Month: January 2018

I’ve been up to my eyeballs testing my children (yes, children, not robots to the state!) this week. One of the questions on their individual reading tests is “How do you pick a book to read?” The answer is quite simple, I always feel like saying… duh, I look at the cover! We are also supposed to open it up and see if it is a good fit, you know, not too hard, not too easy. See if we know most of the words, but not all of the words. Makes sense right? Then, we go out into the world and we are taught, don’t judge. I don’t judge, I don’t like when people judge me, the only one I will answer to is my almighty God when He brings me home. He is my one and only judge. And I want to impress Him, I want to live for eternity UPstairs, not DOWNstairs. But what if I left it up to my cover? Would anyone want to open me up and look at my words?

The past 48 hours have been eye opening for this tired teacher. I have heard things and been told things that are hard to believe. I could name 3 or 4 close people to me right now that have totally blown my mind with what I’ve been told. How could I have been so fooled? If I had judged these people’s covers,  I might have been prepared better.

People have really upped their game to making things “look” normal, healthy, wonderful, when in reality, they might just suck. For example, one adorable, beautiful couple with a great family have broken up, a close family member has gone pyscho, someone I thought I knew spewed out such obscenities it made me cry upon hearing them, such mean words that can never be taken back (when I know they were just said in anger), another someone puts on such a righteous front when in reality doesn’t even support someone they should… I have to stop, I’ve created a run on sentence, my kids should correct me. I am sitting here in disbelief!!!

Okay, then I shall turn on the T.V. and watch the news! People are dying from the flu!!!!! Missiles are headed to Hawaii, oh, wait, false alarm. Recalls on frozen waffles???? Cars are crashing on ice, cities are being flooded, most of California looks like a disaster area (like my mom used to call my room) first from the fires, now mudslides. Subzero temperatures. Is it 1,000 degrees somewhere? I can’t fix anything anymore! The game has COMPLETELY changed!!!!

Tomorrow I can’t wait to get to school, the only normal I am feeling is going to school with my babies, even though they aren’t babies, they are kids. I am going to show them how to enjoy their day. I am going to teach them not to be afraid of the dark and we are going to have Flashlight Friday again, my (and their) favorite kind of day. Getting lost in a book in the dark with a flashlight to read by.

I hope you all have a great day, night, week, or weekend, depending when you read this. Sorry if this post seems negative, I really am trying to let it out so the positive can replace it…

Oh boy, a “good” tired, what’s a “bad” tired? As soon as I say it or think it, the answer pops into my head. A bad tired is a tired I get from laying around all day and not doing a thing! A good tired is today. I had a super busy past couple of days. Everything on my list was done. Friday night I tried to run around and get a few things done before me and the hubby took off to the beach for the weekend. Yes, in January, on the east coast. Something about the beach in the wintertime, no tourists, no parking fees, ha! No sun, no warm, no restaurants open… no lines! It’s just a different way to deal, it’s still awesome.

We did get to see something I’ve never seen before, and quite frankly I think I would do it myself if I was in better shape. We witnessed a Polar Bear Plunge! For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s when a bunch of crazy people put their bathing suits on and go into the ocean during freezing temperatures. Some are for charity but I wouldn’t know for sure unless I signed up, which I think I want too actually. I’ve seen videos of Alaskan children playing in the snow in their underwear to “build up their tolerance” I think, but it’s done. If teaching in North Philadelphia for 18 years hasn’t built up my tolerance, I am thinking a Polar Bear Plunge might. Anywho, after the fun and relaxation this weekend, I had off yesterday to celebrate MLK Day, a respected man whom I feel, definitely left too soon for this world. Boy did I get things done! I know you don’t want to know my list but believe me, I did a lot of chores and checked off many things. After returning to school today with another list of things to do for the kids and administration, I am super tired. It’s a good tired. I’m allowed to go to bed at 9:00 tonight, right after I finish packing my lunch and picking out something to wear tomorrow.

Have a good night everyone, here’s to a good tired tomorrow, too.

My dad was what you would call “Fired Up!” A lot. He was the one who taught me, if someone doesn’t do something they were supposed to do, like in a company or service you’ve paid for, he’d say, “get fired up!” Get the manager on the phone, if he doesn’t fix the problem, go to HIS manager. And keep going until you get what you’ve paid for.

Gosh, though, I’m tired. Why should I have to do all that follow up? Why can’t people just do what they are supposed to do? Right now, I am going through a refinance of our mortgage. If you’ve ever done this, I can picture you rolling your eyes at me right now. Because my wonderful husband is a Desert Storm Vet, he qualifies for a VA loan, which means super low interest rates for some high rated credit cards for us to pay off. So, in the end, it will be all worth it, but come on! I paid for the wood destroying insect report on Saturday, and it is now late Wednesday night and I still don’t have what I need. What’s the problem? If I could write the check, the least they could do was give me the service I needed, right? I had to call, wait on hold for 30 minutes, explain what I needed… blah, blah, blah. Just do what I asked for!

I feel like I am always back tracking to make sure everything was done, and done right. This is why my mind races, I have concluded that it’s actually my To Do List over and over again. I’m tired, can someone else check on things for me? Please?

Just the mention of a snow day sends excitement down my spine. I can’t pinpoint what it is exactly, but it does. Was it the childhood feeling of no school? Playing in the snow? Sledding down old route 1 highway when it wasn’t open yet? Maybe it was just the time my dad spent with me and my brothers and sister, he was always the one to show us how to have fun in the snow. My mom was always the one who stayed home in the warm house who had hot chocolate with marshmallows ready for us when we came in.

Now, as a teacher, that same excitement sends a thrill through me! Is it the promise of sleeping in with no alarm? Shoveling the deck or the driveway? I know it can’t be making a snowman because last time I did that must have been in good ole Neosho, MO with Ashley! It can’t be the shoveling, because my sweetheart of a husband always does this part. He is the best shoveler in town. He is too sweet, will NOT let me shovel. After all, I should be making him hot chocolate not watching him!

Snow, ice, freezing temperatures reek havoc on our roads, our pipes, and our bodies. Our noses and cheeks get cold and red, our pavements crack, our roads get big potholes, and our pipes may burst, (when we lived in Missouri, that was our biggest concern, freezing pipes) yet, we still jump and holler “hooray!” when it snows. My husband and I always dream of getting snowed in… why? Maybe because we must stay inside? All warm and cozy… with no where to go, nothing to do. Not a single snowflake has fallen and he has already called an official pj day tomorrow.

I keep coming down to one point in my head. I am pretty sure I love the snow because of the white wash it gives everything. It just makes the ugly, beautiful. It gives everything a beautiful, white coating and everything just looks so pretty! Christmas lights are still aglow, the super moon has risen and it is so very still outside. The snow even muffles sound for me. What a wonderful, peaceful time. Maybe that is what I love! The peace, and the new start it gives me.

Take time to enjoy the snow. It might run amuck on your way somewhere, but just take it slow please… we would rather have you arrive late to your destination than not at all. Enjoy the fun in the snow, remember it, cherish it, pass it on to your children. They will love you for it.