Testing

(If at any point this post gets too long... I made a summary at the bottom. Just for your convenience <3)>

So I had an epiphany the other day.
First, story for you.

I was giving out a test to my kids. It wasn't a big deal. I just needed to know what they already knew and what I needed to teach. I passed out the tests and one of my kids started having a stress out. I really thought he might cry. I tried to calm him down...

"buddy, this is going to be ok. I just need you to try your best and it will just tell me what we still need to work on."
"What if I don't know the answer?"
"Then we can work on it together and figure it out. It will be ok, I promise"

We took the test. He may or may not have failed...

This is the thing. I love him more for it. I get to spend a little extra time with him and we'll figure it out and I'll be pushed to be a better teacher because I will figure out a different way to explain a concept that seems simple enough to me. He'll figure it out. I know he will. It may take time, but we have time. It's only October.

Ephiphany.
Maybe I'm this kid sometimes. I'm not saying that I'm going through this hard test or I'm depressed or anything. I'm actually loving my life a lot right now. But it's a universal concept I think. Tests come along. I can imagine Heavenly Father looking down at all of us-his little class of struggling students- and just saying "it's going to be ok. Just try your best and it will just tell me what we need to work on. If you don't do well we'll work together and figure it out." We might cry a little. We might stress out. The fact of the matter is though, that we have time to figure it out and we'll try to see another side of the same concept and we'll spend a little time on our knees, working out things we don't understand with our Heavenly Father.

This is my favorite part. Like I said, as a teacher, you really grow closest to the kids who you know are having a hard time with a concept. You think about them all the time and how to reach them how they need to learn. Then, you just love them that much more. And I think that's a hard thing for me to grasp as the other party. I think that if I don't get something done exactly right that people might get mad or upset... like my facilitator at school when my class is noisy in the halls, or my bishop when relief society doesn't have a piano player or two people to pray before the moment of... but ya know, I think it's probably a lot like teaching. These people know I'm trying. My Heavenly Father knows I'm trying. They all love me a lot. And the thing is, I might fail. It's a possibility. But because I'm trying, they love me more. Just like I love my students that much more.

Ya know, it makes me excited to be a mom one day. I bet they have these epiphanies with their kids all the time. I mean, my kids right now are really not even mine if we're being honest... haha and I just love them so much.

Summary if this was waaay too long of a post to read the whole thing:
I love being a teacher.
I love epiphanies.
I love my life.
And I love figuring out truths that make life o so happy
<3>

Top 5

Updates.

1. Hair Cut!!!
I chopped off all my hair. I really really like it. It is a. so much faster to do every morning and b. a much needed change :)









2. Class Pet!!!
(yes. you get 3 exclamation points for each. that's how excited I am.)
Clint and I went to Petsmart and I got a fire belly toad for my classroom. I love it despite the fact that I have to feed Mr. Tiki (the name my class came up with) live, yes LIVE crickets everyday. The things I sacrifice for my kiddos ;)
3. Cute Boy!!!
You may have noticed. I talk about this boy named Clint all the time... that's because he is my boyfriend. And I'm loving my life having him back from his mission! We dated freshman year and he left for Brazil for two years to serve a mission. I didn't tell him I'd wait for him and consequently only got like 5 letters in two years... but HE'S BACK!! I'm really happy. He is so so sweet. He is from Idaho, going to BYU studying genetics and biotechnology and he is basically a track star for BYU. He throws shotput and discus (which means he's very strong). I like him a lot and here are a few reasons why.

1. He is always telling me how lucky he is to have me around.
2. He is really really good at calming me down when I have stress attacks. (stress is a part of my life... see #4)
3. He stayed with me all day last Saturday while I went to the hospital (see #4) which meant he missed the football game that BYU actually won for the first time since the first game of the season.
4. He makes me laugh, and smile, and I feel so so comfortable being around him.
5. He was a really good sport when I dragged him country dancing last night... even though that's really not his scene. :)
6. I feel like I come first, like he just will do anything to make me happy, just by how he looks at me <3>
ok. enough with the sappy stuff. Point is, I like this boy :)

4. ER visit!!!
(ok, not excited about this, but it had to follow the pattern)
So about a week ago I was up all night with horrible abdominal pains. Mostly, I wanted to cut my stomach out... it really didn't seem like an important enough organ to go through that kind of pain. I went to the doctor the next day and got put on the worst diet ever. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast and Yogurt. BRATY diet. Believe me, after a week of eating these things, that's how you want to act to anyone who can eat anything else. It was kinda working, then a few days later, the pains came back and I landed in the ER. I got hooked up to an IV and got some morphine- weirdest feeling ever... and felt fine enough to leave. It's been slightly uncomfortable, but Clint keeps me sticking to my diet (except that one time when I convinced him that the only way to make me happy was for us to go to the creamery and get my favorite ice cream... it was absolutely necessary to cheat that day haha) and since it's apparently due to stress in my life- I don't know why I would be stressed...- he also keeps me from doing a thousand things at once. I hear very frequently "Alissa, you can't do everything. Can you give this to someone else to do?" He offers to be that someone else all the time and is always so sweet about helping me. anywho, I'm sick, but it's getting better :)

5. Fall Break!!!
One of the many perks about being a teacher is that I get all the holidays off plus some!! Love that! This weekend is a 4 day weekend due to something I never dealt with as a young child in California. Hunting and Harvesting. Go figure. Who knew people took time off work and life to spend days at a time hunting deer and moose and pick crops and who knows what else, but apparently it's important enough to take the kids out of school too. I'm ok with this because it gives me 2 stress free, lesson plan free days to recooperate.

I love my life <3>