Spring Break 2013

Disclaimer:
Today, July 6th, I found this post in my draft folder.  Oh my goodness, I sound so worn out.  I'm going to go ahead and publish it as is.... Yikes!  Ironically, major changes occurred after spring break.  I don't know why I had it in my drafts--- probably because the tone was so nasty.  Guess I should have been writing more.  Now, I did have a written journal that I kept from Jan-April.  I need to pull some excerpts out of it.  Maybe I should have gone to the beach for spring break.
Nonetheless, forget my tone and if you have any interest in education--- Tony Danza's book is great.  No matter where you teach, Danza was intuitive enough to pick up on what high school teachers go through each day. 

Spring break 2013- what a catchy title!!
If I have heard it once, I have heard it a million times... (sarcastic adult):  "I wish I had a spring break".  It always seems to be a competition of who works the hardest.  To appreciate the life of a teacher, I think every adult should teach for at least two years.  Education degrees are offered at most colleges and universities.  Yes, I get a spring break.  So, why aren't people knocking the doors down to get a teaching degree?  I believe it is a true vocation where you dedicate your mind, body and soul.
What did I do on my spring break?  The day before break officially started, I was mentally and emotionally worn out.  I needed this time to recharge and get away from the day to day demands of the job.  If I truly worked from 7:30 to 3:30 that my contract states-- then I would understand the disdain of the working public about my spring break.  Truthfully, I go to work at 7 and usually leave between 4:30 or 5 pm.  Usually, there is at least one hour, maybe 2 hours of additional work needed to be done at home.  That means getting up at 4:45 or staying up late.  I have to pick my poison.  Weekends?  Ha ha ha.  Usually, Sunday afternoon or evening is dedicated to prepping for the week.
I'm a big girl and I knew what I was getting myself into when I returned to teaching.  To do the job with passion and correctly, it requires a lot of hours.  Sometimes there never seems to be enough hours.
I finished this book:

I had no idea Tony Danza could be funny.  He wrote the book after participating in a reality series on A and E.  Of course, since I'm working on school stuff, I never saw the show.  Tony Danza nails exactly what we go through on a daily basis.  It is a must read for a high school teacher.
He summed up how I feel at the end of each school year:

Favorite Food

Favorite Food!

I didn't get too out of control--- I went with Day 1!

If I had to pick my favorite food-- that's not too  hard.  There are a few things that I've learned to love that I didn't like as a child:  broccoli and mushrooms.  I still refuse to eat beets, collards, or brussel sprouts-- yuck!

All of these are in no particular order:

Drink:  Diet Coke (I know it is bad for you), water with sliced lemons, unsweetened tea

Dessert:  Italian Cream Cake.  Really the cake part is just a vessel to let me eat the cream cheese frosting.  And, I like to eat my cake out of the fridge

Candy Bar:  Plain Hershey's Dark Chocolate bar.  I loved dark chocolate way before anyone talked about it.  Nobody would eat the little bite-size dark chocolates but me.  That is one candy bar that is absolutely safe in this home

Meal:  shredded BBQ pork/hash-rice/green beans/slaw or pepperoni pizza.  I like my BBQ with red sauce--Mark likes it with yellow.  It is a minor concession because I will eat yellow sauce, too.

Ice cream:  chocolate chip mint.  Once again, nobody will eat it in this house

Bread:  I would eat croissants every morning of my life if I could.  But, that's not happening.  

Cereal:  Special K with blueberries or strawberries.  I always add a banana

Fruit:  Blueberries-- and, those suckers are not cheap if they are out of season!  I made sure to stock my freezer this summer.

Sandwich:  roast-beef! With dill pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes 

Misc:  mozzarella cheese sticks-- I always have them on hand.  Much cheaper if bought from Sams or Costco!  I also love pimento cheese on Triscuits-- I'll eat store kind or homemade.

Salad dressing:  balsamic vinaigrette.  I'll even eat plain balsamic.  If I really want to indulge, I'll have blue cheese dressing.

