October Already

 We're back to school.  Masks are a part of life.  Virtual learning is a part of teaching.  I post prerecorded videos each day.  Here are some of my thumbnails.  They sum up 2020.  Here's my 2020 face, in all its glory.

    The biggest news since I wrote is the birth of Matilda Evelyn Edlin on August 16 at 28 weeks, 4 days gestation by emergency c-section.  The NICU has been her home so far, but we hope she'll be home to meet her big sister Alice soon.  Our Tilly is a fighter, thank God.  From 2 pounds, 12 ounces to over 6 pounds at this point.  As soon as she really figures out the eating thing, she'll be able to go home.  Prayers appreciated.  She's definitely the best part of this wild and woolly year.

It's Just Life.

It's not a Quarantine Diary anymore because it's not Quarantine anymore.  It's just life.  It's the new normal.  In March, I figured there would be a definite end.  Now, it's looking like the only end was life as we previously knew it.  School is still forming a play, but truthfully, it's impossible to plan for the unknown.  We're all just doing the best we can.

I escaped to Tracy's for a few days.  It was bizarre.  The girls and I wore masks to snuggle, I went back to fastidious hand washing and sanitizing, we swam in their pool, we ate a lot of takeout, and we were just together.  It was lovely.  I hadn't hugged anyone other than Andrew in months, and it made me tear up.  My love language is touch, and I've been suffering.  I'm just so glad I'm not still single.  I would be in a very bad place if I were.

Some normal things happened.  Holly came down for a two-week visit.  I baked some pies.  I baked my dad his favorite blueberry cake for his birthday.  I slept late a lot.  I read books.  I caught up on good TV.  These are all regular lovely summer things for me.  Normal things in an abnormal time.

We did a crazy, exciting thing and bought an RV.  We pick it up Friday.  More of that to come later.

My Anti-Racist Journey continues:

Money: I donated $20 to the Des Moines Black Lives Matter movement for bail money for arrested protesters.

Movies/Shows:  We watched 13th on Netflix.  Whoa.  Again, I say WHOA.  On this journey, I feel like I don't recognize my home.  It shows me how clueless I was about the true state of my home.  I'm embarrassed and again (as is my new normal, I'm sitting in my own discomfort.  We also started watching, based on Tracy's recommendation, United Shades of America on CNN with W. Kamau Bell.  The episode we watched had a lot to do with agriculture and how hard it is for Black family farmers in the U.S., compared to white family farmers.  I had no idea.  Literally no idea.

Books:  Since I last wrote, I finished Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby, Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams (which I bought based on the research in my class earlier this summer... I'll take it to school for my classroom library),  The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, and The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon.  Right now, I'm reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, and Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad.

Purchases:  I preordered Class Act by Jerry Craft, the follow-up to the graphic novel, New Kid.  For my granddaughters, I bought Grandma's Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, and Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim.  For my classroom, I also bought Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds, and  Some Places More Than Others by Renee Watson.  For myself, I bought the audio book of Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, because I want to preview it for possible use in my classroom.  I was really impacted by the movie, and its story could balance my use of To Kill a Mockingbird in class.  For reading on my Kindle, I also bought Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson, Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds.  The last one was one I'd see on a lot of social media posts, but a student recommended it to me (I love when they do that), so I wanted to be sure to read it myself.

One of my proudest and reaffirming moments was during my granddaughter Alice's 3rd birthday party.  We zoomed with her, her parents, and all the other grandparents.  I held my breath as she opened her Black babydoll, wondering how she'd react, what would be said, etc.  She squealed with delight and picked her right up into a tight hug.  She immediately wanted to feed her with the little spoon and to change her diaper.  It was just another one of her babies.  No one said a word except to "Aww" at how cute she was with her new baby.  It was the best possible outcome.  It reaffirmed for me that racism IS taught.  It reaffirmed to me that even though Alice is going to grow up in a white household with all white family members, if she sees People of Color of all kinds in her books, in her shows and movies, and in her toys, they will become part of how she sees her world.  It's a step.

And, John Lewis died.  I'm embarrassed that I didn't really know who John Lewis was before I read the March books a couple of years ago.  He was a true hero.  He inspires me to get into Good Trouble.  RIP, Sir, and thank you.

Quarantine Diary, Entry #9

I hesitate even calling this a quarantine diary anymore.  Quarantine has morphed into something different and bigger and deeper and harder.  I'll keep calling it that for now, but it definitely feels different in my heart than it did in March.

