While sitting at dinner one night I mentioned to Ben that I had gotten on my blog to write something but as I went to type I discovered I had nothing to write about. Nothing new or exciting had happened that anyone would have the least bit of interest in and so I logged off thinking “well at least nothing bad happens right?”. Ben suggested that I start writing about lessons I’m learning and reasons why I am so passionate about being a teacher. This would prove valuable for when I interview for teaching positions because they could visit my blog and read about a more personal side of me. I have a genius for a husband!
So then I started thinking about what I’ve been learning lately. Faith, trust and service came to my mind but the lesson that has hit home the most is the topic of being and remaining positive. As school has gone on this semester I have tried to remain positive and hopeful that all will turn out. Ben has been great for helping me not get as stressed out as I usually do. And although he might say that I still seemed overwhelmed and negative at times it has been an amazing experience for me to see all the little changes with in myself. Everyday I find something to be happy about. (Although PMS does hinder me on occasions.) Some days I have to laugh at the sequence of unfortunate events that occur but once I’m done laughing the end result ends up being a positive one and I’m on my way again to “happy thoughts”.
On my mission I had what I call an epiphany. I remember when everything I had seen on my mission came together to form the knowledge of how good people are. It was at that point that I knew why the Lord had sent his Son into the world to suffer and die. It is because people are so good. I’m not dismissing the fact that bad things happen everyday. Really bad things! But it was at that point that I could see the good in people and the good that I saw was really really good. It affected me to the extent that I can’t explain but this semester I’ve tried to transfer that perspective not only to people but events. Every minute of every day things happen and choices are made. They are made by us. Normal people trying to figure out what we are supposed to be doing. Isn’t that an amazing concept. People who have never gone through life before are running it. God puts a lot of trust in us and like a good father would He is always there to offer support, yet not make our decisions for us. WOW Life is good!
So that’s the lesson I’ve been learning the last few months. Sure there are plenty of things to get uptight and negative about but if you take a step back and see the big picture of all the good that happens everyday suddenly what you thought was horrendous isn’t so bad. I remember a quote that says, “There is nothing that is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.” I am a believer in naps. But more than naps I am a believer in staying positive and looking for good in all situations. I have a long way to work on this myself. My husband would probably be the first one to admit that, him being the one I always complain to. Yet I feel like I have taken a step, a step in the right direction to a more positive me.
As soon as Ben figured out that in order to watch conference we’d have to go to a church house he decided we needed to go out of town. Utah was our first choice. My cousin was scheduled to have a baby and it would be great to see our families. There was one problem that ended up preventing us from ultimately choosing Utah. Ben had gone down earlier that week for the BYU career fair and didn’t want to make the drive twice in one week. (He had tried to get me to skip my glasses Thursday and Friday but anyone who knows me knows that wasn’t even an option.) We decided Burley was a great alternative. The could hitch a much shorter ride with Mitchell and Farrah and the “grandma’s” would spoil us. (not that our mom’s wouldn’t!) The grandma’s did end up spoiling us. We had home cooked meals for two days and we got to snuggle on the coach and watch conference instead of sitting in an comfortable chair in the chapel overflow.
One adventure that we had occured Saturday morning. In a previous visit Ben had taken my family to see his old house up in Paul, Idaho. It was going to be torn down and I wanted to see it so I’d have a visual to go with all the stories Ben tells me. The house was in pretty bad shape, but we were able to walk through it. Ben showed us the corner he peed in in the basement and shared other memories with us as he took us room by room.
As we were leaving Ben mentioned the hand and foot prints he and three of his siblings had put in the cement about 20 years ago. He thought that if somehow he could cut out the chunk it would be a great present for LaRae. So back to this weekend. This time when we went the house was gone. We were told the police comducted training on it first and then after they were through the firefighters came through and also conducted training (which meant they burned the house down.) Ben made some calls and got permission to use the neighbors backhoe to break the cement free of the drive way. It was cold and snowing! The wind up on that hill felt like we were back in Rexburg. We didn’t bring coats for our trip, but Grandma and Grandpa Crane were gracious enough to let us borrow two of theirs. If you can picture two “little people” (as Ben called us once) in oversized coats shivering to death (at least I was), trying to operate a backhoe and break apart a huge cement block with hand and foot prints that had faded over the last twenty years. I got too cold and decided to sit in the truck for a bit. After watching Ben do everything himself I asked myself what kind of wife I was and decided that my dad hadn’t raised a sissy. I got out of the truck and tried to offer my help but really I just stood out there, watched, and bounced up and down to keep myself warm. Mud was everywhere and it got messy, but we broke it free. It was a huge block that was way too heavy to carry so Ben tried breaking it down smaller. He did it without breaking off any of the prints and decided to risk it once again. This time however he wasn’t successful and our dream of giving a great gift went down the drain. We considered trying to glue it back together but the cement was over 6 inches thick and decided against it.
Well, we’ve been in Rexburg for about a month now and we are getting our routine established. Each day is pretty much the same, which I guess is a good thing because nothing negative really happens so we will count our blessings. Eastern Idaho is much colder than Utah or anywhere else in Idaho for that matter. Yesterday was really nice and today wasn’t bad either, however the weekend high is 50 degrees. (I think we’ll snuggle up and watch a movie.)
Ben is working his body to death. He works such long hours and then comes home and suits up for football practice. He is playing on the Knights team for BYU-Idaho. He was initially excited to tackle someone full speed, but has since found out that it’s not natural to run at someone full speed and take them out. (Personally I think it’s a good thing he hesitates!) However I’m sure with a few more practices nature will change in football’s favor and Ben will become a tackling machine! He’s so Strong!
I decided not to play competitive fast pitch softball this year. My heart broke but I got over it and I am actually pleased with my decision. My school load is just way too much plus I have a husband that I want to take care of. The Lord truly knows our hearts and hears our prayers because one day on campus a random boy stopped me and asked if I played softball. I stared at him for a moment wondering if he knew me from my days as a star with my picture up in the hart building. 🙂 When I realized I was staring I answered yes. He said he was on a intermural team and needed another girl player. I told him I’d love to and now I belong to the “ChainYankers” softball team. We are 2-0 right now.
I am teaching at Ucon Elementary School in Mrs. Arnell’s third grade class. I teach on Monday’s and Wednesday’s and I love it! The children are hilarious and it makes me excited to have a house full of (ben claims the crane’s have an abundance of the male chromosome) boys. The rest of the week I am on campus the ENTIRE day. I have two classes that I love. Assessment and Evaluation and Motivation and Management. I actually get excited to go and I always leave with a smile on my face. In my senior level classes we talk a lot about philosophies and present educational issues in the U.S. Did you know that the Secretary of Education has never been an educator before! There are a lot of quarks in the government.