10 Days Left

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day everyone! I've been out shoveling show for an hour and it was coming down so hard I had to do it again 45 minutes later. We haven't had this much snow since we moved back to Utah almost 10 years ago. It's definitely a winter wonderland in our neck of the woods.

Tomorrow I'm going to start substituting at the elementary school in the lower grade autism class. The teacher is on maternity leave for 4-6 weeks and I will be the aide while she is gone. This past month I've been helping in the upper grade autism class periodically and my eyes have been opened to the trials and frustrations that these children face. I have been sworn at and yelled at on occasion while I've been in that upper grade class, but I've also seen the light bulb go on in some children's faces, and that made the other stuff worth it believe it or not. I am relieved to be occupied during this dreary, depressing month.

Adrienne went to a girl's preference dance at Orem High Saturday night and had a ball. We actually went out to buy a dress for this event and that was a fun mother/daughter time together. Her girlfriends did her hair, makeup and nails, and she looked gorgeous. Thanks Shelly and Bridgett for saving me tons of money at the beauty salon!

I feel sorry for the server at Macaroni Grill who had to cater to all 22 people in their group. And each couple had separate checks! What a nightmare!

Darren is coaching Nathan's Jr. Jazz team and the team's doing great. It gives him something to do on dreary Saturdays besides watching ESPN and playing Game Cube. He can't wait for soccer season to start again. This time he'll be playing without a broken ankle. I'm excited to see what he can do. I can't imagine ever seeing green grass again after the winter we've had.

Sammie is back at art classes after a two-year hiatus. She's decided that she's had a long enough break and is ready to create her beautiful masterpieces again. Leah is much happier since we started to going to school later and coming home later.

Cub Scouts continues to be an adventure a week for the other leaders and me. This past week a boy slipped on the ice, hit his head and started to black out. His eyes rolled back in his head and he was screaming. Only one leader was outside. The rest of us were inside cleaning up. While she was trying to make him focus on her and get him off the ice, the newest cub scout came up to her and said, "Sister Jackson, I didn't get my treat yet!"

Little boys are oblivious to the world around them. Not that I didn't already know this.

Only 10 days left of the worst month of the year!