Baby steps

 There's a lot to manage in any one life.  I wouldn't say I have things managed, or even all that close to it.

I am trying to take my photographs in hand.  Iron out the nonsense.

I got a bunch of pictures from my mom and I have sorted them by date.  Then I needed to decide how to organize them.  I initially thought that I would digitize everything, including all my other pictures, and make Snapfish books because they don't take up as much space.  

Emma was aghast.  She said, "Are you out of space?" Well, no.  But I just want it all uniform and to make sense.

Emma said she wanted photos.

So I did the big photo sort.  I called her and said, "OK, you're going to be the one to deal with all of this someday...."  I have six photo albums that are more or less in good chronological order.  I don't want to disrupt that.  But I have these two photo albums.  Here is one:

Basically, it is pictures I found after I had completed the other albums and I didn't want to rearrange everything.

Then there's this gem:

The title of the photo album is trying to manage expectations, because it is a hot mess.  There is zero order to the photos.

Emma and I came up with the plan to have two chronologies going because I don't want to mess with the original six.  It's like the large plates and the small plates.

I am taking everything out of the chaotic albums.

I am going to write the date (approximately) and label who is in the pictures and put them in some semblance of order.  Happily the project has no due date.

Also, happily I get to look at all the pictures.

This picture of Adam (from when we lived in Connecticut) stopped me in my tracks because there is the World Trade Center.

This picture reminded me of that time I cut bones out of contact paper and stuck them to a black sweatsuit for Braeden for Halloween.  I remember it was such a pain!  (But look how cute those tiny, slightly blurry, kids are!)

So if you need me, I'll be staring at pictures, trying to discern when and who.... (I'm going to get Emma to help me on Sundays when she is over.)

Mothering

It isn't for the faint of heart.  I've known that since 1997.

As a teacher I interact with a lot of mothers.  Or try to.  I have a student whose mother is proving impossible for me to communicate with.  I've tried everything I can think of.  She doesn't speak English and I'm not sure her literacy level, so you can see the trouble.  Also, this same student's dad was deported recently so I really don't know their day to day.

I can only assume she is doing her best.  

I had a mother message me last week about the mistreatment of her student.  I could feel the frustration and sadness and anger in her message.  I felt a little trepidation about reaching out to the mother of the other student, because "your child has been mean" is not always well received.

The other mother rose to the occasion with flying colors.  She told me that she was sorry and her student would apologize and they would definitely follow up.

When parents choose to partner with teachers, it is a good thing and makes all the difference.

In some ways I think it is easier to mother adult children, while in other ways it is also way (way) harder.  You can't step in and take over.

Well, sometimes you can.

Mark has had a lot of trouble getting one of his several prescriptions filled.  It was out of stock, then they lost his prescription, then he had his doctor resubmit the prescription, then they said they were out of stock again.

I called the pharmacy during my lunchtime.

I brought all the mama bear energy I have honed over the last 29 years.  I was polite, but also not going to give up and I think we all realized that.

They told me they could get the prescription.  I said, "He's coming right now."  I called Mark and he soon texted me this.

 

I learned it from my own mom.  There comes a point when you just have to.

There are fewer and fewer times that I can/need to insert myself.

For those times, I'll stay ready.

Migraine, party of one

 Yesterday was day two of a headache that felt worse as time passed.  It was one of those days when I count the hours until I can lie down.  (In 12 hours I can lie down.  Now, in 11 1/2 hours I can lie down.)

Not great.  I mustered all my "It's this day, not me, that's bound to go away" energy.  I was going to make it.

Then, in the morning, one of the office ladies brought me a new student.  Zero warning.  A new student takes a lot of cheerfulness and pep.  I had neither, but I had a brand new student who looked terrified and it was up to me to make her feel welcome.  Happily, after my initial, "I'm Mrs. Davis and I am so glad you're here.  Here's a desk and hang your backpack there," one of my girls stepped in and gave her a friendship bracelet and said, "I can tell we're going to be friends!"

I love kids so much.

