On Monday we had decided to gift the teachers with potted plants. Claire had made these beautiful potted flowers for the grandparents brunch, and we smartly decided to reuse them for teacher appreciation gifts. Claire handed me mine on Monday morning as she was passing them out to the teachers. I helped pass out a few, and then I was going to run a quick errand before taking some of the kids to the nursing home to sing. However, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place when I was caught off guard by someone asking about a substitute teacher. The parents group had already decided to do something different, but it became apparent that wasn’t going to work out as planned. Do you ever get caught in a situation where you know what someone expects you to do, and probably what you should do, but you don’t want to do it? I had about a five second inner struggle before I handed over my plant and said “this is for so and so”. I would much rather deal with my own hurt feelings and emotions that to wrestle with the fact that I might have hurt someone else’s feelings or emotions. I want each person who has a part in our children’s education to feel loved and special. That’s not to say that wasn’t hard for me...in fact, I cried as I told my friend, Allison about my struggle. I know it’s mostly because I was overly tired from the weekend of the grandparents brunch, a Mother’s Day where Roger was flying, and just a bit overwhelmed with the upcoming week. I did gather myself together, and I got ready to take kids to the nursing home.
Two of the music classes went to the assisted living home last Monday, (5/14) and two groups would go the following week. Some of the kids were a little nervous about singing, but they did a great job. I was proud of their singing, their manners, and their willingness to be a blessing to the residents. We had walked the students down to the nursing home, as it is close to the school. When we arrived back at school, there was a basket of flowers with my name on it outside the office. Sometimes, when we bless others, God blesses us back in a bigger way than we could’ve imagined! My friend, Allison, had made the effort to pick out a hanging basket of flowers for me! They are beautiful and all summer long they will remind me that God loves me and He blesses me.
Tuesday was a breakfast for the teachers before school. This one was a bit tricky for Claire and I to coordinate just because we had to be at school early to get it set up so that the teachers could eat before school. Roger had off on Tuesday, so he was going to bring in some of our kids a bit later. Two of the boys (Garett and Wyatt) wanted to come with me, so I took them into school to help set up for the breakfast. They were very helpful in running to get stuff, organizing the table, and doing what I asked. The perk to this teacher appreciation idea was that it was done in the morning , which meant Roger, Emma and I had the rest of the day together. We took a walk down by the water, Emma played at the park, ran a few errands, and headed home. We worked in the yard a lot as the weather was nice, and it was a good day together at home.
Wednesday’s teacher appreciation gift was gift cards to a coffee shop. We didn’t have a lot of money on each card, but it did show the teachers that we loved and cared about them. Roger and I had picked up the cards the day before, and I had written notes of appreciation on the envelope. Claire and Allison had both said that they would pick up the cards for the teachers too, but since I had the funds to do it from our parents group, it made sense for me to just pick them up. It was a bit of an odd vibe for me though when I realized I had writtenmy own note of appreciation! Emma also had a field trip on Wednesday, so I went with her on that event. We went to a local museum, and the preschoolers seemed to have a good time. I, personally thought it was a bit boring, but the kids didn’t seem to think so! It was a good opportunity to spend with Emma and her class, and I’m glad I went even though I didn’t really want to originally.
Thursday was my birthday! I had kept reminding the kids all week that my birthday was on Thursday. When I would ask them, “what’s happening on Thursday?”, they would reply with gym class or bowling! Emma was the one who remembered on Thursday morning, and I think that’s because she wanted cake! Roger was working on Thursday, and we had a teacher appreciation lunch today. Allison and I set up the table for the lunch in the morning. I had made lemon bars and an angle food berry roll cake (it looked beautiful!). We had a few things we needed to get for the lunch, as well as pick up a food tray from a local restaurant. Emma, Allison and I got everything ready for the lunch, and then went to pick up the food tray. Our area town has a one way Main Street, which means you have to go around in circles around the block if you don’t park the first time around. Allison already knows that I’m not a fan of parallel parking, so we of course made several trips around the block! Eventually, a vehicle moved and we found the right spot! Good thing we left a little early to pick up the food! It was a fun morning spent with good company. The teachers seemed to really enjoy the lunch, and since there wasn’t any dessert left, I’m assuming that was good too!
