Running

You know how everyone has that one thing that they do that just makes them feel better?  Mine isn't running because I don't always feel better after doing it. However, there are times when it is just the thing to help lift my spirits.

I woke up in a pretty lousy mood today, for multiple reasons, not the least of which was that I had to wake up at 5:38 to use the bathroom--only an hour before my alarm went off--and it was soooo hard to go back to sleep again.  However, while I tried to put that mood off all day at school, though not the most successfully at times, I'll admit, it just got worse on my ride home from school.

I called my mom and she helped me talk things out. And then of course talking with Cody helped me to feel a little better and get rid of some of my negative feelings. But what cinched the deal between my head, my heart, and my emotions was going for a run.

After changing into my running clothes, I started out with a destination in mind to help my legs prepare for the Rex Lee run next Saturday.  After reaching it, instead of doing an out-and-back, I ran a little bit further than I was planning on and when I got home I felt so much better (I'm pretty sure Downton Abbey helped too).  There's nothing like feeling your muscles working, breathing hard, and just feeling alive to help boost your spirit.

Gratitude

I feel like I'm always trying to find things for which to be grateful.  I know November is a natural time for Americans to think about gratitude because of Thanksgiving. I'm sure that other months are months of "Thanksgiving" in other cultures.

Here's a short list. I hope to add some longer posts about specific things that I am grateful for in the coming weeks:

1. the Gospel of Jesus Christ
2. my husband, Cody
3. the restored church of Jesus Christ (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
4. family
5. prophets, seers, and revelators today
6. books
7. library cards
8. chocolate
9. friends
10. letters
11. my mom and dad, specifically
12. Lindsey, specifically
13. carpools
14. airplanes
15. cameras
16. notebooks and pens
17. literacy
18. music
19. patient people
20. knowledge
21. Shakespeare
22. Dr. Seuss
23. Yo Yo Ma
24. blue things
25. warm blankets
26. colors
27. food
28. being able to cook
29. running water
30. indoor plumbing
31. indoor heating and cooling
32. a car
33. my job
34. Cody's job
35. that I live in the United States 
36. that I grew up in middle-class America so that I'm blessed with opportunities beyond many in the world
37. our local and national leaders
38. good people that have the desire to run for/be president/Senate/House of Representatives/Governor/etc. and who mostly are all just trying to do their best, so that I don't ever have to feel like I need to
39. scientists
40. iPods
41. running shoes
42. socks
43. my nephew who is the cutest
44. my brothers and sisters (counting in-laws, too)
45. American history
46. having gone to BYU and taken so many different classes
47. prayer
48. perspective
49. fall
50. that I'm not allergic to any foods or medicines

Checking off the list

Today I woke up in a better mood than yesterday but still not great. I wasn't terribly optimistic about how school would go, especially after how yesterday ended.  However, I tried to pretend that it would be okay. I had a flash of inspiration on how to engage my students more in math--PowerPoints, whispering, and songs.  I used several PowerPoints today and I definitely employed whispering, which was followed by station activities where they answered similar questions that most of them got wrong on the test yesterday.  It made all the difference!

Yesterday's math lesson=I didn't know what was wrong with me as a teacher and why I was teaching third grade
Today's math lesson=why didn't I do this before, this was awesome, but I can't use it too much or else it will get old

After school I looked up some fun multiplication facts songs that I'm going to play for my class the next few weeks to help them learn their times tables.

Not only was figuring out how to engage my students a success, I also got to watch an episode of The West Wing with Cody (a show we love!  We started in when we were in DC and now it's a friendly reminder of where we lived all summer, helps us keep national events in mind, and connects us to incredibly like-able TV characters), practiced my violin, and went for a run.

I'd say that the mental list I made for myself, thinking it was impossible this morning, has now become finished. And I feel great about that!

Last year and this year

I think that perhaps because I am a school teacher, my New Year's resolutions begin in January and resurface (or I make new goals) in August or September when school starts again.  Last year, my goals for the new school year consisted mainly of building up my running so that I could run for 10 miles before my birthday in October.  I made that goal.  After achieving that goal, I made several other goals for school that I won't go into.

This year, I guess I'm feeling more able (or more lacking in previous habits so I want to do better), so my goals are not to run 10 miles or even a mileage goal, but merely to run or exercise 2-3 times a week, reread the Book of Mormon, and play my violin regularly again.  I've been fulfilling my last goal by joining the American Fork Symphony.  So now, instead of getting up on Saturdays and running like I was doing a year ago, I'm getting to the junior high by 8 and rehearsing for two hours on Saturdays.  The pieces we're playing for our first concert are:

(non-video form: Symphonie espangole, 1st movement by Edouard Lola, Capriccio Espagnol by Rimsky-Korsakov, Slavonic March by Tchaikovsky, Pavane pour une infante defunte by Ravel, Harry Potter Symphonic Suite by John Williams arranged by Jerry Brubaker, and Berceuse and Finale (from "Firebird Suite") by Igor Stravinsky arranged by Merle J. Isaac). I'm playing in the second violin section and it's so fun to be playing in an orchestra again, since I haven't done that in four years.  

Violin, running, and French were all very important to me in high school.  They were still important in college but in different ways: I participated in the non-audition orchestra for three semesters my first three years, I minored in French studies, and I made sure that I ran at least once a week, usually on Saturdays before cleaning my apartment.  Now I'm slowly bringing them back into my life again in more quantity post-college.  I have French Club at school, running 2-3 times, and now orchestra.  Perhaps next year I will do more with French than just French Club; we'll see.  

Counting blessings

1. I went out for a run tonight and ended up running 4.67 miles with little problem (my knees started getting sore near the end).

2. A friend's third grade class is going to be pen pals with my third grade class (talk about having a motivation to write!).

3. I have the next two weeks planned for school (except for math...)!

4. We had pizza for dinner and I love pizza.

5. I'm doing benchmarks with my students tomorrow which means that I get to meet with every student individually and listen to them read. I love that!

6. I get to go to the Relief Society meeting with my sister in three weeks.

7. Cody and I will be getting together with some of our friends on Saturday for dinner or lunch and going to the temple.

8. I slept really well last night.

9. I'm feeling sort of organized with my new calling at church (Primary secretary--Primary is the children's organization in the LDS church for those who don't know), which is saying a lot since that is basically all that my calling means I need to be.

10. Beautiful sunset tonight that I got to watch appear as I went on my run.

11.  Thinking about how one of these days (soon...) I'll write about how I'm in a community orchestra and read a fantastic book that I think about all the time now.