8.24.2009
8.21.2009
Happenings here
I completed orientation this week. It went well. Good news! They took me out of PAR. I was kind of excited to have Ms. Creasy (my tenth grade English teacher) as my PAR person though! She said she'd stop by and see me :)
Nate has his first football game tomorrow morning. Dave and I start our new school year, officially, on Monday. Nate goes back on Wednesday.
I have been cooking more lately. I kind of dig Domestic Mandie though. There is a strange satisfaction in making a meal that people enjoy.
Gracie is walking more and more. She cracks me up everyday. Each day she says or does something new and great. G-d how I love her!
Nate has his first football game tomorrow morning. Dave and I start our new school year, officially, on Monday. Nate goes back on Wednesday.
I have been cooking more lately. I kind of dig Domestic Mandie though. There is a strange satisfaction in making a meal that people enjoy.
Gracie is walking more and more. She cracks me up everyday. Each day she says or does something new and great. G-d how I love her!
8.16.2009
8.06.2009
Houston, We Have A Walker!
I was sitting on the couch talking to my mom and I was watching Gracyn play with her walker toy thingy. She strolled over using the toy, towards her chair, and then took three UNASSISTED steps over to her chair and climbed up in to it!
8.02.2009
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7.26.2009
It's not just a job...it's my life.
I love my job. Anyone who knows me would agree. I am starting a new school this fall and a lot has went down this summer. Things that will tie me to my old kids for the rest of their lives and mine.
Another student of mine has passed. This makes the third of my six year teaching career and the third in a little over a year. He was in a horrific car wreck last Thursday (as seen on channel 10 and 4 and in the Dispatch) and he was killed on impact. I won't digress on what happened or the details. I also am not going to digress on how sad I am about it, that is to be expected. What I am going to do is a. discuss the impact on my kids and b. fondly describe my favorite memories of that young man.
A. my kids are a fucking wreck. I can't describe it any other way than that. It is really hard when you love your students. Good teachers are bothered by this, mediocre teachers say things like "that's so sad" and bad teachers are indifferent. I am a good teacher. My kids are like my biological kids. I laugh with them and I cry with them. I share in their joys and I share in their sorrow. It's hard to get a FB or a text or a phone call from them in which they're angry, grieving, distraught, confused....hurting. I am hurting with them. I loved him like a son. I don't know what to say to them to make it better and truthfully there is nothing else I can say. Nothing will make it better. It is my burden to bare as their teacher, their confidante. I won't lie. It is hard...hard as hell, but I wouldn't trade it for any other job because for every heart ached I share with them, I also share in their most important moments as well and that, right there, is what makes it all worth it in the end (yes, that was a long ass run on. I am fully aware).
B. OJ was a great kid. Like a son. I had him twice: sophomore and senior English. He was a funny kid and one that teachers like to have. Things I will never forget: calling OJ and Sterling Lennie and George from Of Mice and Men; OJ chasing a mouse around my room with a copy paper box trying to catch it; 7th period conference periods in which I spent less time planning lessons and more time laughing listening to the kids talk and rif on each other; him saying he was sorry for going off on me that first period; him saving the day and finding my work keys in my boxes that I packed; me telling his dad that he was going to grow up and become a good man; when he sat outside of my room and talked to me about his cousins deformed hand and reassured me that Gracyn's hand would help her be a better person; him misspelling Otterbein like Otterben on his Sr. Project Presentation board.
My conclusion: two things. 1. I am grateful having known that kid and 2. I am grateful for having known all of my kids.
A. my kids are a fucking wreck. I can't describe it any other way than that. It is really hard when you love your students. Good teachers are bothered by this, mediocre teachers say things like "that's so sad" and bad teachers are indifferent. I am a good teacher. My kids are like my biological kids. I laugh with them and I cry with them. I share in their joys and I share in their sorrow. It's hard to get a FB or a text or a phone call from them in which they're angry, grieving, distraught, confused....hurting. I am hurting with them. I loved him like a son. I don't know what to say to them to make it better and truthfully there is nothing else I can say. Nothing will make it better. It is my burden to bare as their teacher, their confidante. I won't lie. It is hard...hard as hell, but I wouldn't trade it for any other job because for every heart ached I share with them, I also share in their most important moments as well and that, right there, is what makes it all worth it in the end (yes, that was a long ass run on. I am fully aware).
