Russell's Visit

We had a really nice visit from Russ and his family about a month ago. They spent two weeks, and we played lots of games, swam, watched fireworks, and did lots of hanging out and getting to know each other better. It was really nice.

The boys got to help Grandpa with watering and get to know him better.

It was really fun for me to see Mom with Andrew. A mom of an adult has a different relationship and a different way of treating her adult children, which is the way things ought to be. But watching Mom with Andrew, I got to see the mom I had when I was a little child, and it was really sweet. She's wonderful with him. She's a great mom and grandma.

The boys also had a good time exploring. There's so much to look at in Grandma's house!

We played with puppets for Family Home Evening activity. It was pretty fun.

Russ and I stayed up late several nights, talking about games and books and math, and that was nice, too. I just have good siblings and a great family. Thanks, all of you family! I appreciate ya!

Becky's Undergraduate Graduation -- Undergraduation?

So Becky graduated in April.

 Ready to go off and bear the torch, and all that.

I don't think Mom had told Dad how much a college education costs.

He started going around asking for donations.

He did get one.

I think he felt better after that, so we went and got something to eat. We stopped in the sculpture garden on the way there.

We also got a picture with President and Sister Samuelson.

It was all really fun. Thanks for graduating, Becks!

*Disclaimer: Because I have a compulsive need for complete accuracy (as far as possible), no matter how little anyone cares or how much it may have been obvious in the first place, I must add that Dad did know how much education costs, that I have no memory of why he was pretending to ask for donations, and that most of these pictures are out of order.

Adventures as a Substitute Teacher

I started taking classes again at our community college in January, this time taking prerequisites for a nursing degree. Only one of my classes that semester was not online, and I had to attend in person only two days a week, so I thought I might as well try to be a substitute teacher on the days I didn't have class.  (Income and all that; you might not guess it, but I'm actually a fan.) I applied, jumped through all the paperwork hoops, was hired, and started working in April. I got far more days than I anticipated. In fact, once my college finals were over I substituted every day, although not always for the full day, for the rest of the school year.

I wonder why they don't give you any training.

I did:
10 days at the high school
5 days at a middle school
9 days at elementary schools

High school was by far the easiest. I suppose that was partially because I figured they were old enough that they knew what was expected of them and could be responsible for the consequences of doing their work or not doing it. The lesson plans the teachers left also tended to be simpler to implement, and often I would set them to do their work and then would read, looking up now and then to warn them to knock the noise level down a notch. Or to tell them to put the electric drill away and stop lancing empty soda cans -- you know -- depending on the class, (I wish I were joking on that).

Middle school was alright.

But I wonder why it is that all middle schoolers seem to think it is incumbent upon them to make paper airplanes whenever there's a sub. I'm pretty sure they think it's their job.

A troubled-looking kid in one of the special ed class in middle school was busy playing a game on his phone one day, and I told him (because he had answered several of my questions pretty intelligently) that if he worked on his math maybe he could grow up and design games someday. He told me he already knew what he wanted to be.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I can't tell you," he said significantly. "But my dad took me to this special place once, and that's what I'm going to be. That's why I'm playing this, because," he said very quietly, "it's an assassin's academy."

Alrighty then. He said straight-up later when he polled the class on their career plans that he wanted to be an assassin when he grew up, and work for the government, I think. (I suppose that's better than being a freelance assassin, which is what I was thinking originally.) And, uh, it's good to have goals, I guess.

Elementary school is exhausting. I did three days in a row of Kindergarten, and by the last day I came home and lay on the floor for the rest of the day, too tired even to watch a movie for most of it.

Elementary kids are sort of entertaining, though. One of the kids in 3rd grade came up and asked me quite seriously, "Are you from another dimension?"

No, kid, but I'm pretty sure all you guys are.

One of my Kindergarteners would constantly be coming up to me saying, "Teacher, he's telling on me! He said he was going to tell on me!" (which the other kid never did; I think he might have figured out a system here.)

After that one of the "helpful" girls in the classroom would always join in (in exactly the same whiny voice), "He's telling, too! He's telling on him telling! He's telling on him telling!"

I guess they haven't covered irony yet in Kindergarten.

Helpful kids were often as difficult as the kids who just wanted to goof off. My Kindergarteners would often want to get out their whiteboards and draw after they finished their work, (or as soon as anyone else had finished their work and pulled out theirs), and a couple of them helped themselves to the foamy erasers at the front of the room to wipe their boards with. Then a kid or two asked me if they could get an eraser, too. I said yes. And then one of the "helpful" kids said, "We're not supposed to use those!"

I kind of shrugged and told her I thought it would be okay.

"No! We're not supposed to use those!"

And then she went around and tried to confiscate the erasers from all the kids who had them, in spite of me telling her to sit down. And then other kids tried to help her, while several of the kids held on tight to the erasers. "She said I could use it!" they wailed.

And it ended up, as it usually does, in a wrestling match on the floor. And tears. I think I had a kid cry at least once in every elementary class I taught. It seemed pretty constant.

