I was asked by a former colleague of mine at another independent school to visit her Print Journalism class today as a guest lecturer. I was pretty excited about it, because I thoroughly enjoyed my one shining year as a Latin teacher, and I had not been in a classroom since then. One of the fun things about being a teacher is that you become a student, too, as you are constantly studying and preparing for your lessons and trying to find new information that you can share. I felt like I was back in my element last night as I was reading articles with my highlighter poised over the pages, rehearsing in my head some of the points that I wanted to cover in my presentation.
So as students were wandering into the class today, I noticed a familiar face, and my colleague asked me, "Do you remember Reed?" Oh my goodness--it was one of my former Latin students. How exciting! So I responded, "Of course, yes! Reed, how are you? What year are you now?" And, about the same time that I noticed he was about 3 feet taller than I remembered him, he said, "I'm a senior."
Um, okay...when I taught him in Latin I, he was in 8TH GRADE. And I promise that could not have been 4 years ago. Really, it couldn't be. Could it? He was just in junior high, and now he's headed off to college? It doesn't seem right.
This is why I do not have children--CHILDREN MAKE YOU AGE MORE QUICKLY. I swear it's true.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go drink some Geritol and take a nap...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
January 19-23
I am still processing this past week.
Usually, a week comes and goes without much thought. There's a routine that happens: work, home, friends, tv, sleep, eat, etc. Nothing too complicated. But last week was different.
Politically, it was an incredible week. Obama was officially sworn in as our president, and he hit the ground running, proving in his first few days of office that he meant business. Then, Nashville demonstrated our welcoming and progressive spirit by voting against the English-only proposition and letting Mr. Crafton know that if he wants his way, he'll just have to move to a small town somewhere in Mississippi to get it.
But outside of the political realm, last week felt anything but victorious. Things happened that shook my soul, and I feel like my perspective has been permanently altered. I still don't know that I have the words to explain exactly what shift has occurred, I just feel it. There is sadness--lots of sadness--concern, confusion, fear, disappointment, hurt, and helplessness.
Helplessness is the hardest. I know that, in some circumstances, all you can do is just "be there" for people. But just being there is hard for me. I want to do. I want to fix. I want to heal. I want to make better. But sometimes better is not mine to make. So I just have to be.
And so I'm here. And I hope. And I think. And I pray. I pray, pray, pray. For the best.
Or, at least, for better.
Usually, a week comes and goes without much thought. There's a routine that happens: work, home, friends, tv, sleep, eat, etc. Nothing too complicated. But last week was different.
Politically, it was an incredible week. Obama was officially sworn in as our president, and he hit the ground running, proving in his first few days of office that he meant business. Then, Nashville demonstrated our welcoming and progressive spirit by voting against the English-only proposition and letting Mr. Crafton know that if he wants his way, he'll just have to move to a small town somewhere in Mississippi to get it.
But outside of the political realm, last week felt anything but victorious. Things happened that shook my soul, and I feel like my perspective has been permanently altered. I still don't know that I have the words to explain exactly what shift has occurred, I just feel it. There is sadness--lots of sadness--concern, confusion, fear, disappointment, hurt, and helplessness.
Helplessness is the hardest. I know that, in some circumstances, all you can do is just "be there" for people. But just being there is hard for me. I want to do. I want to fix. I want to heal. I want to make better. But sometimes better is not mine to make. So I just have to be.
And so I'm here. And I hope. And I think. And I pray. I pray, pray, pray. For the best.
Or, at least, for better.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
1.20.09
Contents of the day so far: a few tears, lots of goosebumps, applause, and a swell of hope and pride for my country.
Text of Obama's inaugural address.
Those words are better than any words I could share today.
Text of Obama's inaugural address.
Those words are better than any words I could share today.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
report card
Since it is January 1st once again, I thought it would be a good time to check in on those New Year's resolutions from last year and see how well I did. Most of the time, by December 31st, I can't even remember what my new year's resolutions were (half of them are forgotten by June), but fortunately, a blog is a good record-keeping device, so I went back to January 2008 and found my original list.
