Living the Dream

One Saturday when I was helping to clean the ward, I asked the man in charge how he was doing.  He looked me in the eye and said, "Living the dream."  I have taken that and used it as my own response when people ask me how I am doing.

I was talking to Robin yesterday at Amanda's wedding and I explained that it was really good that I went to East Germany on my mission.  On my mission, I learned to appreciate the bare necessities.  I remember the apartment where we had to build fires to keep warm.  I remember the split where there was a VERY limited amount of hot/warm water.  I remember the month in a new companionship when the companion had already spent most of her money for the month before she was transferred and we survived on the money that I had left for that month.  Then there was the other companion that spent all her money and I once again helped our companionship float until the next month.  These were all experiences that formed who I am.  I expect little and am appreciative for anything and everything. 

So how does this all tie in?  Well, things are pretty stressful right now.  But I can still say I am living the dream.  I have running hot and cold water.  I have heat and electricity.  My family is healthy (maybe not mentally, but that is a subject for another time).  I have a job.  We have food.  We are very blessed. 

So Tired

I went to bed at 7:00 PM last night and I didn't wake up until 10:00 AM this morning. Then I took a three hour nap today.  I know it is from depression.  I need to get on top of this. 

Life Changing Events

After 18 years of working at the church, Don quit his job September 1st.  He says the atmosphere has been far from heavenly.  It was hard for him to work with the individuals in the office.  Don has been elated to be away from his job.  He has been working hard at home trying to clean the house and keep everyone fed. 

One might ask how I am taking it...I am in survival mode.  I know that Don needed to get a different job.  It just seemed like such a toxic atmosphere. But the stress that I feel is overpowering.  I now carry the benefits for the family.  I am stressed with the knowledge that I am the sole provider for the family when I just don't feel like a mother should have to work.  I really think that when Don gets another job, he will make more than he was and it will be better for our family in the long run. 

The contrast between Don's and my stress are very divergent.  Don feels happy for the first time in a long time.  I, on the other hand, have been very grumpy and short with people.  I have had a headache all week.  I went in to InstaCare yesterday and I have a UTI infection.  I switched our insurance to my name and they couldn't find me in the system at InstaCare and at the pharmacy.  I finally just payed cash to get the antibiotics. 

I stayed up all night because I didn't feel well and I took today off.  Hopefully I will feel better by tomorrow because I have no choice but to be at the top of my game.

Dr. Lew Gardner

After my last post, I am a little afraid of posting.  There were so many strong reactions on Facebook, that I am hesitant.  But yet, here I am.  I want to focus this post on the stress teachers are facing.  Here's hoping that people will understand what I am trying to get across.

Being a teacher has its ups and downs.  I truly love teaching.  I could do without the negativity and criticism that I face daily.  I know I am not alone in this matter.

I worked in the SLCSD from 1995-2007 before I came back to the district last year.  Back them I had my teaching degree, but worked as a Family Support Specialist working as a liaison between families and Government programs.  I remember a specific principal that everyone praised.  He was being moved to a position at the district and everyone was ecstatic.  We were going to have someone at the district that had been down in the trenches with the best of them and knew what it was like.  I am being non-specific for a reason, as I still work for the district.

Fast forward to today.  This is my seventh year of teaching.  I have worked with some great principals and some terrible principals.  The great ones have always been positive and focused on what I was doing right and how to get better.  The terrible principals were negative and found only negative things to say, squelching my enthusiasm.  I have always been a better teacher the years that I have supportive principals. 

Of the seven years I have taught, I have had a great principal for two years.  One year my principal was okay.  Four of the years, I have worked with terrible, mean people.  This year is one of the great years.  So I have nothing but praises for Dr. Lew Gardner. 

Ogden Temple

We went to the Ogden Temple open house today.  We were pleasantly surprised after the fiasco at the Brigham City Temple.  It was a perfect day and a good time to spend time with my family.

When we went to the Brigham City one it was poorly planned.  They had the line go through a parking garage and showed the video there in the boiling garage.  There was a girl in front of us that actually passed out.  Then it was very crowded in the temple itself.  So many people came back from that open house with the stories of great experiences, but not my family.

The Ogden Temple open house was much better.  They had the video in the Conference Center.  Then there was plenty of room for people to walk through the temple.  I was able to take my family though vaguely explaining each room.  I love the Celestial Room.  Zander wanted to touch the water in the baptismal font.  Don wanted to talk to the temple recorder.  Kyath asked questions.  Porter is at scout camp, so he missed it.  Dresden just wanted to keep the booties afterwards.  They even had a spot in the visitors tent where we were able to take a picture of our family in front of a huge picture. 

Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. was an enlightening experience for me.  It was easy to get stressed out by all the crowds and things to see.  That was one of the best things about being there with my mom.  We didn't feel like we had to see everything.  It was our vacation and we could do as we pleased.

Our hotel was within walking distance of a Safeway.  We were able to go there and buy food items and keep them in the hotel.  We expected it to be expensive, but they were priced pretty similar to the prices we see at home.  They had a huge breakfast bar every morning and the lobby was crowded with people each morning.  I don't think mom and I ate one breakfast together because according to her, I slept in.  She was an early riser and was downstairs by 6:30 most mornings.  I usually went down around 8:30.  

