know who you are?"
He said, "No, but then she can look me up to see what random person was messaging her on Teams."
I was so glad to see Lela in person and not just express my gratitude in sticky notes on my desk.
We also had lunch at Cracker Barrel. I had been craving chicken fried steak. I couldn't finish it all, but it was delicious! While we were there, across the room, sunlight was reflecting on a car outside and glaring right into my eyes. Adam said he would go close it, but another table was right up next to the window, so I thought I'd ask our server if the window shade could be lowered. She said she would ask someone how to do it. (It seemed like a typical roller shade???)
The other server confirmed that no, it couldn't be done. The shade was as low as it would go. I said that was OK and I would just position myself behind Mark.
A woman at the table behind me leaned over after the servers left. "Do you want me to go close it?" she asked.
I said, "Sure."
She walked over and lowered the shade, giving the people at the table a magnanimous smile.
She smiled at me when she returned and said, "That would have bugged me too."
I thanked her, grateful there are eldest daughters in this world, because I am sure she is one.
In the afternoon we went to The Ruth. Adam bought tickets awhile ago and we have had to reschedule for...reasons... We went to Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and I loved it! It was uplifting and beautiful and since we went to the 4:00 show, I wasn't even out past my bedtime.
So it was a pretty good Saturday, but also a really hard Saturday. I feel like I have clutter everywhere. There are so many things that get kicked to the bottom of my to do list. I just want to do my things.
Adam and Mark are so good to help, but I want to do stuff myself and in the time and way that I want to do them. I realize that I need to be patient and gracious and accept the help when and how it is offered, but it is hard.
Saturday exhausted me and I did a fraction of my to do list.
I cried for about an hour. Pity party of one. I got it out of my system though. I will keep endeavoring (emphasis on endeavoring) to be patient and allocate my energy resources more wisely.
Saturday night I did not feel up to church, but I reasoned that taking the sacrament and serving in primary would probably give me a boost and it did. So many people kindly give me loving smiles or hugs or ask how I am. We are past the awkward, sideways, I-don't-know-where-to-look because she has cancer, phase.
An older guy knocked on my car window before I pulled out of my spot after church. He said, "We're praying for you. How are you doing?" I told him I was fine. He said, "What's your prognosis?" (Respect for cutting to the chase.)
I told him that what I have is not curable but will go into remission for 5-10 years and then I can be treated again.
He said, "Well, you don't even need too many more of those 5-10 years."
He isn't wrong; I'm not that young. It made me smile.
Emma came over and I roped her and Mark into changing all the clocks. Sometimes, like when the time changes and you have too many clocks, it pays to play the cancer card. We talked to Braeden and Anna and I tried to ask QE some questions about Halloween. She said, "Nana, I am too busy to talk."
Who am I to get in the way of her agenda? I love that girl!
We also played cards and listened to music and Emma and Mark sang. They have been asked to sing in our ward in December and I am glad they accepted because I love hearing their voices blend.
