On Saturday I joined some friends at a painting party. Our piano teacher is also a talented painter and she shared her knowledge with a group of women from church. I joked that they would soon discover my artistic ability resided firmly in the performing arena and not the visual.
But I actually loved the way my moon turned out.
The teacher advised mixing white and black and using lots of varied brush strokes. She also encouraged us to experiment with the look of our paintings, stressing individuality. My friend, who was sitting next to me, added quite a bit of blue to her moon. Inspired by her bold choice, I added just a bit of blue to mine.
I thought my tree turned out pretty well too.
And then I added the blossoms.
I do not like the blossoms.
Despite my opinions, the girls think it will make a good addition to their room décor.
It was a fun morning with friends. And I enjoyed the painting.
Daylight savings time makes bedtime with children difficult. I know I often recite the motto "We can do hard things," and I can, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it.
As one of the big third-graders, Cooper has had the opportunity to be on bus patrol. That means he wears this awesome orange belt and ushers the Kindergarteners from their classrooms to the buses at the end of the school day. This is such a coveted position that the third-graders have to rotate who gets the job. Cooper was on-duty for the months of October and February.
A few days ago, frustrated by the shenanigans of a sibling, Phoebe made a behavior chart just like the one her teacher uses at school. Her intent was that we would use it at home to discourage hooliganism. She prodded me to employ it, often while I was in the middle of something else, but she didn't want to wait for me to catch on to her new system. So she took to telling the other kids to move their own clips.
They have been surprisingly compliant.
Have I mentioned that Phoebe's latest career aspiration is Kindergarten teacher?
I love the music from Moana, but one song in particular speaks to my soul. Moana's grandmother gives voice to these words that I think have a much deeper meaning than what is portrayed in the movie.
I know a girl from an island
She stands apart from the crowd
She loves the sea and her people
She makes her whole family proud
Sometimes the world seems against you
The journey may leave a scar
But scars can heal and reveal just
Where you are
How many of us carry scars? Some are physical scars, remnants of injuries or surgeries. Sometimes they show adventures we've had or trauma we've faced. I think most of the scars we carry are unseen. Like the song says, those hard things we each pass through have the opportunity to show us where we are in our journey of life. Are we heading in the direction of happiness? Or down a different path? When the world seems against us, is that because of our own choices? Or is it simply due to circumstances of the human experience?
The song continues:
The people you love will change you
The things you have learned will guide you
And nothing on earth can silence
The quiet voice still inside you
And when that voice starts to whisper
"Moana, you've come so far"
Moana listen, do you know who you are?
Read those last two lines again, this time replace Moana's name for your own. You've come so far, do you know who you are?
My answer? Yes, I do know who I am. When I was a teenager and my dad would drop me off at any number of activities he would always say goodbye in the same way, "Remember who you are and that you're loved." This always made me smile. And it helped me to be mindful of who I was and that my well-being (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) was important to someone.
I can't get through this section of song without tears because I have my own testimony of their truthfulness. That quiet voice, do you know what that is? Some people call it a conscience, but we know it by a different name. We believe that the light of Christ exists within each of us, it's that force that keeps us moving forward in times of pain and trial. It is even stronger than our scars. It reminds us of who we are, where we came from, and where we can go. It resonates when we hear truth and sings when we make good choices. That voice is real and powerful.
On Sunday, when Sophie realized it was Fast Sunday, she started asking if she could go up in front of the congregation and bear her testimony. She already did this in January and February so I thought we should save the opportunity for someone else. Every time she asked I would redirect, but that didn't work so well. Finally, near the end of the meeting, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She dashed away from me and bounced up the stairs to the podium. I caught up in time to hoist her to the microphone. Here's what she said:
"I'd like to bear my testimony that I know the church is true. Jesus loves us and I love Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
As I thought about Sophie bearing her testimony, I was struck by an eternal truth. She feels and recognizes the Light of Christ because she is a child of God, and she knows it. That spark of divinity that propelled her up the stairs exists in each one us. We are all children of God, whether we know it or not. We all have that spark, that voice, whether we listen to it or not.
When I say that I know who I am, this is what I mean. I'm a wife, mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, cousin, friend, teacher, reader, singer, writer, but at the very core of my being I am a child of God.
Cooper and Phoebe finally got to redeem some well-earned Book It coupons on Saturday. I have happy memories of earning those same coupons when I was a kid. There's something about that personal pan pizza that tastes better than the full-size stuff. Is it the hard work involved? The rule that says you can't share? The novelty of pizza that makes you feel like a giant? Whatever the reason, it's a fun tradition to carry on.
The last week and a half have been really peaceful for our little family. We've still had regular sibling disagreements and kerfuffles, but we've had more calm amongst ourselves than we have in months. Bryan and I were trying to figure out what magic force was at work and how to keep it going.
I have two theories, today I'll write about the first. At the beginning of the year I instituted a new chore chart system. Each chart only has eleven items and includes things like get dressed, make your bed, tidy your room, read your scriptures, practice piano, stuff that should be happening everyday anyway. The last three items simply say Parent Choice, which means Bryan and I look around the house and see what needs to be done, then we assign tasks accordingly. The whole list needs to be completed in order to get screen time. The first week went great, then it slowly dropped off until not much was getting marked off.
A few weeks ago Peter had a renewed interest in playing on the computer, which meant he started paying more attention to his chore list. He discovered that if he got up just a little earlier each day he could get more accomplished before he left for school, which then led to more time for playing after school. So he started setting his alarm for 6:15, then 6, then 5:45. By the time we need to leave for school, Peter usually has everything done on his list except for his homework, his parent choice chores, and his trumpet practice, because I don't want our neighbors to call the police due to loud horn sounds too early in the morning.
Phoebe noticed his shift and decided she wanted to do everything on her list for the whole week, just as a challenge to herself. She did it, without much parental prodding and reminding. They were both self-motivated, which meant less stress for me. The house was cleaner, which meant happier dispositions for all. And, bonus, a few of the kids earned some screen time, which made them want to repeat the process again the next day.
Cooper has been motivated this week to follow their examples. Even Sophie has been playing along. General tidiness goes a long way to maintaining peace in our household, and tidiness that does not result from obsessive parental nagging is even better.
