Perfect Imperfection

As many of you know I love to talk about my kids at school.  This year my greatest challenge has been working with a classroom of kids who are, for the most part, completely non-verbal.  My question has been, “How do you teach social skills and other abstract concepts to kids that are so low that most of them barely speak?”  While I truly love these little darlings, teaching them has been a great challenge and I’ve had to revamp a lot of my curriculum and look for new ideas.

One of our main goals this year was to have the kids recognize their own names, be able to say them, and then recognize other kids’ names.  About halfway through the year I discovered we had an over achiever because he was not only recognizing the other kids names but he started to use them.  I was so excited!  I didn’t expect to see all that progress.  But now we come to the dilemma and reason for this post.  This little guy has mastered a lot of speech sounds but there are a few he still struggles with, namely ‘x’.  One of the kids in the class is named Phoenix and every time this little guy tries to say ‘Phoenix’ it comes out, well, really badly.  His ‘x’ comes out like an ‘s’ and the ‘ho’ sounds more like an ‘e’….are you getting the picture here (if not, go ask your mom).  Yes, fun huh!  And even worse…he gets really excited about saying the kids names so he’s usually screaming the names by the time he gets to Phoenix.  Another fun fact about Autism…these kids usually like to repeat things over and over again (and he does).  The adults in the room usually cover it up by saying the name with him and really emphasizing the ‘x’.

So that’s what I was dealing with today.  Humorous, but also a little concerning.  I don’t want to discourage the little guy because he’s doing so well but I also worry about what other kids in the hall think I’m teaching the kids in this school.  Here’s hoping he gets the ‘x’ sound REAL soon!

After working with the kid who has a potty mouth I went into the High Functioning Autism classroom.  These kids can all speak and sometimes that’s part of the problem.  I was having all the kids sanitize their hands before our activity when a very nervous student asked me if I had purchased the hand sanitizer at Wal-Mart.  He then informed me that all the bread and hand sanitizer that was made at Wal-Mart is poisonous because they put special chemicals in these products.  I then assured him I hadn’t purchased the hand sanitizer from Wal-Mart to which he responded it would be better if I made my own for next time.  Where do they come up with this stuff?

There are days that my job is a little challenging.  So, just like the rest of you sometimes I go home and think…I really want to do this right?  But then I’ll have a day that makes the hard ones worth it.  Case in point:  the other day I was working in one of the Autism units and I was teaching a lesson about sharing.  I was reading the kids a story about sharing when all the sudden I hear one of the kids start to belt out a song.  My initial reaction was to be annoyed that one of these little guys was interrupting my perfectly constructed lesson but then I tuned into what he was singing.  He was belting out his very own love ballad……to me!  I can’t remember all the words but the ones he kept repeating were, “I love Mrs. Johnson!”  How cute is that!  He finally stopped singing and looked at me and said, “I love you Mrs. Johnson”.  It really doesn’t get any better than that!

So this post is a little late, but I guess better late than never.  Last Friday one of my good friends got hitched and Aaron and I were there for all the festivities.  I loved every minute!  I just love weddings!  How can you not though…really?  Two people who are totally in love and schmoopy,  lots of chocolate and cake, pretty decorations, lots of friends to talk to, dancing, and did I mention lots of chocolate and cake!  Also, its great to attend other peoples weddings because you get to enjoy all the fun without doing any of planning.

My friend and I went up early to help decorate and then I got to take care of the little angel you see below while her parents were getting hitched.  Seriously, the sweetest baby I’ve ever taken care of.  It was actually really refreshing to take care of such a sweet, normal child.  Due to my profession I typically deal with children who are…well….a lot less calm!  Anyway, yahoo for weddings!  Congratulations Keri and Jon!

So here are a few pics from the wedding for your viewing enjoyment.

Monday was a day full of remembering.  Two years ago on Martin Luther King Day (the most romantic day of the year) Aaron proposed.  It’s hard to believe how fast time is passing…already two years since that magical day.  Aaron and I made an insane trip up to Washington that weekend so he could meet my family.  We already knew we wanted to get married but didn’t think we should make it official until he met the family and formally asked my mom for “permission”.  As I knew would happen, Aaron charmed the whole family immediately.  My mom was so impressed that he’d drive all the way to Washington just to ask her for permission that he didn’t have any trouble getting a yes.

