R.I.P

Saturday night, I was being extra grumpy. I had been at work for six hours and then we had to go to a ward party, which I wasn't looking forward to, to be followed by Jon doing accounting HW all night. no bueno. I was just tired and wanted to spend time with Jon before he went out of town (all this week). Jon was trying to cheer me up by singing "Stop! In the name of Love" with some pretty sweet dance moves, and then proceeded to jump on the coffee table mid dance move, splitting the table in half. Goodbye grumpiness. I laughed for a good five minutes. Why oh why didn't I have my camera with me! I have pictures of the broken table, which I will post, but oh man it was so funny. Especially if you've seen Jon's dance moves. haha :)
Would your husband break your coffee table just to cheer you up?
I love that man.

Not so anonymous AA

SO this week for my multi cultural Ed. class I had to work on a "community experience" which basically means doing something outside of your comfort zone and helping you to become aware of social issues in your own community. You would be shocked by the number of AA meetings there are in Provo alone! There are at least 3 meetings a day, every day of the week! I had to do a write up about my experience, so I'm going to include a little on here because it's really interesting!! It's not the same reading it, but if you want to become more compassionate and realize how extremely blessed your life is, go to an open AA meeting... here's a little of what happened:
        "My husband and I arrived to the meeting early. We sat at the back and felt a little uncomfortable as the rough and tumble men around us drank coffee and swore. In my mind, it was exactly as I had pictured. Guys with tattoos and motorcycles; men with no jobs, no families and no teeth. Homeless. I didn't expect to learn anything, but was ready to stay for twenty minutes and leave when it was convenient. I never expected what happened next. Several women walked into the meeting. One of them, a nurse, was a beautiful young 20-something that looked like every other Mormon girl around. Several of the women looked my age, perhaps a few years older. Next walked in a young man who looked like he'd just gotten off a mission. My husband leaned to me and asked, regarding the young girl,“Is that one of the girls from your class?”. “No” I said, “I think she's here for the meeting!” The meeting started with a moment of silence. The men who had been so callous before suddenly fell silent as they bowed their heads. The meeting continued by reading the 12 steps. Most of the steps included a statement about God. This, too, surprised me. These members, as one of their 12 steps, accepted that they were powerless to alcohol and gave themselves over to a higher power. How ignorant I had been. I couldn't believe how easily I judged these humble people who were seeking to end a battle that had stolen their lives. It dawned on me that each of these people were my brothers and sisters. Some of them probably had kids going to Provo schools, kids that I might one day be responsible for. I found a new sense of compassion as I heard their stories and listened to their broken hearts.

When Al, a man who had been sober nine years, got up to speak, I couldn't believe he had once been an alcoholic. He joked that people often asked him if he was a bishop because of how he looked, and I had to agree he looked like a typical lawyer you'd find around Utah County. His story made me realize that as a teacher, I have the skills to intervene and help troubled students in my classroom. Al told us that he grew up in Provo, right by Kiwanis park. Being the only non-Mormon in the neighborhood was hard for him, and he always felt out of place. He physically matured faster than anyone else, and was always looking for a way to fit in. Finally, he found that alcohol made him feel like he did fit it. Each time something went wrong in his life, Al turned to alcohol more and more. Eventually, he couldn't get out of bed without taking a few drinks, or his hands would shake so badly that he couldn't move. He went through two divorces and tried to pull off what he referred to as a "functioning alcoholic" front. His story taught me the importance of my role in seeking out the troubled students in my classroom and helping them find acceptance and confidence. There is so much I can do as a teacher to help students who are obvious outcasts among their peers find acceptance."

WHEW! I am so grateful that I don't drink! The whole time I was there I kept thinking of all the kids I know from high school that are going down this same path, and it makes me so sad. You don't wake up one day and become an alcoholic. He drank in college too, and never thought that he would be lying on his death bed because his kidneys were failing. I just wish more people realized how terrible a disease this is, & maybe they would stop drinking. Sorry for the extremely depressing post, but it was so cool to learn more about social issues surrounding our elementary schools. Promise I won't post this sad stuff again!

JUNIORS

I cannot believe that I am a JUNIOR in college. This point has always seemed so far away in the future (like every major milestone) but now it's here! I have four semesters of class left, then either three months of student teaching or a year long teaching internship. Jon has four semesters left as well, but then he'll graduate, which stinks because he graduates in April and I can't start student teaching until August!  (and how am I supposed to do a year long internship if he's graduated!?) Everything is up in the air. I just want to know where everything is going to land already, but I know that's unrealistic. We are just enjoying our time in school and living the college life to its fullest! Here's a highlight of things we've done lately:

1. went on the most AMAZING disneyland vacation! It was by far the best vacation I've gone on. we had a blast and keep talking about how much we want to go back. perfect weather.

2. along with our disneyland trip, we stopped to see jon's mom and stepdad and Jon's awesome brother and sister-in-law Ari. They just had the cutest baby boy and it made my week to get to play with such a cute baby!

3. We finished up winter semester with awesome grades. Jon got all A's and I got all A's and B's.

4. We're both currently in classes for spring, and I'll be going summer as well. Bummer.

I'll post a ton of pictures from our vacation in the next post, but all of the pics. are on Jon's phone, and he is out of town tonight :( So I am watching girl movies, eating cafe rio and trying to not get scared of being home alone!