Grateful Friday

 I really loved the Follow Him podcast this week.  I love it every week.  The guest, Jenae Nelson, talked a bit about gratitude and how it is a pro-social emotion if it is the good kind of gratitude because you will appreciate who gave you whatever it is you feel grateful about.

As opposed to #blessed/look at all the stuff I have.

It made me want to remember who gives me the things I'm grateful for.

I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I appreciate being able to learn more about the gospel from reading scriptures and listening to wise words.  I appreciate people who have put in the work to learn and then share their insights with me.

I'm grateful for eternal families and I'm grateful for temple covenants who bind me to those I love.  My mom sent an email this week on my great grandma's birthday with some of her memories of her grandma.

I remember this same great grandma with such fondness.  My response to my mom's email:  Heaven is going to be such a party!

Imagine getting together with all these people who love us and who we love too!

I'm grateful for the friendship of Joelyn who cuts and colors my hair.  I had an appointment last night and I love chatting with her and getting book recommendations.  She told me about the hard life her friend has and I'm grateful that good people like Joelyn buoy up their friends.

I'm grateful to Omar who has the spiritual gift of not being squeamish about emptying mouse traps.  Nephews are among the best inventions!

I'm grateful for students who straight up delight me and also cause me to stretch.  Always.  Sheesh.  So much stretching!

I'm grateful for a weekend with Adam.  He's going to be gone a lot in the next few months and I'll be grateful for what I have.

Moving furniture and misplacing children

 Adam returned from California!  I was happy to see that kid.  I loved hearing about his adventures with QE and also a little jealous.  He took her to stores and to the park and to Mr. Pickles (a sandwich shop in town that we love) and swimming at Nana and Papa's hotel.

He told me about their new apartment set up and it sounds good.  He said that he had learned from me and he had to remind Braeden to give Anna a minute to decide and be willing to move furniture again.

I feel like Braeden shouldn't have needed that reminder, particularly from Adam.  Adam hardly ever has been around for my furniture moving and Braeden has been a lot.

I'm glad they got it all set up to the lady of the house's specifications, though.

I've done nothing if not train my boys to move furniture.

I moved a little furniture of my own yesterday.

I relocated my rug to the side of the room and moved a table and every desk.

They'll be floored when they return--or they'll be like Adam when he used to come home from London and not always notice immediately.

Either way, I'm happy with the change.

For now.

Yesterday was not all roses though.  I told my team the story so if they ever felt like a bad teacher, they could remember this anecdote.

We had MAZE testing yesterday which is a new format for both us and the students.  It's way more difficult to proctor than the old test it is replacing, so that's fun.

Holly was in my room being my fellow proctor and we kept running into trouble.  I left the room twice to go find Jamie with a question.  My students asked, "Who is in charge?"

I said, "Mrs. Thornton."

Felt obvious, but nothing is actually obvious with third graders.

We finally got to the point that it was working for everyone except two students.  Gesturing to my classroom library in the corner, I said, "You go to the library and play Prodigy or go on Epic and everyone else will do the test."

So we did the test and it was stressful and all encompassing.

After that was all over, those two kids were gone, but I figured Jamie (who knew their log in hadn't worked) had come for them to test them in her office without me noticing because of the stressful and all encompassing testing.

We eventually lined up for lunch.

(Friends, I didn't realize those two students weren't with us.)

I was a full 15 minutes into lunch when my two came back with their computers.

I said, "Wow!  Did the test take that long?"

They looked confused.

I said, "Were you in Mrs. Riddle's office?"

They looked further confused.

I said, "Where did you go to take the test?"

The boy, finally mustered some courage and said, "Um...you told us to go to the library?  To play Prodigy or Epic?"

I said, "I meant the classroom library!"

They hadn't been taking the test at all.  They had been in the library and...their teacher had not noticed.

I hurried them off to the lunchroom and I said to tell the lunch ladies there had been a mixup.

They forgave me and we got through another Wacky Wednesday.  The most expected thing to happen in that building is something unexpected!

I just don't understand

 While typing this, magpies are flying by my window and landing on the roof and generally making a racket.  I wondered what you would call a group of magpies.

The internet was inconclusive.

It is one of these:  conventicle, gulp, mischief, tidings, tiding, tribe, charm, tittering, congregation, parliament, or flock.

I think the internet needs to get itself together.

Another thing I don't understand:  yesterday a student came in from lunch recess, asking to go to the wellness room.  I said, "What's wrong?"  (I have a certain bar for the wellness room.). She said, "My grandma died."

I said, "During recess?"

She said, "Yes, my mom texted me."

I doubted that was true, but she was wearing what resembled a smart watch and I have no idea if her mom could text her or would be misguided enough to text that particular message during the middle of lunch recess.