My Anti-Racist Journey continues.

Reading:  I finished Between You and Me that I mentioned in the last post.  It was life-changing.  I'm having realizations all the time, and they're not pleasant.  I picked up a phrase from my research: "sitting in discomfort."  I've been doing a lot of sitting in my own discomfort this week.  I guess my biggest discomfort is that I never thought of racism as happening all the time, a constant.  I thought of it as events or acts or words.  I didn't understand how it doesn't end.  It's not sporadic.  It's pervasive and universal for Black people in America.  I'm ashamed I didn't get that before.  The next book I'll be reading is Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby.  I already bought it, and it's on my Kindle.

Movies:  Andrew and I watched Harriet and Just Mercy.  We really loved them both.  I only knew the very basics about Harriet Tubman, and all I can say after watching that movie is WHAT A BADASS!!!  I want to know more and more and more.  The movie (and the book) Just Mercy had been recommended to me for possible use in the classroom.  Wow, wow, wow.  So powerful.  Again, it was inspiring, and it made me want to know so much more.  I highly recommend both of these movies. 

Teaching:  This is a big one.  I've decided to scrap my Mark Twain unit.  I inherited the Mark Twain unit because the 7th grade GOAL field trip had always been to Hannibal, MO.  It is a great field trip... so fun, educational, only a 2-hour drive away.  Huckleberry Finn had been taught in it until the high school English department wanted to use the book in their curriculum.  I decided to use parts of Tom Sawyer for my part.  The more I've been thinking about it, the more I know it has to go.  What the kids get out of it is not much, and I haven't been spending enough time (because I really don't have it) to go into depth about the history and the setting of the book.  It's not worth keeping it to justify the trip.  I don't know what I'm going to put in its place, and I don't know how I can find an equally fun trip for the price and distance, but I'm going to do it.  It's the right thing to do.

Purchases:  More books.  Lots more books.  Per the final project of the class I just took, I'm going to modify my Culture Clash unit to be more timely and focus on the topic of Black Lives Matter.  I'm going to be reading a lot of books this summer in preparation for this change.  I guess this "Purchases" topic is also about "Teaching," but oh well.  Titles that have arrived so far include: How High the Moon by Karyn Parsons, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon, Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson, The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia, and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.  Even if these books don't make the cut for the unit, they'll be important additions to my classroom library.

In other news, I baked and shared a peach pie, I got together and chatted socially distanced with my friends Cathy and Dee Ann, I caught up on laundry, and Andrew started rereading me Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome.  It's just a happy book for me, and we haven't read out loud to each other in awhile.  When we first started dating, we read out loud a lot, and we're just out of the habit.  It's nice to get back into it.  If you've never tried this with your significant other, quarantine might be a great time to give it a try.

Quarantine Diary, Entry #8

Well, the whole world blew up.  I didn't think this spring could get any crazier.  How naive I was.  The truth is that the world NEEDED to blow up.  But I was still taken by surprise.  I realize that I have a lot of learning to do.  A lot.  I don't want to be a person who just reposts some memes and leaves it at that.  I want to take an active part in becoming an anti-racist.  Saying I'm not a racist is not enough.  I talk to my kids about being students vs. being scholars.  Students just sit in their desks and let the days wash over them.  They're there because they have to be.  Scholars take an active part in their education.  I'm not going to let this wash over me.  To hold myself accountable, I am going to post here what I'm DOING about it.  I'm not going to put this on Instagram or Facebook.  I have a lot of people that are connected to me there who would see this as bragging, and that's not why I'm doing it.  My posting this here is to hold myself accountable for being more than just words.  For the 3 people on earth who read this blog, you can tag along for the ride.  😉

Money
$50 to Minnesota Freedom Fund (I did this earlier... they've been kind to ask to spread the love, so my next donation will be to another organization).
$150 to a Minneapolis food/diaper/supply drive to feed families cut off from stores during riots
$10 to Arrowhead Tattoo for a Black Lives Matter raffle

Protests
Andrew and I attended the Black Lives Matter march in Fairfield.  Even our little town of 10,000 in rural Iowa, we had 350+ people show up and many more honking and shouting support as they drove by.

 

Reading

I finished Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine, Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney, and The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson.  I am in the middle of reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.  I bought all of these books... the picture books in hard copy (though they haven't arrived yet) and the other two in Kindle format.

