Comfortably Mismatched

 Guys guys guys, guess what, guess what?  (That's a quote from my kids.  Sometimes they won't stop talking long enough to squeeze in a response.)

I'm almost caught up on the blog!  That rarely happens, so it's cause for celebration.  Here's a random set of recent glimpses into the Wheeler world.

CSW66.  This one takes a bit of explanation. For an entire week, Talia participated in the Commission on the Status of Women as a part of GSUSA's Delegation to the United Nations.  There was a rigorous application process to participate and it was a HUGE time commitment.  Since the virtual conference was on Eastern time, she had to be up and logged on every day by 6am.  I was surprised by how demanding the expectations of the girls.  It was all the time and work of a "real" conference, but without the novelty of traveling and staying at a convention center.  Instead, she missed an entire week of school and had to catch up on all that work, plus she still had all the at-home demands of music lessons, choir festivals, frisbee, etc. In other words, as cool as it was to really delve into gender equality and its connection to climate change, spending 8-10 hours a day discussing this heady topic for 8 days on end was a LOT.  

Definitely one of those experiences you hope you appreciate in the long run, because it was no fun in the moment.  Still, I was SUPER proud of Talia for sticking with it and engaging the entire time, even when I would have been like, to heck with it, I'm out.  She's also done a great job with her post-convention responsibilities, writing multiple essays and participating in ways I don't even understand.  Talia's such a self-starter that I rarely know about what she's doing until it's already done.

Case in point.  I don't really know what this project is, but I found it on her desk and think it's super cool.

The upside to this virtual convention?  It gave Talia lots of time to crochet.  She made the wackiest Octopus hat.  I love it!

Still, we definitely have a yarn problem at our house.

And a Lego problem.

And a stuffie problem.  Believe it or not, you actually can see Annika's head in this picture.  It's all the way back against the wall next to the pink dragon.  Look closely and that lighter spot on the dark blob is her ear.

Here's the craziest part.  This is the sign Annika posted on her bedroom door.  No worries, sweetie--I'm not taking care of that mess for you!

In the end, Annika did have to clean up her disaster.  First of all, it's not fair to trash the place when you share a space with your sibling.  Secondly, she got such a huge crick in her neck from sleeping on all her stuffies that she's been banned from using them as a nest.  Here she is in her newly made bed with stuffies all around her instead of under her.

Other Annika news: a visit to the orthodontist.  (Surprise, surprise.)  An expander is in her immediate future with braces to follow around fifth grade.

Moving on to Eli, he joined me for an Andrus family yard cleanup of the Andrus Halfway House at This is the Place.

Many hands make quick work.  We didn't see any relatives that we recognized, but I'm sure most of us were distantly related.  Plus, there were several kids named Milo there.

I like the name Milo fine, but I'm glad you're our Eli.

Eli also took some time to explore the fourth floor of West while it was all decked out for Spirit Bowl.  This year was a Pixar theme.   The students always do such an amazing job decorating!  It's hard to believe Eli will walk these halls as a student next year.

Each grade had a film of their own.  ELPers (Extended Learning Program--7th and 8th graders):  Inside Out.

Freshman: Monsters Inc.

Sophomores: Ratatouille.

Juniors: Toy Story.

Seniors were Cars.

Last but not least, the teachers with Up.

While Spirit Bowl decorations are reason enough to visit West, we also got to hear the choirs perform.  The choirs have made such amazing progress this year with Ms. Hernandez!  They sound better than ever before.  Talia auditioned for A'Capella in December and made it in, but on condition that she participate in Junior Choir as well.  We got to watch her perform in all the pieces.  She's the blond with a mask on the second row, left hand side.

A'Capella's turn.  Brooklyn is on the back row, far left.  Talia is front row, third singer in.

At the beginning of Spring Break A'Capella went on tour to Southern Utah, along with the band. From what I hear, they had a great time.

Two trips to Southern Utah all in a Spring Break.  Brooklyn and Talia (aka the red shirt girls) are pretty lucky! Good thing they are such great travelers.

Last thought: looking at somebody else's blog or social media feed, it's easy to see at all the pretty pics and assume they've got it all together.  I just wanted to assure you that we don't.  The other day I was frantically picking up the house for company.  As I was shoving junk into drawers, I thought a bit about appearances.  From the outside we look put together.  You don't have to dig very deep to discover that it's really just a facade.  Here's my desk drawer.

This is beneath the sink.

And this?  This whole drawer is unmatched socks.

I'm comfortable with my vulnerabilities.  It's okay to be real.  It's okay to have areas in your life, lots of areas, where progress is slow or even lacking.  I love living so close to a beautiful cemetery.  If I could talk with these souls, they might have a few regrets about their choices on earth.  But I'd bet not a one involves mismatched socks.