Sun and the Scent of Orange Blossoms

Today I wore shorts for the first time in almost 6 months. I also wore flip-flops. And short sleeves. With no jacket. It was glorious.

Arizona springs are a balm to the soul. When we arrived last night and got out of the car, the light breeze sent the smell of orange blossoms flooding over us. I inhaled deeply and thought, "ahhhh."

I have lived in Utah for 22 years, and while I love the beauty of the mountains and the beautiful trees, there is nothing like the green of an Arizona desert in spring and that orange blossom scent.

The girls and I visited the Casa Grande Ruins; we were hoping for a hike so we could be outdoors for awhile. We didn't get to hike, but we did get to wander around an ancient dwelling and hypothesize about its purpose (our best guess came from Jenna: a temple or religious building of some sort). We also saw a snake (a real one - it brought excitement from all the folks in the area) and Alissa's wish came true. She said all she wanted to see was a cactus with flowers on it. We found one at the end of our visit. Then we went to Jack-In-The-Box and ordered 15 tacos and made Katie's dreams come true by going to Bahama Buck's for shaved ice.

Bless you, Arizona, for a beautiful day, and for smelling like orange blossoms again tonight.

Waiting

When I woke up to snow this morning, my first thought was, "I'm still waiting for spring."

I refused to wear a coat even though it was 32 degrees and I could see my breath. "I'm waiting for spring," I said and so I only wore a sweater. Fortunately, I also have a space heater by my desk which has been spouting lovely, warm, spring-type air all day. The space heater helps me to cheerfully (well, almost cheerfully) endure the wait.

Waiting seems to be a significant part of life, much more so than I realized.

So it seems important to figure out the things that help make the waiting bearable, maybe even character-building. Like Disneyland: they are pros at managing the "wait" - have you ever seen happier masses of people standing in long lines for hours at a time to go on a 2-minute ride?

This month I have been waiting to see if the school I love will raise the funds it needs to survive. It has been painful, like being slowly stretched on a medieval torture rack. Things that have helped me endure the wait: prayer, fasting, prayer, positive thoughts, prayer, Cadbury chocolate eggs, prayer, work, and did I mention prayer?

I can honestly say that my character and my faith have grown immensely, along with my gratitude for all the good in my life. I've especially learned to appreciate each moment, but I have to admit, I'm feeling a little haggard.

Gratefully, this wait will be over tomorrow - sometimes just knowing, whether it's good or bad, is easier than waiting.

And the sun just peeped out of the clouds, so maybe the wait for spring will be over soon, too.

Drama Queen

Today was the foreign language skits at school. The kids in French, German, and this year, Chinese, act out skits completely in the language they're learning. No English allowed.

They are hilarious.

In the past, my kids have been Snow White, Pain from Hercules, Monkey from Kung Fu Panda, the Little Red Hen....and the kids get so into it. Costumes, props, music, dancing. It is a real performance.

This year Jenna was Princess Leia (and Darth Mal - playing several roles is a must). She was so funny. My favorite part was when Padme stood in front with Leia and Luke hiding behind her and she said "Ahh, ahh, Leia...Luke..." and they popped out from behind her. Not a bad birthing scene. We got to see the entire Star Wars saga, all six movies, in 5 minutes...no kidding.

So funny. I love it.

A Quick Trip to the Store

This morning I went to the grocery store in my pajamas, thick socks, flip flops, and yes, I'll admit it, no bra (but I had on a jacket so you couldn't tell). I didn't even brush my hair. Well, I finger-combed it, but it wasn't very effective. Stacey and Clinton from What Not To Wear would have been appalled. I can just hear them:

"I was only going to the grocery store," I exclaim.

"But we have to see you!" they protest.

It was 8:00 am on a Saturday so I figured I'd be safe. Only one employee looked at me kind of funny when I walked in, but I didn't know her so it didn't really bother me.

I grabbed the few things I needed and was headed to the check-out stand when I heard, "Well, hello Kris! How are the Crowther's?" Yes, it was someone I knew, who gave me a very funny look after appraising my entire outfit. I kept the conversation brief: "We're fine" and booked it out of there.

I've engaged in such risky behavior before, but I am much more cautious than I used to be after hearing this story.

My mom had to run kids to school, so she hopped in the car wearing just her robe and her underclothes. She dropped off the kids and was heading home when the car ran out of gas. There she was in bare feet, a robe, no purse, no cell phone (they weren't common then), and my little sister in tow (also in her pj's). My mom was forced to knock on the door of the nearest house to ask if she could use their phone to call my dad.

I have learned from this little incident: I always wear shoes, I always take my purse, and I always have a coat if it's winter....but I don't comb my hair or wear a bra.

I have learned, but you've got to take some risks.

Watergate Bowl

Yesterday in my journalism class we played Watergate Bowl.

It is a game I made up to see how much my student's understand the Watergate Scandal (Nixon, break-in, cover-up, etc.)

I love game shows, so I tried to make it cool with a bowl with questions and theme music and exciting prizes (Peeps and gum). Some of the kids got into it and some of the kids, well....