Mom and I spent the first day taking the Big Bus Tour.  Is is a bus that goes throughout the city and has stops along the way.  They gave out headphones and rain ponchos.  There are four different routes it takes.  We went on the yellow route into Georgetown.  We stopped to find somewhere to use a bathroom and ended up walking down a hill.  My mom reminded me that there was no way we could get back up the hill.  I panicked when I couldn't find another Big Bus to get on.  After I looked and looked, one finally came by and we flagged it down.  Pheew! 

We also went on the red bus which led us to the Ford Theater among other things.  We found a cute little diner right across from it.  We were surprised when we ordered Coke and they brought us a can with a cup and ice.

It was really hard to find fountain drinks in D.C.  I drove my mom crazy by going on a wild goose chase in the evening looking for my daily Coke.  One night I walked all the way to Walgreens because I was assured by a mail carrier that they had one.  I pulled out a cup and went to fill it.  All of the Coke products were gone.  I think they only thing left was Sprite.  I couldn't believe it. Another day I walked and walked and never did find one.  The last night I thought about going to Safeway.  I almost kicked myself when I saw that they had Coke and it was right by our hotel.  All those nights I spent searching and I could have just gone to Safeway. 

We had an appointment to see the Capitol on Sunday.  A Big Bus operator told us that the capitol is never open on a Sunday and so we didn't end up going.  We figured she would know better than we did and that they had made the appointment by mistake.  Later we found out the Capitol was open and we could have gone.  I was not happy.  We went to the Capital the next day and went through the visitors center.  I really wish we could have seen inside. 

We made sure to see all the monuments.  There was a green bus that actually drove us around to all of them.  They are farther apart than you would think.  As we were driving to the Pentagon I took some pictures.  Then the recording on the bus told everyone that is is against the law to take pictures of the Pentagon.  I quickly put my camera away.  The recording said it was for security purposes.  Mom and I thought it was interesting that when you look at the Pentagon you can't really tell that it is in the shape of the Pentagon.  By the time they announced it, it was too late to look at the shape.  I wished the bus would have driven by the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon, but instead the recording just mentioned it as we drove away.

The last day we went to the National Archives and the Air and Space Museum.  Mom and I actually went in the back and registered with the National Archives.  We spent some time researching on the computer and were issued identification cards.  There were links to genealogy sites that are open to the public.  I really think mom enjoyed our visit there. 

In case you were wondering, the other bus was the blue bus.  We took that as well.  I couldn't leave you hanging.

The thing that amazed me most was seeing so many Government buildings in one area.  It put my vision of the United States of America in a different light.  Washington D.C. is so much smaller than I thought it would be.  But at the same time, I didn't feel like I was among Government officials until we were by the Capitol.  It makes all the Presidential scandals seem so hard to believe, but so real at the same time.  On the bus tour they would point to a hotel and explain how this was the hotel where President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky would meet.  They pointed to another and said Martin Luther King Jr. stayed there the night before he delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech.  One of the hotels was where Lincoln stayed.  Washington D.C.  is such a historical hotspot.  It was a life changing experience to actually be there.

I will add pictures in a few days.

Williamsburg, Virginia

In June I had the honor of going with my mom to Washington D.C.  I have always wanted to go and was actually planning on going when I found out my mom was planning a trip as well.  We went together and I will always hold on to the memory because it was so special.

My mom and I flew into Williamsburg, Virginia.  We spent three days there with my niece and nephew Cami and Derrick Struksma and their daughter Zoe.  My brother Dan was nice enough to let us use three nights of his timeshare.  It was five minutes away from Cami and Derrick and was like a studio apartment with two bedrooms.  Our back patio looked out into a field.

I was excited to spend time with Cami because she is so fun and easy to get along with.  Cami and Derrick have a fun relationship that entails a lot of teasing and sarcasm.  They are both highly intelligent, sociable, and amazing people.  When it comes right down to it, Cami and Derrick are truly meant for each other.  

We spent our time in Virginia visiting Williamsburg, Jamestown, and William and Mary College.

Williamsburg was full of historical buildings and enchanting town actors.  I was excited to buy a whistle that was handmade there in Williamsburg.  I plan to use it to call my students attention in school.  There was a lot of walking there and I made mom walk further than she should have so that I could send a postcard to my family right from the Williamsburg post office.  There were shoe maker shops, seamstress shops,  and gardens.  Cami explained that all of the people actually make things how they were made back in colonial Williamsburg times.  They used antiquated tools, out of date technology, and historic methods.  Cami and I went off to find a bathroom.  That was about the time she told Zoe there was a frog in the grass next to her and Zoe started to run for her life.  There is a story about Cami, Zoe, and a frog from earlier in the month that you just have to hear Cami tell because it is hysterical.

Mom and I took a train from Williamsburg to Washington D.C.  It was difficult boarding the train, finding seats, and stowing our luggage.  I really thought someone would take pity on us and help us out, but it was a fend for yourself type atmosphere.  A kind lady offered to change seats so that mom and I could sit together.  When we arrived at the D.C. train station we were more than overwhelmed.  We did not know where our hotel was or the best way to get there.  We decided on taking a taxi and were relived when he loaded and unloaded the luggage for us.

Next post will be about Washington D.C.