Piano Recital 2016

Elizabeth's piano teacher held her annual recital for her students this morning. This short, sweet, informal affair is in a Mesa retirement community's multi-purpose room. Parents, siblings, and some grandparents enjoy the show given by five to twelve year old children. Though today, Miss Leslie started the recital with a performance of her own.

My friend Leslie has had a couple of difficult years lately. She and her husband divorced, and I get the impression that it was pretty nasty. But she seems to be in a very positive place now despite being a single mother of four who's finishing her degree during the day and teaching piano in the evenings. I mention all this because before she played today, she explained how she's really been working with her students on playing with expression. Rather than simply playing the music as it's written on the page like old school piano teachers, Leslie encourages students to really get a feel for the music and make it their own. She puts an emphasis on dynamics and tempo changes, and it really makes a difference in her students' performances. She also makes them memorize their pieces, and I love that!

Maybe just in case her students were too nervous today to remember to play with expression, Leslie's voice quivered as she told us that she loves to play this particular song when she's feeling very emotional. Then she sat down at the piano and played by example with lots of expression. And I cried. So you know it was good. She's very talented.

Most of Leslie's students are very young, and Elizabeth was the oldest today.

I'm thankful she isn't one of those big kids who never practices and lets everyone down at the recital. We saw that often with Elizabeth's old piano teacher. After listening to the likes of Ode to Joy and Greensleeves, you're ready for a more impressive piece and are excited when the pre-teen sits down at the piano. Unfortunately, some kids are forced to take lessons by their parents and don't practice at least a decent amount of time. Elizabeth's no virtuoso and she had a couple nervous flubs like everyone else does at these things, but when today's recital ended several parents came up to her and complimented her on her playing. That was really nice for her. And for us, too.

Here's her performance of Brazilian Holiday if you'd like to hear it.

A Sub's Mental Health Day

Fourth quarter is a long quarter. There are not many holidays, the kids are going nuts as summer approaches, and the teachers are burned out. A common teacher coping strategy is to take mental health days, so I've been working quite a bit lately. This was a full week.

Today, I had a hard time in third grade. It's a difficult class. Some of the students are very chatty. Some of the students are very lazy. Some of the students are very defiant and talk back. I'm not good at dealing with any of those things and being forced to face the tough combination of all three was too much to bear. In a class of nineteen, there were about two or three students who worked hard. For that reason, I wasn't my best, and sometime during Fun Friday (which, I have to say, for a teacher there's nothing fun about Fun Friday), I just gave up. Thankfully, a late afternoon fire drill ended it all earlier than expected, and we parted ways five minutes later for P.E. class.

I spent nearly the entire week at Matthew's school. Though it's convenient, there are several factors that cause me to sometimes feel a strong need to get away from that place. So I'm looking forward to "going on vacation" and spending four days in the library at my second favorite school in the coming days. Library is a treat. After today I feel it's one I deserve. These days away are considered my mental health days.

One Happy Kid

Elizabeth: Have you ever felt like you could burst out laughing because you're so happy? I felt like that tonight.

This evening we went to her school for her National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony. It was a short but sweet event for about seventy seventh graders and their families. We celebrated the students' hard work and effort, and the room was filled with smiling kids and proud parents. She had a shaky start at this school, but she found her groove after a few weeks and has really thrived since. I'm grateful and happy that she's so happy.

Elizabeth and Principal Phillips

Elizabeth and her good friend Jenna

Get Us Outta Here!

It's been about five weeks since our last trip in the Airstream, and I'm noticing we're all a little edgy. I think we have become addicted to getting away about once a month, especially after a string of trips relatively close together. As John Muir said, "The mountains are calling, and I must go."

Where? When? Must.make.plans!

Just Ask

My pal Jill called me late this afternoon to share a quick story with me. Now I want to share it with you.

She was driving her seven year old daughter to a new friend's house, reminding her to use her manners. "Then, because Sara's always in the back of my head now, I told her that if they are playing and they find a gun that she should leave it where it is and go tell an adult." Great reminders. Totally support all that. When they arrived at the house, Jill was telling her daughter good-bye and said, "Now remember what we talked about," referring to using her manners. Her daughter responded with, "I know. I won't touch a gun. I'll go find an adult." 

