Category: Life according to Angela

I’ve lost them

I see myself trying to live life in every direction. This gets me in trouble because it makes me a little skatter-brained.

I get so frustrated by my own ignorance, especially when I know I have learned something before and forgotten it. I’m always reading and writing to try and fight my own ignorance… or dementia.

“Enthalpy or Entropy?” I asked myself  when I opened my messy kitchen drawer this afternoon. By the way, a real science teacher would never have to ask herself this question.

Richard overheard me. (I guess I wasn’t asking in my head.) With a swagger (the kind you can put together while sitting in a chair,) he effortlessly said, “Entropy.”

If I lost you in the above paragraphs, please don’t be concerned. Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen. I’m brilliant. I’m together. And my kitchen drawer is not a mess.

Back to the beginning. You know, about living life in every direction. I feel driven to know more. So much of my life is neglected, but I read books with heft…whilst teaching, eating, and writing this nonsense on the blog.

Today I misplaced 8 pages of notes I have taken from my reading of the latest smartypants book. I lost the notes in one of the following places:

1. The dentist (45 minutes away)

2. Michael’s craft store

3. McDonald’s drive up (My, this is a confession tonight.)

4. Library drop-box

5. Somewhere in the van

I would really like to find the notes in the van, but it isn’t happening.

It could be dementia. I need to do some more crossword puzzles. Do you know that tonight one of the missionaries we invited over for dinner asked if I had a SON in the MTC? That would make me, well, a little bit older than I actually am. Ok, not much older.

It’s 8:30. Time to recharge the hearing aids and give the dentures a good soak!

And whoever sent me a text today giving me a hard time about passwords on my blog,
identify yourself. Just type my middle name if you know me, silly.
You should also know that I have only sent a text about 4 times in my life
and it was only because Ray had cancer. Nothing else can impel me to type with my thumbs.
Respectfully,
-A.R.

I choose optimism

Richard and I watched a movie called Invictus on Saturday. It was an interesting choice for us. It was about the South African Rugby team and Nelson Mandela’s early presidency. It followed President Mandela’s efforts to unite his country, divided by hatred and mistrust. Mandela devotes a lot of energy furthering the interests of the Rugby team. He saw that this team could help unite his country.

My favorite scene takes place at Mandela’s home and his adult daughter shares her hatred and mistrust for the Afrikaners, as they were the ones who had imprisoned her father. He tells her that it is a selfish thing to look at the world and judge it through the lens of her own pain. In other words, she needed to forgive. She needed to open her mind and heart; she needed to look through a different kind of lens.

A lot of people have been saying what a terrible place Arizona has become. A lot of people want to blame someone for the shooting. An associate of mine is seething in anger towards anyone who listens to conservative talk radio personalities (one in particular). It is unfortunate that this person is choosing to look at the situation solely through the lens of her own pain, distancing herself from people who could be her friends, despite political differences.

I have chosen to not be discouraged about the whole world, based on the horrific shooting on Saturday. Timothy was baptized at the time this horrible event took place. I was surrounded by people who came to support our family. We had neighbors, friends, and ward members all around us. I felt surrounded by love. The day before, a friend listened with patience and understanding to me. The day before this, a friend unselfishly came to our house to watch Mark while the older kids were at piano lessons so Richard and I could go to the play. On Wednesday, I saw parents, my bishop, and many scout leaders join together to help the little Cub Scouts make their pinewood derby cars.

These people do what Christ would do if He were here. They minister to me and my family.

Every day I am surrounded by my children. Their innocence gives me a hopeful perspective on the world. I see that my parenting and love is more powerful than the hatred of the world in their lives. This hope and perspective allows me to see that the Lord still intervenes, helping us to weather the troubles and see the world for its goodness, despite everything else.

See the trailer for Invictus here.

A New Playbill and a Terrible Stench

I’m up late boiling red cabbage (I bet you just repressed a gag reflex) to make an acid-base indicator for a science class I’m teaching tomorrow.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble…

Wait. That’s the wrong play.

Richard and I saw Wicked today at Centennial Hall.

….fire burn and cauldron bubble…

(Ugh! the smell!)

So, we enjoyed Wicked. I knew very little about the show but I think this allowed me to experience the play unhindered by previous expectations and experiences. It was a thrill.

Happy to report

I found a pumpkin seed as I swept the floor today. That little feller has been sitting in my pantry since October. I decided that it was a tribute to the kind of house this is.

I’m happy to report that this house shows all the signs of use and/or neglect that a busy family house should. As for the school stuff, the bookshelves are brimming, the papers are bulging from the corners of their folders, and school projects line flat surfaces everywhere.

It’s a good life…minus the dog who ruined my new rug this week.

A Summary and a Question about Timing

I hope you had a nice weekend. We did many things, but I won’t bore you with every detail.

We had a nice Veteran’s Day. I invited a WWII veteran to speak to our homeschool group #2. Since all public buildings were closed, I rented a hall for the event. The kids decorated handkerchiefs with patriotic messages to send to soldiers and we also collected goods for 4 care packages to send to Afghanistan. The guest speaker served in the South Pacific and was very good at speaking to children. I felt really good about the event.

The 3 boys sang a trio in the adult session of Stake Conference on Saturday night and I played the violin. Richard sang with the choir. Mark bumped his head on the podium as he was climbing up to sing, but managed to sing through teary eyes and some pain. It was a good experience for the boys and they enjoyed some Lego rewards when it was all over.

I was reading about discipline in an education magazine that I receive from BYU. One article said that the greatest measure of how well you are doing as a parent is how your family treats one another. Do you think I can measure my success during a time when the kids are all watching a movie together or playing around in the mountains? The results would be so much better then.

