There's no I in team

Yesterday at 3rd-4th grade recess, a boy ran up to me and said his frisbee was stuck in a tree.  I had no idea how we were going to get a frisbee out of a tree but I was the authority (the one with the whistle around her neck--a Fox 40 no less) so I had to try.  From the other side of the playground, a girl ran up and fell in step with me.  The 3rd grade equivalent of an ambulance chaser.

I contemplated the frisbee, surrounded by about 20 students.  "We need something to throw up there,"  I decided.

A little girl ran toward a pile of big rocks near the fence. "How about a rock?" she asked.

"No, no," I said.

"How about a water bottle?" another girl wondered.

"That may work," I said.  She showed me her water bottle.  It was empty and completely flattened.  She was just carrying it around.  Like you do?

"No," I said, "it's not heavy enough."

There were three boys nearby playing basketball.  I went over and asked them if we could use their ball.  They agreed and followed me over to the tree.  A few of the kids haphazardly threw the ball up, getting nowhere near the frisbee.  "Let's let a basketball player try," I suggested.

It was a good move.  I mean, if you got athletic kids around, you might as well utilize them.  A boy hit the frisbee and it fell to a lower limb.  Another boy hit the frisbee and it fell to a still lower limb.  It was still out of reach.  One of the boys, the biggest 4th grader and also one of the basketball players, tried to jump up and reach it but to no avail.

I eyed the students and picked the smallest girl.  "Come here," I said.  I lifted her up as high as I could and she batted at the frisbee and it fell to the ground.

There was much rejoicing.

He's certainly in the top three favorite children

Braeden delighted me yesterday.  He is working now and I am working now and that means we talk to each other less.

I do love getting his texts though.

Yesterday morning this arrived:

That's Ben, Braeden's roommate who is in the ROTC.  I'm glad that Ben is making the world safe for...Star Wars shirts.

After reading my blog yesterday, Braeden sent this:

I didn't even know you could have Great Value knock offs of hearts, but I'm glad I have the real thing.

Adam texted us some pictures and he had dinner with a group of Virginia Beach folks.

He sent this:

I was putting school work in a binder and giggling to myself because I pictured Sister Tallman thinking that a year + of college had certainly aged Braeden.  Why, he looks like he's in his forties all of the sudden.

Also, Braeden's response made me laugh.  He had no words.  And I can't really blame him.

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Braeden called me last night on his way home from campus.  He walks so fast and takes such long steps it is much easier to keep up with him on the phone.  He cheerfully told me that he had just read 50 pages about Martin Luther/by Martin Luther--I can't remember.  And he said he had 86 more to go.

I said, "You make me happy that I'm not in college."

He said, "But it's so great!"

He loves all that he is learning and I love that.

Adam called and Braeden said, "Can the three of us talk together?  Is that a thing?"

"I'll ask Dad."

I clicked over to Adam and asked him if the three of us could talk and he 1) said it was a thing and 2) told me how to do it.

So then Adam and Braeden and I talked and I loved the excitement in Braeden's voice as he quizzed Adam about all he had seen and done in Virginia.

We talked a little about Stella and Braeden said, "What did we do to deserve Stella?"

I don't know, but I'm glad it happened.

Today's the day everyone is jealous of Adam

He is going on a business trip to North Carolina.  Raleigh.  Apparently it's still on despite Florence.

Everyone is jealous because he's making a detour and flying in to Norfolk, VA then driving to Raleigh.  He's going to see Stella and the whole Hampton Roads area where a big piece of Braeden's heart resides (he said he left his heart there, I maintain it's only some of his heart because I claim some of his heart for my own).  I would love to see that part of the world and fully plan to someday.

Mostly, I'd love to see Stella.  I love that lady!

Up and downs of the weekend

Friday was a bit of a rough one.  I felt off kilter as well as not great about the smoke.  My head ached and my throat burned but so did everyone else's at my school.  We had indoor recess and in one hallway of the school where there are windows on both sides and sunlight streaming in, you could see the smoke in the air.

At one point I thought, I wish the wind would blow and this smoke would go away!  Then, like I had access to a genie and my wishes really would come true, I felt immediately guilty.  I thought of the firefighters in harm's way and the houses within reach of the fire and how wind would make everything worse.  Never mind!  I don't want the wind to blow!

Saturday was still a smoky mess and my throat still hurt.  We met Emma at the Hale Theater for a matinee performance of Daddy Longlegs.  It was so good!  I love the Hale Theater!  And I love that sweet Emma for getting us good tickets every time.  Vanessa and her mom Nyla were seated in front of and slightly over from us.  We chatted a little with them before the show and then after we all went to lunch together.

It was the lingering delightful kind of lunch where you talk for hours.  It is never a surprise to me when I like the mothers of my children's friends.  It just makes sense.  Nyla is a kindred spirit.  She teaches 2nd grade and we like a lot of the same things, including our creative and brilliant, musical, French speaking daughters.  (Vanessa was one of the girls I was in charge of who interpreted for me in France.) Vanessa is preparing for a mission in Armenia and she showed us on a map where Armenia is exactly.  I had a vague idea but wasn't sure.

Later that afternoon, I started feeling really lousy.  I had zero energy and fell asleep on the couch.  Adam and Mark went to the store and I went upstairs and slept some more.