The wellness room was closed and she forgot all about it...until after afternoon recess.  She said, "Now can I go?"

I said, "I think you're fine."

And she was.

My biggest puzzler of the day:  Emma texted in the morning that she was blocked in by construction trucks, including a crane, in her apartment parking lot and was trying to leave for work.

I texted, "Get out and talk to one of them."

She texted, "I would rather get hit by a crane."

This is the same girl who her brothers have a healthy fear of and who famously, in our family lore, stood her ground when a Russian lady was trying to cut the line at the airport in Paris.  This is my independent girl who does what she wants thank you very much.

She is not fearful.

I texted her as much.

She got out of the car and talked to someone and they moved and all was well.

I guess sometimes you need your mom to remind you that you aren't afraid.

Paper and pencil and opposition

 Yesterday had myriad frustrations.  If it isn't the kids, it's their parents.  Also, our schedule is awful.  We decided after school to take matters in hand.  Miriam and I each had our paper schedules and a pencil.  We crossed out and wrote new times and moved math and phonics and science and literacy around until we were happy with it.  (Then we entered our new schedule on the computer...I need pencil and paper to think.)

I think it will be a lot better and it feels nice to be able to make a change.  Hope springs eternal.

I talked to Adam a few times and felt jealous that he is hanging out with QE and I am not.

We did a FaceTime call last night and she wanted me to play with toys, so I held up the stuffed animals for the camera to her delight, then I read her a story.

She wanted me to read another, but I told her I had to go do laundry.  I really, really did.

Maybe the best thing that happened yesterday was I hired Omar to be our trapper.  I told him he could keep the mice pelts and make a nice fur coat.  Olivia said, "Not in our house."

We want to make efforts to plug up holes better, but we didn't have much time this past weekend.  This will help in the meantime.

On Sunday I asked, "Why do we even have mice?"

My cousin Hannah said, "Opposition."

How much more opposition do we need?

Weekend: home means Nevada to me

 I am home from our weekend reunion in Starr Valley and it was a nice weekend.

Adam went earlier in the day, but the rest of us joined the party at Marianne's late on Friday because Emma and Mark and I went after work.  When QE saw me, she ran to hug me and said, "I have missed you!"

I. Could. Not. Love. Her. More.  

Too soon after we got there, Braeden took her back to our house to go to bed.  We celebrated my mom's birthday (which had happened in April) by sharing memories about her.  Marianne also asked one kid from each family to tell a family history story.  Mark was selected from our family.  I loved how each story basically boiled down to ways Heavenly Father had protected us and answered our prayers.

Our family was in charge of breakfast the next day and we served fruit and yogurt and granola.  I was  upset when I realized Mark had eaten some granola.  It had gluten in it and I told Adam when we bought it that that was fine because Mark didn't like granola.

Well, Mark had eaten some.  He trusted his mom to serve food that wouldn't harm him.  Ugh.  I felt so terrible.  I am grateful that Mark did not get sick.  (He hadn't had much granola.)

We went to Elko and had a talent show at a rest home.  Some of us (me) weren't super excited about that.  In the same way that I don't like Christmas caroling (here, let me sing at you), I thought it was weird to inflict our talent show on unsuspecting residents.  They seemed happy though and I was too busy with QE to feel too uncomfortable.  My favorite part was that Olivia (who was the architect of the activity and does in fact like Christmas caroling) had Hyrum lead us all in the Nevada state song at the end.  I watched the residents' faces light up and they joined in.

I don't know.  Nevadans like that song and that is all.

Tabor texted me a picture of our kids at the rest home (I took zero amount of pictures).  They sang a song together, which I always love.

From there we went to the visitor's center (it is a temporary fixture in a trailer) by the Elko temple site, which is under construction.  Some senior missionaries were there and they gave us a presentation about the temple and it was really good.  I loved being crammed into that tiny trailer with people I love, contemplating with gratitude that we'd be together forever.  When we used to go on roadtrips and would be equally crammed together in the back seat, but not quite so...congenial...all the time, I never could have imagined how our family has grown and added beloved members.

Adam had taken QE out by the time this shot was taken.  She was a champ to be patient with all the goings on, but even a champ needs a break.

Our parents treated us all to lunch at the Star, which is a delicious Basque restaurant.  

Here those beloved parents are now (photo courtesy Olivia):

In the afternoon, Adam and our boys worked on getting a bathtub, that Hannah and Jeff are getting rid of, disconnected to bring to our house.  We have a bathtub, but I prefer the shape of Hannah and Jeff's tub and Adam is the dream maker.  Or maybe Ammon is.  He was there to help too and Adam said they never would have figured it out without Ammon there. 

