the truth about teaching

Today I came across an article which pretty much sums up how a lot of educators feel these days....http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/06/living/teachers-want-to-tell-parents/index.html

I could associate with so much of what was written in this article. I love kids, I really do- even the so called "difficult" ones because I can usually get past all their bravado and can get them to work for me. It takes patience, faith, and the building of trust.

I work primarily with special education students, many of which will never be able to live on their own so I "get" that these parents have had and will continue to have a tough road.  I don't envy them that, not only do they need to plan for their own retirement but have the worry of who will care for their child when their gone.   

I wish parents could just trust that most of us who teach aren't in it for the money- we truly care about our students

All that said- truth be told...If I didn't have one child getting married in less than a year and two more in college next year I too would be leaving in large part due to many of the things discussed in this article. Parents like the ones described bring on a kind of stress that eats away from you.

However, teaching & the connection I have with my students minus the "parent factor"....

is  AWESOME!

I'm BBBBAAAACCCCKKKK!

I am finally back after being away all summer. My summer was so unbelievably busy - you cannot even imagine.
Over the course of June, July & August I was only home 2 full weeks all summer. I traveled quite a bit. In June I flew to Atlanta for 8 days visiting my sister in law & her hubby. There were all kinds of issues traveling there & back, but the visit itself was wonderful! The girls flew down and joined us for 5 of the days and we took them along with us to visit Savannah, GA for 3 days and 2 nights.

We got home just before 4th of July weekend then we left and went to our cabin in the mountains for 5 days. The rest of July we traveled back to the cabin each weekend for 3-4 day weekends.

Then the last week of July I drove my 72 y/o mom to Maine to visit my aunt. (9 hrs. UGH) My uncle passed away and they had a memorial service the 30th. We came home on Monday Aug. 1st and then I had 4 days to prepare for Jenny's engagement party/pig roast. (we had 50+ ppl) All went well and after that I FINALLY had a week @ home.

Then I had to take Stef down to JMU and stayed 4 days.
Whew! It makes me tired just rehashing it all!!

Now I am back at work and on a schedule again... so hopefully I can be more regular with my posts!

end of the year

School is winding down and there are 3 more student days- can we all yell a big 'ole HOORAY!  This year went by so quickly- I don't know if that is a testament to it being a fairly good overall or the fact that as we grow older time seems to fly by- I mean we are 1/2 way through 2011 already!!  The final teacher day is next Thurs. hopefully I'll blink and it'll be here! But then the summer needs to go S...L...O...W!!!!

The girls and I are flying to Georgia around the 22nd to visit my SIL Suz- this trip should be SO MUCH FUN! I cannot wait! Suz text me the other day and asked if maybe we could come earlier- I'll have to see if we can swing it. Since the girls are 23 & 20 we don't HAVE to travel together and could go in shifts.  
This summer should be fairly busy- lots I want to accomplish around the house- hopefully I can be strict enough with myself and get it all done!  

But for now it's back to work... gotta get my end of the year reports completed!

this & that

Sorry it has been so long since I posted.....

Have had a lot of personal stuff going on... not all good unfortunately.   It is very frustrating.

At school we are down to 19 student days remaining (YAHOO!) We teachers finish up on Thurs. June 16th- not that I am counting or anything (only one month to go...) 

Cheergirlie came home last Wed. night so I have all of my chicks at home for the time being.

This summer is going to be a busy one... We are looking into getting new flooring- long overdue, and I want to repaint a couple of rooms.  I was able to finally get my flowers/veggie garden planted outside and we had everything mulched last Sat.    

This past weekend was QB1's prom- he looked very dapper and he and his new gf looked adorable!

                                              They are really cute together :)

When did my hands become OLD…?

Sitting here trying to think about what I want to write about…. Looking down @ the keyboard and all I can think is “wow… my hands look OLD?”

When did my hands become OLD…?

I definitely would not be able to be on one of those commercials where they put a ridiculously young looking mother & her daughter and you have figure out which is which but can’t because she uses a certain dish washing liquid.

Now that I am in my (gasp) 50’s things have begun to shift and sag a bit more than before… more and more often when I look in the mirror I get a brief glimpse of someone who looks like my grandmother.  

And when exactly did my freckles join forces and become the beginnings of age spots???  WTF???

*Sigh*

I was looking @ the new Oprah magazine last night and they had an article about things you can do as you get older to look younger… they did a side by side photo layout and evidently retouched one of the photos to show what the models face would look like dependent upon what she did… from creams, to acid peels to face lifts… it was kind of eerie- and expensive to boot…

Normally in the summertime I spend a good portion of my time out in our yard by our pool… but for the first time I am rethinking how much sun exposure I really want to get this summer… Don’t get me wrong- I love being tan (well as tan as a redhead can get) but then come winter you see it more and more on my face…

My oldest “the engaged one” gets jealous b/c now that I am older I actually do tan better- but I just attribute it to having “old skin”.    

I moisturize, exfoliate etc… but I think I am finally @ the point of no return… 

I have been pretty careful about sun exposure the past 25 yrs, so  I don’t think I ACTUALLY look my age right now, but pretty soon I WILL…

It sucks that wrinkles and a little gray look good on men. Personally I think hubby looks hotter than ever… but me? 

Not so much… ;)

my guy is now a GUY

So QB1 just told me this afternoon who his date for the prom will be… after my questions and cajoling. I mean why is this such a big secret??? 

Sometimes I REALLY don’t understand boys… about two weeks ago he was supposed to go with a young lady from our high school. Then they decided since they didn’t really know each other’s circle of friends… it would be awkward and to make it null & void- no hard feelings etc.

Then he was going to go with a good friend who just broke up with her longtime boyfriend, but… she will be participating in the district track meet and doesn’t know if she will even be able to go to prom.

So today he tells me he is taking a young lady from the local catholic high school who he has met on several occasions, and is a “friend of a friend”.

Unfortunately QB1’s sole stipulation for his prom date was that she be “good looking for pictures”.

His mother is “oh so proud” *sigh*

I get that his life is busy and that he really doesn’t have the time to maintain a relationship. I’m actually kind of glad he doesn’t have a girlfriend right now; he is more focused when he is single. 

But at the same time my cute loving little guy…..(he's on the right- beside cheergirlie)

Is becoming  such a GUY. *sigh*  :)

sad

I've been really busy with work etc. lately - and now that my guys are home I actually have to MAKE dinner every night...  

and now it is looking like the weather is not going to cooperate to do yard work this weekend...

I have found the past few years that yard work that used to take a couple of weekends now takes like a month and a half to get done. I hate all the prep crap you have to do in the spring, but realize it is a necessary evil...

I AM psyched that we are opening our pool next month.. it looks so ugly all covered up... that is the REAL sign of spring as far as I am concerned!

Now if Mother Nature will just warm things up a bit!!!

Ty decided to move out and move in with his aunt & uncle. (I think this is a front, and I think he is living with his mom again and just telling the school district that he is living @ his aunts)

He is 18 now so we are no longer his guardians... he can sign himself out of school and quit should he choose to...

I still worry about him... I see his grades in the toilet, and since they have been home he has been "sick" about 5-7 days in the past month.

We tried, but I am afraid it was simply too late when we got him. He doesn't really care about school or his grades etc. It is a way of thinking that I simply don't understand. This makes me sad- but again... we have no say.

So I will pray that he makes good choices and hope that he doesn't throw his life away by quitting school.