...little things

...are saving me in this job.

Like yesterday when I took my class to lunch feeling as though I had just failed as a math teacher and was feeling very despondent, one of my boys came up to me and said:

"I like your clothes. I like this," as he pointed to my coral sweater.

I just thought to myself: bless you child.

Little did he know that that morning I was about to put on my gray sweater but then decided to wear a brighter one because maybe the kids would think it was fun.

That little comment turned my day around.

...until I made the mistake of asking track 2 if they were excited to come back the next day...

Tokens

I am the kind of person that is comforted by good luck tokens. You know, things that you have on you to remind you of someone or something when you look at it. I needed that comfort on my first day of school. As I sat in my room counting down the final minutes before I went and picked up my class, I realized that I am very blessed as I looked around at all the tokens I have in my room.

For instance, there are the hundreds of books from my second grade teacher (many of which I read myself as a seven year old) with S. Walker written inside of them. There are crayon boxes with names labeled on every one by my mom because "she would have wanted her crayons labeled in school". Each of my books are marked with a beautiful sticker from my sister who designs beautiful things. Outside my wall are 29 bees hot glued to clothespins to display work on. My dad hot-glued on every one of those bees hours before open house. I have big dragonflies hanging from my ceiling over the reading chairs from Sister Jennings. I have books, flashcards, and math tools from my mom who has been handpicking them out at garage sales for the past several months. My sister pinned up the number line on the back wall because only she was able to reach it. My teaching chair comes from a good, good friend who taught several years herself and loaned this one out to me. All of my folders and spirals were labeled with the help of family and friends.

I couldn't have done it without you. My room was built and prepared with a lot of love. From a lot of people. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

2 weeks from today

My students will be walking into my classroom.

I get very overwhelmed thinking about everything I have to do before then, so I am just going to start tackling that list one thing at a time. First up, finish decorating the room by Friday.

My little brother will also be going into the MTC 2 weeks from today. I am sad that I won't be able to be there to drop him off, but I think it is fun that we are going to be starting something very new and exciting on the same day. He is going to do great things down there in Argentina.

It is official...

My plaque. And my one purple wall.

My very own classroom

Today I used the keys to room 169.

I took down the desks and inventoried the drawers and cupboards. I arranged my teacher's desk and tried to organize 30 desks into groups of 5 and 6 while still allowing a portion of carpet space for group instruction. (They are surprisingly heavy. It was hard work by myself)

I designated the area for the listening center and book nook. (Anyone know where I can buy cheap pillows for the nook? Or can anyone help me sew some quick ones?)

I plugged in the pencil sharpener. It didn't work. (I will have to figure that out)

I organized my tissues and clorox wipes, which are the only things I have brought into the classroom so far.

Then I sat in my teacher's desk and thought for a while.

This summer hasn't been what I had expected. Sometimes things don't happen as easily as you want them to.

Sometimes things take you by surprise. But then I realized that in three weeks time I will have 30+ new friends. I won't have any time to feel lonely or sad because I will be responsible for their learning and keeping them engaged throughout the day.

Then I realized that I am really excited. I'm nervous, and I am too overwhelmed for words, but I can't wait to meet my students.

Hopefully the room will be ready by then.

I would like to say thank you...

To the people that let me cut in the security lines. For the upstairs terminals AND the downstairs terminals (because I went to both).

To everyone that did not point out the fact that I was soaked through my gray shirt with sweat as I booked it through the airport.

To the TSA man who took an extra long time checking my ID in order to "teach me a lesson" (I did not appreciate the humor at the time).

To the man behind me in the plane that pushed my bag up for me the rest of the way into the overhead bins when it was clear I was not going to make it (I was so so tired). I think the woman sitting in the seat below it was glad the bag did not come crashing back down on her (because it would have).

To my mom who drove me to the airport in bumper to bumper traffic and endured a near rear ending.

To my dad who came to the airport straight from work just so he could hug me goodbye.

more SF adventures

I have been having so much fun with Nicole. She is so positive and happy all the time and makes me laugh all day long. I love her! I am sad to be leaving tomorrow but here are a few of the adventures we have had lately:

-Weekly checkups. Everything looked great again. Seeing Baby D on the ultrasound and hearing his heartbeat is amazing. The other day Nicole made a comment along the lines of , "Most women who have a baby with spina bifida, that keep it, are religious." That statement kept going through my mind as I saw his head and his heart beating on the screen. How anyone could do that to their unborn child is beyond me. I have seen him and heard him. Baby D is a human being. He has as much of a right to this life as any other baby. He is going to have great parents and a great extended family that love him beyond words. Because he will have some physical limitations does not make him any less special. If anything, he is more special. I know he will bring so much joy to our family and I can't wait to meet him.

-More fun lunches and dinners. San Francisco sure knows how to do good food.

-Packages from Mr. Jennings. He sent up some of my very favorite treats, which are total contraband in rooms, but Nicole and I have been enjoying the sugar.

-Ghiradelli Square. They give out free samples! Which was awesome. It was very big and pretty being right there next to the water.I'm going to miss this girl. Thank goodness for sisters.