Purchases

For my granddaughter's 3rd birthday, I have bought an American Girl Bitty Baby #1 with brown skin and textured black hair.  I have also bought the books How Do You Dance? by Thyra Heder and Most People by Michael Leannah to send her.  These were both recommended as picture books prominently featuring characters of color.

For my own reading and for my classroom, I bought Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (I can't believe I've never read it.  Shame on me.) and Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Damian Duffy and John Jennings of Octavia E. Butler's book of the same name.  Both of these are hard copies.  I know that the first book is appropriate for my classroom library.  I'll judge the second after I read it. 

I hope we all can hold ourselves accountable for our actions.  I hope we're all more than just words.  We can do better.

Quarantine Diary, Entry #7

It's the last week of school.  How can that be?  It doesn't feel like the last week of school, with the electric energy pulsing through the hallways.  My Zoom class attendance has plummeted, even on the last meetings of the class.  Tomorrow I say goodbye to my 8th graders on Zoom.  It feels so impersonal.  I'm working on their "words," and I just can't even imagine how it will feel.  I always give them their word with a hug.  Now, even if we were together, I couldn't get close enough to touch them.  My love language is touch... both giving and receiving.  Quarantine is rough on those of us with the love language of touch.  Yikes.  I'm so glad I have Andrew, or I'd really be in a bad place.

Speaking of being in a bad place, does anyone see a problem with tear gas to break up a protest over racial inequity and police brutality, but no interference in armed protests on government buildings?  I don't get it.  If you think you do, please enlighten me.  I want to be proud to be an American... not embarrassed.

Things are starting to open back up.  There were pictures of beaches on Memorial Day absolutely crammed full of people.  I don't get that either.  To paraphrase my husband: If people have a toothache, they go to the dentist.  If they have a leaky pipe, they call a plumber.  If they have termites, they call an exterminator.  But God forbid that in a pandemic, we would listen to scientists?!?!?!?!  When did science become political?  I'm more than a little perplexed by it.

OK.  Enough negative.  How about some good news?  We realized this week that our air-conditioner is on the outs (trust me, the good news is coming).  Luckily, we noticed this before it got too hot and when we had stimulus money to help pay for it.  Not how we were hoping to spend that $2400, but I'm sure glad it's there.  Overall, we're feeling pretty blessed during this pandemic compared to a lot of people.  I'm trying to pay it forward by being patient, following the rules, and not being too sad about summer plans falling through.  I was supposed to have two more chances to play Rosie in Mamma Mia this summer, and neither one of those are going to happen.  Sigh.  Hopefully next year.

Hope everyone out there in cyber land is hanging in there.  💚

Quarantine Diary, Entry #6

A quarantine birthday has come and gone.  I'm 48 years old, and who knew it would happen in chaos like this??!?!  Andrew made sure I had a lovely day.  I got 2 dozen roses, and he baked me a cake.  My big present will be here this week sometime... I'm getting a birdbath!  We have the perfect place for one in our yard, and that's what I wanted.  Our yard is looking really beautiful.  We got our annuals in, and everything is so green.  The lilacs are fully out, and even though it's been chilly, spring is definitely here.

I've still been transferring VHS tapes to digital, and it gave me a bit of an epiphany.  My mom remarried, after being single for 15 years, in 1995.  She got married on May 27th of that year, and none of us knew that she'd be dead by August 18th of that same year.  I transferred the VHS of her wedding and reception this week.  It's a tape that I honestly avoid watching because it makes me so sad.  But, this time, I watched a lot of it without getting upset at all.  First time.  During the reception, my mom and Mike went around to everyone in attendance and introduced them to the group.  This was a lot of people!  But, it was so cool to hear how that person knew my mom or Mike or both.  Here's where the epiphany happens... In that room on May 27th, every person in attendance got to hear exactly how they were special to my mom.  How many of us will be able to say that in the final months of our lives, we have told the people dear to us just what they meant to us and why they were important to us?  What a blessing that day was for everyone in the room, and for my mom too.  I guess the lesson is that we don't know when our last days will be, but maybe it's good to let those around us know that we love them and that they've influenced our lives in unique, meaningful ways.

Hang in there, everyone. 

Quarantine Diary, Entry #5

It's weird to think that I've been busy, but I have felt busy during this time.  Busy but rested.  I've been doing things that I normally don't have time to think about doing.  Yesterday, I spent all day organizing the craft room/office and unpacking boxes that hadn't been touched since I moved here in 2014 after Andrew's and my wedding! 

