Day 176--Real Life Day

I ordered Rachel a Happy Light! I'm excited to see if it helps her. It's also supposed to help you sleep better (reset your circadian rhythm) so I'm hoping it will help Jeff sleep too. 

We couldn't do too much in the way of academics today because we had a lot of real life instead. The missionaries from our church came over for a little bit after lunch, which meant cleaning up the house. I don't usually keep the house in such good shape that I want someone coming over without doing a little work first. Or sometimes a lot of work.

After they left, we had to plan for helping out with an activity for some families that are spending the night in a shelter. We talked about how everyone's important and how Heavenly Father wants each of us to feel good about ourselves and about others. We also taught a few of the kids a song that kids in our church sing called We Are Different. Here are the words:

I know you, and you know me. 

We are as different as the sun and the sea.

I know you, and you know me, and that’s the way it is  

     supposed to be.

I help you, and you help me.

We learn from problems, and we’re starting to see.

I help you, and you help me, and that’s the way it is 

     supposed to be.

I love you, and you love me.

We reach together for the best we can be.

I love you, and you love me, and that’s the way it is

     supposed to be.

It's pretty bouncy and I love the words. So there was a mom there that had been having a hard time not getting frustrated with her kids; but while we were singing, she came up and gave one of them a little snuggle on the cheek. I know that good music can make a huge difference in the way we feel and act. I guess she couldn't help but feel better about her kids while someone was singing "I love you and you love me" with them. It was a nice change. Here's a link to the music if you want to hear the tune. It's just a music player, so it doesn't have much feeling; but you can see what it sounds like. 

https://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/we-are-different?lang=eng

We had to do several things to get ready for the activity. We cut out circles from stiff paper and punched holes in them for necklaces that said, "__________ is important" and we put their names in the blank. We took markers and stickers to decorate them and yarn to put them around their necks. We also made a beanbag to throw around and have each person talk about what or who is important to them. It was like craft day, even though crafts aren't really our thing!

Sarah drove in the dark for the first time tonight. She said she felt like it was the first time she had ever driven at all. It's so different driving in the dark. Rachel gave her helpful things to think about. I hadn't even thought of some of those things since I'm used to it. Like your depth perception is a little different and you have to remember not to stare at the headlights coming at you. She did fine, but she said her shoulders were all bunched up.

See you next time!