Purple Barty

We finally met with the kids, one-on-one, to make their yearly youth goals. The older three all made a goal to attend the temple once a month and read the Book of Mormon. Phillip decided to bring his book to school and read during his reading WIN time! One point I made this year is that the goals they made are not between us and the child, but between the child and God. 

All the snow is melted. It rained off and on all week. Ironically, it now feels like spring with the temperatures in the 40s and the rain. Recess this week was only on the black top for 3 days because the grass was saturated with 3 inches of excess snow melt and rain. The students were really cranky about the change. Josie stepped in the grass on Monday before the decision was made to restrict recess. She reported a friend triple-dog-dared her to step in a snow pile, she did and then spent the rest of the day with soggy socks. She skipped up to me after lunch recess and blamed me for not bringing her snow boots. Gracious, I quickly turned that boat around and put the responsibility back on her, first for accepting a dare that made her socks wet and for not grabbing her own snow boots. Barty is hanging around this week too! Friday morning Barty turned a lovely shade of purple for a few moments while the sun was rising. Sometimes Barty is nice! Ice, ice Barty though is not so nice. 

The cutest experience of the week was on Wednesday when Josie snuck into my room with a folded note, giggled, then ran back to class. On Sunday I showed her how to fold notes like I used to in middle school. She showed all her friends how to fold notes at school. Her note was a sweet collection of hearts and “I love you.” Later I intercepted a note from Cindy to her big brother that basically said, “Connor, you are werd (weird). You stink and need to take more showers. I love you though…with a drawn picture of Connor eating trash from the can.” Well, we had a talk about sending love notes not mean notes. So funny and endearing. 

Wednesday afternoon Mrs Sene called me at work with the best news! Amelia is going to All-State next week as an alternate! She was very bummed earlier in the year when she did not make it into All-State this year. Now she has a week to learn 4 new songs, three in different languages of Russian, Japanese, and Spanish. Her initial reaction was elation and joy, after the news sunk in she realized how much work she had ahead of her. We picked up her music and signed the forms at the choir NY Trip parent’s meeting. Mrs Sene had a meeting where parents could come pick up the itinerary and ask questions. I really want to try and see Wicked on Broadway while we are there! How fun would that be? Evelyn and Josie came with because they had Activity Days at 6:30. I cannot believe Josie is now in Activity Days. Time is flying by!

Millie birthed 6 puppies! I was in the middle of making an early dinner before all the meetings starting at 6 pm. Ambree frantically called me over, freaking out because Millie birthed her first puppy. I rushed over and found a stark white puppy breathing like a champ. It was still attached to the placenta, which normally the mother chews off the umbilical cord. Amelia researched what to do, I picked up the pup and placenta, Mia tied thread around the cord and we removed the placenta and cord. Millie settled down licking her new son. I went home thinking it would take another hour before another pup arrived. NOPE! Millie birthed 3 more pups before Sara got back home. Sara went out to donate plasma because Millie was not acting like she was in labor. I can now add dog midwife to my resume.  

I am struggling something fierce with some of the students and classes at school. I kicked two students out of my lab for a couple weeks, they cannot (will not) settle down and focus. They provide a serious distraction for the entire class. The new 3rd grade class is so difficult to manage. Monday I called for Mr Obert to come in because the students were not listening to me. While he spoke the students were absolutely quiet. Within 3 minutes of him leaving the entire class was back at the same noise level. I must have a lack of something, presence? Authority? Sternness? Mr Obert advised I take the class outside to walk laps (even after he just announced the grass was off limits). The first graders, most of the 3rd graders, and two of the 5th grade classes are just chaos. I introduced the first Microsoft module this week. We started off small by learning and practicing some of the shortcut combinations using the keyboard. I cannot believe the number of students who complained, moaned, murmured, and rudely refused to try something new. A handful of students absolutely light up once they started trying out the shortcuts, the excitement of learning a new skill was exceptional. That bridged the gap for me during a really hard week. My typing points contest is going really well. The kinders are now typing and excelling further than the 1st graders. It is fascinating to me now the dynamics change and the effect COVID had on certain grades. Mrs Harp boosted my confidence, said I was doing an exceptional job, that the students love me, the teachers say only good things about me, and the students are learning more than they ever have in the lab. I needed to hear that. 

Josie and I had a fun afternoon date at the Meridian Temple for her baptism photos. Her dress was 2 inches too short after the alterations, I added some length with eyelet border to at least cover her shoes. She was very excited to take photos once we got into the groove. It was cold outside, she warmed up after running around for a few minutes. Josie really, really wants a birthday party this year. She wanted a Bluey party, a Miraculous Party, or a piñata party. Amelia and I described Penny’s adopt-a-pet birthday party Friday afternoon. She was not sold until she did some internet research on Pinterest. Josie is now so, so excited! After her temple photos we went to Goodwill to find stuffed animals for her party. She is inviting 8 friends to her party next week. At Goodwill she latched on to a cute play store stand, she envisioned stuffed animals on the main table, and bins with snacks, collars, adoption papers, and carrying crates below. We headed to Seagull book to look for baptism stuff and an illustrated Book of Mormon for kids. I loved hanging out with Josie Mae, she is a delight. 

The van was quite the trash bin. I was very embarrassed to take the Young kids home after MCO Thursday night. It smelled terrible after all the snow melted on the carpets, melted crackers, paper, candy into the carpet along with the water. Gross. The boys responded to my call to clean the van out. We removed the trash and stuff, vacuumed, and wiped down most surfaces. Much better. 

My mom had her double mastectomy on Monday. She was in the hospital until Tuesday afternoon just to make sure the healing process started. I spoke with mom on Sunday, she is feeling so betrayed by the medical system. She is suffering from PTSD after her previous runs with cancer and all the surgeries (most did not help) she went through to fix her nose and sinuses. Sunday she mentioned how badly she feels about passing on her damaged genes and mutations down to her children. What a burden to carry. Mom, there is no burden there! We understand that is how God tries and tests us, no matter the way challenges are transmitted. When I think of my mom the first image that comes to my mind is seeing my mom seated on her bed with her scriptures, study manuals, and notebooks. A warm glow of light behind her highlighting her work as she studied about God. I’ve never thought, “gosh, why did Mom and Dad have so many kids and infect us with her broken DNA?”