Our life is an ongoing science experiment.

This happened a while ago, and I posted about it on facebook, but I thought I better document it here as well.
Ethan loves science.
Part of that is because he has the absolute coolest science teacher in the whole wide world. But part of it is his love of reactions. He likes to see things happen. He likes to know if he does this action he will get this result. Whether it be pushing him mom's buttons or creating a homemade volcano, he just can't get enough of it.
So a while back his science class was talking about chemical reactions, and the subject of coke and mentos came up. In case you don't know, it makes quite a reaction. (Look it up on youtube) Ethan came home and wanted to try it out, but unfortunately we don't have coke or mentos around the house, and he was headed to his grandma's house to spend the weekend with his dad, so I promised that when he got back we would try it out. He only had to wait a day. It would literally be less than 24 hours - no problem, right?
The next afternoon Troy and Chad and the kids were in Moab. On the way home they stopped by a convenient store for a treat. Ethan asks for a coke - Sure! And how about a candy too? Maybe these mentos? Yeah, grab 'em! Cuz why not, it sounds like a reasonable request, doesn't it?
So in the car they go. Ethan is fully aware of what could happen if he "accidentally" drops a mento in the coke, and he knows it would be wrong to let that happen... But think of the reactions! Think of the coke exploding all over the car! Think of Dad's reaction when it happens after he has been trying all day to be super nice to impress Chad! Think of Chad's reaction- the new guy, will he pretend it doesn't bother him, or will he come uncorked? So many factors, so much potential disaster, so much excitement and anticipation... building up...bubbling over... finally he just can't take it anymore. He dropped a mento into the coke, and like a bullet twisted on the lid and gave the bottle a little shake... And just like he had hoped, the lid FLEW off the bottle, the coke shot out, spraying everywhere, shooting over Chads shoulder, and plastering itself all over the windshield, the dash, the ceiling. It was magnificent! And so were the reactions from the rest of the passengers! It was everything he had dreamed of and more! It was glorious!
When he got home his dad made him tell me everything that had happened... I held it together and told him we would talk about it after dad left... I mentioned to Troy that it might be Karma for buying him Coke when he knew it was against the rules - he didn't think I was funny... I wasn't trying to be... Troy left and I sat Ethan down to talk to him about it. We both had our serious faces on... but then our eyes met... big mischievous grins spread across both of our faces. We exchanged a giggle and a fist bump, and he was allowed to go, punishment free, with the warning that if it ever happened in MY car it would not end so well for him.
I have three real thoughts about this situation.
One: Life isn't fair, but generally people get what they earn at some point- and that's all I'll say about that. :)
Two: If heaven is really heaven it will have a gag reel with special moments just like this that we can all watch on repeat... with popcorn.
Three: On the slight chance that number two is true, I'm going to try super hard to make it to heaven.

No more homework, no more books...

...No more teacher's dirty looks! Actually, I've been pretty lucky in the teacher department, but the song still rings true, I'm done with school! After three long, overloaded, manic, stressful, hectic, sleepless years, I am done with school! It hardly seems real. All week long I've been using the sentence, "I'm graduating on Thursday" as often as I've been able to work it into a conversation. It just sounds so cool. Much better than "one more year", or "one more semester", or"not until April". I can't even express what a relief it is. I hope that my kids can see that it's worth it even if it's hard. I hope that they know that it's way smarter to finish while you're young. I hope that this has taught them to go after their dreams, even if it takes a while. It has probably only taught them to be quiet when mom's reading, but I'm hoping that the other lessons occur to them as they grow up a little.
 


And now I'm a social worker. (Technically I have been a social worker for several months since I ran out of practicum hours and my agency hired me on full time, but now I have the degree to prove it.) Who would have thought that those crazy aptitude tests they give you in JR high would really turn out to be true? At the time back when I was 13 or so I thought it was a crazy thought. Social work is the last career I ever thought I wanted. But over the years I have realized that I've always kind of been a social worker. Now I've just finally got the title to go with it.