Jill was mortified because her daughter said it right in front of her friend's father. She began to feel embarrassed, but the dad said, "Oh that's a good thing to tell her. We do have guns, but they're locked up." Jill responded that they did too--yay for common interests and safety precautions! He said, "I never thought to ask about that," even though Jill didn't really ask. He continued, "That's a good thing to ask."

I admit. The hardest time asking is the first time. But most parents care--or should care--about the safety of their children over anything else in the world, so they won't be offended. If they are or if they aren't forthcoming with information when you ask about unsecured guns in the home, well then that's a big red flag to me. When this dad reacted the way he did (or didn't react, really), Jill saw firsthand that it's not the big deal we make it out to be in our heads. Like I honestly admit in Be SMART presentations:

When I find myself anxious about asking another parent whether or not they have unsecured guns in their home, I remind myself...what's the worst that can happen if I ask? A mom or dad thinks I'm weird or gets offended and we have five uncomfortable minutes together. But what's the worst that could happen if I don't ask? Yeah. So then I ask.

And now Jill will ask. And it sounds like that guy will ask in the future. And hopefully you will ask, too. Remember, we're not asking to sit in judgement. It's not about the gun; it's about how it's secured.

Now We Got Bird Blood

Whoops.

Much to the horror of Elizabeth, Matthew, and myself, I ran over a bird on the way home from school today. All three of us shrieked as we looked back and saw feathers stuck on the road, waving. What in the world? Those things constantly play chicken with cars and always, always, always fly out of the way at the very last second. I don't know what happened today, but this one didn't make it. Or he didn't die but was mangled, and then died after twenty other parents, ten teachers, and random people driving down the street re-ran over him.

What a way to go. I'm sorry, Birdie. We'll make this mistake right somehow. Maybe we'll donate to a bird sanctuary or set out some birdseed and water to feed our neighborhood's bird population. You have not died in vain!

This is Me Not Caring

About once a week, I wipe down the kitchen and bathrooms. Then I dust and vacuum the family room and bedrooms. Afterwards, I vacuum and steam the tile floor (okay, maybe I do that every other week). The point is, I do my best to keep this place neat and tidy. But then there's the big area in the middle of our home, the space just beyond our entryway, the room we ridiculously call The Toy Room.

I hate it.

Last week when my family asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I remember saying, "I just want all these Legos picked up." They must have thought I was kidding. Though we had a great time last Sunday seeing sights and enjoying the outdoors, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enter our house, see that mess, and wish they had just cleaned up the stupid room. Maybe they thought it would be less work to go out and buy a cake and a book and take me for a drive. Seriously? They wouldn't have had to leave the house or spend any money. I guess they'd rather do anything else than clean up that room, too. But I refuse to do it.

I feel if I take care of every other domestic duty, then they should at least take care of that area. Just pick it up. Put stuff away. What is so damn hard?

Today, as I was straightening the kitchen and family room while making sure to switch some laundry loads and fold clean clothes, I decided to not care about that room anymore. If I'm the only one bothered by it, then maybe I should act like the rest of them and not care either. But let's get real. There's going to be a point when I can't take it any longer because we can't find Matthew's library books and we need to leave for school in two minutes or I'm in a hurry and have to walk through the room but can't see the floor so I end up hurting myself by stepping on seventeen Legos. So I'll blow up, yell, and scream about how no one cares about how we live except me and if that's the case then I should just not care either.

Just like what happened fifteen minutes ago. It's a vicious cycle. I only wish cleaning the toy room was one of the rotations of that cycle.

I'm in Love with TED

It's true. I can't help myself. I watch at least one TED talk a day. Sometimes two. Once I even binge-watched four in a row; interesting topics kept popping up, so I kept pressing play.

If you're not familiar then, um, where have you been? Seriously though, these "ideas worth spreading" are just that, even if they oftentimes have not much to do with Technology, Entertainment, or Design. They are absolutely fascinating and, for an open-minded thinker like myself, they can be enlightening and inspiring. Mostly, though, they are very, very helpful.

Before my first Be SMART presentation, I was nervous and anxious and consulted Google for public speaking tips. There were the usual suggestions like look people in the eye for two seconds before moving your gaze to another audience member, speak slowly, and make sure to breathe. But then I came across a TED talk by Amy Cuddy that...queue the dramatic sound effects...really changed my life. That may sound trite but, honestly, she showed me how simple nudges that you intentionally take to improve your sense of presence can make a huge impact on how you perform. I'll save her insights and the impressions her research and her book had on me for a future blog, but I mention it now because it's a perfect example of how awesome TED talks really are.

