On Rendezvous, Road Trips, and Recess.
There is a blissful evening of nothingness experienced in the Sugar Creek teacher house. Chicken fettuccine with caesar salad and breadsticks is on the menu. One of the cos makes pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. It is the most relaxing of events that has happened in a while.
Lightning crackles and flashes, lighting up the dark Great Plains. It stops the heart for a second. How great is our God! How awestruck one feels when they study the pattern of the lightning and understand the power behind the single flash! Psalm 33:5 says, “The earth is full of the goodness of God.” How amazing it is to serve such an awesome God! Sometime later, the thunder crashes so loudly, it wakes me from a dead sleep. The thunderstorms on the plains are much more aggressive than the thunderstorms I am used too!
On a Thursday evening, Mr. Chairman asks on our teacher chat if we would like to take a school outing to the Mountain Man Rendezvous. No art! Absolutely! Around one o’clock, our entire school and faculty loaded into two transit vans and a suburban and drove the 15ish minutes to the sight. The kids were enamored with the people in their woodsmen outfits and watching them carve wooden objects and look at the furs they’d shot. We were lucky enough to get a wagon ride into the bison reserve. We bumped over the dirt road and suddenly there were bison all around our wagon. They are impressively sized beasts. They lumber along without a care in the world of the 30 pairs of eyes excited staring at them. There was also a coyote spotting and then we bumped back to the camp. It was altogether a fun school outing. The kids loved it and the teachers loved it even more.
We celebrated my co KJ’s 21st birthday and what a celebration it was. Cat and I went to Walmart to buy the decorations. In the process of hanging out in the party aisle, we bought a helium canister and huge 2 1 balloons. We had the youth girls over and ate sushi and Japanese food at a cutely decorated table. One of the girls made a beautiful birthday cake with twenty-one gold candles. The next day we wondered why our ribs hurt. Turns out we had laughed so much and hard that there was evidence the following day. A few of the youth men came over and set up a fire and we talked about our favorite topic, enneagrams. It was entirely a fun evening and a joy to celebrate KJ!
KJ’s class sister was to be married. She’s from Mountain Grove, aka Mountain Groovy. It is only six hours away so why not go? We piled into my Honda Civic early Saturday morning. We made a stop in Kansas City to eat some good food, go thrifting, and see the sights. Entirely enjoyable situation! We made it to the co and I’s Airbnb and quickly changed for the supper. Many old friends made an appearance and it was so fun to be with them again. We played some ball, ate some late night Taco Bell, listened to a wedding choir, and had some spills during lunch. Then we changed clothes and headed back to the United Center. The “family” road trip was a bonding time and we enjoyed many laughs. After six hours on the road, how good it was to see our shining porch lights when we arrived home!
Heard in Miss Miller’s room:
“Cashews are weird!”
“I love the Nigeria Falls.”
“That was so insanely weird!”
During flashcards I was told, “My head is crazy.”
“Why do all the school board wives drive white buses?” It is true. They all drive some kind of white suburban or something similar.
After spending quite a few minutes fixing a jammed eversharp, I set it on the student’s desk and forgot about it. Later, she raised her hand, “Thank you for fixing my pencil.”
It was first recess and Miss Miller’s class was playing tag on the playground. The teacher suddenly hears a strangled cry and sees a child laying on the ground. “I can’t move my wrists!” Her voice sounds panicky. We manage to get her into a standing position. Her right wrist is in an S shape. That is not correct! The aid ices her wrist while the teacher calls her mom. She is whisked away to the ER. Later that afternoon, her mother messages. She has fractured both of her wrists and will not be attending school for some time. It has put a damper on our once cheerful classroom dynamic. The rest of the children talk about her often and her twin is quieter than normal. We all look forward to her return whenever it will be.
Fall has come in all its coldness. The gray sky weeps fat tears on the dry earth. The sun seems scared to show its face and the temperatures drop. The tights and boots and double layering have made an appearance and could be back to stay for a while.
While on a trip into Marshalls, I noticed a quote on a plaque that touched a cord. To be kind is more important than to be right. Many times, what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks, but a special heart that listens. -F. Scott Fitzgerald
If there is ever a silent moment when sitting in a group of youth, someone inevitably brings up enneagrams. It is our favorite topic. Nearly everyone in our youth group has taken the test and it has been a very good way to get to know everyone. It is interesting to hear how they resonate with certain attributes and strongly disagree with others. The Road Back to You is a permanent fixture on the side table in our living room. Many evenings have been spent reading it and discussing the many facets of our personalities. It has been a great bonding experience in “the casa” as one of the youth boys would say.
It was decided upon for the trio to attend a wedding in Cat’s hometown, Clarksdale. My sister and KJ’s home friend were going to be in attendance as well as a myriad of home home people. I was beyond excited. I told my parents and those who knew I was going, not to let my home friends know. The nine hour drive passed without drama and we arrived and got to see the home of the co-teacher. At lunch the next day, my friends walked into the restaurant we were eating at. “I didn’t know you were going to be here!” Hugs were exchanged and it was the neatest to see the people who have known me since I was a small child. The whole weekend was full of good ball, late nights, and lots and lots of laughing! After being gone from home, it is so good to be with those people you haven’t seen in a while. All too soon, we hit the road back to the casa. It was fun but it will be good to be home:)