I'll finish there because now I am hungry.  Bon appetit!

How I am Going to Avoid Writer's Block

Hobbies?  One time I had a student's parent ask me what my hobbies were?  Not a typical question and it caught me off guard.  Hobbies?  Duh.  Being a teacher? Does being a mom count as a hobby?  I don't think so.  Somehow, I had let the years slip by and realized I didn't have any hobbies.  Hobbies meant putting time aside to do something for myself.  Time is always a premium in a busy household.  I can't say on that particular day I started pursuing hobbies again, but it did give me food for thought.
What are my hobbies?  I discovered that I really enjoy cooking/baking. With basic equipment-- my mixer, Cutco knives, and great bowls-- I've learned to make cooking fun.  Sunday dinner is a staple, more or less a tradition that I made sure was going to happen. The rest of the days, I plan out the meals.  I rarely get complaints from the family.  My biggest challenge is trying to remember who likes tomatoes and who doesn't.
I discovered another hobby I like is walking and/or jogging.  I may not feel like going, but I always feel better when I get back.  And, that includes these dog days of summer with yucky humidity.  Exercise really helped clear my mind last school year.  My walking/jogging buddy Kari and I rarely missed a day, even  when temps went in to the 20's.  Maybe we were crazy?  The jury is still out on that one.  We do get those rare spring/fall days that are perfect exercise days.
Now to the point of this post... I discovered that I like to write.  I had to write a lot in a graduate course a couple of years ago.  It awakened a part of me that had been hiding.  I always thought writing as something like an assignment.  I figured the grammar, spelling, mechanics had to be perfect.  Then, I discovered, I need to write whether it makes sense or not-- it is cathartic on so many levels.  I need to make the time to write.
I sometimes write rambling long posts and need to find a way to keep it more focused.
So, in my moments of clarity I thought of Instagram!  Instagram always has daily photo challenges-- so I quickly found some online photo challenges and I am going to make them my own.  Not really original, but it gives me some starting points.  And, when the boys want to confirm that I was crazy... now they have proof!

Do I start with Day 6 or Day 1?

Today is July 6th, so logically I should start with Day 6.... but I'm going to throw logic out the window and start with whatever strikes me.  I like the gratitude idea.  Now, should I start a new post or start here?  I'm going with a new post!  Before I leave this one...I need to give Mrs. Mary Ann Rowell a shout out.  Mrs. Rowel was my 12th grade typing teacher.  She taught me how to type on a manual typewriter.  That makes me sound like I am 90 years old!  Mrs. Rowel covered those keys up and still don't look at the keyboard to this day.  I had also had 6 years of piano lessons which probably helped me ease into typing.  In college, I worked in the education department.  One of my work study assignments was to type the manuscript of a professors book he was working on.  Type, type, type-- that is one think I can do efficiently!  Current students will ask how I can type and look at them at the same time.

Time to Write

I usually start out a lot of posts this way... how long has it been?  Well, I think January was the last one.  To be honest, I'm too lazy to check.  I always think I'm going to start tomorrow.  I figured today was just as good as any other day.  I also think I have to have positive, cheerful stuff.  It is hard enough to read when it is happy-- who in the world wants to read something so melancholy?
I'm going to blame my melancholy mood on the RAIN.  There is nothing I can do about it.  I do not know how people in rainy climates (e.g.  London) can stand it.  I would lose my mind.  I think I saw in the local paper that we've had 22 inches since June 10th.

Lots of changes during the last couple of months.  Some were planned, some were not.

In February, we took R/R and my nephew to an open house at USC.  I figured it is never too early to start college visits.  The personal highlight was meeting Cocky

The kids weren't nearly as excited as me.  It was raining on that day, too.
Shortly after that spring sports started up around here.  Translation:  that means just about each day had us coming and going in different directions.  It is fun and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  The washing machine runs all of the time and there is no such thing as being bored.  We only had a few meets and/or baseball game that ran the same time.  Rain was no friend this spring either.

Easter arrived followed by spring break.  For the first time in my adult life, I hosted Easter dinner.  Everything went just fine... even though I had been cooking for two days.