If you haven't seen one yet, take your pick at the TED website. There's something for any topic of interest, and you might find yourself binge-watching a few, too. That's okay. There's always time for new ideas or exploring a perspective you haven't considered. Go for it. You may fall in love with TED, too.

The Roller Coaster of Life

The end of seventh grade has been quite spectacular for Elizabeth. Over the past few weeks, good fortune, due to hard work and consistent effort, has come her way. We are very proud of her and are happily celebrating her accomplishments. And the list seems to keep growing.

First, she received an application, submitted it, and was accepted into the National Junior Honor Society. The induction ceremony is next week and we are thrilled to attend. This club honors students with a 3.60 grade point average or higher who demonstrate qualities of leadership, citizenship, service, and character. She definitely fits the bill.

Second, she's been having fun representing her school at the track meets. She's done surprisingly well, has made some new friends, and even though she has to wake up at 5:15 every day for the early morning practices, she really enjoys being part of the team and looks forward to doing cross country in the fall.

Third, last week she was called to the principal's office. After informing her and two boys that they were not in any trouble, he told them they'd been chosen to represent their school with distinction at the AZ STEM School Community of Practice. He sent home a letter stating:

Our science teachers were asked, "Who on our campus has a passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and consistently demonstrates the high standards we expect of our students?" They selected you....

So Elizabeth and her teammates will attend a few meetings throughout the next school year conferring with students from other schools from around the state. We're not entirely sure what is involved, but we understand it's an honor so we are very excited about it.

Lastly, today she brought home another letter from her principal. She's been chosen as a "Student of the Quarter." Students are nominated by teachers and then one boy and one girl from each grade are selected by the executive council. He said students are nominated for a variety of reasons including citizenship, helpfulness, scholarship, friendliness, and integrity. She'll get her picture taken, and it will be displayed with the other Students of the Quarter until next fall after the Q1 students are chosen. They also get to have lunch with the principal at a well-known restaurant in downtown Chandler in a few weeks.

Needless to say, we are all very excited and impressed by her awards. When I learned the latest good news today, I couldn't help but comment out loud about how the end of this school year is so different from the end of last year. I said something like, "The end of seventh grade is like Wooooooooo!, and the end of sixth grade was like..."(insert long, slow farting noise). Elizabeth giggled, but Matthew, naturally, cracked up and asked why. After a long pause, Elizabeth simply said, "I vowed to never speak of it again. But Mommy can tell you."

So I will remind you. After reading twelve books twice, taking copious notes, and studying those notes for a Battle of the Books competition for which she and her team were fully prepared, they found out a few hours after the battle that they had missed it. Her teacher got the dates confused, and they were no-shows for the competition. Right after school, the teacher tearfully confessed the mistake to Elizabeth and her teammates, the girls were devastated, and then ten minutes later Elizabeth auditioned on the piano for the school talent show. Now I wasn't there, but she said it wasn't all that bad. According to the music teacher, though, she made a lot of mistakes, and as the talent show approached, he was heard in the teachers' lounge saying, "Man, I'm so glad I don't have to drag out that piano this year." Grrrrrrr. The only other teacher sitting in on the audition was another Battle of the Books sponsor (so she knew what had happened moments earlier), and she took up two spots in the show for her class--one for the girls and one for the boys. Yes, I do realize how bitter I sound, and that's because I still am. I firmly feel those two teachers' behavior was unconscionable because a good kid (who was mixed in with the worst behaved class in the history of the school) was unfairly crushed. Twice. They knew it, too, because they offered her the chance to be an emcee a few days later. That may have eased her feelings but not her disappointment...or my anger, frankly. Finally, at the sixth grade promotion ceremony, when the classless punks and their parents acted deplorably with loud whoops and yelps and ridiculous motions, all I could do was sit there and stew and thank the heavens that she would be out of there in a few minutes. It was a sad way to end an elementary career at a school we all loved, but it wasn't sad the way I thought it would be.

