I am about a month into this teaching gig and let me tell you it is the best thing I could have said yes to this year. Am I good at it yet?...nope! Does it still scare me? oh yeah baby and that is the best part! I have always been a lover of change and risk. Sometimes this is a strength while other times this is a weakness. In this case my risk loving heart did the right thing by saying yes to teaching orchestra.
Let me tell you about my week because this week has been my favorite so far! My beginning orchestra has now learned how to hold their instruments the right way and their notes! They are fast enthusiastic learners and I love seeing them twice a week. So on Tuesday I pulled out twinkle twinkle little star and taught them how to pluck it out on their violins and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed to see their faces after they all played together. It was genuinely difficult not to cry and jump up and down. I am incredibly proud of them. To make things even better I had my advanced orchestra sight read Vivaldi's autumn because I am trying to send all good juju into the universe to bring forth Autumn as quickly as possible. After we practiced in sections we put it together and it was breath taking. Not because it was perfect but because they played it together and it was glorious. I am so tempted to take them outside tomorrow and play it into the open air. I think it would make the wind a little more blustery. I am disorganized and sometimes overwhelmed but then they play together and it is the best feeling. I totally understand the love of teaching now. I understand the coke and candy stashes too. I love waking up twice a week and getting ready because I have a place to go and something important to do. Being a stay at home mom has been so hard for me and this job is the perfect balance of yoga pants and heels. I think I will look back and declare it my happiest time of life....so far.
Gemma is thriving at school. The uniform really makes it for me...she could not be cuter. She has the most amazing teachers who love her and think she's as funny as I do. I can't believe how much she has learned already. She is writing and learning up a storm. Other news on g is her ABBA obsession. It started in the spring when Joe bought her a dancing queen music box. She can now sing Waterloo, honey honey, andante, and her favorite...when I kissed the teacher. She's got the dance moves and everything. We decided to take her to see Mamma Mia 2 and it was a great decision. She sang and danced throughout the theater for the whole movie. Luckily the people around us thought she was darling and not obnoxious. She lights up our life. Three years old is my favorite age right now. The things that come out of her mouth kill me. Yesterday Joe took her to see a movie so I could go to young women's. She came into my room and said:
"Mom, daddy is taking me on a date so I marry him now. Not your date mom...my date and my husband".
She takes sassy to a new level and I might encourage it. She's kind and considerate as well so I figure it all balances out. G did give me a scare a few weeks ago. I decided to take her on a hike. As we were headed back down she fell. I gave her a big squeeze and when she let go of me she had a seizure! We rushed back down the mountain and headed to the Children's Hospital. Apparently if kids fall hard enough, hit their heads, or get the wind knocked out of them they can have a seizure. It has been three weeks and she hasn't had another one so I am feeling less anxious about it. I have stopped sleeping on an air mattress by her bed so life is good. There is nothing in this world scarier than holding your baby and watching them seize being able to do absolutely nothing. my heart really empathizes with the mother's who deal with that on the daily.
Joe has been traveling a lot lately and in his spare time we have been doing some big projects around the house. Doesn't sound super romantic but we love working together on the house. Maybe someday soon I'll get an actual date but for now late nights building shelves and laying bricks are pretty great. My life could be falling apart but I would be ok as long as I had Joe around. He makes our life fun and happy no matter what else is going on.
I would hate to jinx it but I am feeling so grateful for the cohesiveness of my life right now. Everyone is healthy, happy, and my candy cupboard is stocked...life is good. Speaking of my candy cupboard though...my mom was here for three weeks and helped me reorganize my kitchen. Get yoself a mama who comes over and cleans and organizes your life with you! She teaches me so much every time she visits. It has been a week since she left and I still enjoy opening all my kitchen cabinets just to look at it. My kitchen is an OCD heaven. There are bins and extra space and everything has a home. I highly recommend trying it. All you do is take one cupboard at a time, empty it out onto the floor or counter, scrub the shelves and then look at each thing and decide if you need it or if you have used it within the last year. If so put it back if not throw it away. Want to know how many bags I threw away?...6! SIX glorious bags of clutter. It is funny what we hold onto. I am not much of a hoarder and tend to toss instead of store but I save the weirdest things. Such as college notebooks, high school handouts from history class (because heart eyes and I'm pretty sure I am a history major trapped in my English major body), boxes, museum brochures, concert tickets....weird stuff that is mostly garbage but every year new things become more important and the old seems easier and easier to let go. It is a beautiful part of growing up.
Growing up! I am not seventeen. I still sometimes picture myself as seventeen and then have a shocking reality check that I'm a married lady with a baby and a mortgage. I wonder if that shock ever goes away. I have started to develop fine lines around my eyes. I blame Arizona and my abhorrence of sunblock but there they are. They really bother me. I mentioned this to my mom and she said
"oh Collett don't even start. You are a 20 something year old! fine lines my foot."
See...you need my mom in your life. She reminded me of that quote by Marjorie Hinckley
I guess this includes my "fine lines". I am all about embracing and accepting right now and let me tell you...life is happier when you recognize that everyone is battling something including yourself so let everyone have a little room.
xoxo
c
P.S. if you are in need of something fabulous to drink my latest obsession is:
coke zero
a splash of coconut coffee creamer
on the rocks
try it!
