Substitute Teachers Learn Things Too

Kelly called me on Monday night to ask if I would be willing to substitute teach for him on Tuesday. Since this is the only reason I signed up to be a sub, I said yes. Although, I'm sure it came out sounding something like "uuuuhhhhss", after all, it was 11:45 p.m.

I've been really excited to sub for Kelly. His choir programs are amazing, he has good taste in music, he has a musical theatre class, and the thought of being back in front of a high school choir just sounded great.

Tuesday morning came very early, but that was okay, the adrenaline carried me through. I started the day with Belles Voix, his women's choir, and things seemed to be going well. I give voice lessons to several of the students at West Jordan, and it felt good to have them run into the choir room just to make sure that the substitute really was me. And one of my girls is in Belles Voix, so I went into it feeling like I had someone in my corner.

Concert Choir was something else altogether. I have 8 current students and 1 former student in concert choir, the choir president is one of my students, and everything should have worked out fine. But see, I forgot that respect from high school students isn't given just because their teacher asked you to come. Respect can only be earned, and quite frankly, one class period is not enough time for a sub to earn that. In other words, Concert Choir turned out exactly how I should have expected it to, but not as well as I hoped. Teenage boys sitting on the back row will talk more than any teenage girl on a phone. At least by the end of the class we were kind of in sync, and we managed to make some great improvement on a very difficult piece. The class period ended with me asking them, "Are you proud of yourselves? You should be. That was a really hard song."

The last class I taught was Spotlight Players. The kids are working on musical theatre presentations and audition pieces for their class show. This meant that my lesson plan for this class involved bringing the kids up one at a time, playing their song, listening to them sing, giving a little bit of individual instruction, and starting over with the next student. Sound like voice lessons? Felt like them, except I had about 4 minutes per student instead of 30.

It was a fun day, in spite of the "high school students must do everything in their power to make substitute teachers crazy" rule. Will I go again? Yes, if Kelly calls me.

The biggest lesson I learned? I don't miss it. I was worried that I might. I gave up my high school choir position years ago to raise my family, and I haven't had a chance to be back and see what I had lost. And after 14 1/2 years, it's easy to forget that it was a struggle. I did have the respect of my students, and things weren't as difficult on a daily basis as they were yesterday, but no. I don't miss it.

p.s. one more thing....

It won't matter that I said, "Kelly is a better pianist than me. He's amazingly talented. Do you know how lucky you are?" What the kids will remember is that I also said, "He may be more talented than me, but I'm taller."

Interjection!

Woo Hoo!

Esther's coming, too!

(to Las Vegas, that is)

Sweet Silver Lining

I'm going home
Downhearted and hoping
I'm close to some new beginning
I know
There's a reason for everything
That comes and goes

But so many people are looking to me
To be strong and to fight
But I'm just surviving
I may be weak but I'm never defeated
And I'll keep believing
In clouds with that sweet silver lining

Most days I try my best to put on a brave face
But inside
My bones are cold and my heart breaks
But all the while
Somethings keeping me safe
And alive

Chorus
I won't give up like this
I will be given strength
And now that I've found it
Nothing can take that away

363 Minutes

That's how long it takes, accordingly to Google map, with a specific start point and a general finish point, to get to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Why does this matter?

In a little more than two weeks, I'm going to be throwing all of my kids into my van (I hope they land softly) and driving to Las Vegas. And since Rachael and I have been trying to plan a vacation together for a couple of years now, and apparently all the planets are aligning ever so nicely, she will also be throwing all of her kids, but into her car, not my van, and driving to Vegas with me. We might even let our husbands come along.

I have hotel reservations, and tickets for "Jersey Boys" (yes, I enjoyed it that much!), money for gas and food set aside, and a preliminary packing list floating around in my head. I've chosen a couple of books on CD for my family to listen to while we're driving (The Edge Chronicles, book one: Beyond the Deep Woods, and Magyk) as well as new music for our Road Trip playlist (Here Comes Science!) My children have been told and have been asking if Jacob and Drew are going to ride with us (I said, "No").

It's not like I'm anxious to get away from my current life, but...I think I'm anxious to get away from my current life for a little while. I just want to take my family with me this time.

And so, in 18 days the Rogers' family will be singing "Viva Las Vegas", and taking off for a weekend of driving, swimming, miniature golf and good old "Are We There Yet?"

*sigh*

About a month ago Sarah was asked to sing in Sacrament Meeting. Being a teenager, and my daughter, she left choosing a song, or even remembering that she was supposed to sing, until the last minute; that minute being when they called to ask her what she would be singing. That was last night.

I was sitting in my room, which is right by the phone she answered, and when she asked what she should sing, David said, "Popcorn popping on the apricot tree" and I said, "I'm trying to be like Jesus". Guess which one she chose.