I started thinking that my sore throat was not just smoke related.

Sunday morning after ward council, Adam took me to the doctor.  He was there in a suit and I was there in yoga pants and I felt a little underdressed.  My rapid strep test came back negative, which didn't surprise me.  More often than not, my rapid strep test comes back negative and then the culture, a few days later, comes back positive.  I recognize strep throat.  Adam said I'm a strep whisperer.

I think it's more of a wimperer.

The doctor said he was going to give me antibiotics anyway and Braeden said, "Did you tell him that he's part of the problem?"

I said, "No.  I told him thank you."

(I still think I may have strep.)

So I texted the BYU kids to let them know that they were still welcome to come, I just wanted them to have the information.  Liberty had another commitment anyway and Leif and Freja opted to stay home (smart kids) and Braeden and Emma came.

Adam and the kids cooked dinner and I stopped Braeden from using a cup on the counter that I had used but otherwise I think I effectively kept my germs to myself.

We watched the first episode of the new (to us) Great British Baking Show and Braeden has already invented a love triangle between Paul Hollywood, the new judge and one of the contestants.

It is less smoky today and the missionaries in Braeden's mission that were evacuated from Hurricane Florence are fine and a missionary I know in the Philippines who survived that terrible typhoon is fine and Desi, my sweet missionary in Hong Kong where the typhoon made its next stop is fine too.

These words that my dad said recently keep repeating in my head.  God is in His heaven. I am so grateful.

Grateful Friday

Today is smoky.  There's a fire in south Utah County/Juab County that is growing and warm dry wind blowing.  People have been evacuated and then there's Hurricane Florence.

Braeden's mission is the path of the hurricane and missionaries have been evacuated.

My heart goes out to all of them.

Being grateful that I'm not in their shoes feels a little selfish but I am grateful.

I'm grateful that my troubles are small.  For example sleep.  It is illusive sometimes and I have gone through this week a little like a zombie.  But feeling tired?  I'll take it over losing my home.

Last night was book club and I was tired but I still wanted to go.  I'd missed the last two book club meetings because I had been out of town.  Also, I'd read the book and wanted to talk about it.

When I arrived, people greeted me.  They told me they'd missed me.  I took my chair and didn't say too much because there are some people at book club that are talkers and some that are listeners and I'm in the latter camp mostly.  I enjoyed being there.  I love hearing insights and personal experiences and feeling like we're all in this together.

Before I left I chatted a little with a book club friend and she told me she'd missed me too.

I told Adam later how nice it felt to belong to a group.  Human connectedness is where it is at.

This morning on Facebook, I saw people posting information and help for fire evacuees.

Human connections.

The doppelgänger

There is a boy at my school that is Mark's doppelgänger.  The kid even wears track pants which used to be Mark's uniform of choice.  He doesn't look so much like Mark as he just is Mark at that age.  I knew it from the first day he fished legos out of his pocket and showed me something he'd built.

I have been working with him and it hasn't been going well.  He had zero motivation to do anything and I had zero leverage (the woes of being the teacher's aide).  Like Mark, he is very stubborn.  Unlike Mark, I couldn't say, "OK, then, no computer" or  "OK, then, you can't play with Gavin."  Because playing with Gavin was king.

The student was interested in fiddling with my watch so I told him that if he wrote his name on his paper (a big first step!) he could figure out how to unlatch my watch.

He said, scornfully, "I don't need to figure it out.  I know how."

He quickly wrote his name and I let him play with my watch.  Then I wanted him to do more work and I didn't have another watch.

So that evening, I asked Mark for advice.  I explained the whole situation and wondered what Mark thought about some little puzzles or trinkets that the student could lay his little mechanically minded hands on for a reward.  Mark listened stoically and then said, "Just get Skittles, Mom."

Mark was brought up on Skittles.  They're a good bribe because I think they're nasty and am never tempted to eat my stash and they are tiny so easy to dispense.

I stopped at the store on the way to school and proudly showed the student my reward.  He looked at them mournfully and said, "I can't eat them.  I can't have artificial colors."

Rats.

It was a writing assignment and I was left with nothing again.  It was a personal narrative they were supposed to be writing and he didn't have any ideas or willingness to try.  I felt a little helpless.

Except for the fact that he is basically Mark.

I said, "How about Super Smash Brothers?  Why don't you write about that?"

His little eyes lit up and he said, "I was just thinking the same thing!"

He quizzed me all about what I loved about Super Smash Brothers and I had to admit I had never played.  I do however speak the language of Mark.

It comes in handy.

The mama

This is what momming meant yesterday.

Text from Emma:

Virtual high fives all around.

Text conversation with Braeden:

He came home and I fed him and he wrapped his long arms around me and tucked me under his chin and said, "You are the best mom in the world."

Text conversation with Mark:

I took him his music and waited while he had the world's longest audition.  He is not sure it went so well.  He is no dancer and they are doing a musical with lots of tap dancing.  I took him home tired + discouraged + hungry.

I made him an enormous roast beef, cheddar and arugula sandwich.

He kissed my forehead and said, "You are the best mom in the world."

I think my boys' hyperbole ramps up when they're fed but whether or not I'm the best mom in the world, I'm glad I'm the mom of Braeden, Emma and Mark.

That's the best.