A favorite tradition of young and old

How blessed we are

Easter brought the flowers in the yard which just make me smile

With spring came change.  After 6 years in one classroom, I will be moving.  Naturally, a range of bittersweet emotions consumed me.  I never thought of myself as a pack rat-- but packing up 6 years worth of stuff took some time.  

I read the following off of a teacher blog that I follow.  She usually writes about technology in the classroom.  But every now and then, she hits the nail on the head with something I'm thinking about: 

I'm struck by the comments of those teachers in transition between schools. Leaving a school must have heartache in it. Every teacher I know who is a great teacher loves their kids and many colleagues at any school - no matter how tough.

Our treasures are not dollars in the bank, but faces that come to mind and the stories that enrich our lives full of meaning. Good teachers are rich. We aren't biding our time, we are building it. When we retire, great teachers have castles of legacy built upon the stories and richness of lives forever changed.

I'm writing this because many of us educators have transition. We may have to give up coaching a sport and move to another. We may have to give up a club to do another. We may no longer be teaching a subject we love and have to move to one we're not so crazy about. If we're parents, we might even have to let our own child move to their upper road without the baggage of an overly sad parent hanging over their heads.   Vicki Davis from The Cool Cat Teacher blog

I will have to post a picture of the new classroom.  103-D is cleaned out and a new teacher will be coming in August.

So true

Neat little picture

I look like I'm trying out for an episode of Hoarders.  This is only part of it.
The rest of it is in my house.

I'm going to wind it up here tonight... I will be more organized next time... maybe!

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Going to the upper road: when life says "move on"

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Going to the upper road: when life says "move on": I’m going by the upper road, for that still holds the sun, I’m climbing through night’s pastures where the starry rivers run: If you should...

I have followed Cool Cat's blog for the last year.  She's real and sometimes she gets real close to home.  Transitions are hard sometimes.

UPDATED: Team Zeta 5K Saturday, May 18th - WJBF-TV ABC 6 Augusta-Aiken News, Weather, Sports

UPDATED: Team Zeta 5K Saturday, May 18th - WJBF-TV ABC 6 Augusta-Aiken News, Weather, Sports

Walk Slowly Through the Crowd Because Everyone Has a Hurt

Happy New Year 2013

I didn't get a New Year's post in...but the new year started and here it is already the 13th of January.
We did our annual Polar Bear 5k in Bluffton. 

After the 5k

 This was the first time that I started running it and finished running it without stopping.  This was a major accomplishment.  This running thing, or "just a little faster than walking thing" has been a personal challenge.  It is hard and as I'm doing it, I sometimes wonder:  "why I'm I putting myself through this" and I really am awful at it!  But, it really is like life.  I have to be stretched and warmed up before starting (need to be organized in real life), I have to know where I'm going (set goals in real life), the first mile is the hardest (anything challenging is hard), but after the first mile... I pound out my worries, pray, talk to God, look at things and take one step of time.  I can't worry about how much longer I have to go.  When I finish, I feel better.  Some days (in life and with running) are easier than others.  
So now it is time for my mind, body spirit tour 2013!

Always trying to find Balance

Back to my title.
I found out about my former priest, Martha being diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer yesterday. 

Please pray for Martha as she starts this journey of surgery, chemo, and radiation.   I wanted to send her words of comfort and that can being intimidating when speaking to someone who wears a collar.  They know the Bible better than anyone.  But, just as I tell my children and students to do their best...I want to do the same.

This song came to mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ

The lyrics are:
"Blessings"

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

I don't know how I found this song a while back, but it seems like when things are in the valley, this songs reminds me of the mountaintop.  I was searching for something else to send and I came across in another blog:  Cool Cat Teacher.  Her pastor, Michael Catt, said:  "Walk slowly through the crowd, because everyone has a hurt".  Oh, so true!  We never know what burdens people are carrying.

My burdens, your burdens... we all carry them.  I pray that yours are lifted and that you are not alone.

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