Andrew taught me how to play chess earlier this week.  I SUCK.  I need way more practice.  It's frustrating, but in time, I think it will be something fun and he and I can do together.  Right now, I'm thinking way too much and not really enjoying it that much.  But it will come.  I have also wanted to play chess with the kids at school.  Before I was the teacher, GOAL classes always had a chess unit, but I scrapped it because I didn't know how to play.  Now, I don't have an excuse! 

Today, I started transferring old VHS tapes to digital format.  I found some cords that Andrew and I bought YEARS ago for this process.  I wasn't sure they'd even work anymore, but they do.  It's a time-consuming process, but I know it will be worth it.  Today, I transferred a production of Evita and musical theatre troupe from college as well as Matt's junior high swing choir, my high school concert choir, my 16th birthday party, and my stint as mayor in a mock city council meeting for Student Government Day my junior year.  Nice trips down memory lane.  More movies to transfer tomorrow!

Quarantine Diary, Entry #4

Today I had my first online class with students.  I didn't really have a plan because I wasn't sure the technology was even going to work.  I had blocked out 45 minutes, and we really only needed 30 for this first session.  I had 14 of 18 kids show up to the class.  6 had video and audio, 7 had just audio, and 1 only had chat access, but he was able to communicate with us.  It was just great to see their faces and hear their voices.

I'm starting with 45 minutes of "office hours" where kids can get immediate feedback from me if they e-mail or use Google Hangouts.  Then I'm going into 45 minutes of a Zoom-like program within Canvas, our district's online learning system.  Dee Ann and I tested it out last night before I went to bed, so I knew it had potential.  It was really slick today.  I did have two kids who couldn't get in for some reason, but I'll try to get that figured out for next time.  I'm meeting with a different group every day.

The kids looked good.  I think a lot of them are bored and are probably playing too many video games, but if I were that age, I'd probably be doing the same.  I did have some say they'd been cooking and helping their folks on the farm getting the equipment ready for planting.  Those are things that they would never have time to do during a regular school year.  I hope all the kids can find activities like that during this time away from school.

Yesterday afternoon, I had a Zoom happy hour with Tracy, Suzanne, and Jeff... all my bridesmaids/men!  We had a great time and laughed a lot.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  I stole this picture from Jeff to remember the occasion.  :)

Quarantine Diary, Entry #3

Last night we had our first fire of the year in the fire pit.  It was perfect.  I also got my bike out yesterday.  Andrew pumped my tires up, and I was ready to go.  My butt is definitely feeling it today, but it was great to get out for a spin.  I biked 5 miles, and it was sunny and cool.  Aside from cracking my phone when I got home, it was a really perfect afternoon.

I'm going to be asking the kids to reflect on how they feel during this time.  How do I feel?  I am OK most of the time, but I have had some anxiety-filled moments where I really have to talk myself down.  There are times when it truly does feel like the end of days.  In those moments, I go for a walk or meditate or play with the dog.  I've been able to successfully talk myself down from the ledge every time so far.  There are times when I feel lazy and guilty for not doing anything.  Then, when I reflect, I know that I AM doing things.  I also know that I need to slow down... maybe we all do.  Maybe, in a way, this is the universe telling us all to slow down a little bit and appreciate what we have and who we have.  I'm determined to stay positive and flexible.  This virus is not something that will be changed with my impatience or with anyone's impatience, for that matter.  We have to go with the flow, let previous plans go, and just try to do the best we can.

Quarantine Diary, Entry #2

4/1

I'm definitely starting to lose track of the days.  How many days of quarantine have we had?  Does it even matter?  :)

Today we had a staff meeting on Zoom.  It was nice to see everyone's faces.  The Department of Education has given some more guidelines about what we can do, so I'm anxious to get some things online for my kids and to set up some Zoom sessions for us all to see each other.  I don't know if everyone has internet access (that's one of my big fears right now), but I hope to see as many as I can.

It was absolutely beautiful here today.  Georgie and I went on a 3-mile walk, and it pretty much did us both in.  But the day was sunny and cool.  I didn't even need a sweatshirt.  Things are starting to really bloom.  The tulip trees were really showing their stuff today.