After we cleaned up from the lunch, Claire offered to take Emma with her for part of the afternoon. This was a great birthday gift to me as it meant that I could get in a run before picking up the boys from school! Allison, Claire, and I met together a little before school was done to put together teacher appreciation baskets. This was our last gift for the teachers, and we were handing them out on Friday. Each teacher received a basket with snacks, treats, school supplies, and a few miscellaneous items. We had accomplished what we set out to do- a different gift for every day! I’m thankful for friends to work together to make these things happen for our staff and teachers! Claire also handed me a birthday card with a note inside. She was offering a gift to me for my birthday if Roger and I could work it out. The certificate was for a local bed and breakfast for a two night stay! How awesome would that be?! But could I manage to figure out how to make it work? The certificate needed to be used before May 31, and Roger doesn’t have off two days in a row this month! I came up with several different options over the course of the afternoon as I knew that if this was in my power to make it happen, I wanted to do it! By the time Roger came home from work, I had schemed up an idea to make it happen. My sister Hannah, agreed to come down on Wednesday evening to stay the night at our house. She will take the boys to school on Thursday and Emma with her that day. Roger has to work on Wednesday, but we will head out once he’s done. He has off on Thursday, and we will soak in that day together. On Friday, he has to work, but we will have managed to get away!! I’m thankful for family and friends that are helping make this event possible! I’m thankful for Claire’s gift of thoughtfulness for my birthday. Roger and I are very excited to get away, and I told him that I would leave all my responsibilities behind and just enjoy our time together. I’m not going to think about VBS, hot lunch, chapel, or anything else. Roger and I haven’t been away together for a very long time, so this is exciting!
Friday brought about the handing out of the teachers baskets, hot lunch, Piano lessons, and setting up for a church give-away. Every year our church hosts a give away. Everything is free and open to the public. This year we had a lot of stuff given to the event, and some of the students from the school helped us set up on Friday afternoon. It was a bit overwhelming with all the stuff in there! Chandler found an ice cream maker that is a ball that you roll around. He’s been wanting one for a while, but they are expensive! This one was free and still in the box! Chandler told me that night that he was glad he waited to get one because God gave him one that was free! We also brought home a turbo heater that works! So while we gave some stuff to the sale, we also came home with some items! Oh well! I’m thankful for how God provides for our needs, and sometimes he even gives us our wants. Roger come home from work with a birthday present for me! Roger’s boss, wife, and the people that work at Penobscot had gifted me with a beautiful bouquet flowers and a gift card to a spa!! I felt so loved and appreciated and it took me by complete surprise! I’m looking forward to using that gift card!
Saturday provided us with the opportunity to attend a piano recital for the boys, make lasagna for a church dinner, and mow the run way out on an island! There’s nothing quite like mowing a 1,500 foot runway with a 22” mower! We took all our kids out, our mower, the weed whacker, and of course, snacks! There was a riding lawnmower out on the island, but it quit working about twenty minutes into the job! I was proud of the boys though as they stuck with the job and took turns with the mower and the weed whacker. We hurried around back and forth down that run way working hard to finish before the rain came! I got in all my steps for the day, and it was good exercise for all of us! I’m thankful that my parents gave us money to put towards a quality push mower when we moved to Maine! The boys experienced hard work and the joy of seeing the task completed. This was a job that needed to be done, and we had told Rogers boss that if he needed someone to do it, we would. Roger’s boss does many wonderful things for Roger and our family, and this was an opportunity for us to be a blessing.
We started off this new week with kids sick at home for the first two days! Chandler had a stuffy nose and cough, so I didn’t think he should go to the nursing home to sing on Monday. Then I decided to just keep him home for the day. Travis came home with a bad headache. The kind of headache that had him lying on the floor. He didn’t sleep well, so I kept him home today. He and Emma have played so nicely together all day, and I certainly do love these kiddos of ours! Tomorrow evening Roger and I are leaving for a mini getaway! I am so very excited!
Thank you for you love and prayers,
Sarah
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17
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