A sad day at school

Maybe I need to not teach anymore. I am finishing my second year, and as school comes to a close once again I have had a student face tragedy. Last year one of my students lost their little cousin who was their best friend. It was hard for me to see my student in such pain at losing them. Attending the funeral was the worst part.

I'm not sure yet how to deal with this years tragedy. One of my students lost his mother last night. She was in a car accident on Saturday night. She has been on life support ever since. She didn't pull through.

 Kiddo L wasn't at school on Friday and didn't get to take his Mother's Day present home to her. Maybe if he had, she would have at least seen it even though he wasn't able to give it to her on that special day. Maybe it would have been a lasting memory of the last thing he did was tell her he loved her and give his forever flowers to her. Instead they are sitting in my room today as I cry for him. 

He moved in to my class later in the year and mom was grateful because she always thanked me for making him feel welcome and loved unlike his other school. She would pick him up evey day on the playground and he would run into hers arms and she would scoop him up and ask how school was. He always responded, "we had to do math today." He doesn't really like math. But as we walked out of school he would turn and say goodbye to me at least 100 times before we were finally out of earshot of each other. It always brought a smile to his mom and to me. 

I guess these are really my only memories of her and I didnt know her that long or that well, but I know her son. I know he loves video games and wearing socks with sandals in case his feet get cold. I know who he likes to play with and that he is nice to everyone. I know he takes pride when he does something better than someone else.  I know he has improved his reading tremendously this year. He thrives off of the positive. He could give 100 high fives a day and then some. He is a hugger and I have recieved more hugs from him than most of my students combined. He is very funny and likes to make up jokes. I love this little boy like I love all of my students. 

Now there is nothing I can do for him. 

I don't know if he will be back in my class or who he will end up living with or if he will go into the system. I don't know if he will ever have someone love him like his mother did. For his sake I hope he does. 

These are the things I worry and stress about. I cry for his lost mother,  but I cry for the unknown in his life. I cry because there is nothing I can do but attend the funeral and tell him I care about him. 

As much as I have been debating I think I have to take his Mother's Day flowers to him. Whether he leaves them with his mom or holds on to them to remember, giving him this is going to break my heart all over again. 

Kiddo L, you never know what life is going to give you. In your case it took your mom, but you still have a long life to live. You may not fully understand what is happening at this point but some day you will and you will ask why. No one knows that answer, but if your mom could choose she would still be here with you. She would want you to live your life and be the best person you can be. 

Live. Don't give up. Don't quit. You can do anything you set your mind to. Your first grade teacher believes in you. 

Challenge Nation

Last year Ashely and I ended up running a lot of 5ks together. We decided to start early this year and our first race was in April. It was a scavenger hunt in downtown Salt Lake. We got Tanya to join us and it was a lot of fun. We were given clues and had to solve the riddles to figure where to take the picture at. Then once we got to the place we usually had to do something weird for the picture! We ended up in 21st place which qualified us to go to the big scavenger hunt race in Las Vegas in November!

(This was my favorite I think. We had to find and take a picture with George Washington. He is on the t-shirt but instead of signing the Declaration of Independence, they are playing beer pong!)

CURLING!!

Winter Olympics 2018 here I come!

Luckily I have awesome friends who also think trying curling would be fun so we signed up for a class one Friday night and it was amazing. I got to throw the hammer (the last thrower), I landed one in the haus (inside the rings), and scored some points! Sweeping is probably the most fun because throwing is really hard, especially getting the curl just right at the last second. 

This is definitely something I will go back and do again.

Mr. Donato and the Daybreak Triathlon

Mr. Donato's News Article

There are always those teachers that inspire you to be a better person while you are in their class, and there are those that continue to inspire you throughout your life. 

I didn't decide to go to school to become a teacher until I was in high school, but it was the good influence of all the previous teachers I had had, that made it an easy decision for me.

There was...

1st Mrs. Darr and her marble jar. 

1st Mrs. Wiemar who who give me a smarties every time she saw a smile on my face and I think even today that is why I smile so much.

2nd Mrs Hyatt-Curry and her love to introduce us to different cultures

3rd Mrs. Leopold and showing me it was okay to be who you really are, because that lady had spunk!

4th Mrs. Hurt who was the most kind and gentle woman on the planet that wore the most makeup

5th Mr. Donato and his very hands on way of teaching. I think his class is where I learned to love to read. I still remember reading the BFG (big friendly giant) and the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and creating activities to go along with the books. Also his spelling crossword puzzles that I used to dominate!

