Misjudging the Snowy Season

   This morning I woke up early and went out to scrape the walks in the dewy morning light from the snow that fell, literally, all day yesterday. It was beautiful and crisp and fresh and the whole world felt magically new and pristine. It was just light enough that the sky is that foggy-gray color without any sunlight peeping through yet. 
   As I was shoveling I was thinking about a couple different things. A) How beautiful it is early in the morning. B) The fact that I may get stronger arms and shoulders from it- always excellent. C) The peace that comes from just being by yourself with your own thoughts to start out the day. D) Writing a blog about the idea that maybe snow isn't all that cold after all (If you have the right clothes and are doing something active) and that maybe I've been misjudging it all this time and should really give things a second chance this winter. 
   After I finished I went inside, got ready (the hot shower was blessed), and was leaving for work, my neighbor was outside helping his wife into their car. We exchanged good mornings and I thought he would head back inside, but instead he stayed out and said he'd wait to be sure I didn't get stuck. He waited for a few minutes while I scraped my windows and gathered my stuff and then he made sure I got onto the cleared road before he waved goodbye and went inside. What a beautiful example of brotherly love and service. How kind it was of him to wait to be sure I was safe and didn't get stuck in the snow plow's drift. 
   I used to dread the coming of winter- the only really good thing about it was that you can sit by a window and watch the beauty of snow as you drink hot chocolate and read. Yesterday and today though, I noticed how much service is naturally given in the snow. I scraped the walks for my neighbors and my neighbors scraped our walks later. Windows were scraped without being asked and snow was swept off the top of cars long before it was actually needed. Girls were helped to cross snow drifts in heels and arms were offered to help each other from slipping. Advice is freely given and warnings are shared. Cookies are accepted and people admit to needing help, which is freely and lovingly given. The warmth of homes is enjoyed a little more. The hello's of passerby's are more readily returned. 

Dear Winter, I'm sorry for misjudging you and not seeing the beauty you bring out in people. You have your not-so-pretty parts too, like all of us do, but you are beautiful in many, many ways. 

Thank you

Shining Moments

Today it seems like winter is officially here. Not only am I sad that the cold, frozen months presented themselves, but I'm also sad that the crisp fall months are saying farewell. However, there have been some absolutely beautiful, shining moments that have lit up my cloudy sky with brilliant sunshine. 

1

This morning, one of my friends, Derek, stopped by the school to say a quick hello before classes started. Not only was I super surprised (he lives in Washington), but so glad. It brightened my whole morning to see him unexpectedly step into my doorway. He has a smile that can light up absolutely any situation and I feel all sorts of lucky in being able to see it!

2

As we were dancing I was able to look out the doors and see the rain turn to snow. There's something magical about dancing while watching the snow fall outside. It also reminds me of countless days at BYU-Idaho rehearsing... and those are always fabulous memories to bring back.

3

Last night I went on a walk and it was the perfect fall evening. How lucky is it that the night before winter comes I was able to stroll around Sugarhouse with perfect weather and perfect conversation? I thought about it all day long- it's always nice to be able to say goodbye properly to a season and usually I don't quite get around to it. 

4

There was a voicemail on my phone at work and after taking a few minutes to figure out how on earth to check it, I listened and it wasn't for me. So happy! I was able to hit the 'Mark as New' button and send an email off to another teacher who needed to take care of it. Whew!

5

I received a couple of emails today that just made me smile. I check my email in the middle of my classes while my students are working independently because it's the only free time I have. And today, waiting for me in the midst of the craziness were a few moments of total warmth and comfort. 

So very, very lovely! Thank you.

"I panicked!"

Students aren't allowed to chew gum; students who choose to go against this rule and are caught with gum get sent to the office to get a lunch detention slip. Being me, I have a hard time sending kids out for detentions. (Partly this is because I'm just a softie, but mostly it's because they'll be out of class for ten minutes while they get the  paperwork and lecture and etc., and they end up missing so much that they never catch up.) Anyway, today one of my students was chewing gum. I told him to spit it out and he did. Less than five minutes later he was chewing gum again. (May I mention that it was bright blue gum that was extremely strong smelling and he is completely unable to chew without opening his mouth widely...) This particular student knew not to push me twice- I usually bend the rules once, but twice and they're out. I told him to spit out his gum and he tried to lie and say he didn't have any. I told him the color and flavor and his face just lit into this shocked look of "How did she know?" And then........      He swallowed it. Blatantly. He and I just kept staring at one another. Finally I asked, "Did you really just swallow it?!" He looked at me, frozen, and blurted out, 

"I panicked! I didn't know what to do!" 

I then put my head in my hands and broke out laughing (while sending him to the office for a lunch detention of course). He tries to lie all the time about trivial things, but he can't help but blurt out the truth every once in a while and it just cracks me up. And yes, I'm still laughing about it- I hope you see the humor. :) 

Election Day

First of all, you need to understand that I absolutely love being in Glenwood precinct. I love being able to go down and vote for the elections I really care about and research well. Usually I figure time out enough that I can vote early, however this year, somehow, time just zipped  by me and I found myself on November 1st without having made it to the Richfield County Building.

Last night I was considering running down to Richfield to vote this afternoon after school. I needed to stop by UVU anyway, I thought, and if I left right after school, I could make it, right? Unfortunately, two of my students decided to choose today to tell their parents they needed to work on homework for my class after school. What was I supposed to do? Tell them I actually had a life outside of school? (One that consists of driving hours to vote... nothing they'd be impressed with anyways.) Thus, at 4:45 I was still sitting at school helping them with vocabulary and how to format an essay. Very good things, but... voting just wasn't going to happen.

Thankfully the political equivalent of a knight in shining armor, Chris Wharton, called to remind me to vote and told me I could do a provisional ballot. Woohoo! I had to miss dance class and went to three different places looking for a place to vote before finally finding one at Highland High. There was a line at least thirty people long and I spent far longer than I planned there, but I finally voted. Success! I can keep harping on the importance of voting to my students without being hypocritical. Whew!

Just a side note, I think it usually happens that my vote is the kiss of death for candidates- they never seem to win. I've considered voting for the candidates I don't like to see if it will work inversely, but my political drive just won't quite let me go there. haha