Jane's update

Here is my update. I'll start with today and go backwards. I took today off just for a personal day to get my stuff done because I was so busy the past two weeks. Last night I was letting Marcia in and I fell down the basement steps. There are about a dozen steep wooden steps and I went down them head first. I managed to keep my head up and my arms sort of tucked in but I am covered with bruises and don't feel very well today. My left leg has a very sore bruise, my right shoulder and my the fingers on my right hand are really swollen. My whole back is just one big bruise and is also scraped up. I tore the skin off of my left ankle. I really don't know how it looked but it was scary and hurt like crazy. I slid at the bottom of the stairs so I ended up about 3 feet from the bottom step. It knocked the wind out of me and now today I have a scratchy voice. I suppose because it was hard to talk at first and I forced it. I called the chiropractor but they have no openings. My Dr. only works about one morning a week and if I am going to drive to Oberlin I want to see him. I may call the one I have been to here in town if it seems like I need to go but really, my "back" seems OK. I am not going to get everything done I thought I might get done. My back door is to a small landing and there are three doors there, the door to the garage, the door to the kitchen and the back door and then the steps. Usually I stand in the kitchen and open the back door because it swings inward. This time I was on the landing and I must have taken a step back. Anyway, I am sore but think I will be OK.
Sunday was confirmation at church. I am a "prayer partner" and have prayed for confirmand all year. I went to the alter with her family when she was confirmed. Dorothy and David also come to visit. They picked us up for church and then we ate at Pizza Hut and went to Wal-mart and then just came home and visited. They left about 4:00 and then I took a nap.
Saturday I left home at 6:30 a.m. and drove to Valerie's house. She then drove us to Lincoln where we met Mom, Jerryl, Janny, Joye, Julie, Sarah, and Catherine at the quilt museum. We went to the Grace Synder exhibit. She was truly an artist and her quilts are beautiful. We ate at Olive Garden which was very good and then shopped at my favorite clothing store where I spent a bunch of money for 5 items of clothing. I told Jerryl that we had to check the receipt because that store had cheated me more than once. We checked and everything seemed to be in order. I got home and looked on-line and found out they had cheated me once again. I bought three tops. They were having a sale, buy two tops get one free, but they told me that only one of my tops was eligible for that sale so I said OK, whatever, but then after I looked on-line, two of my tops should have qualified and I should have gotten a free top. I may call them today but their manager is not nice. I have argued with her many times. I may have to just go there to try on clothes and order them on-line.
Friday night was our Good Friends Celebration. The Third grade has these older people from the community paired up with the children. Every month we get together and have a program and snacks with them. Then in April we have a huge party where we invite their spouses or guests and the kids' parents. The kids put on a musical that the music teacher and I work up. Then the Good Friends bring desserts. We decorate the tables and make gifts for the Friends. Valerie and Neal came Friday afternoon and helped the janitor set up our tables and then they decorated the tables so by the time my kids left school they almost had the whole thing ready to go. Afterwards we have to clean up but the parents help. It is another blog subject to talk about the manners of parents and adults in our society.
Friday during the day we had the bicycle rodeo and got everything ready for the Celebration and then performed our play in front of the whole school.
Wednesday and Thursday were just busy days getting ready while having school. Tuesday was our field trip. We went to McCook. We started out reading to the residents of Highland Park, a retirement home. Then we toured McCook National Bank, Community Hospital, the Humane Society, and the McCook Safety Center. At the hospital one of my kids had a horrible headache so I had to drop out of the tour to take care of him and then had to try to get in touch with someone to come get him. Of course the number they put on the emergency sheet was a cell phone that Dad didn't have turned on so I couldn't get in touch with anyone. So I called the secretary at school and she took care of the calling. Then I had arranged with the Fair building that we would come use the restrooms there because our parks just don't have very good bathrooms but we were running a little bit late so I called the gal at the office and asked if she could unlock the building before she left as she had told me in no certain terms that she left at noon for her lunch and we had to be there before noon. It was looking like we wouldn't be there until about 12:05 so I called her. She lit into me that she didn't have time for me and that since I was using the building for free she didn't have to help me blah blah blah. Of course, I had 28 talking third graders in the bus so I just told her to forget it; we would do something different. I told my bus driver, who just happens to be my supt., to just take us to the park and we'd do what we could there. It was a beautiful day, windy of course, but nice so we could eat there and go to the bathroom behind the trees if we had to. No one had to use the bathroom I guess. Anyway, my sick child's grandma came, we ate and then left to go to the Humane Society. They usually give great tours and let the kids see the animals. Well, the gal in charge had gone home sick and left another worker who knew nothing about giving a tour. I gave the tour! Then we went to the Safety Center where we had scheduled a visit to the tornado house. The first group took off and then came right back. The video quit. So we just got a tour of the fire barn. It was very interesting. Then we went home and played on our park equipment. We had a good time but it was very stressful.
Monday was our school spring program so we had to go to the high school to practice and then that night was the concert.
Sunday wasn't anything too much.
Saturday I spent the day in Kearney at a State Board Meeting.
Friday was our Reading Council's final meeting for the year and we had a gal from Nicodemus Kansas speak and we had a meal catered. It went well.
That was the last week.

This is Wednesday the 29th and I am home still. The people at school told me to stay home another day. I am very sore!!! My whole backside is just one huge bruise and I am very stiff. But, I am alive and well and that is the important thing.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Praise the Lord for the gift he gave us on this holy,holy weekend. I always remember Valerie when she was very small. We had a very effective Good Friday service where the minister told the story of Good Friday and then draped the alter and the cross in black. We all left the church in silence. We got to the car and were on our way home and she began crying and crying. When we asked her what was wrong she said," They killed my friend." The faith of the child. Then I remember the Easter that Mackenzie was born. What a miracle! We were very surprised to have her come that day. She was tiny, tiny, but very mighty. I also remember one Easter with Sarah. We came back to Grandma's house after church to find a real bunny tail on the porch. We told her that it was the tail of the Easter Bunny and that the cats must have killed him. She was very upset! Happy Easter and may this Easter bring wonderful blessings and memories to you all!

Rules for Life...Why don't people follow them?

Happiest place to be! That's what I heard about Nebraska this week. I do believe it too. We don't have enough stuff around us to make us unhappy and we rely on inner happiness. Today I went over the classroom rules with my children and just thought about how much happier we would all be is everyone followed those rules. The first one is "Treat others the way you want to be treated." Of course, we know that if everyone did this we would not have any problems. The next one is, "Be positive and encouraging to everyone, even yourself." Wow! NO put downs to anyone. We all could practice this. I don't say put-downs to most people but to myself, I am the queen of put-downs. "Invite others to play with you, don't leave anyone out." Again, wouldn't life be better if others listened to that and carried through. "Listen completely. Look at the person speaking and be still while you are listening. Respond appropriately." "Be a winner. Do your best at all times."
And last but not least are our rules for apologizing. "Look at the person. Use a pleasant face and polite voice. Say I am sorry for .... It won't happen again. What can I do to make it right? and It won't happen again. Please forgive me. If you accept the apology, the case is over. If you can't accept the apology you tell what you want the other person to do and then you say "Thank you for your apology." I really think that we could all use these ideas and if we all did, life would be a lot easier.