The day started early and, since I was out of bed and feeling pretty perky early in the morning, the day seemed to be off to a good start. A facebook message from our eldest daughter told me she was heading over the snowy mountain pass from the furthest corner of Washington state. I prayed for her.

My husband has had an infected tooth for several days now and he has been a real bear…a bit impatient. While he calls and yells at the poor dental receptionist, telling her that he needs to get an appointment, “NOW”…I find the missing math book for the seven-year old, remind the eleven-year-old that her speech is due and double-check that the teen boys are gainfully busy with something that looks academic.

I ignore the Spanish textbook that I need to study for the quiz tomorrow, make sure the dishes are loaded, hug the still-in-pain-and-not-being-very-polite husband and go out the door with the nineteen-year-old daughter.

We join new friends at Oh So Sweet, a nice little bistro restaurant that has some amazing salads. I order a Beatnik; beets covered by a bed of greens, pine nuts, feta, tiny slices of Jicama and slathered with the house dressing. I figure I get a full months worth of antioxidants in one meal and enjoy it to boot! Running off to fun little restaurants in the middle of the day is not usually on my agenda so I justify it by telling myself I am eating such healthy food.

After lots of wonderful girl talk with a little doctrine thrown in, my new friend and her daughters say goodbye.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig for two hours of junior speech taught in my home. While I teach in the basement, our 15-year-old son practices upstairs on his duo speech in preparation for an upcoming tournament in Idaho. His duo partner arrives and there is the sound of thumping feet and loud teenage voices overhead. As I struggle to keep the ten students downstairs from being distracted by the noise upstairs, I remind myself that we are hearing the sound of creative learning .

After class, second eldest daughter who lives away from home calls asking advice for a bad sinus infection. I tell her the protocol for using echinacea/goldenseal and, yes, it tastes like dirt but it knocks it out better than any antibiotic. Stick with it, girl!

Husband comes in the door. He has found an extremely competent dentist who did the quickest root canal known to man on his tooth! While waiting to get into the dentist he called the previous dentists receptionist and apologized. He also apologizes to me and the kids.

It is late afternoon and I begin the laborious effort of making my mind focus on Spanish. It is hard. It is March and my mind wants to lay in the sun and listen to ocean waves some place balmy…preferably Hawaii. I take this class with our 17-year-old and it makes my brain hurt. While I work on Spanish, seven-year-old son finishes his math work.

Nothing looks appealing for dinner and I have waited until the end of the day to think about it(not a good strategy). We finally decide what to have and husband has to run to the store. Dinner will be late.

The day is sinking to a close, a day full of learning, friendship, frustration, anger and forgiveness. It has been a good day.