I cleaned my room and got the last picture on the wall today (after 5 years of living here).  "My room" is where I keep most of my clothes and makeup table, etc.  Grandma's old futon is in here too.  It makes a really nice meditation room for Andrew and me, and it can even be an extra bedroom when needed, which it has a couple of times.  The last picture to go up was my autographed picture of Julie Andrews.  Now it REALLY feels like my space.  :)

Andrew and I are living well.  We've been eating well and watching good movies and reading.  I've been trying to look at this time away from the real world and real life as a gift.  It's terrible that it has to come in the form of a pandemic, but I feel like I've been taking care of myself, my home, and my marriage in a way that hasn't had my complete focus and attention.  Now I can ease my students back into that picture, and it's going to be a way that's not pressured or stressful, I hope.  Nothing will be required or graded, but we can have contact.  I've missed the kids a lot.

Quarantine Diary, Entry #1

So far during this quaratine, I've basically just been trying to keep my sanity.  A teacher without students... it all feels pretty useless.  I made a schedule for myself which was overly ambitious.  I haven't stuck to it even once:

8:00: Get up, walk, shower
9:00: Meditate, then breakfast
9:30: Send cards to students
10:00: Crochet and watch TV
11:00: Read
11:30: ??? Unexpected adventure (Andrew suggested this... the truth is every day so far has been an unexpected adventure!)
12:00: Lunch
1:00: Clean garage
2:00: Find a pile for the Bargain Box
2:30: Clean something/cook or bake something
3:00: Quiet time: nap/stretch/yoga/be in nature
4:00: Blog
4:30: Read/video something for Alice
5:00: Work on vacation books
6:00: Walk with Andrew
6:30: Dinner
7:30: School work/e-mail/correspondence
8:30: Time with Andrew
9:30: Read
10:30: Lights out

Hm.  Sounds great, eh?  Yeah.  It hasn't happened.  Lots of things on the schedule HAVE happened, but rarely (if ever ) at their assigned time or every day.

But, I'm glad I have this schedule and an idea of things I want to accomplish in this unprecedented time away from work.

One thing I have discovered so far that is really weird is that I need to walk to keep sane.  I've always known that I needed to walk.  But I've always treated it more like a chore or something to get through.  I've had one day that I didn't walk so far, and I was so depressed.  I cried and felt hopeless and was so so low.  I think that was The next day, I got up and walked first thing, a longer walk than I usually take.  I didn't really enjoy it, but I was doing it because I knew it would make me feel better.  Since then, I've walked about 3 miles a day.  I know that it's going to help my state of mind.  I guess before I was only walking because I knew it was good for my body.  Now, during this quarantine, I've discovered that exercise is VITAL for my mind.  If I'm going to make it through this mess without going crazy I've got to keep moving.

Another really fun thing I did was convince Andrew to help me make a snowman.  On Sunday, we had the perfect wet, packing, snowman snow.  It was one of those late winter/early spring snows that you know won't last long, so you have to make it count.  I made the snowballs, and Andrew helped me put it together, and he gathered the props to decorate it too.  We needed planks to roll the middle section up because it was so darned heavy!  Anyway, it was a blast.  And the poor thing lasted about one whole hour before it got too warm and toppled over.  Ah, well.  Such is the life of a March 22 snowman in Iowa!

FMS Play

The annual middle school play is two days away, and getting through with Pepsi and Cadbury Mini Eggs.  The last dress rehearsal is after school today, and then we'll have one more rehearsal tomorrow to put on the finishing touches.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can... ;)  They're doing a great job.  It's just STRESSFUL!!!!

Shining Eyes

This week at choir practice, our director (shout out to Jim Edgeton... I LOVE singing in his choir... great teacher, great conductor, great friend) recommended a TED talk by Benjamin Zander on the transformative qualities of classical music.

It's wonderful (I even showed it today in class for Deep Thinking Friday), but I think it's about so much more than classical music.  It's about life.  The end of the talk discusses leadership and the power we have to inspire others.  Zander mentions two of the things I have posted on the wall behind my desk.  I've had them up for years... at least 10, I think.  "Who am I being that their eyes aren't shining?"  and "... never say anything that couldn't stand as the last thing I ever say." I need to do a better job of living by them. What a good reminder.

The bottom Dove wrapper basically sums up what it's like to be a middle school teacher.  It could be my middle school teaching motto.

And, speaking of Deep Thinking Friday, check out the shirt my wonderful husband had made for me!  It's my favorite Christmas present from this year!

Have a good weekend, world.  Make someone else's eyes shine.