We got through the day with students helping to explain all the things to the new student and me white knuckling through it all.  Right before lunch, my headache was really awful.  I felt nauseous.  After taking my class to the lunchroom, I went in my classroom and turned off the lights and then the power went off.  I thought if we couldn't have school, it would be about the best thing to happen to me.

The power came back on before my students were back from lunch.  (There is still a lot of construction going on and I think that is why we lost power. ) 

The power went off later in the afternoon, but only for a few minutes.  

It really was that sort of a day.  

Kim and I walked after a long hiatus and I think that was helpful.  My headache felt more manageable as the evening continued.  I slept a lot last night and that was what I needed most.

So far no headache has killed me.

I like my odds.

Weekend

 I hustled home from school on Friday--leaving things undone--so we could head to Starr Valley.  We loaded the car and hit the road.

After the requisite Maverik stop, we listened to Sold a Story, which is a podcast about teaching reading and how educators got it so wrong for so long.

It is fascinating and I kept pausing it to pontificate.  I have feelings about teaching reading.

We had four little kittens bounding out to greet us when we got there.  Olivia has been feeding them there  and trying to get them acclimated to a new home.  We are thrilled to have them.  Adam is super allergic to cats and has never liked them.  He feels differently about those kittens.  (I think their potential as mousers has a lot to do with it, plus they are really cute.)

Adam talked very sweetly to them and I named them: Mattie, Ross, Little Blackie and Rooster.  I hope they live forever and have lots of babies and catch lots of mice.  Adam even took a picture of them (except illusive Little Blackie).  Who is this man?!?

from top: Rooster, Mattie and Ross

We made beds and wiped counters and waited and waited.  Our group was slow and had stopped at the Salt Flats for the experience.  I forget sometimes how wild the Salt Flats are if you haven't experienced them.  I am glad they got to enjoy.

I felt sorry that we were so late for dinner at Marianne and Robert's, but they were ever gracious. 

Marianne had made salads and Olivia had sliced up watermelon and Robert had built a fire.  We roasted hot dogs and s'mores and visited.  Our YW president, Molly, had connections to Orderville so she and Robert knew a lot of the same people.  The boys stayed with Marianne and Robert and the rest of us went back to our house.  All the girls spread out in the living room.  They had face masks (and put one on Adam, which delighted them) and were playing music and having a great time.  The adults all went to bed, which is my idea of a good time on a Friday night.

Saturday morning, Adam and I sneaked outside, trying not to wake anyone and took a little walkabout.  The kittens scampered after us.  We went to visit the horses and had to disabuse them of the idea that we had grain.  

Back at the house, people were starting to wake up.  We pulled out breakfast stuff and Robert brought the boys over.  My dad came over with his wagon and team of horses.  The kids were thrilled.  I climbed up on the seat next to my dad and a bunch of people piled in the back.  We went around the circle and it was a  good time.  We returned and traded the passengers.  My dad said, "We'll go the opposite way so the horses don't get dizzy."

One of the boys in the back said, "Wait, really?"

I said, "No.  He's joking."

After the wagon rides, Adam let anyone who wanted to have a turn driving his lawnmower.  It seemed a little like Tom Sawyer "letting" people help him paint the fence, but they didn't actually mow except one girl.

One of the leaders said to me, "Yesterday I felt like this was a long drive, but this has been so great!"

I was glad.  It is sort of a long drive, so I'm glad it felt worth it.

We got changed and before we loaded up and drove to Elko, Adam had asked me to share a little about my grandparents' house and them.

I told them the story about growing up around there and loving that spot.  I told them about the fire and my grandparents' reaction.  I said that I am sure they were sad, but to me, it just seemed like they got on with things.  I told them I was grateful for the opportunity to buy their house because I love that place so much.  I want to continue the legacy and create a place for my grandchildren to love.

More than that, I want to follow their legacy of faith.  Because of their focus on serving and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they knew that a house was just a house.  They taught me to rebuild rather than wallow.  They taught me that focusing on things that matter most helps you survive a world of ups and downs with equanimity.  With that, we drove to Elko.

