Amanda says...

Happy Saturday everyone...
I think tensions are running a little high on the blog and that makes me sad...I just want to say that even though I rarely post, I really enjoy hearing what everyone is doing. I am so excited for Tawnia about her job, and I think that getting the chance to set up her classroom is no small thing!! Some were questioning whether or not it was reason to celebrate, and I say heck yes it is!! Tawnia is right at the beginning of a really exciting and adventurous year and I wish I could go down there and watch her set up the classroom and sit picturing all the cute little 4th graders she met, who will be sitting in each of the desks. While certainly it is easy to worry about someone that they might get burnt out or forget other parts of their life, my feeling is that Tawnia is an adult, with a lot of goals and plans and priorities, and this job is not just one that she can leave at work and forget about. Working as a teacher is such an awesome way of expressing Christ-like service, I think, and I admire everyone who is willing to put so much of themselves into it. So - I'm not worried about Tawnia doing anything destructive to herself or her future as she is serving these children...teaching them and learning from them.
That said, I am also happy for Trina about the car being paid off. That is an accomplishment that has taken time, patience, and obedience to the counsel of the prophets. I know it is a good feeling and I am glad that Trina and Adam have achieved it. I think it is a completely different kind of celebration or accomplishment from what Tawnia is doing right now - an important event or end-point in a challenging process, rather than an important jumping-off point into a big new exciting thing.
So - that is how I feel about some of the tension that has frustrated me on the page. I think that something I'm learning in my new job (and maybe I'll share more about it sometime) is that it is not so much important what was said, what was meant, intentions, context, or anything else...except how the person who is hurt is feeling right now. I'm sure a lot of you would agree with that (and have learned it a lot sooner than I did)...but I think that we need to validate the feelings of someone who feels attacked or angry or frustrated, no matter what we meant by whatever we said, or whether we feel their feelings are unjustified.
I love you all...this is a rather unusual post...but I've been feeling sad about the feelings that I have sensed in some of these posts, so I just wanted to say these things, and hopefully they will mean something.

Have a wonderful weekend - miss you and love you very much
Manda