Valentine Treasures and Tragedies

It has been so wonderful to read about your Valentine's Day experiences, so I thought I'd better write about mine, too. Well, Valentine's Day started on Friday for me with my 2nd graders. We aren't supposed to have parties or celebrations unless they have some kind of academics involved. So, we practiced our alphabetical order skills (you can't imagine how difficult ABC order is for many 7 year-olds!) by putting our bags in ABC order by our first names. Students had to pass out their valentine cards by figuring our where each person's bag would be. Here is where the tragedy struck. Let me back track just a bit. In the morning, I had collected the students' valentines, put them in a box, but the box under the chair which is under my desk, then put two of my coats over the chair. I didn't want students to be tempted. Anyhow, at the end of the day, one student's valentines were missing. I felt furious because we have been battling stealing in our class and because I had tried so hard to protect the cards. The little boy broke down in tears, and I spent the next three hours trying to overcome my frustration by figuring out how to stop things from "disappearing" from my class. (I am not allowed to check backpacks or desks without an administrator.)

Anyway, that was a Valentine's Day tragedy. Here are some of the treasures.
On Friday night, Brian and I went to a music party at my Aunt Kristine's house. Kristine and her husband Adam invite musicians they know to perform, and it is simply amazing. One man performed Irish tunes on his violin, which was simply gorgeous. Then, he pulled out a saw (yes, a saw he bought at Home Depot) and used his violin bow against the dull side of the saw to play "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables. Just incredible!

On Saturday, we went to the temple, and I had a particularly sweet experience. I won't say much more, except that I felt peace and strength.

Happy Valentine's Day!