Digesting.

Well, here I am. It's Sunday. It's rainy. The window is open just a little bit so I can hear the cars drive through the puddles near the side of the road. I love that sound. The air coming through is cold, but pleasantly so. I just got through an amazing dinner with family and friends. My husband and his friend are speaking in Physics in the next room and I am secretly listening and understanding. I am in love with this night. My mind and spirit have the clarity I have been begging for all day. It's all here, it's all OK.

Lately I've been juggling the multiple roles I am taking on in this busy chapter of my life...

I am a teacher. I have a responsibility to teach a couple hundred kids some of the (many) things I've busted my brains and my hands over for the past five (!) years at school. I have to manage a class full of energetic middle schoolers. I have to entertain them (easier said than done, mind you). I have to show them that what I know, what I am, is important. It's a big job that I try my best to approach in a loving, non-judgmental, and passionate way. Every day. Some days it works out better than others. Who's perfect?

I am still a student. I have to answer to all the folks at the Y. I have a large paper to write. I have meetings to go to. I am trying to reconcile the fact that I had to pay tuition to take on a thankless, compensation-free experience. It gets easier every day, though I just can't shake it. I need to remind myself that I am learning, a gift without price.

I am a wife. Sometimes, though I hate to admit it, I get sick of doing laundry and cooking. There, I said it. Time an energy are in short supply more than ever these days, it seems. I am so blessed to have my husband by my side, cheering me up as I fight through my weaknesses. I am the luckiest girl alive to have the unconditional and constant love of that man!

President Monson gave an amazing talk on gratitude this Conference. It was a big kick in the face for me. He said:

...Do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love... When we encounter challenges and problems in our lives, it is often difficult for us to focus on our blessings. However, if we reach deep enough and look hard enough, we will be able to feel and recognize just how much we have been given.

Do I remember? Should I remember more? I have been blessed with so much. Receiving education. Giving education. A home. Food to cook and eat. Clothes to wash and wear. A (little) happy family with an AWESOME husband. I am rich in my blessings. God loves me. This must be my focus.

[RACHEL]