We didn't run through it until this morning (good thing church doesn't start until 11:30), and when she started singing it, Ella came into the living room and started singing with her. Ella informs us that she knows this song because they sing it in primary. We asked Ella if she wanted to sing with her big sister in church, and to my great surprise she said 'yes'.

Of course, once we were sitting in Sacrament Meeting, and the reality of having to stand at the pulpit was ever closer, Ella changed her mind, telling me that she was too nervous. I wasn't shocked and disappointed, this was pretty much what I expected from my youngest. Still, when it was time for Sarah to go sing, I looked over at Ella one more time and asked her again. And she came up with me!

The bishopric looked very pleased by this development and quickly pulled out the block for her to stand on. Once the music started, she didn't look up from the podium, and she sang very softly, but she did sing! For my extremely shy little girl, this is a huge deal!

Call me happy mommy...*sigh*

Bits and Pieces

GOOD NEWS

Sarah got a lead in her school musical! For those who haven't already heard, my darling Sarah is going to be playing Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical at her Junior High School. There was much celebrating at my house the day we found out. Sarah had originally auditioned to play a supporting character role, Maisy, but I think we're all okay with the change. I know she is.

It seems that a lot of the good news in our family centers around Sarah today. Not only does rehearsal for the school musical start today, but she also starts at her new ballet studio, Utah Dance Artists as well. We're very excited for this change.

NEW BEGINNINGS

All the kids have now started school. Sarah, Ben and Josh started two weeks ago, and Ella started last week. Everything seems to be going well for them (especially Sarah), and I think we'll be okay once we figure out the "protocols" at this new school. And if all else fails, I can get extra homework from Auntie Esther for Joshua, and maybe Benjamin, too. (Hey Esther! Can I get that extra homework from you?)

Ella went to kindergarten with a great deal of enthusiasm and came home bored. Yep, she's bored. I guess not all of the kids know all of their letters, letter sounds, numbers, number order, shapes, colors, and sorting, not to mention rudimentary reading. Maybe I'll need some of that extra homework for Ella, too. (Hey Esther! Do you know anyone who can give me extra homework for Ella?)

BEGINNING TO THINK

I'm beginning to think that I'm a hard to please mother. But that's not all that true. I was thinking random thought after the ball game on Saturday night and I started pondering on my accomplishments. I went through my degree, books I've read, projects I've finished, shows I've done, things I've learned and I realized that my favorite (and therefore best) accomplishment, the one that really shows what kind of a person I am and what I want from life is this: all four of my children know all the words to "Bohemian Rhapsody".

David and I are looking at options, and we're thinking we might be in this situation (living with his folks) for longer than we'd originally planned on, or hoped for. Still, there are worse places to be: homeless, camping out in Coalville, homeless. And while it's not our home and we can't always do things our way, there are things to be learned while we're here. I haven't figured them out yet, but I know they're there.

THINKING ABOUT STUFF

I need a project! My knitting project is almost finished (53 more rows) and if I don't have a project in my hands, not only will I go crazy, but I won't be able to justify sitting on my butt watching way too much Buffy, Eureka, Gilmore Girls and Doctor Who. Any suggestions? Keeping in mind that I don't have a lot of space to work, which eliminates quilting, which makes me very sad, it should be small, easily transportable, not too expensive, possibly to give away, and not require too many tools I don't have or that I do have, but are in storage. Hmmm.

I just finished listening to "Because of Winn Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo. It was a really great book! There's a party at the end of the book, where all the characters come together to sing and eat egg salad and pickles, and it got me thinking that I miss my friends and want to get a party together. Maybe a girls' Saturday or a picnic, or a trip up the canyons (when the leaves turn). Anyone interested?

STUFF TO CONSIDER

I sing with the Sterling Singers, and we have a Patriotic Concert coming up this weekend. September 11 and 12, 7:30 p.m. at the Granite Tabernacle. It should be pretty amazing. We did a run through (sort of) on Sunday, and even the music teacher in me was pretty impressed with how good the choir is sounding. And the narration, mostly written by Alan Mangum is amazing! It's very stirring, and Alan is a great reader. (I first met him when we did "A Spring to Remember" together at Hale Centre Theatre.)

CONSIDER THE GOOD

All in all, life is pretty good right now. I know that things are hard, but they just could be so much worse that I have to be grateful for everything little thing that goes right in my life. I'm not homeless, I'm fairly healthy, David is also fairly healthy, the kids are mostly happy, school has started, there's always music someplace in my head, and best of all, I have David and my kids right here with me (well, not right now, school and stuff...).

And really, the fact that my van's shadow, when driving west in the morning and east in the evening looks like Shrek is just a bonus...

Question

Since when is it considered liberal propaganda to show a video of the President of the United States talking about service?