6th Mrs. Horrell being another hands on teacher and giving us options as students to choose our projects and what we wanted to learn. 

7th Mrs. Potthoff, Mrs. Brighton, Mrs. Saxton- got kicked out of my first class (well the teacher kicked everyone out!) I still remember how to graph. We had the most fun homework in math that year.

8th Mr. Volgesang and Mr.Skaloda who were the most fun teachers I think I ever had!

9th-12th Mrs. Weigand, Mr. Beitel, Mrs. Washnock, Mr. Beyers, Mr. Polskena, Mrs. Bowman, Mrs. Eberhart, Ms/ Caughey, Mr. Bridge, Mr. Burd, Ms. Weiers, Mrs. Ackerman, and so many more.

Obviously each has had a lasting impact on my life for me to still remember them and what happened in their classes.  

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my dad on the phone about training for my triathlon. I was probably complaining a little bit about how hard it was going to be and that I'm not sure I can finish the whole thing. Being the great dad that he is, he told me that he believed in me and that I could do anything I set my mind to. 

Then told me a story that he read in the local paper. It happened to be about my 5th grade teacher Mr. Jeff Donato. A year ago he had heart surgery and about a month ago competed in a triathlon in Virgina and finished 3rd in his age category......did I also mention he is 62!

At first I just brushed it off because Mr. Donato has always been a very fit man. We would always see him running or biking around town. I'm pretty sure he would bike to school some mornings. I thought that something like heart surgery surely wouldn't slow him down and I'm not surprised he did so well in his race. 

But when I took some time to really think about it, I was amazed at all that he had accomplished. He is no longer a teacher, but he was my middle school teacher.

 

He taught me to love reading, and to use my imagination in learning. And even though it's been 13 years, He is still teaching me, that even if he is in better shape than I will ever be, he overcame heart surgery and still completed his triathlon, and so can I. I can overcome whatever excuses I am putting in front of me. And while I am pretty sure I won't place 3rd in my age category, I know I can finish anything I set my mind to, just like my dad was telling me. 

So, Mr. Jeff Donato, you ran the Angel's Race with your doctors name on your arm, I am going to complete my race with you on my arm. You have no idea that I read the article about you, or the impact you are having on me now, or the impact you had on me as my teacher. 

Your name on my arm will be a way to express my gratitude for you in my life. And even though you will probably never read this....thank you.

I always need some good motivation:)

Chiropractor

I officially hit my goal of 80% improved which we thought would never happen. Last month Dr Frogley wanted to see if I could get any higher than 65%. We were shooting for maybe 70%, but in a month I did so awesome and reached 80%!!! When he told me I couldn't stop smiling and then he couldn't either. Now it is time for stabilization so that my ligaments can heal in the right places and I will never have problems again...hopefully!

Team Kendyl

Have I ever stated how much I love coming from a small town, well I do! My good friend Ali died in October and left behind a little girl, Kendyl. Our little town on Ligonier hosted a basketball game of the merchants vs. 10 of the Steelers. All the money raised went to a college fund for Kendyl. They also had baskets to raffle off and pictures and autographs during half time. 

It would have been amazing to be at the game and be able to remember my friend and support her daughter. I had my mom go in my place and she said it was amazing!  Thank you Ligonier for the love of a town.

A quote from the Tribune about the event....
"Though the event will be one of animation, amusement, alliance and athletics, it will also serve as a final commemoration and recognition of how loss once again evolves into love. It will provide those that care most for Kendyl and Ali the opportunity to do one last thing for a friend and mother, who passed too soon."
Full article here

Hiking Donut Falls

It was really nice one Saturday and so my roommate and some friends decided to go hiking up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Now we are all in shorts or capris not thinking that its going to be cold up in the mountains, let alone so much snow!

It is a really easy hike and some great views.

So here is the story...The snow was really deep one Saturday afternoon in the mountains. I thought it would be fun to see how far i could sink in the snow. So I backed up got a running start and jumped into the untouched snowy area.....

...and it was almost solid ice! I did not sink in and landed hard on my bum...

...and continued to slide onto my back!

I was not happy with how that turned out. A little bit later Vanessa was walking and decided to just try and stomp her foot in and it went deep she almost fell over. So I decided this was a better spot to try again. This attempt ended up working a whole lot better. There was still some ice under the snow but I was able to break through it at the cost of scratching up my legs pretty badly. But almost sinking in up to my waist was worth it!