To celebrate Aaron planned a surprise date and took me to see Pancho Sanchez.  Although he sounds like a cousin of Nacho Libre he actually has nothing to do with the wrestling world.  Pancho Sanchez has a Latin Jazz Combo and it was awesome.  Here we are enjoying the music and goofing around.

This is what I see my husband doing many a night.  He works so hard and is always trying to give his best to the projects he has going.  I’m so proud of how hard he’s working in his graduate program.  I’m proud of his ambitions and dreams.  I’m also glad he works so hard because being the “sugar mamma” is starting to lose its appeal!

More than anything I’m proud that I married a good man who is so good to the people around him.  Especially me!  What a lucky woman I am!  I love you honey!

Do you ever have days when you wake up and realize what a gift life is?  I’ve had that realization many times in my life but I seem to be getting that reminder a lot lately.  I think Heavenly Father may be reminding me that I’m taking life for granted and that I could be doing more with the precious time I’ve been given here on Earth.  Many important things happened this week that reminded me just how blessed I am.

The event that touched me the most deeply was the passing of a child I knew at the elementary school I work at.  He had been battling brain cancer for about a year and it was finally his time to move on.  This little boy was amazing.  He came to school on days when many of us (adults) would have chosen to stay at home wrapped in a blanket.  He didn’t complain but rather focused on things he could do.  For a long time he was focused on being able to walk on his own…that’s all he needed to make him happy.  He always made me think about the way I approach life and I always came away  disappointed with my attitude.  I firmly believe that this little guy was sent to teach all those he came into contact with about the right way to go about spending our sojourn here on Earth.  It’s so brief and it needs to be cherished and enjoyed.  I really believe that someone who only spends eight years here can get so much more out of it than someone who spends seventy simply because they are willing to truly live life and not just let it pass them by.

When things like this happen I always worry I’m not doing enough with what I’ve been given.  I still feel like I’m always looking forward to the next “event” or “stage” in life that will equal complete and total happiness and fulfillment.  As a student I was always looking forward to when I would graduate.  As a single person I was always looking forward to when I would be married.  Now I find myself looking forward to when we have children, have a house, and are done with school.  And I’m sure when we have kids I’ll be looking forward to when we can get them out of that house!

Because I have so many wise friends and family members I’m opening this up to your responses.  Have any of you found ways to enjoy the little moments that pass us by so easily when were are looking for the next big thing?  Have any of you found ways to be more grateful in your every day life?  How do you live in the present but still prepare for the future?  I’m really looking for feedback and a little of your wisdom here!  For now just know how grateful I am for all of you.

Well folks, it’s time for the Johnson family Christmas post.  It may be January 7th but my heart and mind are still on Christmas break and with good reason.  This December was so much fun.  Aaron and I went to see the Forgotten Carols for the first time and truly loved the experience.  It helped to start everything off with a Christ-centered focus.

Later in the month Aaron and I hosted the annual “Christmas morning” party.  This is a little tradition that started with some of my old roommates.  We would pick a date and celebrate our own “Christmas morning” complete with pajamas, white elephant gifts, and lots of tasty food.  Now that we are all married we are trying to continue the tradition as best we can.  Everyone came in their pj’s and I must say some people really outdid themselves with the white elephant gifts this year.  My favorite part was when one of our friends showed up in a complete Santa suit.  It was also really funny that his daughter was totally afraid of him in the suit.  Here’s the proof.

Poor Clara!  She’s normally such a happy baby!

Aaron and I also had a wonderful time with our families.  Christmas Eve through the day after Christmas we spent time with Aaron’s parents and siblings up in Morgan.  It was so good to be with family and see how much all the kids had grown since the last time we saw them (which wasn’t that long ago).  Then after a fairly terrifying drive home we welcomed my family who had come up from Washington to stay for a while.  Unfortunately, our apartment isn’t very big but we made it work. 

Has anyone else noticed that some of the things we love most in life can also be our greatest annoyance.  I have been feeling that way a lot lately.  While this may shock some of you who know about my love of winter I have recently developed a real hatred for snow.  There I said it, it’s out…now I can move on.

