Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a fairy-tale? If you enjoy reading a good fantasy book like me, you have! Just over a week ago, my AP Chemistry lecture was stopped mid-sentence when the world outside turned into one.

I was confused at first, wondering why it was snowing at almost 70 degrees outside, ogling the fluffy white things floating down in awe. The whole class migrated out of our seats onto the Science Porch to stare as thousands of tiny little white butterflies entered our campus already on a migration of their own.

Our naturally stunning campus was suddenly transformed into a fairy tale. Magical white little blobs have been fluttering through the air around 11am each day for the past week. Sometimes they converge on a single tree, almost giving the canopy the illusion of glittering. Other times, a student will rustle up a bunch resting on a bush or collecting in the grass and quite suddenly the student is surrounded by a light airiness reminiscent of the floating lanterns from Tangled, or the fireflies from Encanto.

While this incredible natural phenomena has brought a magic to our school, every fairytale has to have a bad guy.

While there are no physical bad guys on campus, this term so far has felt a little like I’m snow white, living with 7 dwarfs each with a personality of their own.

Grumpy: Calculus for sure gets the name of grumpy. Students come in grumpy, I’m sometimes grumpy, at 9pm when I’m working on lesson plans, I’m DEFINITELY grumpy. It’s certainly been a challenge teaching this new course, and I am thankful next year the ‘regular’ teacher is coming back. It takes a lot of brain power, and I’m learning my limits do not approach infinity as I have to give up things, or recognize sometimes I just can’t get it all done, or it’s okay to stand in front of the kids and ask THEM who understands how to do it. There are days that are a lot of fun, and I do love that I get to exercise a different part of the brain, but I really do think Chemistry is my “thing.”

Sleepy: Speaking of exercise, late nights have made it hard to wake up in the mornings to join my normal ladies exercise group. While I don’t miss the exercise because I do enjoy sleeping… I do miss my ladies!

Sneezy: Yep. Another cold. Bugs hit campus often, and when they do, they spread like wild-fire! I’m just glad I got the quick hit version, and certainly glad I didn’t find that GI bug making the rounds!

Doc: The fixer! The one who knows it all! Welp. Not medical, but in our sponsoring program right now both of those ‘describe me.’ We’re gearing up to host our one-night-only-sophomore-restaurant! Someone recently described it as “planning a catered wedding in 2 months with 15 year olds at the helm.” It sounded like a good sum up of what we’re getting done: decorations, entertainment, food, reservations etc.! I wish I was the doc that had all the know-how and knowledge, but instead, we’re slowly but surely working as a team to figure it out. 

Bashful: With my increased work load from sophomore restaurant and calculus, I don’t have the extra space to have over all the students for meals I have grown accustomed to hosting! While it makes me sad not to have that small group time with them, we spend enough time together studying to make up for it. I have to be bashful with my invitations- intentional about with who and when I get to make plans.

Dopey: Having given back Scout to her family that came back, my dog Ginger has been so lonely! Sometimes this means she’s chewing up things that shouldn’t be chewed. She’s even eaten a couple of dishes I forgot to put away from dinner fast enough, polishing off over half a pan of betty-crocker box mix brownies my family brought in December, and another time crashing my stoneware casserole dish into a dozen pieces as she knocked it off the table.

Happy: Our final dwarf. This is my favorite, because really, any one of the other dwarfs can be spun to be this guy! Calc is a fun change of pace, and I get back so many kiddo’s I’ve already taught twice before. Some of my late nights aren’t because of calc, but because I’m enjoying reading a fun new book! I didn’t get sick too bad, and am thankful the bug I got was really quite short lived. It is a joy planning with my 10th graders and seeing what they’re able to come up with! They are working so hard, and I have a ROCKSTAR team working under me to make this incredible event happen. While I’m not eating with students, I’m LOVING having a roommate for the term. Sharing meals and stories from our days makes it so much more fun to come home. Ginger and I have been enjoying almost daily walks! My sister taught me that she is very toy motivated and her obedience has been getting better each and every day!

There are no poison apples in this story, or even prince charming’s, but the magic of the fairy tale feels real just the same.

Today in my AP Chem lab class, we sat out in the sun processing our data together, butterflies swirling around us. One landed on my hand and I studied its intricate wing pattern. Another few hundred drifted south, students in study hall striking their hands out to snatch them out of the air to put in a jar, in a hand, or on a friend.

While life is still life, full of the daily-mundane-7-dwarf tasks, I’m thankful for the surprises this land always has to offer, this week, a butterfly migration!

Prayer Points

-Would you pray for Calc? For me to learn my content with ease, and to deliver it clearly in a way that makes sense to my students. For my students, who are working SO hard to learn something so difficult.

-Would you pray for our Sophomore Restaurant? That we adults would empower our students well, while helping think of all the important little details!

-Would you pray for my (just for this term) roommate, who is in the throes of her student teaching, killing it, but with lots on her plate?

-Would you pray for energy and clarity of mind as I juggle a few different tasks, jobs and responsibilities, while getting ready to come home at the end of March for a few months?