Iowa Caucus, 2020

I know the Iowa Caucus is the current butt of national jokes and fodder for Trump's tweets, but I had a great experience last night.  I love the process.  The work in my Ward went smoothly.  I caucused first for Amy Klobuchar.  She ended up not being viable in my Ward, so I switched to my second choice, Elizabeth Warren.  It's been a privilege to see all the candidates in or close to my hometown.  I applaud and appreciate the work of everyone across the state who made the night exciting and educational.  I'm sorry that disappointing technology has tainted the process in the eyes of the U.S.  I hope that Iowa always keeps the "First in the Nation" Caucus, but if this was the last of the first, as some people have predicted, I choose to be thankful for the experience.  And, in case anyone was wondering, my Ward's delegates ended up being 4 for Bernie Sanders, 3 for Elizabeth Warren, and 2 for Joe Biden.  We'll see how that compares to the rest of the state later today. 

2020 Vision

Hello, Blog.  Nice to see you again.  I'm having a bit of an existential crisis, so I need to write it out.

I might be seeing more of you here, because... I think I'm going to break up with Facebook.  I love Facebook because I have a lot of friends that I don't live close to.  Facebook lets me see their babies and know their news and keep up with their lives.  I hate Facebook because so much of my feed is filled with my Facebook friends reposting articles and memes that make my stomach hurt.  I love you, Cousin Fanny from Tallahassee, but your racist rants give me dry heaves.  I get a kick out of you in real life, high school classmate, but if you post one more fake news story from two years ago, I'm going to poke my eye out with a fork.  And, former teaching colleague from 15 years ago, trust me.  I'm just as much a liberal feminist as you, but your divisive comments on posts that have nothing to do with you make me want to punch you in the face.  These things are sucking all the joy out of Facebook for me.

Let me see pictures of your new puppy.  Tell the world about your vacation to Yellowstone.  Praise your kid's grade improvements.  Share a great meal you had at a new restaurant.  I use Facebook for connecting, not for driving people away.  Life is too short to focus on differences.  I can't handle your negativity, World.  I'm sharpening the saw and to quote Hamilton, "erasing myself from the narrative."  At least for a while.

Life Lessons from Rubik's Cubes

My 5th grade TAG students got done with a Rubik's Cube unit before Christmas.  I've never had a better activity for growth mindset with kids.  Ever.  Even with the algorithms, solving a Rubik's Cube isn't easy.  There was frustration, yelling, crying, quitting, and starting over from the very beginning.  But, every single kid managed to solve a cube before Christmas break, and the joy was pure magic.  They were so darned proud of themselves.  It was a delight to watch and experience.  Today I read their reflections, and they made me smile so much.  I wanted to share some of them with the world.

Here are the questions I asked them to reflect on when we were done.  They wrote their responses on their own blogs:

1. What was the hardest part of solving Rubik's cubes?  Explain.
2. How did you feel when you finally solved the cube?  Describe.
3. What are the life lessons that people can learn from Rubik's cubes?
4. What advice do you have for other kids trying to solve Rubik's cubes?
5. What advice do you have for other kids trying to do hard things? 

"How I felt when I finally finished the Rubix cube is, 100 percent complete and when I finished my second Rubix cube I felt 200 percent complete. What I mean by 100 or 200 percent complete is, I felt really really good just because I finished my Rubix cube." -T.

"Also when kids are doing hard things if you are struggling they should break it down and take things step by step to make it easier for you to do" -F.

"For other kids that are doing hard things,'' Don't ever give up no matter how hard it is.'' -L.

"Solving the cube to me was a miracle and it got rid of me having self-doubt and thinking I couldn't do it anymore. And after I solved it and I got better at it, it was getting easier and more fun to do because I was challenging myself to get faster and faster!" -Q.

"The frustration was really hard and self doubt was also a factor." -K.

"The hardest part of solving the cube was that when I was super close to solving it I would try to do an algorithm and it would completely mess it! For me, this was the hardest part! When I finally solved it I was soooooo proud of myself! I felt like all the hard work had finally paid off!" -A.

"If you are trying to solve a Rubiks you are going to mess up sometimes but keep trying." -A.

"People can learn life lessons when solving it like to never give up when you feel like your doing badly, or to always believe in yourself to finish something." -M.

"My advice is to keep on trying and don't give up, believe in yourself and you can get it done." -I.

"When I solved it I was so proud, it took a long time but I did it!" -M.

And, I think this is my favorite comment of all: "My advice for people that are trying to do hard things is stay calm,try your best, stay hydrated, and tell yourself you got this." -J.