Olivia had arranged everything and they were ready for us.  Everyone was very kind, just like you expect.  When I was growing up, if I was trying to establish who I was around there, I would start with, "My grandpa is Harvey Dahl," and people would say, "Ohhhh," and immediately know who I was.

Now I tell them that I am Marianne and Olivia's sister.  When I told the ladies handing out clothes that, they nodded knowingly and told me they loved my sisters.

A member of the temple presidency came up to me and shook my hand and said, "You look familiar, you must be Marianne's and Olivia's sister."

Happily, yes.

The youth performed their baptisms and it was a good experience for everyone.  I love being in the temple and I love those good kids who love being in the temple.

Adam and I went to Little Caesar's and got the pizza Olivia had ordered (it's not what you know, it's who you know).  We met everyone at a park.  The young women lovingly mothered and/or hounded one of the younger boys.  Molly's daughter said, "My mom will give you ten dollars if you can hit the crow in that tree with a piece of pizza crust."

Molly said, "Hey, I didn't say that, and he plays baseball.  Don't make deals like that."

The boy squarely hit the bird in the tree.  The crow barely registered the indignity, ruffling its feathers a little and stayed on its branch.

Then they encouraged the same boy to lie on the grass with a piece of pizza on his chest to see if the birds would come and eat it.

They were funny kids and I enjoyed being around them.

They headed back to Utah and Adam and I went back to Starr Valley.  Even though we hated to, because it feels early, we winterized.  Adam will be traveling a lot (big surprise) and we wanted to get it done while we could.

We drove home, finished our podcast and I was happy to see my bed.

Marianne had the idea to meet as siblings with my dad every month, so Ammon set up a google meet and I was happy to meet with them on Sunday afternoon.  Adam had an ALL DAY Sunday.  He left early and got home around 6:30 pm.  He happily walked in right when I was FaceTiming our grandchildren so he got to see their cute faces.  Always a lift for the spirits.

We took a walk and the sunset was beautiful.

Mark took Adam to the airport in the predawn and I'm about ready to head to school.

The beat goes on.

Grateful Friday

 In college, no one told me that a big chunk of being a teacher would be meetings.  So many meetings.  Also, taping books.  At least 2-3 books make their way to my desk every day.  They get ripped and they need me to repair them. 

They also didn't cover some of the most delightful things either.

Like the children.

They are cute and tiny and come to school with enormous backpacks (that some of them call pack packs).  They give me a big smile in the morning and randomly hug me throughout the day.  Fourth graders sneak in my room at the end of our lunch recess.  They think they are hilarious and Big Kids since last year's fourth graders tried to do the same thing.

I love when they earnestly put their heads together to try to solve a math problem.

I love when they give me a look and say, "I don't get it."

I like that so much more than just quietly hoping I won't notice they don't get it.

In phonics we were learning about short vowel multisyllabic words.  They don't know the definition of some of the words so we discuss.  One word was shamrock.  I asked if they knew what a shamrock was.

One boy raised his hand and said, "It's the milkshakes you get at McDonald's to celebrate Pioneer Day."

Almost.

Another word was tropics.  That was a real puzzler.  No one had an idea.  Finally a girl ventured a guess that it was fruit, like watermelon.

Someone said, "Maybe it's like the Troppo Tourists in Nim's Island."  (I am reading Nim's Island to them, and yes, probably Troppo is a riff on tropical.)

I pulled out the globe and we had a whole demonstration of the equator and I showed them the tropics and I had a boy stand in the middle of the room and said he was the sun and I revolved the globe around him so they could see that the equator is always closest.  We made guesses about where Nim's island was located.

In the afternoon we read a story about Jacob Davis (no, he isn't related to me although my students were 100% convinced he was) creating the first blue jeans.  He invented rivets on pants.  In the story he bought fabric for the pants from Levi Strauss in San Francisco.  When he couldn't afford a patent, he teamed up with Levi Strauss to help pay for the patent and they worked together.