My New Year's resolutions for 2008 were:
a) To live a lower-carb lifestyle
b) To read more
c) To do better on saving money (and specifically, to pay off my school loans--finally!)
e) To get back involved with a church (I was quite a slacker on church attendance in 2007)
f) To exercise at least 3-4 times a week
g) To do one new service project every month
Now, for the grading:
a) Lower carb lifestyle--This lasted until, oh, February, when I started training for the half-marathon and realized that carbs were my friends, not my enemies. 2008 was filled with much bread, pasta, potatoes, and so many other foods that make life delicious--so I'll have to give myself an F on this one. But, oh, what a sweet F it is. I think I'll take that F, dip it in chocolate and eat it. For breakfast.
b) Read more--Does Domino magazine count? I don't know that I actually read more in 2008...I probably read about the same amount as I did in 2007. But I did buy a whole lot of books on Amazon that are sitting there just waiting to be read, so this one can carry over to 2009. I'll be kind and give myself a D.
c) Saving money--I actually did add to my savings this year, although that is quickly dwindling with the whole selling-and-buying-a-new-house project. However, I did pay off all of my school loans, which is a HUGE accomplishment (that I have been working on for the past 9 years), so I'm gonna give myself an A on this one. And a big fat WOO-HOO!
e) Churchgoing--I'm a heathen. Why is it so hard to get up and get dressed at a decent hour on Sunday morning? I was a part of a women's bible study for most of the year, and I have done my own devotionals, but I was just about as bad as a C&E Christian as far as churchgoing went. I'll have to give myself a very guilty D- on this one. Thank goodness God doesn't grade like I do.
f) Exercising--Although I didn't always make it 3-4 times a week, I think I did pretty well on this one. Between training for the half-marathon and leading a boot camp, I think I exercised my little fanny off. Well, not completely, but at least it didn't get any bigger, and that's good enough for me. A-.
g) Service projects--I actually stuck with this one pretty well, even during the busy times...until November and December hit. I cooked lunch for the homeless, bowled with the United Cerebral Palsy group, made care packages for people living with AIDS, helped build a house with Habitat, volunteered with the Light the Night Walk, and quite a few other things. As I suspected, this turned out to be my favorite resolution to keep, and I highly recommend it for others. Since I missed November and December, I'll have to take a couple of points off, so we'll go with a B+. And I think this one will be a carry-over for 2009.
All in all, not too shabby, especially when compared to my success at keeping resolutions in the past.So now, I just have to come up with the list for 2009. Any suggestions?
My New Year's resolutions for 2008 were:
a) To live a lower-carb lifestyle
b) To read more
c) To do better on saving money (and specifically, to pay off my school loans--finally!)
e) To get back involved with a church (I was quite a slacker on church attendance in 2007)
f) To exercise at least 3-4 times a week
g) To do one new service project every month
Now, for the grading:
a) Lower carb lifestyle--This lasted until, oh, February, when I started training for the half-marathon and realized that carbs were my friends, not my enemies. 2008 was filled with much bread, pasta, potatoes, and so many other foods that make life delicious--so I'll have to give myself an F on this one. But, oh, what a sweet F it is. I think I'll take that F, dip it in chocolate and eat it. For breakfast.
b) Read more--Does Domino magazine count? I don't know that I actually read more in 2008...I probably read about the same amount as I did in 2007. But I did buy a whole lot of books on Amazon that are sitting there just waiting to be read, so this one can carry over to 2009. I'll be kind and give myself a D.
c) Saving money--I actually did add to my savings this year, although that is quickly dwindling with the whole selling-and-buying-a-new-house project. However, I did pay off all of my school loans, which is a HUGE accomplishment (that I have been working on for the past 9 years), so I'm gonna give myself an A on this one. And a big fat WOO-HOO!
e) Churchgoing--I'm a heathen. Why is it so hard to get up and get dressed at a decent hour on Sunday morning? I was a part of a women's bible study for most of the year, and I have done my own devotionals, but I was just about as bad as a C&E Christian as far as churchgoing went. I'll have to give myself a very guilty D- on this one. Thank goodness God doesn't grade like I do.
f) Exercising--Although I didn't always make it 3-4 times a week, I think I did pretty well on this one. Between training for the half-marathon and leading a boot camp, I think I exercised my little fanny off. Well, not completely, but at least it didn't get any bigger, and that's good enough for me. A-.
g) Service projects--I actually stuck with this one pretty well, even during the busy times...until November and December hit. I cooked lunch for the homeless, bowled with the United Cerebral Palsy group, made care packages for people living with AIDS, helped build a house with Habitat, volunteered with the Light the Night Walk, and quite a few other things. As I suspected, this turned out to be my favorite resolution to keep, and I highly recommend it for others. Since I missed November and December, I'll have to take a couple of points off, so we'll go with a B+. And I think this one will be a carry-over for 2009.
All in all, not too shabby, especially when compared to my success at keeping resolutions in the past.So now, I just have to come up with the list for 2009. Any suggestions?
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