This is WHY I teach!!!

So this morning my students came in and one girl put this note on my desk. It was typed so I thought it was something from her parents and I was a little nervous. I opened it and read this:

Dear Mrs. Gelter,
Thank you so much for teaching me all that you have! You are the best teacher I have had in a while, and I want you to know a few things...

I love your smile, your pretty face,
And the way you look at me in those nice ways.
And every time I come to school,
And how you remind me of all the rules.
And whatever you do, I want you to stay,
Here in third grade, so I can come your way.
And tell you how pretty your smile really shines,
Our friendship will always combine!
Thank You!!!

From: My Student

I seriously got tears in my eyes. I just love these wonderful little children, they are so pure, and perfect. Not to mention this is the best self esteem boost I've had in a long time.

My Only Superstition

If you have ever been in the car with me for very long, you have probably heard me utter something about luck whenever a Hawk flies by. Ever since I was a little girl my grandmother has talked about a Native American tradition that says, if a Hawk should cross your path it is a good omen and that the future hold pleasant events. But if the Crow should cross your path, this is bad, so prepare yourself. Now as an adult, I find that I admire the Hawk, and Honestly it's probably my favorite animal. While the Crow brings forth feelings of disgust, and a I fear that at any moment a cop is going to pull me over...for a good reason. Time and time again, Crow = Cop.

Now every day I commute through the largest bird migration in Utah. So I get to see all kinds of flying feathered friends each day. It's also a very beautiful drive, through the county. I drive through what we call the swamps, and when it's cold fog hovers over the water. This morning when I left, it was still dark. I entered the fog in the swamps, and looked up to see the full moon, then a huge owl swooped across the moon, right in front of me. Breath taking! Just like a scene from a Harry Potter Novel. Anyways, each day while I'm driving home I look for my favorite omen, the Hawk. Today I spotted 7 Hawks, now if that isn't good luck, I don't know what is! ;)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

So I've decided we're cursed when it comes to cars. I think we've used up all 6 of our annual free tow truck calls from AAA every year since we got a membership (I highly recommend it, by the way). It's not like we have P.O.S. cars, either. I wouldn't call a '99 Escort and an '01 Maxima anything to be ashamed of. I mean, we could definitely do better, but these aren't cars that should be breaking down constantly! I just looked it up and we spent $1,603.88 in car repairs in 2007 alone (that also included a '93 Rodeo that was something to be ashamed of)! Guess how many times we've replaced the fuel pump in the Escort in the last 3 years... thrice!
It's not like we don't take care of our cars, either. We get the oil changed every 3,000 miles. The tires get rotated every 5,000 miles. We let them both warm up in the mornings when it's cold outside. We don't drive them hard (well, Meg does occasionally when she gets road rage... but I'll save that for another posting sometime).
What provoked this rant? We came out of Border's tonight to find that the Maxima wouldn't start. The lights, radio, door locks, and everything else electric work fine, but for some reason you turn the key and nothing happens. No clicking, no turning of the engine, nothing. We've had this happen before this winter. The solution? Wait until the afternoon when it gets a little warmer and it fires right up. Make sense to you? Me neither. We had it towed once before but ironically they called us and said that they'd started it 40 times no problem and gave it back to us. We'll see what happens tomorrow when they go to look at it again. Maybe I'll just have them replace the fuel pump when they tell me nothing is wrong with it so it makes me feel like it was worth the effort. :)

A House Wife To Be

I like many other women in this world have a struggle inside me that occupies my thoughts frequently. It's the battle of career vs. family. Ironically, my profession choice is not one of glamor and admirable achievement, such as lawyers or medicine. In fact, I am finding that many people look down at me with judgment for not desiring a career where I could earn more money, as if I've settled. Then there is the stereotype that has become a huge annoyance to me where people seem to think that all teachers are lazy and complainers. Because you know we get summers off. Anyways, back to my original thought, there is part of me that gets really excited at the thought of continuing in my career and getting better at my job. Then there is this part that wants very badly to reach the next part of my life, filled with babies, meals, cleaning and (as Aaron teases me) a Mini Van... (Over my dead body, will I drive one of those!)