We investigated two boys' jeans who had rivets.  One boy's were Levis.  You can imagine the thrill.  I was wearing a Levi denim jacket and they studied me for rivets.  

Then an entire discussion involving patent law ensued.  They were fascinated and had so many questions! 

Turns out I don't know a lot about patent law, so I googled it.  I learned patents only last 20 years. I had no idea. 

I probably write this every Friday, but I'm grateful to be a teacher.  I love being there and learning along with them.

After school today we are going back to Starr Valley.  Some young men and young women from our ward are making the trip and we are going to go to the Elko temple tomorrow.  Because there aren't many temples around here....

I am grateful for my family enhancing the experience and making it work.

Marianne and Robert are hosting dinner for us tonight and the boys are staying at their house.  My dad is going to come over tomorrow morning before we go to Elko and give buggy rides.  Olivia got the temple appointments all arranged.

I am grateful for my village.  They are a good little village.

Leaning towards autumn

 We took a short walk before dinner last night.  We talked about something we were looking forward to.  Adam and Mark said they were looking forward to watching the Seahawks game.  I said I was looking forward to not watching the Seahawks game.

No shade on the Seahawks, I just had stuff I wanted to do.

I watched the opening with them.  I'm neither from Seattle nor a big Seahawks fan, but I saw the love letter they were writing to Seattle and to Seahawks fans.

They celebrated their Super Bowl win with Kam Chancellor as emcee.  Nirvana was playing when the team ran out.  They had a guitarist from Pearl Jam play the national anthem.  Richard Sherman raised the 12 flag and hyped up the crowd.

Mark said, "Ladies, get you a man that loves you like Richard Sherman loves a crowd."

I said, "Ladies, get you a man that loves like a loyal Mariners fan."

It's easy to be a Seahawks fan.  They win.

I love that Adam and our boys doggedly root for the Mariners.

Fighter jets flew over Lumen Field and I left the boys with their chicken wings and veggie tray and went upstairs to do my stuff.

I liked all the spectacle.

And I liked some quiet time.

One of the things I wanted to do was put away the summer pillows in favor of the autumn pillows.  I used to be all in for seasonal decorating.  Now I mostly just shift the pillows and a few things.  I want it to feel like the season we are in, but I don't want it to feel like Hobby Lobby.

When I went downstairs for pillows, there was a commercial, so I enlisted Adam and Mark to carry stuff up and down the stairs.  

I boxed up the summer pillows and Adam went to take them downstairs.  He asked, "Where do they go?"

I said, "Mark knows."

Ladies, get you a son who knows where the seasonal throw pillows go.

Tiny notes

 Dear Protein Energy Drink Sellers,

I see what you're doing by gifting us with cases and cases of your products.  Teacher = caffeine and protein to boot.  You want to get us all hooked.  I am sorry to say a soda can with that much caffeine that contains milk (whey powder, but still it kind of freaks me out), does not appeal to me.  

Dear Students,

I love you, but at 2:15, you need to go home.

Dear Students, 

I love you, but stop tapping on my window before the bell rings when I'm trying to get everything ready.

Dear Parents,

When you spell your child's name some cutesy but still phonetic way, we roll our eyes a little (looking at you parents of Westly or Bearett).  When you opt for a not even phonetic way (Harliee), we are judging you.  So hard.  

Dear The Home Place,

You never disappoint me.

Dear Going out of Town Two Weekends in a Row,

What am I going to do with you?  I have lots of home things I want to do, but I also like the weekends away.  I guess carry on.

Dear Sub-contractor who is responsible for our rooms being in the low 60s all day,

What is your actual problem?

Dear Growth Mindset,

Thanks for pulling us through.  We started brand new WIN groups and small groups yesterday and it was a hot mess.  After school, we mustered all our courage and said, "We just don't have it figured out...yet."  All that preaching about you to students helped us.

Dear Olivia,

Thank you for introducing cats into the habitat surrounding our house.  Let's hope they love mice.