I was trying to find a present for some of the people in my cohort, who I have had every class for the last three years with. I decided a nice social work quote in a frame might be nice, so I searched online for something sentimental and inspiring. Eventually I found some, but what I found first is what I'm going to share here today. You know those Ryan Gosling "hey girl" posters that you find all over the internet? (No? You should google it, it's a phenomenon.) I found some that are related to social work. They had me laughing so hard I was in tears. You've probably noticed I've been sharing a few, throughout the post, though most of you probably won't find it as funny as a nerdy social worker like me would. Humor me, it's my blog. :)




I know this is a pretty random post, but my thoughts are kind of all over the place. I just really want to thank my friends and family for helping me accomplish this. I really couldn't have done it without you. You have cheered me on, celebrated my successes, prayed for me during hard classes, encouraged me to not give up, watched my kids so I could go to class or do homework, listened to me complain, endured my endless social work chatter, kindly ignored all of my "social justice" rants-and loved me anyway when we agree to disagree. You have acted interested in what I'm doing and not been offended for the entire semester while I 'diagnosed" everyone I came across with my trusty DSM. You have all been troopers. Even those of you who I don't actually "know" as we have only ever "met" through the blog have overwhelmed me with encouraging comments and e-mails. Your kindness has inspired me and kept me going. Thanks to all of you. If I could give each and every one of you a hug, I would. Instead, enjoy a few more social work posters.