There was one girl who sat there with her arms folded and this look on her face that said, "This is the dumbest thing ever." Even at 39, I admit to being intimidated and having those "high school moments" where I know that I'm just too nerdy to be talking to these kids. I showed that nervousness because I kept messing up and saying they answered the question wrong when they actually answered correctly. They really liked that - I have found kids love it when you show you're human. And I am very human.

But there are also neat things. Like the kids who are just racking their brains to get the right answer and then give a little "Yes!" when they get it. And the boy who tried to trick me by making up his own question instead of reading the one off the paper...and then he actually pulled the made up question on his next turn. We laughed and laughed, together.

I think some of them got a kick out of it. They all came to claim their prize afterwards (except the crossed-arm girl, she took off lickety split), so at least I can say the prizes were good.

And I think they'll all remember that Watergate was about Nixon, who was a Republican, and bugging an office and some tapes.

A Reader

I am a reader.

I know this because when people ask me what my hobbies are, I say "Reading" without even thinking about it. It is my number one, most favorite thing to do.

When I was a girl, there was no library in my town. Instead, we had the Bookmobile. It was a library in a mobile home and once a week it parked right next to my house. From the moment it arrived until it was time to leave, I laid inside on the comfy floor and read. I used to fantasize about being so involved in my book that I didn't realize the engine had started and the Bookmobile drove off with me inside.

I read like a starving person: voraciously. I inhale books in a single gobble, reading as quickly as possible and for hours at a time. At least the first time. I will reread books I love over and over and over again. This weekend I read Hunger Games and Catching Fire in about 8 hours. I will definitely read both of them again when the third book comes out in August.

Jenna reads like me. I think she's read Harry Potter so many times she can quote it from memory. Kellie is a methodical reader. She reads because it must be done, but she has a thing for comic books. Alissa loves to read, but only once. Not a re-reader. Katie is still figuring it out, but fortunately she likes Junie B. Jones and Diary of a Wimpy Kid so we get to laugh a lot when we read together.

Josh is in an AP Literature class that is killing him. Much to my dismay, he is not a reader, and the books they are reading are not for the faint of heart. For his winter term final, he had to write a paper on the book Heart of Darkness. I helped him with the paper, but I hadn't read the book, so didn't find out until afterwards that he had misunderstood a major component of his thesis. His teacher offered to let him rewrite it, so I said, "Josh, you read the book and I'll read the book and I'll help you with the rewrite."

It was a hard book. And, I thought, a little boring.

In fact, if I hadn't been reading it to help Josh, I would have set it aside after the first chapter.

But I persevered and finished it and now Josh and I have something we're bonded in.

I wanted to bond some more, so I handed him Hunger Games and said, "Josh, this is a great book. It's almost R-rated because of all the violence. I think you'd like it. Give it a try."

He read the first chapter on Sunday and said, "Hmm....interesting."

Yesterday he read more and stayed up 'til 3 am to finish the book.

I have not give up hope that he may also be ....a reader.

Konichiwa Means "Hello"

Our family has grown by two.

Two Japanese girls came to live with us for the next 10 days. They get to travel all over Utah and practice their English skills and we get to make some new friends.

I scared one half to death this morning. I gently shook her to wake her up and she leaped up and began yelling in Japanese (it was probably cursing, but who could blame her? I am pretty scary in my glasses). We had a good laugh about it on the way to school.

This is the third time we've had Japanese students stay with us. We've also had students from Germany, Korea, and France. It's become a "thing" with our family; we like international people and I'd like to think we're getting better at being a host family.

Our first student, Alice, came from France when Josh was only 12. Alice was 16. She came to live with us for 9 months - straight - poor girl. Like a first child, she had to break us in as parents of an international student and parents of a teenager. She was very patient with us, for which I am grateful. The more students we host, the more I realize what a gem Alice was. I remember her first couple of weeks with us. The language thing was hard! She was trying to make something in the kitchen and she needed a....a.....it took 10 minutes to figure out "frying pan."

Believe it or not, having strangers in my home is a stretch for me. My first inclination is to be shy and I have to force myself to reach out. My home is my haven where I feel safe and can relax, but having folks there requires me to keep up the outgoing-ness. Sometimes I feel like I have the energy to do that and sometimes I don't. This time, I was thinking "no," but then Jenna said, "Mom, aren't we going to have a Japanese student? I like it when they're here; it forces me to keep my room clean." Who can argue with that logic? I signed us up.

The best thing about hosting students is the impact on my kids. I was talking to my dad last year about our student and my dad said, "You know, Kris, one of the neat things about your kids is that they just love everyone. People of all different races and cultures come into your home and there is no prejudice there. Your kids like them and welcome them in."

It is a relief to know that the sacrifice of my home turf is resulting in kids for whom race, color, language, and religion are not a stumbling block.

For that, and clean bedrooms, I will continue to be a host parent.

Our Japanese student introducing herself at the school assembly.