Of course, babies win. I still feel that whatever choice I make there will be moments of regret for me. Today I actually started thinking of myself as Jekyll and Hyde. I have these two completely different personalities. In my career I am passionate, driven, and willing to make sacrifices to be good at what I do. Then I really desire to have balance and as soon as I go down that path I wish I were home more, took more time for personal growth, instead of professional growth.

I've always wondered if I could be happy staying home all day taking care of home and family. Today I spent the day preparing meals for the upcoming week; I did the laundry, I studied subjects of my personal interest, I got a new calling in the relief society (music director), which I'm thrilled about, and reflect on the joy the Gospel brings to my life. Tonight sitting here with Aaron watching the NY Giants and Green Bay Packers duke it out for a spot in the Super Bowl, I am completely content. Which makes me think I can be happy staying at home. It's not hard to imagine walking away from a career that at the end of each day leaves me tired and overwhelmed at the thought of the task which awaits me in the morning. I love teaching and every single one of my students holds a small space in my heart, however, family rings more true.

Just wait, that first screaming infant will show up and I'll be singing a different tune!

Get a Haircut and Get a Real Job

So Meghann just told me that I need to post to our blog since this is a "team effort". As I'm sure you'll notice, I tend to be fairly structured (Meg would go as far as to say that I'm anal) when it comes to my writing, which tends to not lend itself very well to the blog paradigm. In any case, hopefully I'll learn how to just forget about all that and just "blog it".
I've decided that growing up isn't as fun as its cut out to be. Meg and I have spent the last 5 years with one goal in mind: get through college in one piece so we can get on to the more exciting things in life. I think one thing we tend to do is to live for tomorrow instead of today. My college years have been the best years of my life (you can throw the mission in there, too). It's kind of scary to think that in a few short months I'll be graduating and it will be time to grow up, get a job, buy a house, and start having babies! I don't know whether to jump for joy or scream.
Seriously, though. I'm so excited to start a family and start my career. It seems like only a few years ago that I was a care-free teenager and the "grown-up years" were a long way away. Weird. Okay, I think I've gone on for long enough. How was that for free form?

Saturday Thinkings

Well, Well. Aaron just invited me to post to our blog. Go figure, blogging is something I've never been super good at. I had to keep several blogs in college because that's how my professors liked getting their feed back. Maybe now that it's not an assignment I might enjoy it.

It's a lovely Saturday morning and we slept in until 10, which is super late for us 5am risers. We are looking forward to the 3 day weekend, but like always have lots of To Do's. Whenever we get free time it seems like all we look forward to is the break, and then we end up over scheduling ourselves with things to do, and jobs to be done. Oh, well. We did stay up last night to watch two movies. "The Bandidas" with Salma Hayak and Penelope Cruz...needless to say Aaron loved it! I really liked it too, to was a good laugh. We also watched "The Waitress" which was good, but not my favorite. There is this aweful husband in the movie and I can't stand to think that any woman in this world puts up with a bad man. Shivers. It touched a little to close to home I think, I see families like that at school too often.
Speaking of school, this last week was parent teacher conferences and only one of them left me seriously traumatized. These simple 15 minute, necessary meetings, cause more stress for a teacher than I think parents realize. We are a huge part of your children's lives, and your opinion really does matter, and your child matters even more. So sharing bad news, or being honest, and worrying if I am a worthy protector and educator of your child according to your standards is very nerve racking. So last thoughts... Be NICE! To Me, and your Kid! We are both doing the best we can!

Time to get going don't want to waste too much of your time...not that anyone besides Aaron (who is reading over my shoulder right now, so he wont read this anyways) will read this.

Site Change

I think since this blog never got used for family purposes, Meg and I might start using this as our personal blog. Anyone have any objections? If so, we'd be happy to get our own and keep this for the family, but since most people in the fam don't even know this blog exists, I'm not seeing a problem at the moment... :) Let me know.