My mom

This is my mom. Have you met her? You should, she's great. She is Adia's best friend, and this picture was taken for a special assembly about heros for Adia's school. We also took another hilarious one where they are both making funny, bulgy eye, tongue sticky-outy faces. I love it, a little bit more than this one because it shows their fun loving personalities, but I don't dare put it on here because I think my mom might spank my butt. She's still totally stronger than me, and I know she could do it.
Anyway, I've been thinking about her lately and I wanted to tell you just how great she is. I'm getting ready to graduate here shortly (I know, can you believe it!?) and it's made me think a lot about the people who have supported me through it. Probably the person who has helped me the very most in this whole process is my mom. I don't even know where I would be if it wasn't for her these past few years.
When I decided to get a divorce I was so worried about telling anyone. I thought everyone would be disappointed in me for not being able to make it work. I put off calling my mom for a whole day afterwords. For someone who talks to her mom a couple of times a day, this was really hard. Finally I decided I needed her, so I called her and told her what was going on, and she didn't judge me and she didn't ridicule me, she just listened, and her heart broke for me. She braved coming to the "big city" to help us get ready to move all by herself, even though she doesn't like driving in traffic. She stuck up for me when I was being bullied by a religious leader, and totally put him in his place, and she cleaned out my stove, which is my least favorite house cleaning job. She also put my fears to rest and told me that there was always a place for my kids and I when we decided it was time to leave. She let us rearrange her life and invade her house for a whole year, and didn't complain even once. She supported me going to school, she watched my kids for me so I could go to class, and kept them busy while I did homework. She has always been a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear when I just needed to vent, and she sticks to the rules with my kids, even when it's hard. And now that I am working she is so good about dropping everything and running to Blanding when court runs long, or I have to stay late for an emergency, or I have to go out of town overnight. She has really supported us, and I know we wouldn't be where we are today, I wouldn't be getting ready to graduate, my kids wouldn't be happy and healthy, if it wasn't for all of her sacrifices.
And as if that isn't enough, let me tell you about life lately...
It all began one cold Monday morning. I dropped the kids off at school and went to work. I planned to stay for half a day and then leave to go out of town for trainings and not be back until late the following night. My mom planned to pick the kids up from school and keep them until I got back. Simple, right? NOPE. I had just barely gotten settled in at the office when I got a phone call from the school. Adia was sick and needed me to pick her up. So I rushed to the school, picked her up and took her home. It became obvious very quickly that this was the fake kind of sick, but by then it was too late, I had already called my mom to come early and stay with her, and so I sent her to bed and went back to the office. Things were fine for a few hours, my mom got there and took care of Adia, and I was walking out the door to leave on my trip when the school called again. Ethan was sick. The office lady seemed really annoyed and offended when I asked if it was real sick or another case of the fake kind, like Adia had. It was the real kind, he evidentally had a fever. So at that point I was ready to cancel my trip. There was no way I could leave town and expect my mom to take care of two sickies, fake or otherwise. But after talking about it with Mom she assured me that things would be fine, and I left. When I called that night she said that both kids seemed fine, no fever, no symptoms, if that continued she would send them to school the next morning, and that is just what she did.
I was happily in my training, learning about dead babies and other fun topics when I got a call from the school. Ethan had evidentally gotten into some trouble, and was in the principal's office and needed to go home IMMEDIATELY! I called my mom who ran down to the school to check things out while I waited anxiously for an update on what was going on. Being Ethan's mom I am used to this kind of stuff. He's not a bad kid, but he has, on occasion gotten himself into some less than perfect situations, (like the time he forged a note from his teacher, or when he stole glasses from the office or when he stabbed that kid with a pencil, or when he nearly died in the outhouse. -While trying to find links to all of those examples I realized that I hadn't blogged about all of them, but they are great stories, so remind me to do that sometime, will you?) It isn't my favorite thing, but I've learned to roll with it. My mom, on the other hand, has not had as much practice with these kinds of things, and I knew that sitting in the principal's office listening to whatever disaster had taken place was going to be pretty uncomfortable for her. Now I was totally regretting leaving town and I was rethinking my career choice which requires travel, and second guessing my ability to be a single mom at all. A lot of time passed, and Mom never called. I was getting worried, what could be taking this long? I tried calling the house, no answer. Her cell, no answer. I was turning into a wreck! Finally she called to let me know what was going on. It turns out that Ethan had a test in math. He didn't really want to take it, so he asked to go to the restroom. about 45 minutes later when he still hadn't returned they sent someone looking for him. (because that's not too long to wait, right?) Evidentally he had done a little re-decorating in the bathroom. He had taken ALL of the toilet paper, wetted it down and threw it against the walls. ALL OF THE TOILET PAPER!, and he hadn't wet it in the sink... and little boys don't always flush... it was a mess. And the people at the school were understandably angry about it. They had closed off the bathroom so no one else could go in it, and they told my mom that he was expected to clean his mess. My poor (probably humiliated and mortified) mother agreed that he WOULD clean the bathroom, and they spent over an hour scrubbing every square inch of the room. It probably hasn't looked that clean in years! Then she took him home and made him "work his butt off". He did homework for the rest of the day until it was time for bed- and he did it without complaint, bucause he could tell it was serious! I got home late that night, and Mom and I decided that Ethan should stay home the rest of the week. He actually had been sick when they sent him home on Monday, and he had developed a cough since then, so it would be good for him to have some time away from school. So mom took Ethan to her house so she could get some of her own work done, and I kept Adia and sent her to school the next morning. The day wasn't even half over when I got ANOTHER call from the school saying that she was sick again. I picked her up, she really was sick, she had caught whatever it was Ethan had, and I took her home. Luckily it was the kind of sick where she just wanted to sleep all day, and I had a court report I could write from home, so it worked out fine. But the next day she was still sick so I shipped her off to my mom's house again. I really don't know what I would have done that week without all of my mom's help. She backed me up and stepped in when I couldn't, and didn't complain a bit. And of course they gave her the guck they had, so she got sick on top of all of that. What a mess! But how lucky am I to have a mom who was willing to do all of that. In a perfect world I would be a stay at home mom who takes care of all of that myself, and there are times that I feel guilty for not being able to do that, but this is the life we have been handed, and I am forever greatful that I have such a wonderful support system to fill in the gaps for me. I don't think I can ever thank my mom enough for everything she does. I hope she knows  how grateful I am for her sacrifices.  Don't I have the best mom ever?