January 13, 2017

Friday the thirteenth.  Interesting.

Life is interesting, you know?  I just got the email this morning letting me and a whole bunch of other parents know that the school board approved the boundary changes which means that next year we will be attending a different elementary school.  I knew it was coming.  I've known for a while, and expected it for even longer than that.  But still, the first time I drove down to Little Valley Elementary School after knowing the boundaries would most likely change, I felt sad.  And then I told myself that it wasn't that big of deal, and that I shouldn't be sad!

But I knew why I was feeling sadness.  I've been sending my kids to that school for almost eight years.  I drive there, and run past there, and go there for lots of school functions, almost daily.  I'm sure the new school will be wonderful too.  It's newer and almost as close.  But one of my absolute joys of our school days has always been watching my boys join the neighborhood boys on their bikes in the morning, full of laughter and excitement as they ride off, shouting their goodbyes to me as they turn down the trail.  I'm not sure they can ride to the new school.

When I first started sending my kids to Little Valley in the full heat of a St. George August, I was bothered to see them coming home so hot and exhausted.  I remember Julia's little face being fully red when I picked the girls up at the end of the day.  Little Valley was still pretty new and there was no shade anywhere on the playground.  I wouldn't make my worst enemy go play outside in the 110-degree heat in the middle of the day, let alone my own kids.  We hadn't played outside in the day for months, and suddenly the kids were going out to recess.  With no shade.

After driving around and noticing that most of the other schools had large shade structures, I made an appointment with the principal.  I discussed my ideas for fundraising and working to get a shade structure over the playground in the back of the school.  He wasn't at all keen on the idea, but he vaguely said he'd think it over, and he sent me on my way.

The heat of August soon gave way and life got busy for me.  As the years went by, I had pregnancies and babies to think about.  We built a new house and moved a few streets over.  Greg was in the Bishopric; I was in the Relief Society Presidency.  The shade situation at the elementary school continued to occasionally nag at me, but it was always on the back burner.  Until one new school year when I saw the announcement of the new PTA president, an acquaintance of mine, and a call for anyone interested to come to the first meeting of the year.  So I went.

That started us down a path that would take a few years to complete.  But after huge fundraising efforts on the part of the PTA, and lots of support from the parents, I wrote a grant application to the American Academy of Dermatology.  Greg and I had put in huge efforts to qualify for the grant.  Greg had even presented super fun assemblies at the school to talk about sun safety.  We had donated a lot of our own money to try to come up with the PTA portion of the cost.

After waiting for a few months, I was ecstatic the day we got word that the AAD was awarding us the full $8,000 grant!  I presented the news at the next PTA meeting.  Over the summer, a beautiful new shade structure was installed over the entire playground area.  One quiet summer day before school started, I drove to the school to see it.  I stood alone on the empty blacktop, smiling to myself and  admiring the shade.  I had made a difference.  It was an enormously satisfying feeling.

We held a ribbon-cutting ceremony during the Back-to-School open house.  Greg, the principal, and the PTA President joined together to snip the red ribbon that I had purchased and tied earlier in the day.  I stood to the side and smiled. My job was done. The newspaper ran a great article about it all, extensively quoting Greg.  It was so much fun.  There were pictures of the school children happily playing in the shade on the first day of school.

My only regret was that it had taken longer to get a shade structure than I had ever dreamed it would take when I first set foot in the principal's office all those years ago.  But, I told myself, my children would enjoy it for many years to come.  Thousands of children would enjoy it.

And now, we are shifting like the winds of change.  To a different school.  After the very first year with the new shade structure.

Life is interesting that way.