Sadly, these disturbances did not make a difference in the average classroom noise level. I think elementary children have an inherent fear of rockets, and they like to keep the noise loud enough that if one blasted off from next door, they wouldn't hear it. Or something like that.

Being a substitute, especially in elementary school, usually made me feel incompetent. Classroom management is an art I have no skill in, and I would often goof on school procedures, too. Several times I would do something like go out to supervise the kids at recess and would tell the other sub to go use the bathroom if she needed to, only to be grumpily told off by another teacher that there needed to be two teachers out with the kids at all times. Whoops.

Of course, I don't blame her for being grumpy. Constant disciplining tends to make you that way; I realized that I had become less smiley and more abrupt after a few days in elementary school. What compels people to work there every day?

On a related note, I didn't think I could make my voice go very loud. Turns out, I can get as loud and grumpy a yell out of my throat as any elementary teacher I ever met. Who knew.

Like with most jobs, there was some good and some bad. I have several sweet memories, too, and I understand a lot better about the school systems, public education, and teachers. So I count it as a good experience.

And, let's face it, I got lots of good stories.

Gratitude

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and do a thankfulness post while it was still November. This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but these are a few of the things that make me glad to be alive.

1. My family. This one is mandatory for this sort of list, particularly when most of my readership is family, but it's very heartfelt also. I love my family -- my brothers and sisters, my nieces and nephews, my cousins and aunts and uncles, and my parents. They're wonderfully supportive, fun, and inspiring. I also very much love our family's in-law club. The club makes me laugh whenever I think of its exclusive membership and quirky traditions; and I'm so glad they're a part of our family now!

2. My religion. I'm so grateful for the Church, for scripture, for prayer, for prophets and temples, and for the knowledge that a just and loving God cares about me and my family. This brings me great peace. I can't imagine my life without it.

3. My friends. I had a difficult time forming friendships as a child (and sometimes as an adult), and I think this has made me particularly grateful for the friends I have. They're wonderful, and each one adds a richness to my life that would be lacking without him or her. (That's the problem with the "each one" construction; we get into this nonsensical him/her stuff. But I can't just put "him," either, because Travis would wiggle his eyebrows significantly, and I think it best to avoid that.)

4. My gifts. This may sound a bit conceited, but I'm happy to be who I am. I know I'm not the world's most beautiful, intelligent, talented, or angelic person, but that's okay. I appreciate what I do have. I decided a long time ago not to waste my life wishing I had someone else's figure, or hair, or life, or whatever. When I'm old and dumpy, with no teeth and little hair, I want to look back and remember that I appreciated my health and looks while I had them. And although I hope by then to have increased in wisdom and virtue, I still think it's good for me to remember that I do have some already. I'm lucky to have many people in my life who love me accept me for who I am and what I can become, and I do, too.

5. Beauty. Seeing beauty fills my heart with happiness. And so many things are beautiful, if we stop and think about it. A few things I think are beautiful are flowers, trees, and sunshine; truth, loyalty, and sacrifice; quilts, clothes, and paintings; books, movies, and music; puppies, birds, and babies; loved ones, friends, and strangers. It's true that there are many ugly things in this world, but it is also a world of beauty, and that's what I choose to remember.

6. Things that make me laugh. For example, if you turn on our kitchen sink just right, you can spray someone sitting at the dining room table ten feet away. Perhaps someday that ought to be fixed, but in the meantime, it always makes me laugh. (Not that I have actually intentionally gotten anyone with it, yet, but I always forget, and then I laugh when I turn it on and -- remember.)

Well, there's a lot more, but I think that's sufficient for now. Happy late Thanksgiving, everyone! And happy start of the holiday season! (So exciting! It's nice to be in the US for this time of year!)

The Hobbit

I think most of the people who read this blog are family. And most of them would probably find this interesting, so I'll post it here.

Okay. Now what?

One of my earliest memories is escaping from my bedroom at nap time (I think I had to get out of a crib, but I could be making that up), going into the next room, and defiantly announcing to Mom that I was "too old to take naps!"

Mom barely looked up as she said, "Okay."

That threw me off balance. I'd been expecting to have to fight about it. I thought I'd probably get put back into my room and I'd have to escape again. I assumed I'd spend the whole hour campaigning for a free nap time, and here I was suddenly given what I wanted with comparatively no effort at all.

I went out of the room and thought to myself, "Okay. Now what?"

Today I went to my last college class. I'm going to graduate in a week and a half, and I feel just like I did when I was suddenly given my hour of nap time to use how I wanted. People ask me if I'm excited, and I suppose I am, but somehow I feel more disconcerted, like the fight to get what I wanted was over before I expected, before I had time to dream what I was going to do when I was free.

No worries, though, everyone. I'm sure I'll figure out how to keep myself occupied. There's always something else to fight for.

We're Home

So, I suppose late is better than never to update about everything. We're all home from India now. Mom, Dad, and our sister Cindy came out to Vizag on Thanksgiving Day, and the next day Becky and I went with them to tour around India for a month. We got back to the States just before Christmas. Perhaps sometime I'll write a bit more about that month, but that probably won't happen for a while. We'll see.