Yesterday

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. My parents, sister, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, cousin's kids all got together at my sister's house. They probably spent most of the day cooking. My mom would have made frozen cranberry salad with whipped cream, my sister probably cooked the turkey, and my cousin most likely brought some pumpkin pie. I would have liked the eating. I would have liked how I would have had to have sat at the "kid" table with all the other "kids" who are now in their late 20s and early 30s. After the meal I would probably would have sat for awhile just trying to let everything settle. I would have played with my two year old niece and then chatted with my elven-year-old niece. My dad most likely would have suggested we go for a walk. We'd go outside and the first thing that would hit me would be how cold it was. I would have run back in and grabbed my black pea coat and stuffed my hands deep into its pockets. My dad and I would have walked against the wind and talked some. We'd probably have talked about religion or politics or whatever was on our minds. Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I worked all day. I had a pleasant supper with the Americans and honorary Americans, but I wasn't home.

The Ocean

I had a job recruiter ask me which part of the US I wanted to live in. I said, "Either the west coast or the east coast but nowhere in between." I'm not against middle America, but I just need an ocean near by. The farther I get inland the more claustrophobic I feel. Even if I don't see the water on a day to day basis, just the knowledge that it is there makes me happy. I need the ocean to breathe.

The thing I keep forgetting

Silliness is a prerequisite for sanity.

My Office

My socks don't match. I'm just noticing that. I'm sitting in my office...feet propped up on my desk and I just noticed that my socks don't match. One sock is gray and the other is brown. Humph. But the point of this is that I'm IN MY OFFICE.

This office plays a large role in my life (too large). I know how nice it is to take naps under my desk and I know what it's like to be here at 10:00 pm struggling with lesson planning.
I know how fun it is to run around the the school barefoot or in socks. (Who knew that running down the hall and seeing how far I could slide on my socks could bring so much entertainment?) And I also know the madness of how-will-I-ever-get-my-work-done-head-down-on-my-desk prayers.

Well, I'm going now. I need to get out of this place. :)

The Future

Today after class I ran into a friend in the hall. She looked at me and said, "Why are you so happy?" I had to laugh. Well, how can I explain that in a short sentence? I told her and I think this was unnecessary information. "I'm happy today because I realize that the past doesn't have to hold me down." It's not that my past is horrible, but sometimes I get caught feeling like certain mistakes that I've made or certain struggles that I have had will inevitably stay with me.

Lately, I've been telling myself..."the future weighs more than the past". How do I know what I will become? How do I know that my future won' t be something bigger than my past or my present? Why can't I claim that possibly bigger future now?

I want to offer my students the same option I offer myself. How do I know that their future is not going to be something great? I especially want to offer that option to the struggling students in my classes. I want to start treating them more as if they have already arrived at greatness.