- I feel like my life has taken a weird circle backwards. Currently, I'm sitting at a hotel about 30 min from my parents' house waiting for a conference to begin. Sometime in the early 2000s, I attended a different conference (or the appropriate word is probably convention) in this. Exact. Hotel. The difference: that one was for Beta, this one is for my state education association. Also, I'm choosing to stay at home tonight rather than at the hotel, and in high school I certainly chose to stay at the hotel. (My friend S & I may or may not have attempted to make coffee, then ice it down, then add the hard peppermint candies to make it taste better. It was disgusting.)
- I've hit an invisible wall of sorts where my students are driving me insane at no fault of their own. They're done with this semester; I am done with this semester; we have 12 more class periods before our state SOL and another 5 more before Christmas Break.
- You know what I'm hoping cures that? The fact that I left work today after 2nd block. I took a gorgeous backroads drive to my parents house on a 70+ degree day. I then got to swing and ride bikes and play with a plastic toolbox and a matchbox car for a few hours. I also got to be greeted by 3 running children, grinning & shouting my name. That's true therapy.
- I hate that my baby boy is growing up. My oldest nephew is in 1st grade. He has adult conversations. He has lost teeth. And today, I had to actually pedal quickly to keep up with him. What happened to my little mini me? The one that exhausted me by chasing me with the plastic popper all through the house? I definitely want to freeze time. Today though, as we put the bicycles up, he pulled on my hand, and when I looked down his little lips were puckered up for a kiss. Heart melting.
- I have been riveted by the JFK coverage recently. I find it so fascinating and so saddening at the same time. Thankfully, I teach high schoolers, so I can do things like show actual assassination footage and discuss the implications on current security. And they ate it up. Standardized testing can be on hold. My freshman learned today; it didn't have anything to do with Renaissance Europe. It did, however, have 20 14 year olds riveted. Some went googling more information on their phones. Some of my sophomores have on their own watched Kennedy footage that I suggested in class. That changes lives. That infuses a lifetime love of learning. Not a forced discussion of economic interdependence, regardless of it's relevance.
- I am a born and bred don't decorate until after Thanksgiving girl. It angers me to see commercials and decorations, and especially hear Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I will fully embrace Christmas the minute I wake up on Black Friday (though, I will not attend shopping events. I have a horrible crushing panic in that environment). I just want people to appreciate Thanksgiving. You know that picture of the Turkey yelling at Santa to back off? I am on Team Turkey.
- I have a piercing and crippling fear of stingrays. It's bizarre. It came up in class this week as we were discussing global food supply and a student said he wanted to move to Australia so he could eat kangaroo and those horrible sea creatures. I cringed involuntarily. I was then called out on it as a 15 year old asked if I was aware that the fear was irrational. I'm now that teacher who is afraid of something my students thing is stupid. Yep. Yay me.
That's all for now, my conference will start in a few minutes. If you are still reading this, thanks for sticking around so long!