One load, one dog

Well, looky here. I washed the blankets our dog rests upon and this is what came out in the lint collector.  Revolting, isn’t it?

And here’s another view to give you nightmares.

Today, aside from the above lint ball, was wonderful. I found a lot of joy this morning watching a friend’s children and reading books to the baby. I giggled as I watched this baby maul Mark with hugs and kisses for about 30 minutes. Baby kisses! Mark didn’t know what to think. He’s always been the kisser. He kept looking at me for help/reassurance/help but I was too busy cheering on the baby,” Tackle that big boy! Big hugs, now!”

After baby-sitting we went to a science club meeting and I taught 20 kids about crystals. Fun. We also harvested papyrus from the pond so we can learn how the Egyptians made papyrus. I know, you wish you were us. Only, you wish you were us with a unicorn.

We came home and I tried to read aloud to the kids but had to take a nap at chapter 5. I fell asleep on the couch listening to Daniel read to the family where I had left off. When I woke up, Timothy asked me if I’d like to hear him read the last chapter of his book. (Shouldn’t we all just cancel our cable and read aloud to each other from now on? I am sure it would solve most of our problems.)

And so it went, my last day of being 35, surrounded by my children plus twenty, growing crystals, harvesting papyrus (and dog lint)… and people, I loved it. I couldn’t wish for a better day.

Dinner party

I’m just skipping Halloween this year and decorating early for Thanksgiving. It seems that many of my neighbors have omitted the Halloween decorations, too. I wonder if it’s the economy. I just don’t like scary stuff, but oh, how I love to dress up.

The other night I had the perfect idea for our family Halloween costumes… if I had some time to sew. I asked the kids if they wanted to dress up this year. The boys seemed unenthusiastic, but Paige said, “Well, of course,” indicating with her voice that her answer was ob-vi-ous… (my girl).  In my brilliant plan, Daniel would be Peter Pan; Paige would be Wendy; Timothy would be John (top hat, Harry Potter glasses) and Mark would be Michael with his teddy bear named Chunky. Richard would be Captain Hook and I could be Tiger Lily or Tinkerbell. I swear the Tinkerbell idea was not mine. It was Paige’s. I know, I know. Don’t worry. I won’t make myself ridiculous. And there isn’t time to make costumes this year. Halloween is on Sunday, so that pretty much destroys my plans: we’re not going to be Peter Pan this year.

In other news, I haven’t been blogging lately because I have been

a. pouting

b. reading

c. really grumpy

d. all of the above

Yes, you guessed it. The answer is d.

Today I finished reading McCullough’s John Adams. I love that book. I find a lot of comfort and inspiration in the Adamses’ relationship and sacrifices. I also like reading how time and experience mold perspective and patience. I’d be a historian if I could remember facts like Melinda Ross. As it is, I have to read things every few years to remember them.

I plan dinner parties in my mind. I never carry them out, though. If I could invite any prominent person living today, it would be David McCullough. I used to think the guest would be Michael Medved because even though we might disagree, he would keep things civil and would talk with a soothing voice about a broad range of subjects. Now I just want David McCullough to come over and talk to our kids about American history and all of those Providential Storms in the Revolution.

One more thought before I drive Paige to ballet. The blog phenomenon is interesting to me. Why do people keep reading? I recently decided to stop reading two very popular blogs because they were getting on my nerves. Updated daily, these two blogs were a part of my daily routine (yikes).After removing them from my blog list, I literally feel no loss in my life. It has made me think that blogs are read because they are

a. much like reality t.v., providing a glimpse into someone’s home that we wouldn’t otherwise have.

b. updated. People come back to anything that moves.

c. inspirational. Some truly make me happy.

d. a good way to communicate/sort family and personal events.

e. a way to feel connection without commitment.

Hopefully you’re not reading  just because this blog moves. If you are, you should rethink your decision. It’s a beautiful world out there. Go turn off the computer and enjoy it.

The night I got burned

I used to cook with a pressure cooker all the time. One night I was making mashed potatoes and there was a lot going on. As I was running water over the pot and opening the valve to release steam, the lid burst off and potatoes flew out on my face and hands.

I learned the hard way about being in the way when high pressure objects go flying.

It’s so cliche to hear people saying it’s okay to say grumpy things in order to “let off steam.” I think this is a poor excuse to behave badly and spread the anger. It’s better to release steam slowly and allow time for high impact moments to die down before words are said. The last few months have brought some intense situations and I’ve learned to appreciate Richard’s wisdom through it all.

Since I’m not complaining in this post or “venting frustration” in a negative way, I will say a few words of gratitude. I’m thankful for a little knowledge of logic. This has helped me identify error and truth in what people say. I’m grateful for the teachings of Jesus Christ as a guide for reacting to people who have been grumpy to me about my faith. I’m grateful for Richard who spent the weekend with me, talking to me, listening, and encouraging me. His steady and direct words have made a great difference.

Anger fills a room, exclusive in its dominion; it drains its object of self-confidence; anger finds its expression in gossip, name-calling, and humiliation of others; it is contagious. It hurts like a burn, too.

Health

I’m feeling much better. Thanks for your concern and prayers.

As for Ray, I wish his news yesterday had been better. I’m grateful for the progress that has been made, though. I wish all the energy and concern and love of relatives and friends could be turned into a medicine because I’m pretty sure that would be the cure. There would be no needles and no nausea and hugs and fun times would be the only therapy required.

However, I know that God has a plan for Ray and each of us and we can trust that plan.

Health is a blessing that I easily take for granted. I’m grateful for fewer aches and the good night’s sleep last night.