B. OJ was a great kid. Like a son. I had him twice: sophomore and senior English. He was a funny kid and one that teachers like to have. Things I will never forget: calling OJ and Sterling Lennie and George from Of Mice and Men; OJ chasing a mouse around my room with a copy paper box trying to catch it; 7th period conference periods in which I spent less time planning lessons and more time laughing listening to the kids talk and rif on each other; him saying he was sorry for going off on me that first period; him saving the day and finding my work keys in my boxes that I packed; me telling his dad that he was going to grow up and become a good man; when he sat outside of my room and talked to me about his cousins deformed hand and reassured me that Gracyn's hand would help her be a better person; him misspelling Otterbein like Otterben on his Sr. Project Presentation board.
My conclusion: two things. 1. I am grateful having known that kid and 2. I am grateful for having known all of my kids.
7.20.2009
Operation Closet is officially finished!
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We got the closet doors at IKEA. They are fabric panels on a thingy that they slide across. We got that instead of a conventional door because I didn't want to risk one of her nubbins getting caught in it. They cost $72 (all parts and I included the cost of the stickers). I put stickers on the doors and hot glued them to stay put.7.17.2009
Friends
As a high school teacher, I encounter a lot of "friend" drama with my kids. I always try to explain to them that they shouldn't sweat it because they hardly ever remain friends with people from high school because people grow and change.
Today I got to thinking about my friends and what they mean to me and my life.
Tammy - my surrogate mom. She is my grounding. The one that pulls me back down to earth and plays the devils advocate for me. I love her and will miss seeing her everyday. My Martha Stewart. She is the friend that I rely on most.
Jada - my comic relief. She is a paradox; full of bravado and gusto with a splash of love and charm. A fellow English teacher, and former Panther, I could sell some of her stories and make a huge payday! She is my shopping buddy and the one that understands how I feel the most.
Danielle - My oldest pal. Known her since tenth grade. We've had our ups and our downs. We've been there for each other in the worst of times of our lives. She helps me remember my past and where I come from.
Megan - Another Panther :) She is my cheerleader and Mickey Mouse club leader. She is the sweetest woman I know; her heart is huge and I can always count on her to be the same, a constant. The farthest away, yes, but so close in my heart.
Jhen - I miss her. Also a Panther. My eccentric SAHM. She is the one that always remembers my birthday and will leave me a message out of the blue just saying hi. I admire her spunk and her willingness to be nuts.
Sherry - My grandma, of sorts. Saint Sherry. G-d couldn't have made a nicer person if he tried to. I'll miss her next year as we both embark on our new journeys. Only Sherry truly loved me for all that makes me "me". I wish that I had half of the soul she does.
Janine - my mentor. My bud. Always thinking that exact same thing as me in meetings. Always there to tell me that I a. ROCK! or b. need some work. My own personal advice columnist. A great mother, a great professional, and a great friend. She is what I aspire to be.
And Dave - my hubby and my BFF. I love him and I hate him...all being normal. I cannot imagine what I'd do without him to say things like, "Let me caution you..." or "You are not ____________. You are beautiful"
Today I got to thinking about my friends and what they mean to me and my life.
Tammy - my surrogate mom. She is my grounding. The one that pulls me back down to earth and plays the devils advocate for me. I love her and will miss seeing her everyday. My Martha Stewart. She is the friend that I rely on most.
Jada - my comic relief. She is a paradox; full of bravado and gusto with a splash of love and charm. A fellow English teacher, and former Panther, I could sell some of her stories and make a huge payday! She is my shopping buddy and the one that understands how I feel the most.
Danielle - My oldest pal. Known her since tenth grade. We've had our ups and our downs. We've been there for each other in the worst of times of our lives. She helps me remember my past and where I come from.
Megan - Another Panther :) She is my cheerleader and Mickey Mouse club leader. She is the sweetest woman I know; her heart is huge and I can always count on her to be the same, a constant. The farthest away, yes, but so close in my heart.
Jhen - I miss her. Also a Panther. My eccentric SAHM. She is the one that always remembers my birthday and will leave me a message out of the blue just saying hi. I admire her spunk and her willingness to be nuts.
Sherry - My grandma, of sorts. Saint Sherry. G-d couldn't have made a nicer person if he tried to. I'll miss her next year as we both embark on our new journeys. Only Sherry truly loved me for all that makes me "me". I wish that I had half of the soul she does.
Janine - my mentor. My bud. Always thinking that exact same thing as me in meetings. Always there to tell me that I a. ROCK! or b. need some work. My own personal advice columnist. A great mother, a great professional, and a great friend. She is what I aspire to be.
And Dave - my hubby and my BFF. I love him and I hate him...all being normal. I cannot imagine what I'd do without him to say things like, "Let me caution you..." or "You are not ____________. You are beautiful"
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