The Highs and the Lows

The past week has been long, so long. Last Saturday we were in lockdown all day because of a nearby shooting and subsequent manhunt which was, unfortunately, unsuccessful. The police lifted the lockdown just in time for Daniel, Nathan and I to head out to the opera. We was “Moby-Dick.” It was composed in 2010 and was definitely a modern opera. I’m not a fan of modern music because it lacks the structure, the form of more classical music. It doesn’t go where my brain or my ears expect it to go and it leaves me feeling vaguely unsettled and as if, even though the curtain has dropped, there was something lacking. Give me a good old I-IV-V-V7-I chord progression any day! So it felt like one of the longest operas I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen Wagner so that’s saying something!

Monday was Nathan’s audition for this year’s school musical, “The Music Man.” He was anxious all weekend, half excited and half nervous. He felt like he did well at his audition and then the waiting game started. He had to wait for the remainder of the auditions to happen on Tuesday before the callback list would be posted. Needless to say, he wasn’t focusing well.

Tuesday and Wednesday were jam packed with Matthew’s geography bee (still so proud of him!), Dare graduation and Arrow of Light ceremony. At 2:29 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, one minute before school was supposed to end, I got a text from Nathan saying that the middle school had gone into lockdown. Kevin was waiting at middle school seminary building so he could take Nathan to the dentist and he saw the cops shoving kids back into the church as they headed out to go back to the school or home. Needless to say, Nathan was pretty tense. It is not every day that the school goes into lockdown when it is definitely not a drill. They were only in lockdown for about twenty minutes, but in that time we also received the automated call letting us know that the elementary school was in lockdown as well. We found out later that the lockdowns had been a precautionary measure as the police executed an operation that resulted in the arrest of three people though to be connected to Saturday’s shooter, although the shooter was still at large. Due to the lockdown, any after school activities at the middle school were cancelled so Tuesday’s musical auditions got pushed to Wednesday which meant the publishing of the callback list was postponed as well…which didn’t help Nathan’s state of mind. On Wednesday the shooter was finally caught and honestly, I think the whole neighborhood heaved a sigh of relief.

On Wednesday evening, Daniel participated in Battle of the Bands at the high school. It was not very well planned or publicized this year and as such there were only two bands participating, but his band won first place and while it was fairly anticlimactic due to the lack of many competitors, he gets a share in the prize money and was pleased about that.

On Thursday I had a niece head into surgery to get a recently discovered, very large cyst removed. Everything went well, but it did add to the general stress of the week. Nathan had callbacks for which he was again, excited and nervous. And once he came home, the waiting began again. The drama teacher at the middle school posts the cast list online the evening of callbacks and he came home and started playing what they call “the refresh game,” the constant refreshing of the webpage to see if the list is up yet. Those three hours were very long for him, but he has no idea what it was like in the olden days when we had to wait for a week and then showed up at school to see the cast list posted on the drama room door. Finding out at home means everyone can cry out their disappointments without the audience of all the other students. Anyway, he was anxiously awaiting the posting of the list which finally happened around 9 p.m. And heading up the list was Nathan, playing Professor Harold Hill! He is super excited! I’m super excited! We’re all super excited! His phone was going crazy as people reached out to offer congrats!

So it has been a busy week around here. We’ve had some stresses and anxious moments. But we’ve also had an amazing week full of triumphs for all three boys. I’m glad that the week is nearly over though. I need to catch up on my sleep…and my house cleaning.

Sisterly Love

When Malia said her prayers tonight, she thanked Heavenly Father for all the awards Matthew has won this week. How sweet is that? 😊

Let’s Go for Three!

Matthew has had a very busy week. This evening he received his Arrow of Light!

Geography Bee-ming

Matthew was in the school geography bee last year. He answered his first two questions wrong and was eliminated. He was in the school geography bee this year as well, one of two kids from his class. But he did not get his first two questions wrong. In fact, he was the only participant whose answers did not sound like questions. As the number of kids was whittled down, I started getting nervous for him. He looked totally cool until the 5th round (of 7) but I was a ball of nerves. When the numbers had dwindled from 30 to 9, I gave him the “you made it to the top 9, that is awesome!” pep talk, preparing him to be eliminated in one of the final two, much harder, rounds. But he definitely proved me wrong. He continued on and was the first place winner!

His class cheered him heartily all the way through the bee, but when they got to the end, the entire gym (grades 4-6 plus teachers and parents) erupted in applause and cheers. One of my favorite book quotes is from “Wonder,” by R.J. Palacio: “I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.” Today was Matthew’s day. It was magnificent and brought this proud mother to tears (not that it is particularly difficult to do so, but still).

I’m so stinking proud of Matthew. Daniel and Nathan have both won a variety of honors over the years and they seem to be perpetually in the limelight. Coming after them can be a challenge. I’m a third child as well, so I totally understand how challenging it can be to come after successful siblings. But Matthew just made his own mark on the world, had a great success in something neither of his brothers ever have. From here, he takes a written test and if he scores in the top 50% of statewide school winners, he will go on to the State Geography Bee. Fingers crossed! But no matter how he performs from here, I’m proud, so proud of his hard work and this fabulous accomplishment. 😊

Parent Approved Sluffing

In our area, fifth graders participate in the Dare program. It is funded and run by the unified police and teaches kids about substance abuse, peer pressure, and stress and provides them with some training in problem solving and decision making associated with those kinds of situations. For the kids who participate and complete an essay at the end telling what they have learned there is a graduation ceremony. This morning was Matthew’s Dare graduation. The officer assigned to our elementary school as well as the police chief and several other officers were in attendance (and due to a local man hunt that started on Saturday and was ongoing they all looked totally exhausted) to congratulate the kids.

After the graduation, the kids were treated to a field trip to Texas Roadhouse. The local location of this restaurant gives all Dare classes a tour of the kitchens, lunch, and teaches them some line dancing. Unfortunately, this particular restaurant serves peanuts on the tables and encourages tossing of peanut shells on the floor to be swept up at the end of the day. As such, it is a literal death trap for anyone allergic to peanuts. I felt like Matthew deserved a reward for completing the Dare program and since he couldn’t participate in the reward that all the other kids had, I checked him out of school and we went to the movies instead. It was far better than having Matthew sit at the school while the other kids had a great time. It was also far better than mopping the floors, which is what I would have been doing instead. And to top it all off, Matthew got to see “The Greatest Showman” before his older brothers. 😉

Just One of a Million Reasons Why We Love Our Elementary Music Specialist

What’s the First Naked-Teeth-Only Food to Eat Post-Braces?

Caramel apples, of course. 😊

How Do You Turn a Mediocre Day into a Spectacular Day?

You go to the dentist for your semi-annual cleaning and checkup and the dentist decides it is time for the braces to come off.

He’s teeth (and everything else) have come a long way!

August 2016

A Happier Birthday

Last year I was under such emotional strain on my birthday that I literally felt sick. I couldn’t have eaten cake even if I had wanted to. It was one of those birthdays I never want to repeat and will probably never forget. This year I had a pleasant day.  And I got cake. And it was delicious. That’s how a birthday is supposed to go.