That night we had dinner at Olivia's house and we again shared memories, but this time of my dad.  (His birthday was August 22, so we were more timely this time.). Edgar had made us delicious food and we had a nice time.

I fell into bed.  It was all equal parts exhausting and wonderful.

Yesterday we went to sacrament meeting and then went home and got things squared away to leave the house and for Adam to go with Braeden and QE.  I was telling her that we were going to put her in the car and she was going back to California (she was excited to go see her mother and Anna was excited to see her too and the rest of us felt like we'd missed out not having Anna with us!).  QE said happily, "Nana is going to California with me."

I wish I could have!  I cried when I hugged them good-bye, in a surprise to no one.

Our other two kids left early too (Mark's friend was in town only for the weekend and Mark wanted to see him), so it was just me that went to lunch at my parents' house (hosted by Ammon and Melanee).  

I drove home feeling a little melancholy, but I had an audio book to listen to.  I made pretty good time and feel ill prepared for another week at school, but that has never stopped me before.

Grateful Friday

 I need the counterweight of gratitude.  When Mark has hard health days, like he did yesterday, it is very easy for me to feel discouraged and helpless and frustrated.

I am grateful that I get to be with my family this weekend for our family reunion.  We are going to Nevada and a few will be missing but most will be there.  Braeden and QE are coming, which I'm excited for.  I wish Anna was coming, but she already had plans to go to a conference to help her mom.  

I am grateful for my little class.  Those kids are worming their way into my hearts.  I still welcome the hugs and smiles of my former students too.

A gaggle of girls accosted me with hugs and one of them has this amazing curly hair and they showed me that she had "boing boing hair like Susan."

It was a reference to Ramona, who repeatedly got in trouble for pulling Susan's hair in kindergarten and the fact that they remembered it and had to tell me made me very happy.

I am grateful that the sweet little girl, who has been the line leader this week, slips her hand into mine when we walk down the hall.

I am grateful for the boy who argued with me that he couldn't find his whiteboard when seconds earlier he had slipped it under the rug.  I said, "Get your whiteboard."

He gave me a winning smile and said, "OK, you win this time."

I am grateful that when one boy was sitting on the floor absolutely sobbing at the end of the day, another boy, a very quiet and somber boy, pointed him out to me and then solemnly left the room.

I sat with my sobbing friend and got to the bottom of his distress and dried his tears. 

I am grateful I could buy a big Costco size package of bandaids.  There are no bandaids in the school and third graders spring leaks.

I am grateful for the girl who made me laugh out loud on the way to lunch yesterday when she pointed to a sign in the hall and said, "I've always wondered what these signs say, but I'm not going to waste my learning on reading a sign."

I am grateful for the ways they stop me in my tracks and surprise me.  I was reading a book comparing and contrasting Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.  

A girl raised her hand and said, "Did you know he cheated on his wife?"

OK.

Yes, but you're eight and what?

I said, "We're not going to talk about that right now."

They keep me on my toes.

Light

As in, at the end of the tunnel.

Maybe?

Yesterday was a better day.  I had had an abysmal night's sleep because when I live with stress long enough, my body rebels with insomnia.

I'm a lot of fun.

Despite that, the day was OK.  I taped a little card onto each desk for a star chart.  They earn stars, they lose stars, if anyone gets five stars, they get a prize.  I'm super picky at first about crossing out stars and also pretty generous about giving stars because I am training them to be, you know, third graders.

It feels like the uphill battle that it is, but they're getting there.  I don't have anyone who is just irredeemably hard like some years (knock on all the wood).  They are chatty and the ones who don't speak much English are exceptionally chatty because they are bored out of their minds.

I can't imagine going to elementary school in a different language.

Every year about this time, it occurs to me how difficult it is to explain place value to a non native English speaker.  

Jamie got us all lunch carts.  We had these big tubs that the kids would lug to the lunchroom full of home lunches.  Now we have sleek carts.  Jamie asked what I wanted on my cart--other teachers had Mickey Mouse ears or crayons or hot air balloons.

I said, "I want a goat."

Jamie showed me a few so I could pick my favorite.  I picked the one that most looks like Horace.

It's really the little things.

We met Mark for dinner last night before he had institute and Adam had mutual.  It's fun to catch up.  I told them about my day.  I had cemented Mark as most interesting of my children by telling them about the destruction he wrought as a toddler.  We read a story about a destructive baby brother so I told them about Mark and some of them were rolling on the floor laughing.  It is an easy crowd.

So far I love our new ritual of going to dinner with Mark every other week.  

We talked about work and starting school and dating and told each other dumb jokes.  I love that kid!