Saturday, August 29, 2015

A Good Kind of Tired

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We've just finished our first full week of school--with kids. If you teach, you understand how I fell back to sleep for another hour this morning when I really intended to just close my eyes and cuddle Chloe for a few minutes.

If you teach, you'll understand why I slept most of the way to the lake last night. And that when we got to the cabin, I put my pjs on and wrapped up in a blanket for the rest of the night.

It's a good kind of tired.

It's the tired of learning new names and making sure to talk and connect with every single kid that walks in my room.

It's the tired of creating family with a group of strangers

and

Of making my room a safe place to land.

It's the tired of finding the right book for the right kid and learning why 42 kids took creative writing.

It's the tired of welcoming a student into speech class for the 3rd time and then two class periods later welcoming him to drama.  After five days, it's seeing insecurity in that student you'e never seen before.

It's convincing boys that they can write and then wondering if you'll ever get to peek at the magic being written in a girl's notebook during every break in the action.

It's the tired of planning for the next week and making sure it's rigorous and worthy of their time, but not so difficult that students give up before they start.

It's the tired of wishing you were a month into school and already enjoying those relationships you are busy cultivating now.

It's the tired of a teacher after the first five days of school.




Saturday, August 1, 2015

Celebrating Summer: Part 2

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July.
It's like the fastest month ever. One minute it's the 4th of July, and the next minute you're turning the page to August. Yikes.

20 days until teachers report back.

But who's counting?

The 4th was a quiet one for us this year (and I'm not complaining). We didn't even leave the resort and I loved every minute of it.



We went to several concerts--but a special one was with our son and daughter-in-law. For Father's Day and my husband's birthday they bought him tickets to see The Marshall Tucker Band in a town not far from the lake.  It was also their fifth wedding anniversary, so they went along with us.  It was a great night!


I geared myself up for an event that I had been looking forward to (and been a little anxious about) for over a year.







My 40th high school class reunion--

I don't know why I was anxious--wait! Yes, I do. I hadn't seen these people in 40 years!  But, with some, it was as if we had never left the comfort of school.  I had a smile on my face all night. At times, I would stand off by myself and watch my classmates and think about what amazing people they have all become.








A week or so later found us traveling again, although this time a little closer to home. We again met with our favorite traveling companions and spent a few days in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Although we only live an hour or so away, it's not a place my husband and I have really explored.  Our favorite things a great little retro jazz bar.  It felt like we had stepped back in time.







Our other favorite thing was the riverboat dinner cruise we took.  Good food, great view.










Those were the major events...there was also lake time with kids and grandkids. Great moments with friends. A little quiet alone time. And lots of planning for our next trip

YELLOWSTONE.

Maybe Chloe will have to share some adventures.



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