As I say this I am having an insane vision of Frosty frowning at me but I can’t help it.  As a child I would wait for winter all year.  I loved the first snow fall, I loved making snow angels, and throwing snowballs.  And let’s not forget the ever popular childhood past time of eating snow.  However, some very crucial things have changed since those carefree days.  Now I have to drive in the mess.  Without fail I always get stuck in front of a huge SUV or truck that is trying to eat my poor little Ford Focus for lunch.  For those of you with big cars…just remember, economy sized vehicles typically don’t have four wheel drive nor are we as heavy as you are.  Yes, its true I laughed at you not so long ago when gas prices were high and I could fill my car for half what you spent on your gas guzzler.  When I saw Hummers go by I would nearly go into hysterics I was laughing so hard.  But now I suppose its payback time.  What I wouldn’t give to be driving a hummer.  I’m sick of pushing my car out of snowdrifts, sliding all over the roads, and the maniacs who still want to go 80 miles an hour.

Another important factor in my recent change of heart has to do with the difference between Washington and Utah.  Where I grew up in Washington state people liked work a whole lot less than they do here.  It was an unspoken agreement.  Kids didn’t like school and the teacher’s weren’t all that crazy about it either.  So, if we had a little snow and it was “unsafe” school was canceled.  Oh how I loved those days.  Listening to the radio and hearing those beautiful words, “School is canceled for Sunnyside School District”.  There is no joy in my childhood that even compares with snow days except for Christmas morning.  I can only compare it now to how I feel when someone cooks for me and cleans up the dishes afterwards.  Everything tastes better, the light seems brighter, and your pants seem to fit better.  All because of this wonderful unexpected gift that came your way.  Well, apparently people in Utah love to work, work, work!  5,000 car pile up on the freeway—GET TO WORK!!  Children lost in the snow drift—NO WORRIES THERE ARE PLENTLY MORE OF THEN SO GET TO WORK!  School is never canceled.  What is wrong with people here?

Am I exaggerating…perhaps!  But my feet are still completely frozen and wet and there is nothing I hate more than wet socks.  It also took me a full hour to get to work during which time I was almost eaten by the vicious GMC truck behind me.  Perhaps tomorrow I will be calmer and able to repair my fragile relationship with snow but for now I’m just grateful to be inside where it can’t get me.

Well friends and family I discovered yesterday that I am a bad, bad person.  Yesterday I almost let it slip to a classroom full of special needs kids that there is NO Santa Claus.  I go into this classroom every week to teach some basic social skills.  This week I was teaching them about how we should act when we receive a gift.  We were practicing getting gifts and giving them to others when this sentence escapes my lips, “So when your parents give you presents on Chri…” I was 1/2 a second away from saying “Christmas morning”.  Luckily I caught myself and made some lame attempt to change it to birthdays or something.  I don’t think any of the kids caught on but I still felt terrible.  What was I thinking?  These are 6 and 7 year olds!  Santa is still totally the man!

Luckily I think I’ve recovered from my mishap and I’m doing my best not to crush any dreams today.  In other news it took me 45 minutes to get to work today…YIKES!  It usually takes 20!  Lesson learned for today is that my little Ford Focus isn’t the road warrior I once thought it was.  I totally got pushed around today by all those SUV’s and trucks.  Arizona is starting to sound really good!  MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody!

Ok, so you know how proud parents post about their children and all the cute things they do.  Well, not yet having children I currently focus all my cuteness detecting in relation to the things my husband does.  I know some of you may be gagging at this point but honestly people some of the things he says are so darn cute that I had to share.

So the other day I was reading a book and I looked over at my husband and he had this happy glazed look in his eyes.  Assuming he must be dreaming about me I asked him what he was thinking and he said he was grateful for our Christmas tree.  He then expounded on how he was grateful for trees because they bring joy to every one.  First they are home to little woodland creatures and then they bring joy to us as Christmas trees.  Ready, collective “sigh”.  He’s just so cute!

Then the other day I was making our bed and found a little daddy long legs hiding under our pillow.  Being the ferocious shewoman that I am I screamed for my husband to come take care of it.  He very carefully guided our spidy friend into a paper cup and put it outside.  When he came back in from releasing the spider he had this sad look on his face.  I asked him what was wrong and he said he was worried the spider might get cold.  So, I laughed and assured him the spider would be just fine.

I’m sure my husband will have less cute things to say to me tonight when he reads this post.  Sorry if I’ve embarrassed you too much Aaron!  I really am so proud of the man he is and all the good things he does for me and other people.  So there you go!  Hooray for husbands!