But we mustn't dwell on the bad. Because, man, recalling all that was really starting to bring me down! Her situation has turned 180 degrees from that downward spiral a year ago. Elizabeth is now on top of the world, and that's exactly where she belongs.

Feeling a Little Threatened

Recently, another mom at school got her substitute teaching certificate, and I'd be lying if I said I'm not afraid I'll lose out on assignments. I'll be the first to admit that anyone can do this job. Really. As long as you have a bachelor's degree in anything, you qualify as a sub. Maybe she even saw me doing it and thought, "Well if she can do it, I can do it," and that's fine because it's true. Also true is that I know there are more jobs than I can take, so I need to just get over this. Perhaps the competition will make me try harder and become better. Isn't that the argument for charter schools? I think so.

Regardless, I'm finding myself a little threatened by her presence. Then I wonder how I can be so defensive of my turf when it's not even my turf? I also hate when a jealous wave comes over me and I find myself hoping she's a terrible sub so that they won't ask her to come back. These feelings are unexpected and confusing, and every time they come I try to push them away and continue on with walking through the office or down the hall, saying kind hellos to her and asking her how her day is going. Because I know firsthand how much subs enjoy smiles from others and, well, just being acknowledged. There is plenty of work for the both of us (and the hundreds of other active subs out there), so I know I need to quit feeling like that and be happy I have a true peer at our school.

My Birthday in Pictures

Yesterday, my friends set up an entire day of fun to celebrate my 40th birthday. It was outstanding. We ran at the park then had coffee at Starbucks. We broke for showers and met again for a deliciously fresh and healthy lunch at Pita Jungle. We stayed there for three hours visiting, and it was lovely. Then we met again for dinner on the charming patio of an authentic Mexican restaurant in downtown Chandler. If that wasn't enough, Aimee set up a donation button on the Evite for friends to donate to Feed My Starving Children in lieu of gifts, and friends generously donated. But I still received gift cards, jewelry, and four "40" balloons--one for each decade. This whole day was the most thoughtful birthday gift ever, and I'm grateful for each and every one of my good friends. They really are the best, and I'm lucky to have them and their support.

If yesterday was all about friendship, today was all about family. Brian took the kids and me on a drive to the Tonto Cliff Dwellings near Roosevelt Lake. It's National Park Week and all the parks are offering free admission. I originally considered a Grand Canyon trip, but that's too far for one day, so I looked around for national monuments instead of parks. I found Tonto and decided to give it a try. We weren't fortunate enough to get on the upper cliff dwellings guided hike, but the lower cliff dwellings did just fine. Plus it gave us a few more hours to explore the surrounding area.

Matthew always looks pained. This was five minutes into the 15-minute hike. I swear! It was a steep 350-foot elevation gain, though. He cracks us up.

Checking out the cliff dwellings cheered him up fast, though.

We drove over to Roosevelt Dam. "Dam!"

Apparently, North America's largest steel arch bridge is there.

We had a lakeside picnic.

It looks like they're dancing, but they are really fighting. Naturally.

Here's the other side of the dam and the start of Apache Lake.

We decided to come home via the Apache Trail, a very scenic byway. Only about half of it is paved, and we started on the unpaved part.

It really was scenic because today was so clear.

The drive was a bit hairy in places. It's an old roadway and not wide at all. Some parts are one lane and the corners can be blind. We had only one close call with a (too large to be there--in my opinion) camper, but thankfully we were both going slowly enough to stop and move to the side safely.

Fish Creek Hill is known to be a wonky pass.

But it was beautiful!

It was a lovely day with the family.

Impressive!

Elizabeth had her second track meet today. She ran the 800 meters again, and this time she came in 5th out of 15. They don't earn ribbons like in elementary school, but the first two athletes from each school earn points for their team. The winner of her race was from ACP, three others finished, and then came Elizabeth. So her time counted! We didn't think that would ever happen this year, but she ran a good race and her coach is very good at teaching strategy.

Elizabeth started off towards the back of the pack and gradually made her way to the middle during her first lap. At the start of the second, she began passing girls and by the time she was rounding the last turn I was wondering if she was going to come in fourth or third. She really worked hard and I was impressed. She finished in 3:12!

She's the seventh runner from both sides. 

purple shirt between the two other purple shirts

middle purple

approaching the end of her first lap (of two)

starting to get after it

pulling away and flying!

5!